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Lambert turns to face us, his lips white from being pressed together. “It’s over, then?”
Simon collapses in the chair at the far end of the table, his wrath spent. “Your father thinks so.”
“But you don’t agree.”
He closes his eyes and leans his head against the carved back. “No. I don’t.”
Juliane sits on the bench and begins gathering the papers strewn across the table. No one pays any attention to me. “I guess this is where I take my leave,” I say, curtsying awkwardly. “You can keep the maps if you like.”
“Whyever would you go?” Juliane pauses in her actions to cock her head at me. “You should know.”
“Know what?” I ask.
She tosses her head like I’m being silly. “Simon isn’t done. Not till he’s found the one.”
Simon’s eyes snap open at her words. Juliane drops the page she’s holding and wrings her hands. “I’m sorry,” she mumbles.
Leaning forward, Simon puts one hand on her arm, but rather than look at him Juliane focuses on the table. “You need rest,” he says gently. I almost feel like he’s handing her something.
“Yes, yes, that’s best,” she says, rocking back and forth. “But Cat should stay.”
Simon pats her arm. “Not today.”
“Today stay,” Juliane mutters. “Stay today.”
I glance at Lambert. He’s working his jaw back and forth as he stares at them.
Is this another “game” their family plays, like the one where they speak nonsense? Simon looks up at his cousin and smiles, but it’s as fake as a dramatic mask worn in a play. “The past few days have been exhausting, and the execution is this afternoon. We can start again tomorrow.”
“You’re not quitting?” I blurt out, though Juliane had said as much.
Simon’s gaze shifts to me. “No, I’m not. We’ll just have to be smart how we go about it.”
“We?” I ask.
Juliane’s rhythmic motion had slowed, but now she stops to watch us. Simon hesitates for a handful of seconds, pressing his lips back together, his eyes pleading. “You’re free to go, Cat, of course, but… I would hope you’d choose to continue helping us.”
Magister Thomas still needs me to watch out for him, but he’s not the biggest reason I promise to come back.
