Tessa took the opportunity to turn to Jem, who was sitting on her right side. “Shanghai,” she said in a low voice. “It sounds so fascinating. I wish I could travel there. I’ve always wanted to travel. ”
As Jem smiled at her, she saw that gleam again at his throat. It was a pendant carved out of dull green stone. “And now you have. You’re here, aren’t you?”
“I’ve only ever traveled before in books. I know that sounds silly, but—”
Jessamine interrupted them by slamming her fork down onto the table. “Charlotte,” she demanded shrilly, “make Will let me alone. ”
Will was leaning back in his chair, his blue eyes glittering. “If she’d say why she has blood on her clothes, I would leave her alone. Let me guess, Jessie. You ran across some poor woman in the park who had the misfortune of wearing a gown that clashed with yours, so you slit her throat with that clever little parasol of yours. Do I have it right?”
Jessamine bared her teeth at him. “You’re being ridiculous. ”
“You are, you know,” Charlotte told him.
“I mean, I’m wearing blue. Blue goes with everything,” Jessamine went on. “Which, really, you ought to know. You’re vain enough about your own clothes. ”
“Blue does not go with everything,” Will told her. “It does not go with red, for instance. ”
“I have a red and blue striped waistcoat,” Henry interjected, reaching for the peas.
“And if that isn’t proof that those two colors should never be seen together under Heaven, I don’t know what is. ”
“Will,” Charlotte said sharply. “Don’t speak to Henry like that. Henry—”
Henry raised his head. “Yes?”
Charlotte sighed. “That’s Jessamine’s plate you’re spooning peas onto, not yours. Do pay attention, darling. ”
As Henry looked down in surprise, the d
ining room door opened and Sophie came in. Her head was down, her dark hair shining. As she bent to speak softly to Charlotte, the witchlight cast its harsh glow over her face, making her scar gleam like silver against her skin.
A look of relief spread over Charlotte’s face. A moment later she had risen to her feet and hurried out of the room, pausing only to touch Henry lightly on the shoulder as she went.
Jessamine’s brown eyes widened. “Where’s she going?”
Will looked at Sophie, his gaze sliding over her in that way that Tessa knew was like fingertips stroking over your skin. “Indeed, Sophie, my dear. Where did she go?”
Sophie shot him a venomous look. “If Mrs. Branwell had wanted you to know, I’m sure she would have told you,” she snapped, and hurried out of the room after her mistress.
Henry, having set down the peas, attempted a genial smile. “Well, then,” he said. “What was it we were discussing?”
“None of that,” Will said. “We want to know where Charlotte’s gone. Did something happen?”
“No,” Henry said. “I mean, I don’t think so—” He glanced around the room, saw four pairs of eyes fixed on him, and sighed. “Charlotte doesn’t always tell me what she’s doing. You know that. ” He smiled a little painfully. “Can’t blame her, really. Can’t count on me to be sensible. ”
Tessa wished she could say something to comfort Henry. Something about him made her think of Nate when he was younger, gawkish and awkward and easily hurt. Reflexively she put up her hand to touch the angel at her throat, seeking reassurance in its steady ticking.
Henry looked over at her. “That clockwork object you wear around your neck—might I see it for a moment?”
Tessa hesitated, then nodded. It was only Henry, after all. She unhooked the clasp of the chain, drew off the necklace, and handed it to him.
“This is a clever little object,” he said, turning it over in his hands. “Where did you get it?”
“It was my mother’s. ”
“Like a sort of talisman. ” He glanced up. “Would you mind if I examined it in the laboratory?”
“Oh. ” Tessa couldn’t hide her anxiety. “If you’re very careful with it. It’s all I have of my mother’s. If it were broken …”
“Henry won’t break or damage it,” Jem reassured her. “He’s really very good with this sort of thing. ”
“It’s true,” said Henry, so modest and matter-of-fact about it that there seemed nothing conceited about the statement. “I’ll return it to you in pristine condition. ”
“Well …” Tessa hesitated.
“I don’t see what the fuss is,” said Jessamine, who had looked bored throughout this exchange. “It’s not like it has diamonds in it. ”