The Lady Heiress (The Zero Enigma Book 8)

by Christopher G. Nuttall

  The corridor felt strange as I headed down it, trying to look as if I were lost as I kept my eye out for anything interesting. My father’s notes had suggested there were at least four offices on the floor, although the papers were outdated and it was hard to tell how much of the information remained useful. Sweat trickled down my spine as I passed the bathroom - it wasn’t obvious, I told myself - and kept going. The first office door was closed and locked. I knocked, planning to ask for directions if someone answered. There was no answer. I breathed a sigh of relief, then opened my senses to feel for the charm on the door. There wasn’t one. I blinked in surprise, casting a lock-picking spell. The door clicked open. A trap? Very few people would risk using a merely physical lock to keep a door closed, particularly in a school - or a Great House - full of magicians. I nudged the door open and peered inside. The office was larger than mine, but surprisingly modest. A small portrait of the Aguirre Triplets hung on one wall, a slightly larger painting of Akin Rubén on the other. I stared at it for a moment, then hurried forward. Time was not on my side.

  My eyes narrowed as I surveyed the desk. There were no protective charms, nothing that might slow me for even a second or two. The desk itself was bare, save for a single notebook that appeared to be blank. I stared at the chair, oddly bemused. There was nothing there, no hint it was anything more than a stage ... a shiver ran down my spine as I turned away. The drawers wouldn’t be left unprotected unless there was nothing to protect. I muttered a curse as I headed for the door, then froze. I heard footsteps coming down the hall.

  And the door is open, I thought. I’d nudged it closed, but I hadn’t relocked it. Crap.

  I hastily wrapped an invisibility spell around myself. It might not last long - I had my doubts, particularly if whoever was coming was already suspicious - but it might just last long enough to let me get out. If they thought to use the wards to look for me ... I braced myself as the door was pushed open and Caitlyn Aguirre stepped into the room. I froze, hardly daring to breathe. I’d hidden from older students before, but Caitlyn was a girl with a very unusual talent. The rumours were so wild that it was hard to know what to take seriously and what to dismiss as obvious nonsense. She’d been popularly supposed to have no magic, as a child. I hadn’t known her - we hadn’t moved in the same circles - but I doubted the rumour would have been so persistent if there hadn’t been some truth to it. And there had.

  My eyes bored into her back as she walked across the room. She wore a short-sleeved white dress covered in burn marks and stains that suggested she’d been hard at work. Her muscles stood out, suggesting she was a lot stronger than most girls her age. Forgers generally were, but aristocratic parents usually tried to keep girls from becoming forgers out of fear they’d injure or kill themselves. I caught a glimpse of a scar on her hand, one nasty enough to make me wince. She’d probably hurt herself long ago. She was prettier than Alana, the catty part of my mind noted, but ... different. There was something odd about her, something wrong. I could feel it.

  I glanced back at the door. It was still open. Caitlyn rustled through the drawers, looking for ... something. I guessed it was her office. Who else would have a painting of Akin on their wall? I braced myself, then started to inch towards the door. Caitlyn had gone to school too, but she’d only lasted one year. She’d gone elsewhere, when her talents had become apparent. I wasn’t sure why she’d left - she could have built an entire web of contacts over the last six years - but it didn’t matter. The odds were good she didn’t know what to listen for, the subtle signs that someone was creeping around under an invisibility spell. I felt sweat trickling down my back as I slipped out the door, hoping and praying she didn’t hear anything. If she came after me ...

  A thought crossed my mind. If she doesn’t have any magic, and she doesn’t have any way to see me when I’m invisible, she must be terrifyingly vulnerable.

  I hesitated as I reached the bathroom and stepped inside. My hands were starting to shake. I dispelled the invisibility charm as quickly as possible, taking deep breaths until I was sure I had everything under control. I sagged against the wall. That had been too close. If Alana had been there, or Bella, it would have been the end. Caitlyn was the only one who might not be able to see me, not without help. I stared at my reflection, trying not to remember what had happened the last time I’d been caught. That had been bad. Getting caught here would be worse. I splashed water on my face, then headed for the door. I’d already been away far too long.

  Alana glanced up as I entered the library. “You took your time.”

  “It’s a very bad time,” I said, shortly. I was fairly sure she’d draw the right conclusion, without me having to spell anything out. “I’m sorry.”

  “No worries.” Alana nodded to Jayne. “We were just talking about practical potions.”

  “Good.” I forced myself to sit and relax, drinking my tea. The day hadn’t quite been wasted - I’d still get something from the visit - but I’d come far too close to total disaster. “I enjoy working with potions. Sometimes.”

  Alana looked as if she thought she’d managed to get an edge over me. I found it hard to care. Much. I’d never cared for girls like her ... I shook my head. It didn’t matter. A dozen nasty comments ran through my head, a dozen topics that would put her firmly in her place ... no, it would be pointless. Alana should enjoy what remained of her childhood as long as possible. She’d be an adult soon enough, perhaps within a couple of months. Her family could hardly refuse to recognise Caitlyn as a legal adult for much longer. Their enemies would call foul.

  “I know a couple of boys who are looking for wives,” Alana said. “Are you interested?”

  “I’m always interested in opening discussions,” I lied, smoothly. Alana wouldn’t have raised the subject out of the goodness of her heart. There had to be something in it for her somewhere. “But I can’t promise anything.”

  “I suppose not,” Alana said. “Perhaps you can meet them at the ball.”

  “Perhaps I can,” I said. I supposed it must look easy, to her. I could propose someone as a match to myself, then ask myself for my approval. “What about yourself? Has anyone sought your hand in marriage?”

  “Too many.” Alana’s hand played with her braids. “I’m still looking for the right one.”

  Someone wealthy and powerful, I mused. It wasn’t going to be easy. There weren’t many boys who came close to her in wealth and power. Akin was the only one who came to mind - at least, the only one of the same age - and he was already betrothed to Alana’s sister. She might have to look for someone outside the city.

  Alana looked up. “They’re calling us back,” she said. “Shall we go?”

  I tried not to show my concern as she led us back to her father’s office. If someone had spotted me, or sensed my presence, they could use the wards to track me. I wasn’t fool enough to think I could fight my way out. And even if I could ... I shook my head, putting my fears out of my mind. If I fled the hall, I’d have to flee the city too. That would be the end too.

  “We’ve haggled over terms,” Lord Aguirre said. He held out a legal scroll. “And we believe we have reached something suitable.”

  I took the scroll and opened it so both Jayne and I could read. The terms were very simple, surprisingly so. The potioneers would brew potions, following a recipe - or a set of recipes - laid out by House Aguirre. They’d be paid a reasonable rate and supplied with most of the ingredients free of charge. And I’d get a tiny percentage of the profits. It wasn’t much, by House Aguirre’s standards, but it was a steady income I desperately needed. I’d find a use for the money. I already had a couple of ideas.

  “I think this would be acceptable,” I said. I could have demanded a bigger share, if the potioneers had been my clients, but I doubted it would work here. “Mistress Jayne?”

  “It looks good,” Jayne said. “I notice it can be cancelled by either or both parties.”

  “We may decide we don’t need your brews,” L
ord Aguirre said. “And you may decide you don’t like working for us.”

  I frowned, wondering - not for the first time - why they needed so many brewers. It wasn’t something I could ask. I had a feeling he wouldn’t tell me. And ... I shook my head. It didn’t matter. I wasn’t competing with House Aguirre. I’d be squashed flat in seconds, and that would be that. I would just have to keep manipulating things until I earned enough money to start climbing back to the top.

  And throwing cash at vague ideas, I mused. There were a dozen Great Houses that had started their climb to power through patenting something that had proved impossible to duplicate. If we got sole control of a really big breakthrough ...

  We shook hands and exchanged polite and largely insincere compliments before we were shown to the door. I felt sweat on my back as we walked down the stairs and clambered into the carriage, feeling as if someone was pointing a spellcaster at my back. If I’d been wrong, if Caitlyn had sensed me ... nothing happened as the carriage rattled into life, heading down the drive and out onto the street. I told myself I’d been lucky, and ...

  I felt a thrill as I leaned back in my seat. I hadn’t tried to sneak into the very highest levels of the mansion - I doubted I could do that, not without help - but still ... I’d sneaked in and out of one of the most heavily-defended buildings in the city. I felt my smile grow wider as I realised I’d gotten away with it. I was safe. And I could do it again.

  Quit while you’re ahead, my thoughts said. They sounded like Uncle Jalil. You don’t need to keep taking these risks ...

  But it’s fun, I answered. The thrill hadn’t faded, not yet. I can’t stop now.

  “Thank you for this,” Jayne said. She shook my hand, firmly. “We’ll make sure you get your share of the profits.”

  I nodded, feeling a twinge of ... disquiet. The contracts were boring. Honest business work was tedious. I needed to do it, but ... it was mind-numbing. I wanted to plan my next move, not spend hours wrestling with contracts or paying bills or any one of a thousand duties that had fallen to me. I understood, now, why my father had kept rolling the dice. Gambling was addictive, even if one was losing. And neither of us could stop.

  Like father, like daughter, I thought. The thrill was just too great. I can’t stop now.

  Chapter Twenty

  The chaos that gripped the city over the following month - the infernal devices, the socialist marches - had surprisingly little impact on me or my house. There were some advantages to being small. House Lamplighter had no assets to target, no stake in the fight ... I listened to arguments from both sides in Magus Court, then sold my vote to the highest bidder. I spent the time hosting parties for the aristocracy, learning and practicing all kinds of magic and doing everything in my power to gather more information I could use. I wasn’t always successful - I made the mistake of taking one braggart seriously, when I should have just dismissed him - but I made enough money to start planning for the future. It was just a shame there were so many limits on my resources.

  “We could replace the farm managers with new staff,” I said, one afternoon. I’d read a story in the newspaper about a farmer who’d turned a dying farm into a money-making machine and started undercutting his competitors. “The demand for cheap food is soaring.”

  “The family council would revolt,” Uncle Jalil pointed out. “They made commitments to the managers and their families a long time before your father took up his post.”

  I scowled. I’d gone through my father’s private notes, but found almost nothing of importance. He’d collected books and scraps of information and very little of it was particularly helpful. I was gloomily aware I was barely keeping the family afloat, despite the money I was earning through insider trading. Six weeks of running the family had convinced me I might have made a mistake when I’d accepted the post. It might have been smarter to turn the family over to one of my elderly relatives - tradition be damned - and try to find a place somewhere else before the inevitable collapse.

  “Perhaps we could find a way to dislodge them,” I said, although it was little more than wishful thinking. What sort of idiot made farm management hereditary? Reading between the lines, I had a feeling family politics had gotten poisonous seventy years ago. I was fairly sure someone had pulled a fast one. I just wasn’t sure who. “Is there nothing we can offer them?”

  “No,” Uncle Jalil said. “You can’t offer them anything that’ll make up for losing their position as big fish in a small pond.”

  “Fine.” I glared down at the account books. “We’ll just have to find another way to deal with them.”

  Uncle Jalil shot me a warning look. He hadn’t said anything since he’d chewed me out for insider trading, but I was fairly sure he knew what I was doing. I let out a heavy sigh. I couldn’t think of any other way to make money, not in the time I had. The family council was probably already on the brink of revolt, silently counting down the days until I could be removed on some trumped-up charge and replaced by someone who’d ... who’d do what? I snorted at the thought. If one of the old fogies had a way to save us, surely they would have suggested it? I had few qualms about stealing an idea simply because it came from an elderly relative. It might even have worked.

  “You have to get ready for the ball tonight,” Uncle Jalil reminded me, instead. Perhaps he thought it would distract me from something dubious. “You’ll have people coming from all over the city.”

  I nodded, stiffly. The younger aristos were throwing party after party. I’d worked hard to make sure most of them were held at Lamplighter Hall. The younger aristos appreciated the limited chaperonage, while the older generation understood things wouldn’t be allowed to get too far out of hand. It wasn’t ideal - I had a feeling my ancestors were sharpening their knives, just waiting for me to join them - but it was better than nothing. Besides, I’d taken advantage of the opportunity to listen to the guests. I’d picked up quite a few tips just by overhearing their conversations. I was even starting to build a public reputation as a shrewd investor.

  “I’ll see to it,” I said. I’d hired more servants for the balls, but I couldn’t afford to permanently put them on the payroll. The party season would dry up when the summer came to an end. “You concentrate on the accounts.”

  Uncle Jalil bowed stiffly, then left the office. I felt a pang of regret. We’d never been quite as close since he’d figured out what I’d done, even though he hadn’t been able to suggest anything better. He was an accountant, after all. He knew the risks ... he’d pointed them out, in great and tedious detail. I stood, brushing down my dress. We simply weren’t bringing in enough money to meet our expenses, no matter how much we scrimped and saved. The farm managers weren’t the only people standing in my way.

  And we can be outbid by almost everyone else, I mused, as I turned my attention to the stack of letters and invitations. I’d been invited to a dozen new balls, including Ayesha and Zeya McDonald’s coming out party. Their family was wealthy, wealthy and powerful enough to claim a place at the very heart of the city. There has to be something I can learn there.

  I smirked at the thought. It had been a long time since I’d laid eyes on Ayesha and Zeya McDonald, but I knew their family by reputation. They had a history of feuding with nearly everyone else, even though there was a great deal more to be gained by cooperation. Now ... they had to work with the other Great Houses if they wanted to forestall House Rubén and House Aguirre from dominating the city. I had a feeling that wasn’t going to go well. A Great House with a reputation for vindictiveness would have problems coming to terms with its neighbours. If I wasn’t so desperate, I would have thought twice about trying to search their hall.

  But we are desperate, I reminded myself. We simply don’t have any other options.

  I spent the afternoon reading files, practicing spells and - finally - changing into my hostess outfit as the first guests arrived. The only real advantage to being host, I decided, was that I didn’t have to compete with the other g
irls. I didn’t have to wear an exclusive dress, I didn’t have to flirt with all the boys, I didn’t have ... I shook my head as I made my way downstairs. I wasn’t content to be a brainless beauty, parading around the dance floor and leaving everything to my elders and betters. I wanted to do something more with my life.

  “Lady Lamplighter,” Akin Rubén said, as he was shown into the hall. “Thank you for hosting us.”

  “It’s my pleasure,” I assured him. Akin had planned the party, at least partly - I was sure - to give him a chance to spend time with Caitlyn away from home. They’d be closely watched when they were together, I was sure. Too much rested on their match for their families to take any risks. “I hope you have a pleasant evening.”

  Akin grinned. “We’ll see,” he said. “It depends on the guests.”

  I nodded as the hall started to fill up. It said a great deal about Akin’s importance, I reflected rather sourly, that his guests weren’t that fashionably late. The majority came within ten minutes of the opening time, rather than delaying long enough to make it clear they were honouring him with their presence. I doubted I could have convinced half the guests to come, let alone arrive within half an hour of the announced start time. They just didn’t care about me.