The Apothecary's Poison (Glass and Steele #3)(38)

"Not about magic," I said, spreading the pieces of my watch out on my lap. "He couldn't possibly." I shook my head as Duke offered me a glass.

"I agree," Matt said quietly. "Even if he's spoken to Abercrombie and Hardacre about me, they don't know my watch is magical. No one does, except us."

"And Chronos," Cyclops said. "But Payne won't know about him."

"So he can't possibly know the particulars," I said. "All he does know is what he witnessed that day when you used your watch in the carriage."

"That holding my watch makes my veins turn purple," Matt finished.

"There. It's settled. He was bluffing. It's something you Americans are good at."

"It's all the poker," Willie said with a nod. "Damn it, I wish I had my gun on me when he burst in. I wouldn't have killed him," she protested when we all glared at her. "Just made it so the bullet grazed him."

Duke swirled his brandy around the glass. "And frightened the ladies half to death."

"Maybe it would have sent them away." She sounded as if she were storing up that piece of information for a future dinner party.

I bent into the lamplight and slotted the final spring back into place. "Payne seemed rattled enough without the need for your Colt, Willie." I looked up to see Matt watching me. Or, rather, watching what I was doing.

"He didn't like that Matt spoke to Munro about him," Cyclops said. "He probably wasn't expecting Munro to give Matt the benefit of the doubt."

"Because Payne doesn't know that Daniel Gibbons was Munro's son," Willie said. "Thank God for that."

Matt dug his forefinger and thumb into his eyes. I cleared my throat and his hand dropped away. I screwed the housing shut on the back of my watch and closed my fist around it then arched my brows at him.

He pulled his watch out of his inside pocket and tipped his head back. The watch glowed, pulsing as if it were alive, and purple light flowed along his veins, disappearing into his hair. A moment later, he returned the watch to his pocket and his veins stopped glowing. His gray pallor had been banished, but he still looked tired.

The others must have agreed because they all decided at once that it was time for bed. Duke finished his brandy and Willie bade everyone goodnight. I got up to follow her, but Matt grabbed my hand as I passed.

"Stay," he murmured.

Cyclops narrowed his gaze at me. "Just for a moment," I told both him and Matt. "I'm tired too tired to stay up long."

Cyclops shut the door, leaving Matt and I alone.

"Is everything all right?" I asked.

"I'm not sure." Matt stood and gently took my hand. He opened my fisted fingers to reveal my watch. "Is something wrong with it?"

"No."

He palmed my hand. My breath hitched and his warmth seeped through my skin. Magical warmth, I realized with a start. My magic was responding to the magic his watch injected into his body. "Then why did you pull it apart?" he asked.

"I don't really know. I simply felt like it. Tonight was…frustrating, and working on timepieces soothes me."

"I see."

I studied the watch on my palm. "I think it's the methodical and precise nature of the work. It occupies my mind as well as my hands. Although I know my watch so well now, I could probably do it without thinking." I forced myself to stop rambling. "Was there anything else you wanted to talk to me about?"

His thumb caressed mine, the stroke slow and languid. It was a motion that ought to soothe, but it sent my heart into a frenzy. I still could not look up at his face.

"India, what you said at dinner about marriage—"

I whipped my hand away and placed both behind my back. "Let's not discuss it. We'll just have to agree to disagree on this score."

"For now."

"What does that mean? You can't change my mind, and I can't change yours."

"We'll discuss it later, when the time is more relevant."

"Relevant to what?"

He strode to the door and opened it for me. "Goodnight, India."

"You can't refuse to answer me, Matt. That's not fair. Particularly when you asked me to stay behind."

"You're right. I actually wanted to tell you that I'm sorry how tonight turned out. Next time, with more warning, we'll both have a chance to make our excuses."

I laughed. "If you think your aunt will let you get out of it, you're sorely mistaken. I, however, am irrelevant to her purposes. I might enjoy a night out at the theater with the others instead. Something amusing, perhaps even bawdy. Willie would love that."

I walked off and he followed me, grabbing a lamp off the table. "You would not only abandon me to the ladies but you would take all my allies with you?"

I nodded and headed up the stairs. "That way you can get to know Lady Abbington properly. And Hope too, of course."

He pressed his lips together and remained silent until we arrived at my room. I reached for the doorknob but his hand beat mine. His face drew close. His eyes gleamed in the light from the lamp.

"I wish I knew what you thought about that, India," he murmured, his voice rich and low, "but I find myself at a loss to read your mind for once."