“You didn’t drive me away,” I insisted. “I had to get back to work. I hope I didn’t offend Alec.” It was the first time I’d said his name aloud, and my cheeks grew so warm I knew I must be blushing furiously.

“He’s very difficult to offend.” She smiled and added, “I believe he was quite taken with you.”

My face grew even warmer. “Really?” I said in a squeak.

She laughed. “You like him?”

I was afraid to answer because I didn’t want to appear overly eager. “I barely know him, but he did save my life, and he seems very clever.”

She grinned. “Then I shall have to play matchmaker. It’s high time Alec looked at something other than an engine.”

A thought struck me, dampening my spirits. “I don’t know if I’m allowed to have gentleman callers. Governesses aren’t usually encouraged to court.”

She winked. “He doesn’t have to call on you, and it isn’t anyone’s business who you meet in your free time.”

The waiter brought our refreshments, then Lizzie said, “Now, tell me about yourself. What brings you to New York to be a governess?”

I didn’t want to tell her the version of the story I’d given Lord Henry. It sounded so very dull. “I had a good education and wanted to put it to some use other than becoming a professor’s wife, so I decided to strike out on my own.”

“And you landed among us your first day in the city! I suppose that was hardly what you expected.”

“Not at all,” I admitted.

“What is it like working in a magister house?”

“I’ve never lived among such wealth, but Lord Henry is very kind.”

She snorted derisively. “For a magister, I’m sure he is. But that just means he’s almost human.”

My mouth went dry in spite of the sip of lemonade I’d just taken. “Almost human?”

“The magisters are what’s wrong with the colonies, what’s wrong with the Empire. They act as though they’re some higher race with every right to subjugate us mere humans.”

“Really?” I asked. That didn’t fit my impression of Lord Henry at all.

“Why do you think it’s so important that their children be chaperoned everywhere? They’re terrified that if enough of them made improper liaisons, there might be common people with magical powers, and that would chip away at the basis of their rule. Not that it would make much difference. I imagine that anyone who got power would end up becoming like them.”