It seemed that she had scarcely closed her eyes all night; she was consumed with misery over her quarrel with Nicholai, particularly because he had made no further effort to smooth things over between them. Curled up, cold, and hurting in her bed as the new day began, Lisette realized that it was up to her to approach him. He was right; she had been unreasonable and stubborn. The depth of her pain over this rift between them didn't alarm her as she had expected it to. It seemed that she had changed a great deal since the duel. What surprised Lisette most was the realization that she wasn't frightened by the thought of loving Nicholai... but when she imagined him not returning her love, or simply losing interest, she was terrified. She dressed carefully, drank tea in the cool violet-shadowed kitchen, then prepared Nicholai's favorite breakfast of croissants studded with raisins and drizzled with icing, paired with perfectly timed fried eggs and several ripe strawberries. It was still early when she carried the tray upstairs, but the suspense had grown intolerable.
