“Clearly you’ve caught me in a secret dalliance with a traveling vendor. I took one glance at his novelty glass and knew he would be skilled with his hands,” Wilder said, but the spark of amusement in his eyes was not enough to dispel the strained edge in his voice.
He was still hurt—maybe a little vexed—by the distance I’d maintained from him since I’d seen him flirting with Yoslyn.
“Funny.” I’d been trying for two days to find a good time—and a good way—to explain my jealousy. To ask if it was warranted. But every time I tried, my tongue froze up, as if the words made no sense. And he’d made no effort to defend himself. “You bought something from that vendor.”
“You are mistaken. I—”
I pretended to trip, and when he steadied me, I slid my hand beneath his cape and into his pocket, where my fingers closed around what felt like a wad of parchment. Triumphant, I pulled it out, and…
Wilder grabbed me by the waist and spun me behind a booth and out of sight of most of the crowd, in a move that no doubt looked like lovers stealing a moment alone.
But irritation was clear in the tight line of his jaw.“Amber,”he snapped softly, reaching for my hand.
I backed out of his reach, studying the bundle of well-produced strips of parchment. They were of a distinctive and familiar size and shape—thin, but sturdy, and cut so that they would spiral around three-quarters of a vial rather than sitting perfectly horizontal.
“These are the labels you use for your…business,” I whispered. “Howfancy—”
“Yes. And Family Weekend has saved me a two-day carriage ride to retrieve them. Now, if you don’t mind, this is not the only business I’m hoping to accomplish before—”
“Wilder! Amber! There they are!” a familiar woman’s voice called.
Wilder groaned. Then he forced a smile as his gaze found something beyond my shoulder. “Mother!”
With a deft move, he waved, then lowered his hand to snatch the labels from me and shove them back into his pocket even as he spun me by my elbow.
Jon and Annora Gregory were headed straight toward us from one side of Conservatory, and the angle of their path had given them a glimpse of us that most of the crowd lacked.
“Whateverare you two doing back there?” Wilder’s mother called as a breeze ruffled the thin, translucent veil draped over her dark blond bun.
“My love, you should not ask questions we might not want answered…” her husband scolded amiably as his assessing gaze roamed from Wilder’s face to mine, which suddenly felt warm.
Wilder had his mother’s fair, golden coloring and a lighter, clearer version of her blue-gray eyes, while Desmond took after their father, with his larger build, dark hair and eyes, and deeper skin tone. But both sons had inherited the shape of their mother’s nose and their father’s broad jaw.
It felt odd, looking at the Gregorys and suddenly seeing Desmond and Wilder in them, as if nature had made a game of selecting from their features. As a child, I’d never contemplated their resemblance to their parents. Or to each other.
Though I could not remember the past two years of my life, it felt like ages since I’d seen Wilder’s parents, and having them at the Alchemary was particularly jarring. Especially considering the new webbing at the corners of Annora’s eyes and the gray at Jon’s temples. I might not remember the passage of time, but I could certainly feel and see its effects.
“Amber!”
I sucked in a breath as an even more familiar, and very welcome, form stepped out from behind Jon Gregory. “Martyn!”
“My darling!” My stepfather rushed forward to envelop me in a clove-scented hug, his slim-cut tunic flaring over snug, dark trousers. “I’m so delighted to see you!”
“And I, you!” I squeezed him tight, then let him go, unable to temper my broad smile. “Where is my father?”
His face fell slightly. “I’m sorry to say he could not make it. He’s working on a project in the south, and it has run long. But I am delighted to see how disappointed you look, and I shall describe this moment to him in great detail.” He leaned forward to whisper into my ear, “Your father has sent along a letter for you.” He pressed a folded sheet of parchment into my hand, and I noted my father’s seal.
“How kind of you to deliver it.” I slid the note into my pocket. “Did you travel with the Gregorys?”
“Indeed. Jon and Annora were kind enough to offer me a seat in their carriage.”
“Martyn is delightful company!” Annora declared. “And he kept us stuffed with a variety of pastries.”
“Don’t worry. I’ve brought some for you both as well,” Martyn said with a wink at me and a smile at Wilder, who looked distinctly uncomfortable at having been located by our families. “Now, you must give me a tour of thisstunningcampus!”
I took Martyn to see my bedchamber, my classrooms, Desmond’s lab, and the Refectory. I showed him my favorite bench by the Dormitory’s courtyard fountain and my preferred table in the southwest corner of the student library, all while we ate rabbit roasted on skewers and dried fruit sold in wax paper packets. Finally, as the sun began to set over the ocean, behind the towering roof of the Conservatory, Martyn and the Gregorys said good night to me and to Desmond, whom we’d found in the quadrangle, then headed past the guards, through the gate, and over the bridge into Saltstrand, where they’d secured accommodations for the next two nights despite the crowd that had descended upon the small town.
“Have you any idea where my brother’s gone?” Desmond whispered as we waved to them from the Seminary’s rear lawn.
