“Are you speaking of Mr. Wrexham?” she asked brightly. “Do you know, he told me that Cassandra’s articles on magic have influenced magicians five times her age! They aresowell-matched. But I think I heard someone talking about Mr. Luton beforehand. He is a weather wizard, is henot?”
“Yes,” I said tightly. “But he hasn’t emerged from his room all day, as far as I cantell.”
“Well, he’s probably working. You’ve had a few days like that too, as I recall, when you were seized by some grand new experiment you couldn’t wait to attempt.” Amy squeezed my arm gently. “At any rate, it can’t take forever, can it? I’m sure you’ll have a chance to meet with him soon, once his current project is finished. And in themeantime...”
She turned to the others with a question about the upcoming solstice celebration, and I gave up and retired to the tea urn, where the younger women clustered in a gossiping group. Miss Banks greeted me with a shy smile and Miss Fennell with a firm nod, and I nodded back to both of them, finding renewed purpose in the sight of their hands brushing slightly, discreetly, against each other as they stepped aside to make way forme.
I wasn’t, after all, the only one whose future was atstake.
I might have failed in my mission tonight, but I wouldn’t let myself fail again, for any of our sakes. As I poured the hot, steaming tea into a delicate porcelain cup, I made a vow to myself: if young Luton didn’t emerge from his room soon, I would throw propriety to the winds and go and fetch himmyself.
He might have been too much for our teachers at the Great Library to manage, but after four months of broken dreams, I’d finally discovered a sense of hope again. There was no magician in the land—no matter how powerful, arrogant or obstreperous—who could be allowed to take that fromme.
12
The only problemwith being officially affianced again was that it was nigh-on impossible to behave like an idiot without being noticed atit.
“Thereyou are,” Wrexham said behind me the next morning, and I came to a sudden, horrified halt just before I could place my ear against yet another closed door in the third-storey guest wing. “Have you decided to turn yourself into a ghost for Lord Cosgrave to brag about to his visitors?” he inquired. “Pacing the halls, moaning at allhours...”
“I wasnotmoaning,” I said tartly.Pacing, on the other hand...I suppressed a wince as I took a quick step away from the closest door and turned to face my fiancé. “I was trying to ascertain which room was young Luton’s, if you mustknow.”
Wrexham smirked as he strolled toward me down the wide, carpeted corridor, looking distractingly enticing in a fitted dark green morning jacket, silver waistcoat, and soft-looking gray trousers that clung neatly to his long legs. “I’m surprised you didn’t simply stand in one place and start banging on a set of pots and pans until heemerged.”
“Give me credit forsomediscretion, if you please.” I rolled my eyes even as I moved forward to run my hands firmly across that silver waistcoat. There had to besomeadvantages to being discovered by him in a deserted corridor, after all. I slid my arms up around his neck and narrowed my eyes at him admonishingly as I pressed myself fully against his deliciously lean, strong figure. “I don’toftencarry on sensitive discussions in full view of an entire house party, youknow.”
“Nottoooften,” Wrexham agreed, and closed his arms around me, leaning down to nuzzle against my hair. His warm breath chased against the back of my neck as his soft hair slid against my cheek, sending shivers down my skin. “How long do we have to wait until the wedding,exactly?”
“Amy says she can have it planned within two months.” I closed my eyes, breathing him in with every fiber of my being. “It couldn’t be much longer than that, anyway, or we’d have to wait until after their baby isborn.”
“No more waiting,” Wrexham said fervently. “We should never have waited so long in the firstplace.”
I grimaced as the eager warmth inside me drained away. “You know why I wanted to wait last time.” I’d been adamant that we would start our marriage as full equals; thatbothof us would have established public positions as noted magicians before we ever spoke our weddingvows.
I’d tried so hard to ensure thatno onewould ever be able to make the sorts of assumptions about me—aboutus—that I’d heard spoken aloud in Lady Cosgrave’s drawing room only lastnight.
Of course, more than one person would say it now when they heard the news, whether or not I was there to hearit.
It was not a happy thought. Gritting my teeth, I lowered my face to hide myexpression.
Wrexham dipped his own head low to catch my gaze. “Harwood,” he said firmly. “You know we’re equal partners in every way. It doesn’t matter what any ignorant strangersimagine!”
“I know.” I sighed. It wasn’t Wrexham’s fault, at least; I knew that much. So I stroked one hand over his warm, smooth-shaven cheek in an apologetic caress before I detached myself again, more firmly this time. “But we won’t be able to be married at all if we don’t sort out this problem first. And we’ll never be able to do that if Ican’t—”
“GoodGod, will no one ever grant me a single moment of peace and quiet?!” The closest door flew open with a crash, revealing a young man with wild, un-brushed blond hair that stood out around his face like a lion’s mane, and without so much as a vest or a cravat to cover his un-tucked, nearly transparent cotton shirt. “Will Ineverbe allowed to focus in this blastedhellhole?”
Satisfaction rippled throughme.
I put on my most gracious smile as I stepped unhurriedly away from Wrexham. “Mr. Luton, Ipresume?”
“Bah!” He slammed the door shut on both of us. A moment later, I heard the telltale sound of a deadbolt locking intoplace.
“Time to get out the pots and pans?” Wrexham suggestedwryly.
“Hardly,” I said. “I have something far more useful.” Turning, I gave him a smirk. “You see,Ihave an officer of the Boudiccate at my side...and I know exactly what to do withhim.”
It was the work of a moment for Wrexham to spell free the lock. The door swung open a moment later, revealing a room full of chaos, with scattered papers, garments, handkerchiefs, and more covering the floor like a carpet, and Mr. Luton at the end of it all, pacing agitatedly back and forth before his un-curtained window. He stopped in mid-stride to stare at us as I strode into the room and Wrexham gently closed the door behindus.
“What the hell do you two think you’re about? If you think you can march into a man’s privateproperty—”
