I fought not to wince at what she’d think of me if she knew my heritage. If the magisters thought I was an abomination because I was a commoner with power and the Mechanics thought I wasn’t entirely human because I had magical blood, then who might accept me? At least the Mechanics were unlikely to discover my secret. Being nonmagical, they wouldn’t sense magic if I used it around them. “The family seems human enough to me,” I said. “You’d hardly know they were magical.”

“They have money, and plenty of it. That comes because of the power they control.” She laughed and shook her head. “And there I go talking politics again. I’ve forgotten how to have a normal conversation. What do people talk about when they’re not ranting about the inequities of the system and the role of machines in evening the balance?”

“I usually talk about books.” It turned out that Lizzie was a great reader, too, and she enjoyed pulp novels as much as I did. It was the first time I’d been able to talk about these books with anyone else, and the rest of our visit passed far too quickly.

As we left the coffee shop, Lizzie said, “We shall have to get together again soon. Oh! I know just the thing. Do you have any obligations Saturday night?”

“As far as I know, there’s nothing I have to attend with the children.”

“Some of my friends are having a party, and I think you’d enjoy it.”

“It isn’t a political gathering, is it?”

“Of course not. It’s just some music and dancing.” She added with a meaningful grin, “I’m sure Alec will be there.”

“It sounds like it would be great fun,” I said, trying to appear calm and collected even though my heart was doing flips inside my chest.

“Excellent! I’ll meet you on the corner near your employer’s house at eight. I promise it won’t be anything like the magister parties where you’ll play chaperone.”

*   *   *

Saturday evening, I put on my nicest gown. It was probably far too formal for the Mechanics’ party, but it was the one gown I owned that didn’t make me look like a governess, and I didn’t want to look like a governess that night. The flounces were perhaps out of style, but I thought the bright teal silk was a becoming color for me. Lord Henry was heading down the stairs at the same time I was, a butterfly net over his shoulder and binoculars around his neck, and he gave me a second look after nodding absently in greeting. “Ah, going out for the evening, I take it,” he said.

Hoping he wouldn’t suddenly need me to work, I said, “Some friends have invited me to a party.”