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I thought of my own father. Maybe Graham and I weren’t that different, except for the fact that his parents were the king and queen. And horrible. “Well, when you decide to stop caring about their opinion so much, let me know.”
“Why? You couldn’t possibly be planning toleave.”
“No, of course not.” I wiped my face with my napkin, then set it on the table between us. “But that could change if I had someone to join me.”
The fork fell from his hand, clattering on the stone floor.
I watched him with my breath in my throat. His eyes became distant and glazed. He studied the door of the restaurant as if he were considering walking right out of here and escaping this gray city. Then he turned back to me, his face lit with the fire’s glow.
I started to squirm under his gaze. “Well, now that I told you something, are you ready to tell me your last name?”
He ran a hand through his hair. “I don’t know. It’s . . . nothing personal, but—”
“If you won’t, I’ll have to start calling you Graham the Nobleman.” There was always the option of calling him out and getting past this nonsense, but only one thing held me back: how he might react when he discovered I’d been pretending not to know who he was. It might make him wonder what else I’d been hiding.
He shrugged. “I’ve been called worse.”
The server returned to our table. “Pub’s closin.’ That’ll be four cowries.”
I reached into my bag. My hand brushed past the book and knives in their sheaths, scraping the bottom of the sharkskin.Ugh. I’d forgotten I’d given the last of my cowries away. Before I could explain, Graham placed five shells on the table.
Unwelcome guilt settled in my stomach at his kindness. He obviously had plenty of money—thanks to citizens’ taxes—so I knew it hardly mattered, but I hadn’t wanted him to do me any favors. However, since I had no money of my own and no room to refuse, there was only one thing I could say.
“Thank you,” I muttered.
We left the pub, stepping into the misty drizzle.
“I . . . guess I’ll see you at the library tomorrow,” I said, starting down the street toward Quarter C.
He stayed by my side. “Wait. Let me escort you.”
I glanced over to the last place I saw Cael, but he wasn’t there. Still, he always managed to follow me. “Don’t you have somewhere to go? A house full of servants ready to give you a bubble bath?”
“I wouldn’t be a gentleman if I didn’t see you safely home, especially after yesterday’s attack in these very streets,” he said. “Anyhow, my bubble bath can wait.”
I didn’t want Graham to know where I was staying, but I figured it couldn’t hurt to let him walk me to the gates. Light rain sprinkled the stone and brick as we walked in the darkening night.
When the entrance to Quarter C came into view, I stopped. “Well, it’s nearly curfew. Time for you to catch a carriage.” I turned away.
“Wait!” said Graham.
I faced him. “Yes?”
“I know I should mind my own business and I doubt you’ll want to tell me, but . . . wheredidyou get that book?”
I shielded my eyes against the rain and looked him in the eye. I still couldn’t tell him too much unless the book had lessened his prejudice, at least a little. “Would you be afraid if you found out there was an outlaw in the city?”
He hesitated. “Is there?”
“Just answer the question.”
“Well . . . yes, I suppose. Maybe.” He gritted his teeth, then sighed. “It depends. I must admit they might not be as threatening as I’ve always been told—and they’re sometimes even mistreated if the book is accurate—but still, they don’t belong in Cambria. They’re uncivilized criminals, after all.”
His parents’ influence was still strong. I folded my arms and let a hint of steel into my voice. “Uncivilized isn’t a very nice way to put it.”
“But it’s the truth, isn’t it?”
“That depends on who you ask. Orwhom, if I’m trying to sound morecivilized.” As soon as I said the word, I bit my tongue. In my anger, I’d let my caution slide. As much as I wanted to say more, he wasn’t ready to hear it.
