Rebel Magisters (Rebel Mechanics #2)(24)

I leaned closer to her so our words wouldn’t be overheard in the noisy tavern. “Some soldiers are searching the theater. I don’t know if they’ll get beyond that, but someone needs to warn the station.”

“I’ll take care of it,” she said softly, then added more loudly, “I’ll be right back with your order, if you’ll have a seat.”

The men all looked at me, then at each other, hesitant. Since they weren’t acting, I went over to a table and sat down. They reluctantly joined me. When Henry gave me a questioning look, I leaned closer to him and said, “Well, we can’t exactly walk in here, say one thing to the barmaid, and walk out. Even if that doesn’t draw attention to us, it might make her look suspicious.”

“Good point,” he said, still looking ill at ease and out of place. Philip seemed much more at home. He leaned back in his chair and smiled at the group of girls at the next table. Geoffrey looked even stiffer than Henry did.

Then he stiffened even more. “Don’t look now, but I think that’s Rutledge over there,” he muttered.

“Rutledge?” Philip said, starting to turn his head but quickly stopping himself. “What would he be doing in a place like this? He was always the worst snob in the school.”

“He’s exactly the sort who would enjoy slumming,” Henry said through gritted teeth.

“True, that does make it easier to feel superior,” Philip said.

“Maybe he won’t notice us or recognize us,” Geoffrey said, his voice sounding strained.

The barmaid returned with a tray full of glasses and set them down in front of us. She gave me a meaningful nod as she put down my drink, and I smiled in thanks. I wasn’t sure what she’d brought us, as we hadn’t actually ordered anything. It proved to be a sweet but potent cider. I resolved to only sip it.

Unfortunately, it seemed that the barmaid had drawn attention to our table, and soon a young man sauntered over to us. He might have been slumming in a downtown tavern, but he was dressed to show that he was above his environment, in clothes that were ostentatiously expensive. “Well, well, if it isn’t my old school chums,” he said in a nasal drawl. “What on earth are you lot doing here?” He brushed at Geoffrey’s shoulder, like he was wiping away lint. “Whatever it is, you need to fire your tailors.” He barked a laugh.

I barely stifled a yelp when Philip leaned closer to me and draped an arm around my shoulder, pulling me against him. “I’m visiting a friend,” he said with a showy wink. “The others are my cover story. I’m out with friends, you know? Blending in, and all that. You won’t tell the pater, will you? He’d never understand.”

Rutledge eyed me, and I could feel his disapproval. “Really, Spencer, I thought you had better taste. If you want to be with a common girl, you can find them a lot prettier.”

I thought Henry would come out of his chair, and he started to draw back his arm, but there was a dull thud under the table, after which Henry gasped and grimaced in pain. Breathing heavily, he stayed put.

“Not everyone is as shallow as you are, Rutledge,” Geoffrey said. “There are so many qualities that make a woman worthy of attention, if you are worthy of perceiving them.” He drained his glass, took some coins out of his pocket and threw them on the table, then pushed his chair back, forcing Rutledge to move, and stood. “Now, I’m finding the atmosphere here rather uninviting. Shall we go?”

Philip removed his arm from my shoulders, stood, and helped pull my chair away from the table. He offered me his hand to rise, and then he swept out of the tavern with me on his arm and the other two following. When we were about a block away, we stopped, and all the men doubled over in laughter. I watched them, my arms folded across my chest, unsure of what was so funny. Henry finally regained the self-control to say, “Sorry about that, Verity. You just have to know him.”

“And what he must think of us,” Philip said, still sputtering a little.

“I’m not sure he’d know what to think,” Geoffrey added with a smirk. “Though I imagine he never thought he’d find the likes of us in a place like that. He presumes he’s the only one daring enough to mix with the lower classes.”

Now under more control, Philip bowed to me. “My apologies, Miss Newton, for roping you into the charade like that, but I thought it best if he didn’t associate you with Henry, on the off chance that you might look familiar if he saw you again. I doubt he’ll make the connection if he encounters you as Henry’s governess.”

“I don’t think he’d recognize you if he saw you under different circumstances,” Henry said, giving me an odd, appraising look.

Self-consciously, I brushed my hair back off my shoulders. I so seldom wore it loose that it felt odd to have it freed like this. I started to braid it, and Philip said, “I owe you a ribbon!” He dashed away to a sidewalk cart and returned with a ribbon that wasn’t quite the same shade of blue or the same quality as the one that had become a rebel magister insignia, but I thought even the hawk-eyed housekeeper wouldn’t have a reason to find my appearance suspiciously changed.

While I tied my hair back, Henry went in search of a cab. This wasn’t the ideal neighborhood for hailing magical cabs, so we ended up walking several blocks before we found one. Henry handed me up into it and said, “I’ll be home soon enough. We’ll take the next one we find.”