A formal tea spread sat on the rectangular table by the glass windows overlooking the garden. Lore politely prompted everyone to find their seat at the table, as indicated by the placeholder card.
The pair of servants standing at attention nearby stepped forward once everyone was seated. They poured tea for Meleri and Lore first, then their guests, offering dishes for them to choose from without needing to pass the food among themselves. Once everyone had their pick of the delicate pastries, savory mini quiches, and seasonal fruit, Meleri took up the reins of conversation.
“I understand you’re interested in attending the Aether School of Engineering. Will your family move here for your studies?” Meleri asked.
“We haven’t quite discussed that yet,” Portia said before Caris could answer.
“I want to go. I like learning, and I like inventing,” Caris argued.
Meleri hummed thoughtfully. “Itisthe premier school for that in Ashion.”
She guided the conversation with a deft hand, letting Caris speak about her desires and judging Portia’s response to such wants accordingly. It was a lively discussion they had, and Meleri was intrigued at the range of knowledge Caris already retained.
A good foundation to build on, she thought.
Eventually, when everyone had their fill of the afternoon tea, Lore invited Caris and Nathaniel for a walk about the estate’s garden, leaving Meleri with Portia to discuss a future neither could predict.
“I can tell you love your daughter and only want the best for her,” Meleri said once the table was cleared of dishes and the servants had disappeared.
“As any mother does,” Portia said.
“As a mother, I know well the worry we have for our children. Cosian is a long train ride from Amari, and passage on airships can get expensive. If you choose not to uproot your home and business, I can perhaps offer you peace of mind and a place in my household for your daughter.”
Meleri’s opinion of Portia went up a notch when the other woman didn’t immediately gush over the honor of such an offer. Indeed, the other woman met her gaze from across the table with a steadiness that Meleri approved of. “You hardly know us, Your Grace. Why would you open your home when we have nothing to offer you in the way of prestige? Our bloodline was only elevated into the nobility genealogies barely two decades back.”
Meleri tipped her head to the side, pleased by the question asked of her. “Despite what gossip you might read in the broadsheets, I’ve always had an interest in the next generation and what they can contribute to our country.”
“And what do you think my daughter can contribute?”
She didn’t sayeverything, but the word rested on her tongue regardless. “I think it would be a crime to see one such as your daughter lose her innovative curiosity. This is the Age of Progress, after all. I’ve always been a great believer in change.”
The sort of change Meleri yearned to see needed to be carried by someone capable of shouldering it. If she had to teach Caris how to stand beneath that weight, then so be it.
Meleri paused a moment before committing herself to a truth she wouldn’t be able to take back without the aid of a magician well versed in mind magic. “My role as Fulcrum is built on that belief, after all.”
Portia froze in her seat, eyes going wide even as she went so pale in the face she looked sickly. Meleri watched her mouth part, but no words were forthcoming.
“You trusted my Clockwork Brigade and what it fights for enough to become a cog. Will you not trust me to keep your daughter safe?” Meleri asked gently.
“Caris isn’t a cog,” Portia rasped out.
“Not yet, she isn’t.”
Portia pressed her lips into a thin line but said nothing in the face of Meleri’s assumption that Caris one daywouldbecome one.
“Think on it, and let me know,” Meleri said into the quiet at the table.
Portia inclined her head slightly. “I shall.”
In the end, after Portia had taken her leave with Caris, and Nathaniel had gone to confer with Lore about the latest debt slaves needing transport out of Daijal, Meleri returned to her locked study.
She was unsurprised to find the North Star waiting for her within.
Aaralyn sat behind Meleri’s desk, flipping through the coded messages that had been locked away in the hidden drawers of her desk. The ink magic on every sheet came to life beneath the star god’s touch.
“How fares your rebellion?” Aaralyn asked, not looking up from the paper in her hand.
Meleri shut the door behind her, the lock clicking quietly into place. “You could have given Ophelia’s daughter to me all those years ago. The Eastern Basin is a harsh place to live and grow up in. I would have raised her here, and I would have loved her like my own.”
