“Not all men,” I say softly.
“No. Not all.”
“How did Lord Downpike know?”
“About what?”
“About how much you loved this painting. How did he know to dress me like a fire-petal on the evening of the gala?”
“Lord Downpike has never seen this painting, nor does he know how much it meant to me. I will allow him no credit for the vision of beauty you were that night.”
I look down, trying to control the smile taking over my face. So be it, Fate, whatever you are. I will stay this course, come what may. “I am deeply sorry. For what I said, and what I assumed about—”
“Never apologize to me. For anything. I’m glad you’re here. Though . . . how did you get in?”
“The bathroom. You really ought to lock your windows, arrogant magician. And don’t be too pleased. I’m merely here to ask you to take on Jacky Boy and Ma’ati immediately. And to visit my bird, of course.”
Finn stands, no trace of the cat in his smile, only sincere and open happiness. “Of course.”
Twenty-four
I SIT IN A SUN-DRENCHED SPOT NEAR THE FLOOR-to-ceiling windows in the library. Finn won’t tell me where it looks out to, and the glass is treated so that outside is nothing but bright blurs of color. This is my favorite room in all of Avebury.
Assuming, of course, that the windows actually look out on Avebury. Which I have found is not a safe assumption. Nothing is a safe assumption in this house, considering one of the doors next to the bathroom opens into my room at the hotel—an addition Finn insists he made while he was staying there.
After much pestering, Finn admitted he inherited most of the house from his parents. They’d taken the time to craft doors and spell them to open onto several residences throughout the city. One room from a house in Kingston neighborhood, another near the palace, another on the outskirts of the city along the river, so on and so forth. I haven’t been in most of them—it makes me nervous to open a door not knowing where it will take me—but it does solve the problem of finding space in a crowded city.
I find myself spending more and more time here. Using a new front door in the park, of course. I made him remove the door that connected to my hotel room. Though it would have been convenient . . .
Finn does not seem to mind my visits. Neither do I.
I watch him, bent over two books, comparing things and taking notes. That’s his main occupation. I write essays and study calculus. He copies things from the book that is Sir Bird and tries to puzzle out what the particular spells accomplish. His playful, arrogant face is nowhere to be found. A line takes up residence between his eyebrows, and I find myself wanting to trace it with my fingertip.
He looks up and catches me staring, so I stammer, “I—I thought I told you not to wear the brown tie anymore.”
“When did you tell me that?”
“I told your shadow.”
He laughs. “I promised you I wasn’t an eavesdropper. Any future instructions should be delivered in person.” He turns back to the book but I lean forward, wanting to keep him in conversation.
“Are you certain Ma’ati and Jacky Boy are out of harm’s way at your country estate?”
“Yes, of course. No one knows where it is.”
“Why did you hire them? I thought you couldn’t keep servants.”
“You trust them. That was recommendation enough for me. Besides, I’ve met Jacabo and can’t imagine a better man to employ.”
“What happens if they go through a closet door and end up on the moon, or wherever else your strange hallways lead?”
“The estate is relatively untouched. They should find nothing out of the ordinary.”
“Did you grow up there?”
His face clouds. “No. I was raised in a different house.”
I wait for him to offer more information about his childhood, but he is quiet as always on that subject so I let him go back to his studies while I continue mapping differentials, my mind only half on the problems. I am looking forward to finishing up this season of course work and taking more challenging classes, though again I will not be allowed in the advanced mathematics.