“You do?”
She nodded. “I heard something at the Haymarket that might help us.” He gave her a quizzical look, but she ignored the question in his eyes. “The Order has a big party coming up for the equinox. It would be a shame if their entertainment canceled on them, don’t you think?”
His expression shifted. “That should be easy enough. I’ll talk to Dolph—it’ll keep him happy to be in on the action.” Something like relief flashed in his usually stormy eyes, softening them. Suddenly he looked like the boy in the basement of the theater, the boy she’d wanted to know better.
The boy she’d eventually betray.
Her heart twisted, but she ignored it. The deception was necessary. It was like Professor Lachlan had taught her: Emotions were a trap. Nothing was more important than the job.
THE BALANCE OF POWER
Nearly a week later, Dolph Saunders watched from the window of Harte Darrigan’s apartment as Jack Grew helped Esta out of an unremarkable carriage. The girl smiled up at Jack and allowed herself to be walked to the door, but once the pair was close to the building, Dolph could no longer see them.
“Are they back yet?” Nibs asked from the doorway to the kitchen.
“Esta is. She’ll be up soon.”
The rooms were large and airy, clean and comfortably furnished. The boy had done well, and he’d done it on his own. Dolph himself had never had the chance to create a life like this, but for a moment he imagined what it might have been like if he’d chosen another path. If Leena had married him, they could have built a life on lies, moving uptown and pretending to be a normal couple, a normal family.
But they had started down this path together, and now he wouldn’t turn from it.
A few minutes later the girl let herself in. She startled—but only a little—when she saw him and Nibs waiting.
She took her time about removing her hat and cloak, placing them neatly on the rack by the door. “What are you two doing here?” she asked, turning back to him.
“Waiting for one of you to return,” he said flatly. “We came to check on you.”
“I didn’t know you were into personal service,” she said dryly. There was something brittle in her voice, and her expression was hard as flint. He had the unwelcome sense that something had changed for her, and he wasn’t sure why that bothered him. But he hadn’t survived so long by ignoring his instincts.
“I’m not usually, but when I feel that people are hiding something from me, I’m willing to make exceptions.”
“I’m not hiding anything. I’ve told him everything since you sent me over here,” she said, nodding toward Nibs. “You could call him off, you know. I don’t need him checking every day. Every other day might be a nice change.”
Nibs gave her a wry grin. “And here I thought you were starting to like me.”
“Enough,” Dolph said before Esta could respond. He’d already seen the table in the kitchen piled with papers and maps, drawings and diagrams. They were farther than he’d suspected. “You’re sure you’ve told him everything?” he asked, eyeing her.
“Yes, of course.” She met his eyes, her expression calm and determined.
He waited for the lie, but he didn’t sense it. Perhaps she was simply better at concealing her thoughts. She had the same straight-backed sense of her own abilities that she’d had the first night, and the air around her still tasted of desire and ambition. Dolph liked that about her, but it still worried him.
“Well?” he asked, dispensing with the pleasantries. “Show me.”
“Everything’s in the kitchen.”
They followed her into the small room. Nibs took an orange from the bowl on the table as Esta leaned over a diagram of Khafre Hall and made a note on the western side of the building. Then she walked them both through everything—the four dinners she’d had with Jack, the way he seemed intent on boasting about his knowledge of the Order. It was clear he was trying to use his status to impress her and to take advantage of her, just as they’d expected.
“He’s been bragging to Harte about how easily swayed I am by his pretty face and deep pockets,” she told Dolph. “As if I don’t know all his money comes from his family. I’d almost feel bad about the position he’s going to be in when we’re through with him if he weren’t so insufferable.”
“You’ve done well,” Dolph said, glancing at Nibs. He’d left much of the details about their progress out of his reports. Someone was lying, but to his frustration, Dolph couldn’t have said who it was. He’d trusted Nibs for so long, but the girl seemed sincere as well.
“The Mysterium has to be below this room,” she said, pointing to a spot on the map.
“I thought the boiler room was there,” Nibs said, turning the paper to get a better view.
“It is. But Jack mentioned something tonight that I think we can use.” Her excitement was palpable. “The building goes deeper here than we thought.” She pointed to a spot on the plans beneath Khafre Hall’s central meeting room.
“You know that for sure?” Dolph asked.
“Pretty sure. Apparently, they picked this particular location for their headquarters on purpose. Something to do with the congruence of the elements.” She glanced up at him with a puzzled look. “I don’t really understand half of what Jack said, but the main point is that the whole place is built over one of the city’s lost rivers. Something about making sure the elemental powers were balanced.”
“You’re sure about this?” Dolph felt some of his earlier concern about the girl receding.
“I’m positive. Jack was so anxious to make sure that I knew he understood all about the importance of aligning the elements, he practically drew me a map.” She smiled up at him, and for a moment he had a thought of Leena.
Ridiculous. Esta looked nothing like her. But there was something in the way she carried herself, something about her confidence that tugged at memories best left buried. Maybe Viola had been right—he was too soft on her. He could only hope he wouldn’t live to regret that.
“Does that change anything?” he asked Nibs.
The boy considered it. “If there’s a river under there, we would have a second way in—or out. We’d have to account for that.”
“Have you told Darrigan about this?” he asked Esta.
“Yes,” a voice said from behind them. “Have you told Darrigan about this?”
AN INVITATION