Courting Magic (Kat, Incorrigible #4)(28)

Oh, for heaven’s sake.

“Lord Ravenscroft went to Eton, too,” I hissed. “And that didn’t stop him from being a traitor, did it?”

“What were you saying about Lord Ravenscroft?” Alexander asked, just behind me.

Oh, no. I wished I could sink into the ground and disappear. I couldn’t bring myself to turn and face him, but I could feel him like a line of fire behind my back.

I couldn’t believe I’d been careless enough to mention Lord Ravenscroft in front of him.

“Lord Ravenscroft was the former Head of our Order,” the Marquess said stiffly. Red tinged his cheekbones. “I’m afraid we couldn’t possibly discuss him with outsiders.”

“Then you needn’t worry about me,” Alexander said evenly, “because he was my father. Didn’t Kat mention that to you?”

Of course I hadn’t.

The Marquess looked as if he’d been struck. “I—you—but…” He turned his gaze on me. “You didn’t tell me? Or Mr. Gregson?”

“Mr. Gregson knows already,” I said, “and it wasn’t any of your business, was it?”

“But—”

“Forgive me,” I said, finally turning to Alexander. “I shouldn’t have said anything about him.”

Alexander shook his head, his green eyes clear and unclouded. “Don’t worry, Kat. Trust me, I came to terms with the truth about my father a long time ago. Five years ago, in point of fact.”

I’d been with Alexander that night, when he’d finally come face-to-face with the truth of how his father had lied to him and disdained him, all on the quest for more money and power.

I’d defeated Lord Ravenscroft myself less than a year earlier, when he had attempted the magical sacrifice of my own brother. In an act of pure magical justice, I had shattered his magical powers just as he had first attempted to shatter mine, leaving him an empty husk. He had finally died three years ago, his property and title both claimed by the crown in an Act of Attainder for his capital treason. When I remembered Alexander’s face that night in the cave in Devon, though, that Act didn’t seem like nearly enough punishment for his father’s sins.

Without thinking, I reached toward him.

Then I stopped with a jerk, my hand still hovering half an inch from his arm.

Wait. I wasn’t allowed to touch him anymore.

Alexander’s chest rose and fell in a quick, ragged breath as we both stood staring at each other, caught in that halfway position. I could almost see him remembering earlier that night…and how we’d parted.

He wished we had never kissed.

My stomach clenched nauseatingly. I dropped my arm and stepped rapidly away from him, closer to the refreshment table. Randomly, I reached out and grabbed a dry biscuit, crunching down hard.

My throat was so tight, it was hard to swallow.

The Marquess cleared his throat. “I…well…has Miss Stephenson shared her mad plan with you yet?”

“I was going to tell him next,” I muttered through a mouthful of dry, irritating crumbs. Why hadn’t I grabbed a glass of punch to wash down the biscuit? It was too late now, but I nearly choked as I fought to swallow down the last bits. “I didn’t think he’d take as long to convince.”

Alexander’s lips quirked at that, a gleam entering his eyes. Over my head, he nodded politely at someone behind me, but that didn’t stop him from asking, “What scheme have you concocted now? I have to warn you, Lanham, she’ll do what she likes regardless of all your protests, so you might as well give in now and save your energy.”

“Because my schemes work,” I said. It was easier to roll my eyes and pretend now that everything was as it should be and no kisses or crying had happened at all. “They nearly always work, anyway.”

“Well, this one is absurd,” muttered the Marquess. “She thinks that Packenham is the rogue. Our own colleague!”

Alexander shrugged. “So how are we going to catch him?”

“That’s it?” The Marquess stared at him. “You aren’t even going to ask her for any proof?”

For just a moment, Alexander’s eyes met mine, his expression rueful. “I know Kat,” he said. “That’s proof enough for me.”

Warmth tingled through me. The Marquess kept on sputtering, but I ignored him. “My cousin Lucy is going to act as bait,” I explained. “I’ve set it all up, so he’ll be wild to go after her.”

“In front of all of us?” The Marquess snorted. “He would have to be mad to think he could succeed.”

“Or drunk,” I retorted, “which he certainly is—far too foxed to think sensibly. Trust me, I listened to him for ages over our last dance! He’s more than capable of swaggering straight back into this ballroom and assuming we aren’t clever enough to spot or catch him. All we have to do is wait until he steps back into the room in his new guise, and then…”

“Wait.” Alexander frowned. “Your cousin…she isn’t the blonde girl you were talking to earlier, is she? The one with the flowers in her hair?”

I frowned back at him. “Of course she is. So?”

“I saw a footman come up to her a few minutes ago as we were all talking,” Alexander said. “I noticed because she looked so excited when he handed her a note. She looked directly at you afterwards. You were turned away from her, but she looked over your head to me, smiled and nodded…and walked outside into the gardens, by herself.”