“Hypatia remains somewhat displeased with me about the way our last encounter ended,” said Anna. “Though not displeased enough to bar me from the Ruelle.” She stood up, stretching like a cat. “I suppose the question is whether I wish to test her patience again or not—”

There was a knock at the door. Jumping down from the desk, Ariadne went to get it. “Oh, goodness,” Lucie heard her say, “and who are you, little man?”

“That’s Neddy,” said Anna, with a wink at Lucie. “Runs about delivering messages for the Merry Thieves and their sundry friends. What is it now?”

“Message from James ’erondale,” said Neddy, ducking into the room. “ ’E wants you at ’is house, soon as possible, and ’e wants you to give me a half crown, for my troubles.” He squinted at Lucie. “Same message for you, too, miss,” he said. “Only now as I don’t ’ave to go to the Institute to deliver it, I s’pose that saves me an errand.”

“But not me a half crown,” said Anna, producing the coin as if by magic; Neddy took it with an air of self-satisfaction and scampered out of the room. “What could James want? Do you know, Lucie?”

“No—not at all, but he wouldn’t call us there if it wasn’t important. We can take my carriage; it’s just around the corner.”

“All right.” Anna shrugged on her jacket. Ariadne had returned to sitting on the desk. “Ari, get yourself added to my next patrol. I’ve an idea about Hypatia.”

“But if you’re going to talk to Hypatia, I want to be there too,” Lucie protested. “I know the right questions to ask—”

Anna shot her an amused look. “Don’t fuss, pet. I’ll let you know where we’re meeting Hypatia.”

“Oh, good, a secret message,” Lucie said, pleased. “Will it be in code?”

Anna did not reply; she had started out of the room—then paused in front of Ariadne. She slid a finger under Ariadne’s chin, raised the other girl’s face, and kissed her, hard—Ariadne’s eyes flew wide with surprise before she closed them, surrendering to the moment. Lucie felt her cheeks turn pink.

She looked away, fixing her gaze on the amethyst fire. She could not help but think of Grace, bought and sold as a child as if she’d been a porcelain doll, not a person at all. No wonder she seemed to know so very little about love.

16 DARK BREAKS TO DAWN

And here, as lamps across the bridge turn pale

In London’s smokeless resurrection-light,

Dark breaks to dawn.

—Dante Gabriel Rossetti, “Found”

“This is absolutely madness, James,” said Anna, slamming her teacup down on the saucer with enough force to send a crack spidering through the china. She must be quite upset, James thought: her appreciation for fine china was well honed. “How could you even think such a thing?”