PELHAM LONGFELLOW STOPPED SPEAKING when he saw that Effie and Maximilian had come into the room. His eyes met Effie’s only briefly, and then he looked away. Was that disappointment Effie had seen, just before his gaze left hers? Now he looked down at the table and fiddled with a stack of papers in front of him.

“The children are all here now, I see,” he said.

“You’d better join us,” said Festus Grimm to Effie and Maximilian. “I think there are just enough chairs. Get some from the back.”

The last time Effie had properly seen Festus had been several weeks before. He’d been annoyed with her for ruining his investigation into some con artists in the Edgelands Market that he’d called “vile galloglasses.” And obviously the last time she’d seen Pelham Longfellow she’d been fleeing from Truelove House after overhearing them talking about her being a galloglass.

“I would like to go on record once again,” said Pelham as Effie and Maximilian got chairs and looked for places around the table, “that I don’t think it’s a good idea to have children involved in this.”

“I’m not convinced that we have a choice,” said Mrs. Beathag Hide. “They cannot be bound as we can. It’s a loophole that I think we have to exploit, or else . . .”

“Surely it is the Diberi who exploit loopholes,” said Pelham Longfellow.

“That is true,” said Leander. “And we’re supposed to be the good guys, right?”

“We should start from the beginning,” said Dora Wright. “The children should know who we are, and why they are here. Then they can make their own choice. It is important that everyone follows their own heart.” She touched her chest gracefully, her fingers adorned with diamanté rings.

“Agreed,” said a tall, striking American woman who looked faintly familiar to Effie. Hadn’t she been there on the night of the Sterran Guandré when Skylurian Midzhar had been buried alive? Hadn’t she been Albion Freake’s wife?

Effie caught Maximilian’s eye as they arranged themselves at the large table. Maximilian shrugged almost imperceptibly, as if to say, Don’t ask me, but Effie could see the glimmer of excitement in his eyes. She raised an eyebrow. What were they about to find out?

Effie found a space next to Leander, and Maximilian sat next to Professor Quinn. He looked small next to her. She was a large, beautiful woman wearing a dark-green silk dress, with a vast burgundy felt cape resting on her shoulders. She had around her neck a silver vial similar to the one Maximilian wore, and diamonds dangled heavily from her small ears. You could tell she was Tabitha’s mother, although of course she was a lot nicer.