“Selfish, greedy little man,” Louisa spat. “You choose money over allowing magicians to live a free life.”
Sir Charles bristled. To my surprise, so did Matt. It was he who spoke while Sir Charles searched for a response.
“They won’t be free. Not if the book is published. Magicians will be reviled and feared by their artless competitors and that will lead to their persecution. History shows us what the majority do to the minorities they fear.”
“Magic is common knowledge now, Mr. Glass,” Louisa said. “It’s too late to suppress that knowledge now.”
“It’s not too late. Thanks to your fiancé’s articles, some suspect, that’s true, but not all. If the book is published…” His gaze shifted to Oscar. “If the world knew about magicians, I’m afraid they’d suffer persecution.”
Sir Charles cleared his throat. “Agreed. Now, if you don’t mind, I have to return to work. I’m late enough as it is.”
“Not yet,” Matt said. “Were you being honest when you claimed you didn’t shoot at Barratt?”
“Of course. I did not shoot at him, nor did I get him dismissed from the paper.” He turned to Oscar. “You have my word as a gentleman.”
Oscar’s lip lifted in a sneer.
Louisa tugged her fiancé toward the door, and I followed them.
“Am I still invited to your meeting tonight?” Sir Charles asked.
Louisa glanced back at him over her shoulder. “Of course. You are a club member.”
Outside on the pavement, Oscar extricated himself from Louisa, who’d continued to cling to his arm. “I don’t think he should be invited,” he said. “Can’t you ban him?”
“That’s not how it works, Oscar. He’s a member. It’s not up to me.”
“You can ban him from your house.”
She gave him an arched look.
“I’m sure either he or Coyle had me dismissed from the paper. My editor is a good fellow. He likes me. He wouldn’t get rid of me unless someone forced his hand.”
Matt opened the door of our waiting carriage and extended his hand to assist me inside. “Coyle is the most likely suspect. He has the greater influence.”
“I’ll confront him tonight,” Oscar growled.
“You’ll do no such thing,” his fiancée shot back. “Besides, you don’t need to work. I can support us both.”
“When are you getting married?” I asked as I smoothed the blanket over my lap.
“Soon,” Louisa said from the pavement.
Oscar looked away.
Matt offered to drive them home but both declined. He gave our coachman, Woodall, instructions before climbing in and sitting beside me.
“India, will you come to the meeting tonight?” Louisa asked before Matt closed the door. “You too, Mr. Glass, of course.”
“Thank you for including me, but I have a prior engagement tonight.” Matt’s wry tone wasn’t lost on me, but Louisa didn’t flinch.
“Do come, India. You’ll be most welcome, as always. The members of the club adore you, and there’ll be a special guest tonight too.”
“I’ll come,” I said.
“Wonderful. We begin at eight.”
Louisa and Oscar stepped back and our coach rolled off. I took Matt’s hand. “Before you comment, you should know that I only agreed to attend so that I can spy on Sir Charles. I might learn something about him by observing him more closely.”
“I wasn’t going to comment.” He leaned back to look at me better. “Did you think I’d forbid you?”
“You wouldn’t dare. But I thought you might question my judgement.”
“Never. Your judgement is perfectly sound.”
I tilted my head to the side. “But…?”
“But I think you should take Duke or Cyclops with you, just in case.”
“Not Willie?”
“I want you protected, not thrust into the path of scandal or danger.”
Willie would not be left out, however. Since Duke and Cyclops were both coming with me, she was determined to accompany us.
“You ain’t going to miss out on anything,” Duke told her. “It’ll just be the usual toffs boasting about the usual magical things they’ve bought.”
Willie accepted her Stetson from Bristow. “I ain’t got nothing better to do, seeing as Farnsworth’s with Matt at his club. Besides, Louisa always has nice food.”
“She has a French chef,” I told her.
Bristow gasped.
We all stared at him. “Is something the matter?” I asked.
He checked over his shoulder then leaned closer. “Don’t let Mrs. Potter hear you mention French chefs. She doesn’t like them.”
“All of them?”
“One in particular, a Monsieur Claud, a chef-for-hire who caters for parties at the finest houses. Apparently she disparaged his pastry and he heard about it, and now they’re having an ongoing war.”
“A war over pastry. How extraordinary.”
“Ain’t no contest,” Cyclops said. “Mrs. Potter makes the best pastry.”
“You haven’t tried the French chef’s yet,” Duke said.
“I don’t need to.”
I patted Cyclops’s arm. “Mrs. Potter will be pleased to hear you say that.”
He sighed. “I’m going to miss her cooking when Catherine and I set up our own house.”
It was the first time I’d heard him admit that he and Catherine would have a life together soon. I was shocked into speechlessness but immensely pleased. They both deserved happiness.
I spent the journey to Louisa’s townhouse with a smile on my face. I was even looking forward to the evening, particularly once Willie told me that Lord Farnsworth had informed her that the guest of honor tonight was a toymaker magician. Most magicians performed magic on a natural element, such as metal, wood, cotton, silk, or even the human body. My magic worked with crafted objects—watches and clocks—that could contain more than one element. I infused my magic into the watch, not its metal components. A toymaker magician would work the same way.
It was an important difference between the magics, and one that had me curious about the nature of magic. While all magicians were craftsmen—even Gabe Seaford, the doctor magician—our magic didn’t manifest in the same manner.
Before he left the house, Matt had asked me not to tell the toymaker magician my name. After Amelia Moreton, the fireworks magician, tried to force me to infuse my extension spell with her friend’s magic, Matt worried that other magicians would try to do the same. Despite keeping Amelia’s threats out of the newspapers, word would have got out among certain magicians that I could extend the length of other magicians’ magic. The Pandora’s box had been opened and we could not close it again, but I liked to think common sense would prevail and no one else would go to the extremes Amelia had.
Matt wasn’t quite as trusting.
Louisa didn’t bat an eyelid at my inviting extra guests to her soiree, but others narrowed their gaze at first and widened them again upon seeing Willie. With her thumbs hooked into her belt loops, the men’s clothing and disheveled hair, she was quite the curiosity among the elegant ladies in their evening gowns. Those who’d met her before gave forced smiles as she passed, while others changed direction to avoid crossing her path altogether. Only Mrs. Delancey surged towards her like a steam engine encased in purple silk with velvet trim.