Gossamer in the Darkness (Fantasyland)

Excellent!

However…

“Why would my father do this?”

Carling shrugged. “To learn what ships were docking in what ports in what cities and know what they’re carrying. To understand what was lost in a warehouse fire in Vasterhague before anyone else heard that word.” He took a breath, held my gaze, and continued, “To see to it that a rival took a fall or perhaps drank a hint of poison that might not kill him, but would make him sick, so milord could manipulate his dealings in a manner that was lucrative for himself, and the clients he’d guided to or away from these industries.”

In other words, Edgar Dawes was an even bigger piece of shit than we already knew he was.

“Right,” I whispered.

“We have one issue, milady,” Carling said.

“And that is?”

“Lord Remington’s guards are still here. And last night, another was added who, if I understood his movements correctly, his brief is to be an extra set of eyes on the alley, the street and the park.”

Yep.

There it was.

Carling didn’t miss anything.

And yep.

My man liked me a whole lot and went all out to keep me and my family safe.

“It would seem my fiancé has an adversary he’s taking seriously, and as such, it would seem our assistance is all the more urgent,” I remarked. “Although, I don’t know why the guards are a problem.”

“Some informants approach the house. It is rare, but it happens. And they will be sure to note your guard, and not approach.”

“I see,” I mumbled.

“We will share in our missive that we’ll set a meeting place, should someone have something they wish to say, and they are not to approach the house.”

I smiled. “Grand idea.”

“If someone should have something to tell us, you’ll need to pay for this, milady,” he warned.

“That won’t be a problem,” I lied, because we were rich as sin, Mom had a ton of money in Ansley’s safe, but everything was done on account.

If we had a coffee in a café, they sent word to Carling to pay for it.

If we bought a roll of ribbon to send to Madame Toussaint to add to a gown, same.

And so it went.

I didn’t have any money myself.

But I’d figure it out.

And anyway, Mom was always generous with my allowance, even when we didn’t have much.

I might not let her in on what was going on, but she’d float me some cash.

No problem.

“Let us go to the study for a piece of stationery, return and write this note, Carling.”

His lips curved up and he replied, “Yes, milady. Let’s.”

Chapter Twenty

Le Cirque Magique

Satrine

A block up from our house, around the corner, and just a block further, there were milliners, dressmakers, jewelers, cobblers, bauble shops, tailors, teahouses and candy stores.

A block down from our house, and three blocks in the other direction, there was a large art museum, cafés, restaurants, bookstores, flower shops and sophisticated drinking establishments.

The streets in between were lined with tall, leafy trees (though now, these leaves were turning to wondrous fall colors) and stately black lampposts.

All the buildings were made of a soft gray that was only perhaps three shades deeper than white. They were clean, and there was something in the stone that made it faintly glitter.

Flowers were as they seemed to be everywhere in my limited experience of this world, placed at a priority. Window boxes abounded. Massive urns burst with blooms in front of houses. Beds were filled in the parks. Hanging baskets fell from lampposts. I even saw a few rooftop gardens that appeared especially verdant.

In between these areas, in a way that reminded me of Savannah, but here it was more prolific, there were parks, some large, like the one opposite our house (and, I’d learned, another one opposite Ansley and Loren’s) that took up an entire city block. Some smaller that just offered some greenspace between townhomes.

I loved the area, and Mom, Maxie and I had spent a great deal of time enjoying it.

It was wondrous, as this world seemed wont to be.

But it made me sad that in my old world, the people in power put profit over peace. Building things and selling things and making everything about money, in doing so, covering up all the green.

Make no mistake, even in our area of Newton, one that was clearly clean and upper class, we were in a city and there was hustle and bustle. People going places, striding down the sidewalks. Horses and carriages on the cobbled streets.

But with the trees and the flowers and the green spaces, even with the bustle, there was beauty. There was a sense of serenity. An offer from nature to slow down and witness her abundance and be thankful.

That was my experience in our, perhaps, eight-block radius.

Outside of the ride to the constabulary, I hadn’t seen much of the city.

Until I sat next to Loren on the way to Le Cirque Magique.