“You should cast too, you know,” Lennox whispered in return, and that was when I realized why the magician wanted to sift through the food. He thought we had poisoned it, which was irrational, since my father and I were also eating from the same platters.

Papa came to a similar conclusion. “If you fear an upset stomach, don’t worry. We have plenty of herbs to calm it. If you fear poison . . . then let me reassure you, Mr. Lennox. It’s bad fortune to harm a guest under one’s roof, and I don’t intend on bringing terrible luck upon my household.”

“What a reassurance,” Lennox said, and he continued with his cantrip, searching the food on his plate and the ginger beer in his cup.

Imonie stood beside the china cabinet and watched with a flat expression. But her eyes shone like obsidian.

I forced myself to eat. I was sitting across from Phelan, and I noticed how he cut his meat into proper bites, how he handled his fork and knife. I made a point to be his opposite. My cutlery screeched against my plate, provoking winces from the men, and I put a hunk of meat in my mouth, my fork upside down.

Phelan watched in shock, as if he couldn’t believe my manners. Lennox looked disgusted.

I smiled as I chewed, close lipped and full of terrible thoughts.

My father cleared his throat. “May I ask how long the two of you plan to stay in Hereswith?”

“It could be a short visit,” Lennox said, dragging his disbelieving gaze from me. “But then again, we might decide to stay for a while.”

“Could you please provide me with the date you’ll be departing, then?” Papa continued, and from the corner of my eye, I saw his hand was trembling as he speared a potato with his fork.

“We have no definite date as of yet.” Lennox sounded smug. “But as it is the new moon . . . I was wondering what sort of nightmares haunt your town, Mr. Madigan. Are they indeed vicious, since you dwell so near the mountains and the accursed Seren Duchy? What sort of terrors stalk the streets on the darkest of nights?”

My father was silent. But he stared across the table at Lennox Vesper, and I felt the chill in the air. A chill that expressed how angry my father was, even as he secretly smoldered with a fever beneath the glamour.

“The nightmares are mine to keep, Mr. Lennox,” Papa said. “I’m the warden of Hereswith. These streets are mine to guard, these people mine to honor and protect. Despite your education and polished upbringing, you seem to have forgotten the most basic of laws and respect when it comes to the magic of dreams and guardianship.”

Lennox chuckled, reaching for his ginger beer. “I’ve not forgotten at all, Mr. Madigan. My memory is rather sharp, and I do nothing without thought.”