Rebel Magisters (Rebel Mechanics #2)(31)
He smoothly recovered. “Well, of course he mentioned how valuable you are.” Barely missing a beat, he turned to Henry. “And your lordship, as well. I understand we owe the survival of our movement to you. We are honored to have you among us. I’m sure you’ll understand if we don’t share our names, but you can call me Adonis.”
I had to restrain myself to keep from snickering. I hoped he was aware of how ridiculous he seemed. It was hard to believe he might be sincere.
Either I’d done a good job of hiding my amusement or he was oblivious, because he didn’t react to my barely hidden snort. With a practiced smile, he said, “May I take your coats and hats and offer you refreshment?” If he was being at all sarcastic to Henry, I couldn’t detect it. Either he was more open-minded about magisters than most Mechanics tended to be, or he was the rare man who was even more glib than Colin.
As I unbuttoned my coat, I took stock of my surroundings. The large basement room seemed to be one part shabby but gracious parlor and two parts laboratory. There were upholstered chairs that could have come from a fine house decades ago, and pieces of machinery covered all the tables. Only about half a dozen people were present, with no musicians, no dancing, and no elaborate machines dispensing drinks. Unlike the New York Mechanics’ raucous parties, this seemed to be more of a polished salon, for conversation about social issues.
None of the other Mechanics made any move to speak to us, and no one other than the greeter introduced themselves. That much I was accustomed to. It could be dangerous for us to know their identities, and I couldn’t much blame them for being uncertain they could trust us.
Adonis took our coats and handed them over to another Mechanic before escorting us to a seating arrangement. He gestured me to a wingback chair and Henry to a velvet settee across from me. “Would you like coffee, wine, sherry, hot chocolate?” Adonis offered.
“A cup of chocolate would be lovely,” I said.
“The same for me, thank you,” Henry said. His posture was tense, and he sat on the edge of his seat, most of his weight still on his feet, as though he was ready to spring up at a moment’s notice. I didn’t feel like we were in danger, but I also didn’t feel entirely comfortable. There was something odd about this situation.
Adonis sent one of his people to get the chocolate and sat next to Henry on the settee. I noticed that he wore the most elaborate Rebel Mechanics insignia I’d ever seen. Most of the members merely put a red ribbon through a gear, but he’d put together multiple gears inside one larger one in a complex pattern, and instead of a simple red ribbon, he had an intricately braided lanyard holding his gear. I couldn’t help but wonder what would happen if he and Colin ever ended up in the same room with each other, and I made a mental note to never let this man go anywhere near Flora.
“Did you have a pleasant journey to Boston?” he asked. “I assume you came by airship.”
“Yes, we did, and it was pleasant enough,” Henry said. “If your people keep making progress on the electrical storage battery, you should soon be able to make trips this far with your ships.” I felt a subtle shift in the mood of the room and had a feeling Henry had just scored some points by suggesting a hint of mechanical knowledge and interest.
“We work on smaller-scale projects here,” Adonis said. “The New York crowd has their big engines, but we have more esoteric interests.”
A huge, bearded man wearing a plaid waistcoat in colors that never should have been put together entered the room bearing a tray and offered us dainty cups of chocolate that seemed much more normal-sized once they were away from him and in our hands.
“Clearly you have a dynamo,” Henry said, indicating the electric lights with a gesture.
“Not of our own invention. We share technology with our brothers throughout the colonies. What we’re working on is rather more specialized.” His tone remained friendly and casual, but I didn’t like the way he kept his phrasing so vague.
“How so?” I asked.
He gave a careless wave. “Oh, small devices to make daily life easier. Anything that saves us physical labor gives us more time to devote to our cause and less dependence on the thieving magpies. No offense,” he added with a slight nod toward Henry.
“I’ll assume you’re not including me in that group,” Henry said politely, but I thought his eyes looked a little harder than they usually did.
“But perhaps you have some connections with others of your class who share your beliefs.”
“I might.”
“You see, we’re having a little problem with them here. They’re quite active, but either they’re pretending to be us or the authorities assume it’s us, so every time they do anything, we get the blame, and the authorities crack down on us.”
“You’re sure it’s not another group of Mechanics?” I asked.
“Absolutely,” Adonis said, nodding firmly.
“I’ll mention it to my friends and see if they know anything—” Henry began, but he cut off abruptly.
At the same time, I found it hard to breathe. My entire body was frozen. Even my ribs refused to expand with my breath, leaving me feeling suffocated. Once the initial shock wore off, I had the presence of mind to notice that none of the Mechanics seemed to be affected. I suspected that these feelings must have something to do with magic. I didn’t want the Mechanics to know I was part magister, so I forced myself not to let any sort of reaction show.