"Your power is impressive, Tessa, but you are in no position to capture a powerful adult magic user like Mortmain. You Will leave that to me," he said.
She scowled at him. "And how do you plan not to be recognized at this ball? Benedict knows your face, as do-"
Will seized the invitation out of her hand and waved it at her. "Its a masked ball. "
"And I suppose you just happen to have a mask. "
"As a matter of fact I do," said Will. "Our last Christmas party was themed along the lines of the Venetian Carnevale. " He smirked. "Tel her, Sophie. "
Sophie, who was busy with what looked like a concoction of spiderwebs and moonbeams on the brushing tray, sighed. "Its true, miss. And you let him deal with Mortmain, you hear? Its too dangerous otherwise. And youl be all the way in Chiswick!"
Will looked at Tessa with triumph. "If even Sophie agrees with me, you cant very well say no. "
"I could," Tessa said mutinously, "but I wont. Very well. But you must stay out of Nates way while I speak with him. He isnt an idiot; if he sees us together, hes quite capable of putting two and two together. I get no sense from his note that he expects Jessamine to be accompanied. "
"I get no sense from his note at all," said Will, bounding to his feet, "except that he can quote Tennysons lesser poetry. Sophie, how quickly can you have Tessa ready?"
"Half an hour," said Sophie, not looking up from the dress.
"Meet me in the courtyard in half an hour, then," said Will. "Ill wake Cyril.
And be prepared to swoon at my finery. "
The night was a cool one, and Tessa shivered as she passed through the doors of the Institute and stood at the head of the steps outside. This was where she had sat, she thought, that night she and Jem had walked to Blackfriars Bridge together, the night the clockwork creatures had attacked them. It was a clearer night tonight, despite the day of rain; the moon chased stray wisps of cloud across an otherwise unmarked black sky.
The carriage was there, at the foot of the steps, Will waiting in front of it.
He glanced up as the doors of the Institute closed behind her. For a moment they simply stood and looked at each other. Tessa knew what he was seeing -she had seen it herself, in the mirror in Jessamines room. She was Jessamine down to the last inch, clothed in a delicate ivory silk dress. It was lowcut, revealing a great deal of Jessamines white bosom, with a silk ribbon at the col ar to emphasize the shape of her throat. The sleeves were short, leaving her arms vulnerable to the night air. Even if the neckline hadnt been so low, Tessa would have felt naked without her angel, but she couldnt wear it: Nate would have been sure to notice it. The skirt, with a waterfal train, bel ed out behind her from a laced, slender waist; her hair was dressed high, with a length of pearls held in place by pearl pins, and she wore a gold domino half mask that set off Jessamines pale, fair hair to perfection. I look so delicate, she had thought with detachment, staring at the mirrors silvered surface as Sophie had fussed about her. Like a faerie princess. It was easy to think such thoughts when the reflection was not truly your own.
But Will -Will. He had said she should be ready to swoon at his finery, and she had rol ed her eyes, but in his black and white evening dress, he looked more beautiful than she had imagined. The stark and simple colors brought out the angular perfection of his features. His dark hair tumbled over a black half mask that emphasized the blueness of the eyes behind it. She felt her heart contract, and hated herself instantly for it. She looked away from him, at Cyril, in the drivers seat of the carriage. His eyes narrowed in confusion as he saw her; he looked from her to Will, and back again, and shrugged. Tessa wondered what on earth Will had told him they were doing to explain the fact that he was taking Jessamine to Chiswick in the middle of the night. It must have been quite a story.
"Ah," was all Will said as she descended the steps and drew her wrap around herself. She hoped he would put down to the cold the involuntary shiver that went over her as he took her hand. "I see now why your brother quoted that execrable poetry. You are meant to be Maud, arent you? Queen rose of the rosebud garden of girls?"
"You know," Tessa said as he helped her up into the carriage, "I dont care for that poem either. "
He swung himself up after her and slammed the carriage door shut.
"Jessamine adores it. "
The carriage began to rumble across the cobblestones, and through the open doors of the gate. Tessa found that her heart was beating very fast.
Fear of being caught by Charlotte and Henry, she told herself. Nothing to do with being alone with Will in the carriage. "I am not Jessamine. "
He looked at her level y. There was something in his eyes, a sort of quizzical admiration; she wondered if it was simply admiration of Jessamines looks. "No," he said. "No, even though you are the perfect picture of Jessamine, I can see Tessa through it somehow-as if, if I were to scrape away a layer of paint, there would be my Tessa underneath. "
"I am not your Tessa either. "
The light sparkling in his eyes dimmed. "Fair enough," he said. "I suppose you are not. What is it like, being Jessamine, then? Can you sense her thoughts? Read what she feels?"
Tessa swal owed, and touched the velvet curtain of the carriage with a gloved hand. Outside she could see the gaslights going by in a yel ow blur; two children were slumped in a doorway, leaning against each other, asleep.
Temple Bar flew by overhead. She said, "I tried. Upstairs in her bedroom.
But theres something wrong. I-I couldnt feel anything from her. "
"Well, I suppose its hard to meddle in someones brains if theyve got no brains to start with. "
Tessa made a face. "Be flippant about it if you like, but there is something wrong with Jessamine. Trying to touch her mind is like trying to touch-a nest of snakes, or a poisonous cloud. I can feel a little of her emotions. A great deal of rage, and longing, and bitterness. But I cannot pick out the individual thoughts among them. It is like trying to hold water. "
"Thats curious. Have you ever come across anything like it before?"
Tessa shook her head. "It concerns me. I am afraid Nate Will expect me to know something and I Will not know it or have the right answer. "
Will leaned forward. On wet days, which was nearly every day, his normal y straight dark hair would begin to curl. There was something about the vulnerable curling of his damp hair against his temples that made her heart ache. "You are a good actress, and you know your brother," he said. "I have every confidence in you. "
She looked at him in surprise. "You do?"
"And," he went on without answering her question, "in the event that something goes awry, I Will be there. Even if you dont see me, Tess, Ill be there. Remember that. "
"All right. " She cocked her head to the side. "Wil ?"
"Yes?"
"There was a third reason you didnt want to wake up Charlotte and tell her what we were doing, wasnt there?"
He narrowed his blue eyes at her. "And whats that?"
"Because you do not yet know if this is simply a foolish flirtation on Jessamines part, or something deeper and darker. A true connection to my brother and to Mortmain. And you know that if it is the second, it Will break Charlottes heart. "
A muscle jumped at the corner of his mouth. "And what do I care if it does? If she is foolish enough to attach herself to Jessamine-"
"You care," said Tessa. "You are no inhuman block of ice, Will. I have seen you with Jem-I saw you when you looked at Cecily. And you had another sister, didnt you?"
He looked at her sharply. "What makes you think I had-I have-more than one sister?"