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“Thank you,” Blake said tightly.
“How was your honeymoon?”
“Well, it could’ve been better.”
Blake’s answers were clipped. It was obvious he still didn’t feel amenable toward Jarvis. Jarvis was determined to break the tension, however.
“I am sorry to hear that,” he said. “Actually, if you’re not too busy, I wish to speak with you.”
Payne hesitated. “Of course,” he said after a long pause, then bowed to Olive. “Miss Olivia.”
Jarvis tipped his head and made his way out of the garden with Payne.
They walked a while in silence. Jarvis didn’t know how to start a conversation with the man he was responsible for getting captured and tortured for two years.
He cleared his throat. “We haven’t exactly spoken after that day in Newgate Prison.”
“Yes.” Blake’s answer was sharp.
“I tried to see you, but—”
“I know. I was trying to forget it all. Jarvis.” Blake stopped and turned toward him. “I know it’s not your fault that I was taken in your place. The thugs made a mistake, but… I lost two years of my life because of something I wasn’t guilty of.”
“I know. And I know that no matter what I say, it won’t make you feel any better, so I shan’t waste my time on empty platitudes. Instead, I promise to make those people pay.”
Payne turned back to the path and started walking slowly. “So, you are the infamous Shadow.”
“One of.”
“One of how many?”
“I do not know.”
Payne raised a brow in disbelief.
“I realize you mistrust me, but I have no reason to lie to you. You’ve suffered because of me. The least I can do is tell you why.”
“Well, I am listening.”
“I can’t tell you much about the Shadows. And not because I am not allowed, or because I don’t trust you, but because I do not know much. It’s a system developed hundreds of years ago, and it works. Every Shadow inherits their mantle from their parents, just like peers. I’ve been preparing for this since early childhood, so when I finally received my first mission, I was not surprised.”
“What was your first mission?” Blake asked.
“That doesn’t matter as much as my latest mission.” Jarvis paused. “Surely you’ve heard of the Lykai orphan house.”
“Yes, it’s quite popular for being one of the biggest reformative places for children from the rookeries.”
“Right, but have you heard that children have been disappearing from it on a weekly basis?”
Blake frowned. “No. But I wouldn’t be surprised. They are probably runaways.”
“That’s what most people assume. And the peers are generally not interested in problems that do not concern them. That is not a reflection on you. I mean, I did not know about this issue either until I got a mission to find out what is truly going on.”
“So, what is truly going on?”
“The truth is that someone is stealing those children. Snatching them from the first secure place they’ve ever been in.”
“To do what with them?” Blake’s brows furrowed.
