A Poison Dark and Drowning (Kingdom on Fire #2)(73)

Taking his mother’s arm, he smiled at me. “Howel. Picture of elegance, as always.”

“I’ll leave you both to it,” Fanny sang before disappearing into the crowd. Oh lord. Magnus shook his head.

“Mother gets ideas about things. You needn’t worry.”

“I’m not,” I said, smiling. “So. Have you any interest in the girls this evening?” Based on the blushes and glances directed our way, I imagined there were scores of young ladies here who would be happy to overlook Magnus’s lack of fortune.

“Since you’ve brought it up, there was something I wanted to speak to you about.” He adjusted his collar. “You see—”

“Howel!” Dee practically dove through the crowd. He knocked into Magnus, who cursed as he upset some drinks. Dee was so wildly elated he didn’t even notice. “I saw Lilly! She was standing by the staircase, you know, near the servants’ entrance. She noticed me! And she even smiled! Can you believe it?” He sighed, as if on the verge of bursting into song about love, flowering trees, and other unsubtle metaphors.

“Dee, if you budge five steps to the left, I will no longer be sitting in the punch bowl,” Magnus grunted. As they negotiated who had to move where, Fanny returned and stole me away.

“They’re galumphing wildebeests.” She laughed. “But I love them. Arthur’s practically my second son. When he first came to town, he was miserably homesick. I had Julian bring him home every Sunday for supper.”

She guided me into the eastern library, which the faeries had enchanted to look like a medieval castle made of stone, with tapestries and suits of armor on display. Harps floated about in the air, playing themselves. On a raised dais an empty velvet throne sat beside a creature that looked like nothing so much as a white goat with a horn growing out of its forehead. The animal wore a pink collar and chewed some hay.

“That’s not…Is that a real unicorn?” I gaped. Surely those were extinct?

“Lord Blackwood’s spared no expense for his sister’s debut.” Fanny tutted. “Lady Blackwood isn’t here tonight, is she?”

“She stays in her room,” I replied.

For the first time, her smile withered. “It’s difficult for a boy, his father dead, his mother absent. I had hoped he and Julian would be better friends, but that wasn’t to be.”

“I don’t think Lord Blackwood makes friends easily,” I said. Fanny patted my hand.

“What about me?” Blackwood arrived, sleek as a cat.

“Thank you for the invitation, my lord.” Fanny curtsied to him. “I’m rarely out of the house these days. Julian insists it’s safer if we stay at home.”

“In that, he’s right.” Blackwood said it as if to imply that Magnus wasn’t right about many things. “But since you’re with us tonight, Mrs. Magnus, I think you should be quite secure.”

She nodded to me. “Miss Howel.” She returned to the party. Blackwood looked after her, gaze darkening.

“Are you all right?”

“I imagine she was pressing her son onto you. Now that he’s thrown away his engagement, she’ll be looking for any eligible girl to snatch him up.”

I was shocked by his rudeness. “She’s a kind woman.”

“Yes. She is. Forgive me.” He winced. “I—I need to speak with you. Now, if you don’t mind. It’s urgent.”

“Of course,” I said. I could not have been given a better chance to talk about Eliza…and R’hlem. I’d decided not to make the same bloody mistake twice. Even if it frightened me to my core, I would tell him the truth.

“The aviary is closed to the party. Let’s go there.” It seemed that he was paler than normal. Together, we slipped away from the guests.

I’d never liked the aviary, which was filled with stuffed birds of prey. Peregrine falcons sat frozen upon perches; glass-eyed ravens hung suspended from the ceiling, their beaks open in a silent cry. Blackwood’s father had loved predatory things.

It was chilly here, so I let a tongue of flame bloom in my hand. The whisper of the fire on my skin was a comfort. Kneeling by the hearth, I coaxed it into a bright blaze.

Blackwood studied a falcon, stroking the bird’s feathered breast with one finger. This was my chance.

“I’m glad we’re alone. I need to speak with you,” I said. My heart beat so fast I was certain it weakened my voice.

Blackwood kept studying the falcon. “Do you?”

I went to stand next to the bird; maybe then he’d look at me. “It’s urgent.” That did grab his attention. Licking my lips, I said, “I…I don’t think Eliza’s engagement to Foxglove is right.”

Coward. I would have to build up to it.

“Eliza?” He frowned. “We can talk about her later. Right now I must tell you something.” He spoke in a rather stilted manner, as though he’d rehearsed. “The queen’s advisors worry that R’hlem is only biding his time, waiting for an opportunity to strike. Even with the success of the weapons, they think it’s dangerous to keep you from him.”

They had no idea. The admission now lodged itself in my throat.

“Whitechurch is on our side, as is most of the Order, but the fact is, you are an unmarried, parentless girl.” I winced—not entirely parentless. “They can push or pull you as they choose until you have a secure position. Do you understand?”