Rebel Magisters (Rebel Mechanics #2)(18)

“You appear to incorporate your mechanical philosophy into your recreation, as well,” Geoffrey remarked to Colin.

“It’s a way of life,” Colin said. “We think of new ways of doing things. Some of the machines are less useful than others, but they’re still fun to make.”

I noticed after watching the party for a minute or two that most of the attendees wore goggles pulled down over their eyes. I knew the Mechanics often wore goggles as part of their attire, sometimes even for practical purposes, but were they now using them as masks to hide their identities from the visiting magisters?

Philip was the first to make a move to join the party. He approached Emma and held out his hand in an invitation to dance. Soon, they’d blended into the swirl of color in the middle of the room. “Feel free to enjoy yourselves,” Colin urged. “We’ll talk later when all of us are here.”

Geoffrey and Henry looked at each other and shrugged. “We may as well,” Geoffrey said. “How often are we likely to get an invitation like this?”

Henry turned to me. “You’ve been to their parties before, haven’t you? What would you recommend?”

“I think you should get a drink over there.” I pointed to the drink dispenser. “You really ought to see it in action.”

We skirted the dance floor to reach it, and Geoffrey went first in tossing a small gear into the tray that set the elaborate machine in motion, mixing various liquids to be poured into a tin cup. He and Henry laughed as they watched the machine in motion. Just as Henry was taking his turn, I noticed someone approaching us. He wore a hat and goggles, but my breath caught in my throat as I watched him. The first time I’d met Alec, he’d been dressed similarly. I wondered if there would ever come a time when seeing him didn’t affect me so strongly. I’d seen him just days ago, so it wasn’t as though this was the first time I’d encountered him after our falling-out.

When he reached us, he took off his hat, shoved the goggles up onto his forehead, and bowed slightly to me. “This is a bit of a surprise,” he said.

“It shouldn’t be. You were the one who approached me to ask for help.” I gestured to the magisters. “I brought them so you could ask them yourself.”

Henry, having obtained his drink, turned around and saw Alec. “Oh, hello. Alec, was it?” he said. “Good to see you again. This is Geoffrey. I don’t know if you remember him from the night we saved your machines. And Philip is around here somewhere.” If he noticed any tension, he gave no sign of it, but he had managed to slip in a reminder of the aid they’d already provided.

Alec nodded to them. “Thank you again for your help. And for considering helping us again. There are a couple more people who aren’t here yet, so enjoy yourselves in the meantime.”

“It’s quite a show you’re putting on,” Geoffrey said.

“You’ve seen the real machines. These are just demonstrations and class projects,” Alec said.

“So you’re a student?” Henry asked.

“Not on track to graduate anytime soon,” Alec said with a laugh. “I keep missing classes.”

“And I imagine your term was disrupted when you had to flee the city.”

“The machines had to leave. The people can come and go, as long as we keep our heads down. In fact, us being in class keeps them from knowing for certain who was part of the movement they thought they drove out. If we’d vanished, it would have been like a confession.” He turned to me. “Verity, would you care to dance?”

“Not really,” I said.

“Then would you be willing to take a turn around the room with me?”

I suspected that meant he wanted to talk, and I wasn’t sure I wanted to do so. I automatically glanced at Henry, reluctant to leave him and unable to avoid comparing the two men. Henry, whose obliviousness wasn’t always an act, said, “Go on, Verity. Enjoy yourself. We’ll be fine.”

Declining Alec’s invitation after that would only raise questions I’d rather not have to answer, so I took the arm Alec offered and walked away with him. “I really wasn’t expecting you to bring the magisters to us,” he said.

“You asked me to ask them for more money. I thought you should speak directly. You’d do a better job of making your case than I would, since I don’t know what you need or what you have planned.” I kept my tone stiff and formal, the way I might speak with Rollo’s headmaster.

“You’re still angry with me,” he said with a rueful grin.

I started to deny it, but decided that honesty would be better. “Yes, I’m angry. How should I feel? You deceived me, and then even after you knew me better and knew where I stood, you didn’t trust me enough to let me in on the truth. You’d have kept on using me if I hadn’t figured it out.”

“I told you, it may have started as a lie, but it came to be real. I miss you, Verity. You mean a lot to me, and I enjoyed our time together. Couldn’t you try giving me a second chance? We could start over, with total honesty this time.”

Could I? I forced myself to look at him, to remember the time when the thought of him made me tremble. I remembered the kisses we’d shared, the time he held me against himself as we hid from what I’d believed were soldiers looking for us. That was the sticking point. He’d led me to believe so many things that weren’t true, just to manipulate me. I wasn’t sure I’d ever be able to trust him the way I needed to trust anyone I grew close to. “A lot more time would have to pass before I could even consider it,” I said at last. “We have too much to do.”