The trouble, Enid knew, was that there were only so many secrets she could reasonably have — she had always been somewhat of an open book, with one, Nigel-shaped exception. She'd gotten away with the crush because even in her own family, few people were that interested in whatever Enid was containing inside her.

So Matilda Farris kept guessing, someone, and kept getting closer, and Enid was starting to look frantic as heat spread in her face and she pressed her lips closer together. She certainly couldn't let Miss Farris land on Nigel, because Miss Farris spent so much time with the Yarwoods that she was sure to reveal things sooner or later.

She managed to keep mum until Miss Farris said dragonkeepers, and then — Enid released a strangled sound from her throat, as if she'd been caught, because it was better to be with a dragonkeeper than it was to be with Nigel. Ears burning, she managed, "You promise not to tell?"