Rebel Magisters (8 page)

I suspected that meant he wanted to talk, and I wasn’t sure I wanted to do so. I automatically glanced at Henry, reluctant to leave him and unable to avoid comparing the two men. Henry, whose obliviousness wasn’t always an act, said, “Go on, Verity. Enjoy yourself. We’ll be fine.”

Declining Alec’s invitation after that would only raise questions I’d rather not have to answer, so I took the arm Alec offered and walked away with him. “I really wasn’t expecting you to bring the magisters to us,” he said.

“You asked me to ask them for more money. I thought you should speak directly. You’d do a better job of making your case than I would, since I don’t know what you need or what you have planned.” I kept my tone stiff and formal, the way I might speak with Rollo’s headmaster.

“You’re still angry with me,” he said with a rueful grin.

I started to deny it, but decided that honesty would be better. “Yes, I’m angry. How should I feel? You deceived me, and then even after you knew me better and knew where I stood, you didn’t trust me enough to let me in on the truth. You’d have kept on using me if I hadn’t figured it out.”

“I told you, it may have started as a lie, but it came to be real. I miss you, Verity. You mean a lot to me, and I enjoyed our time together. Couldn’t you try giving me a second chance? We could start over, with total honesty this time.”

Could I? I forced myself to look at him, to remember the time when the thought of him made me tremble. I remembered the kisses we’d shared, the time he held me against himself as we hid from what I’d believed were soldiers looking for us. That was the sticking point. He’d led me to believe so many things that weren’t true, just to manipulate me. I wasn’t sure I’d ever be able to trust him the way I needed to trust anyone I grew close to. “A lot more time would have to pass before I could even consider it,” I said at last. “We have too much to do.”

“You know nothing could ever happen with your magister boy.”

“It’s not about him,” I said, willing my face not to flush and give me away. “Whether or not Henry and I have any interest in each other—which we don’t—it doesn’t change the fact that I can’t trust you to be honest with me as long as the cause is involved, and the cause is what’s most important for all of us right now.”

“Then after the revolution, we’ll talk.”

After the revolution, perhaps I would have a chance to be with Henry, but that seemed like such a far-off dream that it was no more realistic than one of Olive’s storybooks. “Perhaps,” was all I said. “Now I think I should return to”—I almost said “my friends,” which would likely have been interpreted badly—“the others.”

We reached Henry and Geoffrey just as Colin approached them. “We’re all here, if you can extract your friend from Emma’s delightful grasp,” he said.

Henry signaled to Philip, who handed Emma over to another dance partner before joining us on one of the benches that had been pushed against a wall. Colin, Alec, and two other men I didn’t know pulled up chairs to face us. The two strange men wore goggles, and they weren’t introduced to us.

Colin was apparently the spokesman for the group. “You’ve seen our machines and what they can do,” he said. “We’ve got the big engines that can haul just about anything, and they also make a rather formidable battering ram. The same sort of engine could be put on a railroad and haul just as much, just as quickly, as a magical engine. We’ve got an airship we’re still improving. There’s this underground railway, and we’ve got electric dynamos that can give us lights and communications.”

“Yes, it’s all very impressive,” Geoffrey said. “I’d love a chance to get a better look.”

“No offense to your lordships, but we figure these machines are the key to us beating the magisters,” Colin continued. “You have magical power that you control, and that’s been what stopped us from winning our freedom before, but now we’ve come up with ways to generate our own power. The problem is, it costs money to make enough of these to make any difference. A couple of steam traction engines aren’t going to win a war for us. Having the technology will also allow us to maintain our independence after we kick you lot out. So, we need money.”

“We’ve been funding you all along,” Henry said.

“Yes, and that’s how we’ve been able to develop the prototypes,” Alec said. “Production requires a different sort of financing. And since you’ve been funding us…”

“I’m afraid there won’t be any money from the Masked Bandits for some time,” Henry said. “We’re on hiatus. We came too close to getting caught, so we want the authorities to think we’ve quit or have left town.”

“There’s also no way we could steal enough money to fund the kind of industry you’re talking about,” Philip added. “We’d have to hit every bank in the colonies. That’s beyond our capability.”

Geoffrey took a sheet of paper out of his breast pocket. “I ran some hypothetical numbers, based on material and labor costs. What you want to do is just about impossible. Do you realize how many factories it would require to produce enough to make a difference in a war against the Empire? How much raw material and manpower? You need an entire industry. And you’d have to do it without anyone noticing so you don’t get shut down before you finish production.”

“We thought we might take some existing magical equipment and retrofit it for a new power supply,” Alec said.

“No one will notice you buying up surplus equipment?”

“So we’re just supposed to lie down and take it? Not revolt at all?” Colin said.

“No, but I’m afraid this is beyond us,” Geoffrey said. “It would take many more of us, all over the colonies, maybe even back in England, to have the resources to pull this off. I might be able to buy you a magical engine or two and the equipment you’d need to retrofit it. But you need hundreds of engines, plus the organizational infrastructure to hide what you’re doing as some innocuous enterprise.”

It was as though someone had dumped cold water over the party. The magisters and Mechanics alike looked crestfallen. “So, you’re not going to help us, then?” Colin said.

“We didn’t say that,” Henry said. “There are more of us than you might realize who are sympathetic to the cause. Many of us want revolution, too. We might be able to find investors to fund your efforts.”

Alec’s angry response surprised me. With a fierce glare, he crossed his arms over his chest and said, “Oh, so our overlords will deign to give us money? What will you expect in return? Are you buying us?”

Henry’s eyes flashed, but he kept his tone perfectly cool as he replied, “You were willing to ask us to put our lives on the line to steal money to fund your cause. Is it so different if we offer to give you money?”

“If you give us your money, we’re beholden to you. You might expect us to dance to your tune,” Alec said. “Isn’t that how investment usually works?”

“We would want to be equal partners in the revolution,” Henry said. “We wouldn’t just be funding your rebellion. We’re doing this not because we like you, but because we want to be free just as much as you do.”

Alec shook his head. “Then we’d just be answering to a different group of magisters. What’s the point of a rebellion, then?”

“Freedom,” Philip said. “We could make our own decisions instead of being ruled by people living on the other side of the ocean. We could break down the barriers between magisters and everyone else. People could decide for themselves what they want to be and do. Your machines would help level the field, as you said. We’d all be equals.”

Leaning forward and looking Alec square in the eye, Henry said, “Look, we’re planning a revolution with or without you. We have wealth and magic on our side, so we don’t really need you. We’ve been sending money to your people because the nation we imagine is more equitable, and your technology helps make us equals. But if you don’t want to participate, that makes equality a lot more difficult.”

The men on both sides glared at each other. I worried that they’d come to blows, but Colin broke the tension. “This would all be a lot simpler if you’d just agree to rob each other and then give us the money,” he quipped.

One of the Mechanic men who’d been silently listening all this time said, “We will have to think about this and discuss it with our people.” He stood, and the others rose, as well. “Now, you are free to enjoy the party as our guests.”

The Mechanics went back to the party, but before he left us, Colin said, “When you’re ready to leave, let us know. We can either send you uptown via the subway, or I can guide you to the surface.”

The magister men and I lingered on our bench. “What are you going to do?” I asked.

“I suppose that’s up to them,” Henry replied with a weary sigh. “But in case they do want our help, we should probably start doing more organizing on our end. We’re not quite as ready to rebel as I made it sound, but we should be.”

“What about Brad up in Boston?” Philip said. “He was a good chap—had the best ideas. Last time I talked to him, he made it sound like they’d put together quite a group. They’ve even been taking action, sabotage and that sort of thing.”

“I’m sure there are others in the other colonies. I’ve heard rumors that there are rebel sympathizers at some rather high levels,” Geoffrey said. “The trick would be finding them and finding an excuse to meet with the other groups. This lot here may be secretive and worried about being caught, but we’re under a lot more scrutiny.”

I had a burst of insight. Turning to Henry, I said, “You should come with us on the governor’s trip.”

“Me? I’m not sure I was invited.”

“It didn’t sound like you were being specifically excluded, and if he really wants to take the children for their benefit, as he said, he can hardly deny you.”

“Then I’d have to face him in close quarters for an extended time.” He shuddered at the thought.

“Think of it as a test of your acting ability and your cover identity.”

“It’s too bad it’s the wrong time of year for peak insect activity,” he said with a mischievous smile.

“What trip is this?” Philip asked.

“The governor is meeting with the local governments around the colonies, and he wants to bring the children,” Henry explained.

“Oh, you should definitely go,” Geoffrey said. “It’s the perfect opportunity to make contact, and right under the governor’s nose.”

Henry clapped me on the back. “Capital idea, Verity,” he said. “I knew there was a reason I hired you.”

“I thought it was to keep a potential witness under your eye.”

“Yes, but a witness who kept her wits in a crisis. That was also important.” Still beaming, he shook his head. “I can’t believe I didn’t think of it. This trip should be just what we need to start building an organization.”

“And think of the intelligence you might be able to pick up.”

“I’m counting on you to do that for me. You’ll probably have more access among the governor’s people than I will. I’ll just have to rearrange a few plans and then let the governor know that we’re definitely going. I suppose it would help if you can talk Flora into coming along without sulking.”

“I believe you’ll find her resigned to it.”

“You’ve already pulled off a miracle!”

“I merely reminded her that a prolonged absence is unlikely to change her situation.”

“Oh? Is the object of her affections unavailable, or perhaps unsuitable?”

“Both, I’m afraid,” I said, forcing myself not to glance at Colin, where he was energetically dancing in the middle of the room. “I suspect that what she needs most is a distraction.”

“I never saw Flora setting her cap for an unsuitable type.”

“Oh, but the person you can’t have is a very romantic figure.” I’d said it as a joke, only a second later realizing that it was true for me, as well. I thought of Flora as a child, but she wasn’t quite a year younger than I was. I waited for him to respond, hoping he wouldn’t notice the full implication of what I’d said, but his focus on the mission came to my rescue.

He was too busy thinking ahead. “I can’t wait to see the governor’s face when I tell him. And I suppose I’d better send messages to my friends.”

“Meanwhile, we’ll see what we can stir up here in the city,” Philip said.  “Some of our friends may have other friends, and so forth.”

“But be careful,” Geoffrey said. “We have to be absolutely certain who we can trust. One word to the authorities, and we’re all doomed.”

In Which

We Create a Symbol

“What we need is a symbol like that red ribbon the Mechanics wear,” Philip said. “Once someone’s been vetted and sworn an oath, they get the insignia, and then we’ll know who’s truly a part of the group.”

“What do you suggest?” Henry asked.

Philip fished around in his pockets and came up with a small key, the sort that might be used to open a jewelry box. “It’s a symbol of how sealed our lips have to be.”

“We all carry keys,” Geoffrey said with a wry smile. “That doesn’t narrow it down much.”

“If you will forgive me, Miss Newton,” Philip said, and he pulled the new blue ribbon out of my hair. With his pocket knife, he cut a small section off it and tied it to the key. “And there, we have a symbol. But I think what we should do is get multiple keys that fit a particular box, and that’s the test for which keys are genuine, as a further security measure.”

“I know a good locksmith who can take care of that,” Geoffrey said.

Philip stuck the rest of his ribbon in his pocket. “I’ll buy you a new ribbon, Miss Newton, but I like the color of this one, so if you don’t mind, I’ll keep it to make the first batch of keys.”

“I think it’s appropriate that this will have a link to her,” Henry said. “Verity has been so instrumental. Now, do you want to stay for the rest of the party, or are you ready to go?”

“I need to have a word with Lizzie,” I said.

“Take your time,” Philip said, his gaze seeking out Emma. I wondered if I should play chaperone here, but I didn’t think he was likely to do anything untoward.

I found Lizzie near the refreshment table. “I did have one other idea,” I said as I approached her. I took my article out of my purse and handed it to her. “I wrote this about taking a collection to fund the cause. I know most of your members have no money, but little bits can add up, and it might make them feel less beholden to the magisters.”