by C. J. Archer
“Not as a collector’s item it’s not. Once word gets out—”
“Word will not get out.”
“My dear India.” She bestowed a condescending smile on me. “The club members are a close-knit community. We share information.”
“But not wedding invitations,” Willie pointed out. She indicated Lord Farnsworth with her thumb. “Unless they’re lords or ladies.”
Hope stiffened again. She was spending most of this conversation as rigid as a pole. “That was my mother’s stipulation.” She turned to me. “The secret won’t stay a secret for long. Soon you will be bombarded with requests to make magical objects fly.”
My heart sank.
“However,” she went on. “We will keep the spell a secret if you sell us the carpet. My husband will pay a good price for it.”
It was my turn to stiffen. “I will not be manipulated. Go ahead and tell the world about it. And while you’re spreading gossip, be sure to tell the other collectors that I won’t be using the flying spell again, no matter what price is offered. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’d like to be anywhere but near you.”
Hope huffed, turned sharply, and walked off through the small gathering. Some of the men bowed at her while the women attempted to engage her in conversation, but she marched toward Matt and Lord Coyle without acknowledging anyone. The only person she did acknowledge was Matt. He said something stiffly to them both and strode back along the path Hope had carved. His thunderous expression had grown darker.
Hope glanced back at me over her shoulder and smiled in triumph.
What had Matt done?”
Chapter 18
“A magic carpet ride, eh?” Lord Farnsworth said. “Was it fun?”
“Sure was,” Willie said, grinning. “I ain’t never felt so free. You should have seen the city from up there. Everything was so small. I reckon if it had been a clearer day, we’d have seen from one side of the country to the other.”
“May I join you next time?”
“There won’t be a next time,” I said, as I watched Matt approach. “It’s too dangerous.”
I didn’t see Willie’s face but I suspected she rolled her eyes or pulled a face because Lord Farnsworth chuckled quietly.
“So Matt,” she said when he joined us. “Did Coyle offer you a vast amount of money to buy the carpet?”
“He did,” Matt said. “But that’s not why I accepted.”
“You accepted!”
Lord Farnsworth shushed her as those nearest us glanced our way. “I say, that’s not fair,” he said with a pout in his voice. “I would have made a counteroffer if you’d given me a chance. A magic flying carpet would be a great asset to my collection. If I’d known you were going to sell, I would have spoken up but Mrs. Glass said you weren’t, so I didn’t. Don’t want to be in her bad books, you know.”
“Why’d you sell it to them?” Willie spat.
“Leave,” Matt said to Lord Farnsworth.
His lordship departed without so much as a mutter.
Matt checked to make sure no one could overhear us, then he lowered his voice. “I’m selling him an ordinary carpet. He wasn’t close enough to see the pattern on the flying one and won’t know the difference.”
“Ohhhh,” Willie said, nodding. She broke into a grin. “Good plan.”
“Stop smiling,” Matt snapped.
Her smile vanished and she blinked back rather forlornly. I frowned at Matt, for so many reasons.
“Let them think we’re angry and disappointed at being manipulated,” he went on.
“Manipulated?” I echoed. “What did Coyle say to convince you? Or pretend he convinced you?”
“He offered money, which I declined. He then offered up information in exchange.”
“What kind of information?”
“Anything we want.”
Good lord, that was quite a powerful bargain Matt had struck. And we didn’t even have to give Coyle the real carpet in exchange. It was still lying somewhere in a paddock just outside of Brighton. He was right in that Lord Coyle would never know he had an ordinary artless one. It was a brilliant plan.
“I also made him promise the carpet must stay in his collection and not be given to any other magician to try and fly again,” Matt said. “I told him it was too dangerous, but it’s simply to ensure the swap is never discovered.”
“Another magician will know it’s fake when they touch it and feel no heat,” Willie said, nodding along.
Conversations suddenly quieted as the butler announced Fabian’s arrival. Louisa swanned over to greet him and the conversations quickly resumed again. She hugged his arm and smiled up at him. He said something stiffly to her but she merely flicked dust off his jacket lapel and continued to chat, smiling the entire time.
“Christ,” Willie muttered. “Here comes Mrs. Delancey. She’s been asking me about signing that teetotaler agreement. I’d forgotten about it until tonight.” She spotted Fabian and a determined look came over her. “Reckon I’ll rescue him from Louisa.” She joined them and took Fabian’s other arm and tugged him away from Louisa.
Louisa frowned back but released Fabian and joined another party of guests.
“Poor Louisa didn’t stand a chance,” I said.
“Willie should watch herself,” Matt said. “She’ll make more enemies than she knows what to do with if she continues to be so aggressive.”
I turned to him. “What’s happened between you two?”
“Nothing.”
“Don’t pretend with me, Matt. Something’s amiss. What is it?”
He pressed his lips together.
“Tell me, Matt, or I’ll ask her.”
“There’s no point asking her. She thinks she did nothing wrong.”
“Then tell me what it is and I can adjudicate. Matt,” I snapped when he continued to refuse. “Just tell me.”
He sighed. “It was something she said a few days ago in the carriage.”
“Go on.”
His gaze slid away. If we’d been alone, I’d have grasped his face between my hands and forced him to look at me. But I couldn’t do that in public, so I merely squeezed his hand, hard.
He sighed again. “It was after Carpenter admitted to helping Amelia and Bunn escape London. He claimed he’d done it so that his young magician children would have a free future. Willie said in the carriage afterward that parents are foolish where their children are concerned, and she said you shouldn’t have them.”
I waited, but there was no more. “So?”
“So it was a cruel thing to say to you.”
“It was just a joke, Matt. She wasn’t serious.”
“It was insensitive considering…”
“Considering what?”
“You’re not with child yet.”
I took his hands in mine. It was enough to get him to look at me. Worry darkened his eyes, but I wasn’t sure if it was worry for me or because we’d not yet conceived and he was troubled by the possibility we might never.
“Jokes like that don’t upset me but I see that it upset you,” I said gently. “It’s all right to admit you’re worried we can’t have children, but don’t get snappy at offhanded comments on my behalf.”
His fingers clung to mine. “I’m not worried.”
I let out a deep breath. “Neither am I. We haven’t been married long and there’s still time. I’m hardly Hope’s age, but I’m not old either.”
His features softened and I thought he might kiss me right there in front of everyone. “I know.”
“And if we can’t have children, we’ll adopt.”
He considered this then nodded. “There are many orphans in the city.”
I smiled, relieved that he seemed amenable to the idea. “We’ll provide a loving home to lots of orphans.”
“All of them.”
“I’m not sure even your vast resources can stretch to that, but we can certainly try.”
He lowered his head to mine. I thought he wa
s going to whisper something, but he kissed the flesh near my ear. “I love you, India.”
“And I love you. Now go and make your peace with Willie.”
He squeezed my hands then dutifully left.
Fabian joined me and we chatted easily enough. There was no sign that he was disappointed in my decision to stop experimenting with new spells, thankfully. I was keen to speak with Louisa about her flirtations with him, but she was too busy flitting from group to group. When she did look our way, it was at Fabian. She ignored me most of the evening.
She couldn’t avoid me forever, however. I was about to intercept her when Oscar called for silence. He had avoided Sir Charles Whittaker, although he had cast several glares his way. Sir Charles didn’t seem to notice.
“May I have everyone’s attention, please.” When all the guests were looking at Oscar, he cleared his throat. “I have an announcement to make. I’m no longer writing my book on magic.”
Murmurs filled the room.
Hope eyed Lord Coyle, but his lordship merely stared at Oscar as if he were looking into his mind, trying to determine if he was telling the truth or not. He must have his suspicions. Considering Oscar’s vehement enthusiasm for the book in the past, everyone should have doubts. But going by the nods, most seemed to think he was telling the truth and had made the right decision.
Mr. Delancey wasn’t one of them. “Why not?” he asked.
“I’ve lost interest,” Oscar said flatly.
“You’re not as fickle as that, Barratt.”
Louisa moved up alongside Oscar. “It was likely to cost more to print than we would make back from sales. It was an economic decision, Mr. Delancey. I’m sure that’s something you understand.”
He gave her a shallow bow. “I certainly do.”
Throughout the exchange, I tried to gauge Sir Charles’s response. He looked at ease, as if the announcement had no effect on him. Until he cast one very quick and rather furtive glance at Lord Coyle.
Lord Coyle didn’t notice, but Hope blinked back, startled. If I had to guess, I would say she had been looking for confirmation that Lord Coyle and Sir Charles were meeting in secret and exchanging information. She probably wasn’t entirely sure we’d been telling the truth about them, but that glance convinced her.
I was so intent on the three of them that I failed to notice Matt trying to get my attention until Willie elbowed me and nodded at him. He arched his brows at me in question.
I nodded back. “Excuse me, everyone,” I said over the quiet conversations that Oscar’s announcement had given birth to. “I would also like to tell you something.”
Mrs. Delancey clapped her hands in excitement. “Oh, I do hope it’s what I think it is.”
“That’s enough of that talk,” Willie snapped at her. It would seem Matt had spoken to her and Willie had taken it rather badly. “I need a drink,” she muttered morosely before sinking into the shadows.
“I wanted you all to know that I’m no longer creating spells with Mr. Charbonneau.”
My announcement received louder murmurs than Oscar’s. He looked as disappointed in my news as the others. It was his fiancée who spoke up, however.
“Don’t be absurd, India,” Louisa scoffed. “You were born to create spells. It’s your raison d'être.”
“Her raisin what?” Willie asked.
“I like to think I have other purposes for being on this earth,” I said snippily. “I am more than a magician, I am also a woman, a wife, friend—”
“You’re a powerful magician.” Louisa moved through the gathered guests to stand before me. Her lovely blue eyes focused sharply as if she were trying to drill her point into me. “You are perhaps the strongest of all those who are left. Fabian knows of no stronger in the world and he’s been searching for years.”
She looked to Fabian, but he merely stood there, unmoving. She bristled as she realized he already knew, and he seemed unconcerned.
“India, you have a responsibility to other magicians to expand existing spells and create new ones,” she went on.
“No, I don’t!”
She tilted her head to the side and regarded me as if I were simple. “Is it? If you’re not going to strengthen your lineage then—”
“Pardon?” I spluttered.
“Your children by Mr. Glass will be weaker than you, if they are magicians at all. With an artless father, they might be artless too. And what if their children also marry an artless? Once you are gone, no one else will ever rise again to be as strong.”
“We don’t know that.”
“We do. It’s how magic has been eroded over the centuries. A marriage to an artless here, another there, and within generations magic is weakened. Coupled with the secrecy that had to be maintained for fear of persecution, it’s no wonder spells were forgotten and some magician lineages became impotent altogether. But your magic is strong, India, and with that strength comes a responsibility to the future. If you won’t have magician children then you must create new spells and share those spells. You alone can be the instrument that rejuvenates magic and steers it to power once more.”
“That’s the entire problem,” I bit off. “The power. It’s too easy to abuse. New spells can be stolen by those who would wish to do harm. Nobody can be trusted not to abuse that power, Louisa. Not even you.”
“It is India’s decision to make,” Fabian said.
Louisa shook her head. “But—"
“She is right. It is for the best.”
“Fabian! How can you say that? You of all people should be trying to change her mind.”
“I did try,” he said. “But she is determined and I must respect her decision. So must you, Louisa.” He turned his glare onto Coyle. “All of you.”
Louisa huffed out a breath and marched off to speak to one of the footmen. He opened the door, looked out, and spoke to someone. A moment later the doors opened wide and more footmen entered carrying trays with port and sherry glasses. They offered them to the men.
Out of the corner of my eye I saw Mrs. Delancey make a beeline for Willie as she reached for a glass. Willie quickly snatched it up and proceeded to drain it in front of Mrs. Delancey, a triumphant gleam in her eyes.
“A pretty speech, India,” came Lord Coyle’s deep voice. He stood next to me with Hope on his left, her hand resting lightly on his arm. “But how many in this room believe you?”
“Why wouldn’t they?” I asked.
“Louisa was right, in a way. Magic may not be your raison d'être, but it is certainly a force within you that you cannot deny. It wants to come out.”
“Nonsense. It has been less than a year since I discovered I was a magician and I never once felt like I needed to cast a spell, either before or since.”
“You knew something was missing from your life before you discovered magic, and you felt its absence keenly. It’s why you almost married Hardacre.
Something inside me recoiled at the mention of my former fiancé’s name. “I had my reasons for wanting to marry him that had nothing to do with an empty void that required filling. If you don’t believe that I truly am giving up spell making, then that is not my concern.” I turned to go, but stopped. “Congratulations on the carpet, by the way. I’m very annoyed with Matt for agreeing to your terms. That carpet should have been destroyed as soon as we’d finished with it. I hope you keep to your side of the bargain and leave it in your cupboard with your other magical pieces.”
His answer was a bow.
“Of course we’ll keep it locked away safely,” Hope said.
They moved off to join the Delanceys and I sought out Matt, but he was having a discussion with Sir Charles so I decided to leave them alone and find out later if he’d learned anything important from him.
“I think it worked,” Oscar said as he came up to me.
“What did?” I asked.
“My announcement. I think they believed I’m really giving up the book.”
“Which of course you are. A
ren’t you, Oscar?”
He smiled and nodded.
“Your fiancée is rather upset with me,” I said.
His gaze sought her out and found her by the mantel having a rather heated discussion with Fabian. “Poor Charbonneau,” he said, chuckling. “I should rescue him. She’s probably telling him he should have tried harder to make you change your mind about giving up. The notion horrifies her.” He leaned toward me and whispered conspiratorially. “I want you to know it doesn’t matter to me what you choose to do, India. I agree with Fabian. It’s your choice. If you need to talk about it with an impartial friend, you know where to find me.”
I thanked him. He really was a good man when he wasn’t insisting on writing his book. I watched him move off to chase down a footman carrying a tray loaded with glasses. His step seemed somewhat lighter, his shoulders straighter. The decision to give up the book agreed with him. Indeed, I’d say he was the happiest I’d seen him in a long time. It was why I actually believed he truly intended to stop.
Louisa wouldn’t like it. She would berate him for it, and put enormous pressure on him to continue. Poor Oscar. He didn’t deserve to be treated so cruelly by his fiancée.
When Fabian walked off on Louisa, I intercepted her. “Was that conversation about me?” I asked.
“Among other things.”
“Were those other things about the book?”
She lifted her chin. “That’s none of your affair.”
“Or were you flirting with Fabian again?”
Her jaw dropped. “Pardon?”
“I know you’ve been flirting with him. Fortunately, your fiancé is oblivious.” I leaned closer. “I want you to stop it. It’s grossly unfair on both of them. Oscar doesn’t deserve it and Fabian doesn’t deserve to be put in that position either. They’re honorable, decent men.”
She tossed her fair curls and her eyes flashed. “I don’t need to answer to you.”
“Oscar and Fabian are my friends.”
“Are they?” she sneered. “Then why did you let Fabian down so terribly?” She smiled ruefully at my shock. “I am not the one who ought to apologize. At least I know what I’m doing. I don’t think you’re aware of how much damage you’ve caused.”
