The names and title were vaguely familiar. “Weren’t they just married? It was sudden? No announcements at all? She was someone from the countryside returned to Gildon?”
Phineas glanced at me in surprise, as if he had forgotten I was there in the scant minute since I last spoke. “Yes. Part of that investigation took place in Hergashire.” His brow furrowed as he scanned my face. “Interesting. Favors, too, then, with that ability?”
What?
“What was her natal name?” Noble tapped the paper on Phineas’s desk, gaze sharp as he looked between us.
Phineas shook his head. “They only listed the one on the report. But that’s easy enough to find out. I’ll send a post when I do.”
“Arthur Dresden still assigned?”
“Yes. May you have a fae’s luck when dealing with him.”
“I’ve not had the pleasure yet, though his reputation precedes him.”
“Even as the newest inquisitor, he has wreaked havoc in the ranks. Hungry. He doesn’t get on well with the patrollers or watch. Thinks they are useless.”
“Sometimes they are, but it’s never a good idea to let them know.”
“Which tells you something about Dresden.”
“Indeed.”
Noble rose, and I rose with him. “Thank you, Phineas. Consider this and the victim’s natal name as first payment.”
Like with Edgar, Noble removed his glove and drew a finger across his own bare wrist. Phineas uncovered his own and three visible stars became two.
Phineas nodded, smiling at his wrist as the remaining stars faded from my view, then looked up at me while shaking his sleeve back into place. “Good luck to you, Lady Second Winters. I’m sure that Master Noble will have your brother out of jail in no time.”
I gaped at him. Noble took hold of my elbow and guided me into the hall. He dropped his hand, but the imprint lingered.
“How did he know?”
“Phineas is smart. And you weren’t being coy at the beginning. Though he lost track of you for a few moments, which was interesting with how sharp he is.”
I shrugged. I’d stayed still, listening, and he’d simply...forgotten I was there. It happened often enough at parties.
“You did something for him at some point?”
“Yes.”
“Your favors don’t seem so bad.” And neither man had acted like any emotion was attached to their marks, so the odd throb I had felt in my own must be a product of my imagination.
A slow smile spread over his face. “I’m glad you think so. But Marietta…” He leaned toward me and smoothed a lock of hair behind my ear, leaving tingles everywhere he brushed. “You have no idea what I have in store for you.”
Chapter 7
MARIETTA
I moaned. I should have been sick of eating soups and stews by now, but they were sogood. I rose to refill my bowl. With all this energy, perhaps... I stared at the cauldron and concentrated on the generous ladle, visualizing what I wanted to happen.Fill my bowl.
The ladle lifted, then collapsed against the edge. My shoulders drooped. Typical.
A sharp knock on the front door severed my disappointment, and since Noble looked disinclined to answer it, I did. A young boy stood on the stoop. “Message for Marietta.”
