“The new Senior Conductor.”
“Right. I always forget he has a proper name. Most of us don’t know anyone from the House of Industry.”
“But you know me.”
He looked up, his thick eyebrows pulled into a solemn sort of frown. “Yes, I do.”
I splashed him. “Wrong! You don’t know anything about me.”
His eyes widened and his mouth gaped, and then he let out a hoarse laugh and splashed me back. The warm water ran down my arms and my chest and wet my hair. “That sounds like a challenge.”
I scooted away from the edge and sunned my feet and legs to dry them. “Surely a challenge that you’d be up to.”
“Is that an offer to teach me?”
I drew my knees to my chest and hugged them. Were we talking about my radiance or my inner workings? I was a delicate machine,meant to be unknowable—especially if I cared to follow the rules I’d been raised to abide by.
But Ezra wanting toknowme was more intoxicating than the promise of a prestigious assignment. It made me feel solid. Maybe he’d see something I didn’t. Maybe I’d know myself better, somehow, if he pried me apart.
Warning bells sounded between each beat of my heart. This was a real risk. Bigger than falling and breaking my neck or being seen alone in the woods with a boy. “I’m certain you’ve heard enough about the House of Industry to know that we’re not meant to be … close. To anyone.”
“I don’t care,” Ezra said, watching my face. I looked away from him. “You’re right. I like to learn. I want to learn about you.”
Swallowing hard, I adjusted my skirt, casting it over my damp legs fuzzed with reddish-blond hair. I felt exposed and pleased by his interest in a way I didn’t want to understand. “Why?”
“Because I don’t think anyone has ever learned about you.” I could feel his gaze, though I refused to meet it.
This was simply an afternoon of foolishness. An ill-advised walk stolen from my duty to remain beholden only to radiance. Lovers were forbidden. Even friends were forbidden.
“Your ears are turning pink,” Ezra murmured. “You ought to wear a hat on a sunny day like this.”
I rubbed my earlobes, willing the blush away. The sun hadn’t pinkened my skin, but my unruly mind certainly had. There was no reason to think aboutlovers.My imagination was running away with me, caught up in the folly of something I wasn’t allowed to have. This meant nothing. I was dizzy from the steaming hot spring and the long walk. I needed water and shade and to escape Ezra’s watchful, curious gaze. That was all.
“I know my way back,” I said shortly, grabbing my boots and daring myself to carry them and walk barefoot as Ezra had. Like someone who belonged here in Frostbrook.
Every step hurt.
CHAPTER FIVE
Julian met me in the courtyard, his arms folded across his chest and his gaze angled down his nose. It took every bit of my willpower not to laugh at how much he resembled Tabitha doing an impression of Professor Dunn glaring at us for laughing during our morning meditation.
Then I saw the real flinty anger in his eyes, and my amusement became cold shame.
“Where have you been?” he demanded.
I tried not to swallow. Or flinch. Or look away. “At the river.”
“Did you misplace your decency while you were out?” he asked, gesturing to my bare feet while avoiding the sight of them.
“I soaked my sore calves in the water.” My shame gave way to a hot rush of anger that warmed my fingertips. I clenched my hands into fists and hid them in my skirts. “If I’m meant to live in the country, I ought to harden myself to the pine needles and stones. There’s nothing indecent about my feet. They’re feet. We’ve all got feet.”
Julian blinked, his stern expression crumbling to boyish surprise before he steeled himself. “You’ll be lucky if you last long enough to harden a single callus if you make a game of your duties here. Your apprenticeship is a privilege. One that can be revoked.”
The threat was a blow to my chest, a reminder that Julian had the power to send me back to the House of Industry. He probably wished they’d sent him a better apprentice. Someone more proper. Someone who would find it an honor to serve him breakfast.
With trembling fingers, I crouched and shoved my feet into my boots. “How can I earn your trust if you’re already so eager to be rid of me?” I muttered.
When I looked up, his haughty expression was shuttered. He looked like he wanted to say something, but I was too hungry and sore to care. Ultimately, he was right. I had a duty here. A duty to him, to Frostbrook, to the House. And I’d never be trusted with my own Mission if I failed to impress him.
