Rebel Magisters (Rebel Mechanics #2)(48)
He grinned. “You may be right. She’s certainly being noticed. We should split up and work our way around the room to see if we can overhear or see anything. Don’t worry, you’re not expected to just sit there all night. In fact, moving around to better keep an eye on your charge is customary. Go get yourself some punch.”
I rose, smoothed my skirts, and made my way down from the dais and into the throng lining the perimeter of the dance floor. It was like trying to swim upstream. As I moved, I didn’t see anyone I recognized from the night of the tea raid, and no one showed signs of recognizing me.
No one did anything so obvious as saying, “Now let’s carry out our plan.” I didn’t expect them to, though it would have made my life much easier. I made my way to the refreshment table, and an older gentleman gallantly filled a cup for me. “How are you enjoying the ball?” he asked.
“It’s rather crowded,” I said without thinking as I continued studying the faces of the people around me.
“Yes, it is. It seems everyone who’s anyone wants a glimpse of our illustrious governor. But I suppose that’s no novelty to you.”
I turned then to face him, and he smiled. “Yes, I did notice you. You’re chaperone to the granddaughter, aren’t you?”
“I am.”
“And here I am, forgetting my manners, though it wasn’t proper for me to speak to you in the first place without a formal introduction. I hope you’ll forgive me. I’m Baron Pierce.”
I gave him a slight curtsy. “I’m Verity Newton.”
“A pleasure to make your acquaintance, Miss Newton. Let’s just pretend that some mutual friend introduced us.”
“I don’t really have friends here. Only my employer.”
“And most of my friends have died. I wouldn’t have come at all, but this is something of a command appearance for someone in my station. Have to support the Empire, and all that. I do hope you don’t mind if I don’t ask you to dance. My dancing days are long behind me.”
“I’m not much for dancing, myself. Not in this crowd, at least. I’d be sure to cause a collision.”
“Ah, but the right partner would take care of that. In my youth, I could have steered you without incident around the floor.” He grinned wryly. “Though in my youth, dancing like this would have been quite scandalous. We did patterned country dances. None of this holding each other so closely.”
Although I’d enjoyed being treated like I was visible, I needed to move on and see what I could learn. I was just about to make a polite farewell when a sound like a series of small explosions shook the room. In spite of his age, the baron managed to leap in front of me, shielding me with his body. All around us, people screamed. A couple of ladies fainted. Someone nearby dove under the punch table.
I looked around for the source of the noise and saw the word “Freedom” hanging in the air over the dance floor. I noticed then the sense of magic in use. Had this been the rebels’ plan, a demonstration at the ball?
“Those young fools,” the baron muttered, seemingly forgetting my presence. “Just making a spectacle, no thought for consequences. That’ll make it harder on the rest of us.”
That took me aback. It wasn’t the response I’d have expected from a member of the nobility. I considered asking him about it, but he didn’t seem to realize he’d spoken aloud, and I didn’t want to put him on his guard. Instead, I said, “It was lovely meeting you, but I must find Lady Flora.”
I fought my way through the crowd, searching for Flora’s golden curls and hoping she was safe with her grandfather. Was the single word exploding magically over our heads the extent of the demonstration, or did they have something else planned?
“Ver—Miss Newton!” I whirled and saw Henry squeezing between people to get to me. “Do you see Flora?”
“No. You’re taller than I am. Can’t you see her?”
He got closer to me and put his hand on my shoulder, gripping tightly enough that we couldn’t easily be separated. “This must be what they had planned,” he murmured into my ear.
“Do you think there’s more?” I asked, turning to face him.
“I hope not.”
I suddenly felt that paralyzed sensation that came with the magical dampener. Before I could react, the room suddenly went dark. Not only did the “Freedom” vanish, but all the lights in the room, which presumably were powered by magic, went out.
As had happened to Henry and me the first time we’d experienced the device, everyone froze at first, but soon they realized that they could move and were only hampered magically, and then they panicked. Henry pulled me closer against himself so that I was partially shielded from the mob. We had the advantage in knowing what was happening, but I imagined it would be terrifying to face the effects of the device in that setting with no warning. A dull roar rose from the crowd as people gradually found their voices again.
Then a single female voice rose above the din, singing clearly, “The colonies are free, to live in liberty. This is our cause.” The tune was the anthem of the British Empire, but the words were quite different. Other voices, male and female, joined the song. “Free from the tyrant’s tax, free from all Parliament’s acts. Free from the governor on our backs, let freedom ring!”