“No, that’s quite all right. Listen, Dan—”
But she was interrupted yet again, this time by a young man with a green silk ascot at his throat. He sent a cool glance in Danny’s direction before bowing to Cassie. “May I have this dance?”
Cassie looked as though she’d been told she would be the next Queen of England. Her eyes met Danny’s, but he just shrugged.
“All right,” she agreed faintly. Danny wondered if she had ever danced with a boy other than himself. He suddenly recalled clearing away the furniture in the sitting room when they were younger, Cassie directing him through the steps she’d seen her parents dance at a party.
“Here,” she hissed, shoving the plate of food at him. “Don’t you dare laugh at me!”
She took the young man’s arm and they walked off, Cassie a little unsteady beside the confident gait of her partner.
Cassie proved to be somewhat graceful, and she even let the boy lead. Danny picked at her food as he watched, and his bad mood nearly snuck away from him. But then he wondered what it would be like to be here with Colton. If he weren’t a clock spirit, but a human boy, living and breathing and able to eat delicious, if impractical, finger foods.
He imagined leading Colton across the floor, stepping and swirling in time to each sprawling note, the bend of a smiling mouth, the glimmer of golden eyes. His hand on Colton’s waist to draw him close. The glow of the chandelier catching their edges and setting them alight.
Danny set the plate down, no longer hungry.
The song ended and Cassie curtsied awkwardly to her partner. They exchanged a few words before Cassie made her way back to Danny, flushed and out of breath.
“That I should not like to repeat,” she said, fanning her face.
“You liked it.”
She opened her mouth to deny it, but at that moment Danny heard his name. Turning, he spotted a few apprentices and a mechanic moving toward them.
“All right, Danny?” Lucas asked. His brown hair had been slicked back, and his eyes were bright. He sounded friendly enough, but made no attempt to hide a smug smile.
Danny recognized this group. They weren’t exactly the kindest crowd in the Mechanics Union. A blonde apprentice clung to Lucas’s arm, eyeing Cassie. The girl’s upper lip curled.
“All right,” Danny replied cautiously. “Didn’t know you’d be here, Lucas.”
“Sure. Smart thing to do, isn’t it? Socialize, meet other successful young people like ourselves. Well, nearly all of us, anyway.”
Danny narrowed his eyes. “Are you suggesting something?”
“Oh, not at all. You’re a young mechanic, Danny, and plenty successful. Bar that one minor incident, of course.” He tapped his chin, and Danny wished he could cover his own. “Some of the others, though …” Lucas followed his companion’s gaze to Cassie, who tightened her hand on Danny’s elbow. “What’s this? I thought you weren’t for the ladies, Danny.”
“I’m his friend,” Cassie said, her voice cold enough to ice over the punch bowls. “We’ve known each other since we were children.”
“How sweet,” Lucas said. “Now I see why you don’t like ladies.”
Danny shook off Cassie’s hand and stepped forward. He was as tall as Lucas, but that’s where their similarities ended. Lucas boasted a broad chest and thick arms. Danny wouldn’t last long against him.
“Don’t!” Cassie whispered. “It’s not worth it.”
“What did you mean by that, Lucas?” Danny growled.
Lucas held up his hands. “Only that with such a fine lady in your sights for so long, all other women must have been spoiled for you.” The others grinned.
Damn Lucas. Damn him and his stupid, long eyelashes.
“How have the assignments been?” Lucas asked. “You were in Enfield, weren’t you?”
The town’s name made Danny’s heart stutter.
“I was in Guildford, myself. Rather nice clock tower there, if you haven’t been. But that’s beans compared to the new assignment they’ve put me on.”
“And where might that be?”
“The new Maldon tower.”
The room came to a standstill. Though others danced and talked and laughed all around them, Danny stood in a pocket of stillness, deprived of his senses except for the ring of one crucial question: Why?
“He’s chosen you?” The words strangled his throat. “You?”
“Why, Danny, I thought you’d be happy for me.” Lucas’s smile turned cruel. “Maybe if you’re extra good, I’ll tell the Lead you ought to assist me there. Teach you a thing or two. After all, you need more friends.”
“You must be his only one,” an older apprentice said to Cassie. Danny remembered him from his classes. “He never visits anyone else except that old washed-out mechanic.”
“And an unknown chap in Rotherfield,” Lucas added with amusement.
“Stop it!”