Rebel Magisters (Rebel Mechanics #2)(34)

“No wonder there’s a revolution brewing,” I muttered.

“We look respectable enough, so as long as we appear to be ordinary people going about our business and don’t give any indication that we’re about to throw a rock through a window or start a riot, we should be fine.”

“We were just helping plot a revolution,” I reminded him.

“But we don’t look like that’s what we were doing. Now, shall we return home?” He held his arm out to me, and I took it. As we walked, he said, “Do you want to tell me why you reacted the way you did when they tested that device? It seemed like a rather strong response to a minor faux pas.”

I winced. I preferred not to let him know how easily I’d been duped, but if he was going to deal with the Mechanics, he needed to know how they worked. “This wasn’t the first time I’ve seen them hide their true intent behind a veneer of friendliness. When they learned I was working for you, they decided I was in the perfect position to be an operative, so they created an elaborate scheme to recruit me. They set up situations to make magisters look bad and acted like they were rescuing me from those situations so that I’d side with them. It’s quite appropriate that they were headquartered in a theater because they always seem to be playing roles.” I couldn’t keep the bitterness out of my voice, nor the faint tremble as I recalled how hurt I’d been by Alec’s betrayal.

He didn’t miss the emotion I’d let slip. “Is that all they did?” he asked softly.

I didn’t want to tell him any more. The rest of the story made me look like a foolish girl whose head had been easily turned. But I didn’t really want to hide it from him, either. I liked being able to be honest with Henry. “Part of their scheme involved Alec pretending to court me,” I said, trying to keep my voice light so I would sound like it didn’t matter to me. “He was most attentive.” I blushed at the memory and was glad it wouldn’t show in the darkness.

Henry stopped walking and turned to face me. “That is ungentlemanly, and I don’t care what class you’re from, that’s just not done.”

“It didn’t go very far. Mostly, he just paid extra attention to me and made me feel like he was interested. I was naive enough for that to turn my head. I should have known better.” There had also been a few kisses, but I was definitely not telling Henry about that.

“Oh, come now, there’s no reason for you to have assumed he wasn’t being sincere,” he said with a smile as he reached out and gently brushed my cheek with his fingers. “Why wouldn’t he find you fascinating?”

His touch made me dizzy, even though I was sure he was just being kind. “Oh, I should have seen it. They created situations right out of a romantic novel. If you can believe it, Colin pretended to be a reckless magister who nearly ran me down with a magical roadster so that Alec could gallantly rescue me.”

He laughed and hooked his arm around mine as we resumed walking. “Well, yes, that might have been a little obvious, although I must admit that some of the drivers are rather reckless.”

“I think what made me angriest was that I had to figure it out for myself, even after I was part of their organization. They weren’t planning to ever be honest with me. I have no idea how far Alec would have carried his courtship. He claims it became real, but how can I be sure?”

“And you’re still willing to work with them?”

“I believe in the cause. It’s bigger than all of us. The injustices are real.”

“I can’t condone the way they treated you, but I don’t think tonight’s incident was the same thing. There is some element of deception required in this situation. The risks are so high that it’s difficult to be forthright.”

A red-coated soldier rounded the corner ahead of us, heading our way. My grip on Henry’s arm tightened. “Stay calm,” Henry whispered. As the soldier approached, Henry nodded and said, “Good evening.”

“Evening, sir,” the soldier said brusquely. “You’d best be home. There’s trouble brewing tonight.”

“Oh, my!” Henry said. “Come along, dear, we’d better hurry.”

I was dying to ask what kind of trouble there was, but Henry was already hustling me along the sidewalk. I supposed that your average person would be more concerned about getting home safely than about learning what was happening. We passed more soldiers along the way. “They’re heading to the harbor,” Henry noted. I was so turned around from all the twisting streets, unlike Manhattan’s grid, that I wasn’t sure where that was in relation to where we were going.

“Shouldn’t we see what’s happening?” I asked. “What if it’s the rebel magisters?”

“It may be nothing to do with any group of rebels.”

“What if it is?”

“What would we do? If we’re to carry out our missions, we have to refrain from capture or discovery.” He made a lot of sense, but it didn’t stop me from wishing to know what had soldiers rushing to the harbor. “I suppose your journalistic self can’t resist a possible story,” Henry added with a fond smile that made me wonder if he could read minds.

We made it back to the house, and Henry knocked on the service entrance. Harry the hall boy opened the door, holding a finger to his lips. We nodded in understanding and waited while he went back inside. He returned a moment later. “It’s clear. Let’s go.”