The so-called captain of the Urchins no doubt.
“Can’t he be seen by a healer?” Alora’s ankle was in perfect condition. Surely that Urchin could fix a swollen eye.
“Master is allowing it to heal naturally. I could be performing alone for a week or more!”
Alora stared into Lennox’s puddled eyes and couldn’t bear it. “I’m afraid this is all because of me. He asked me to enter Door Ten with him and gave me something to drink. I was…not myself. We were discovered there.”
“William took you into Door Ten?”
Lennox’s eyes were large and vivid green with emotion. Alora couldn’t tell if she was hurt or shocked or on the verge of a fit of rage.
“It was a huge mistake. I should have questioned what I was being offered. I’m sorry.”
“And William just— What anass.Don’t you dare blame yourself at all; he should know better! And to not even explain it all to you first? Why, I—I’d punch him myself if I could get to him!”
“Please don’t! Not on my account.” Alora already had her hands full with one person acting out for transgressions against her.
“I couldn’t even if I wanted to. His room, orrooms, is separate from ours.” She swiped at her nose and then her eyes. “Be honest with me, Alora. How ruined is my face?”
“Fairly ruined.”
“I thought so. Well, I suppose it must be redone. Come along.” Alora’s feet didn’t move, not even as Lennox moved around her and tugged at her hand. She glanced back, brow furrowed. “Oh, I forget you don’t keep the same hours. Are you working?”
“No, not exactly. Though I do need to ask Madam Feebledire a question.”
“Ask her afterward, please. I could use the company. We don’t get much of it; not of the sort I want.”
Alora worried her lip. “Isn’t it against the rules?”
“Um. Yes, probably.”
“I’ve just come from a meeting with Master Merridon. He made it quite clear I was not to break, or even bend, any rules.” At the downfall in Lennox’s face, she couldn’t help adding, “And it seems he has eyes nearly everywhere.”
“He does seem to. Oh, I wish we could be made invisible. Just for a while.”
Alora squeezed her hand. “I wish that too.”
***
“Shh, Alora. You’re not as quiet as you think!”
Alora adjusted where she placed weight on her feet, hoping for less sound as she and Lennox followed the path around Opulence. They’d passed two signs already.
Employees Only.
And the second.No Members Beyond This Point.
The topiaries were gone behind them, replaced by more uniformed shrubbery, trimmed into round, bulbous shapes.Thunder cracked all around, and the lightning was fierce. Alora adjusted the coat, ensuring all of her remained tucked inside.
“Can you see my shoes?”
Lennox squinted back at her. “A little, but it’s like a trick of the light or shadows. I would never guess there was a whole person attached.” Alora had imagined a coat which would make her invisible, and it had worked. She couldn’t hardly believe it. “No more talking now. There are bound to be other performers out and about at this time of day.”
“Even in the storm?”
“Shh!”
Alora obeyed, continuing silently along the mansion’s massive side. She was thankful for the bouts of thunder and even the whistling wind, though it was somehow kept outside the grounds. She would have been far more nervous in the utter stillness of the Opulence she was used to. As it were, she was still very, very nervous.
