We were very close together in the tight space, and although there had been a chill in the air, I felt rather warm. I couldn’t help but sigh in disappointment when he said, “I’d better get you home. I’m sorry the party turned out this way for you.”

We caught the Third Avenue bus heading uptown, and the long ride gave me time to think. After we got off the bus, as Alec escorted me the last few blocks to my home, I ventured, “Lizzie told me it wasn’t a political gathering.”

“Did you see us doing anything political? They’re the ones who make it political. We can’t even have a party without being harassed.” He gave my hand a reassuring squeeze.

“If it wasn’t political, then why were the police looking for your headquarters?”

“They want to find and shut down our inventions so everyone will stay dependent on magical power.”

“Building machines is illegal?”

“There’s no law against it, but they come up with other excuses to come after us, like accusing us of sedition or treason. Not that they yet have any evidence of that, no matter how many times they search the area.”

“That’s not at all fair! Those machines could do good!”

We stopped on a dark corner, and he turned to face me. “So you see why I tend to burst out in political speeches. I can create wonderful things, but they want to stop me because I’m not a magister.”

I resumed walking, lost in thought. There was so much I hadn’t considered, that I hadn’t known. The colonial government had always seemed benign, aside from levying higher and higher taxes. But harassing innocent people merely because they could do amazing things without magic was monstrous.

Alec must have realized I had a lot to think about because he remained silent the rest of the way. He wished me a good night once we reached the end of my block, and then he stood on the corner and watched until I was safely indoors.

I was still thinking about everything I’d discovered when I encountered Lord Henry on the stairs. “Oh, Miss Newton, you’re back,” he said. “Did you have a good evening?”

I had, before the police raid, so I smiled and said, “Yes, thank you.” Then I tensed, worried that he might smell alcohol on my breath. Our flight and the journey uptown had cleared my head so I no longer felt tipsy, but I didn’t want my employer to dismiss me for drunkenness.

He didn’t appear to notice anything amiss. “Good, good,” he said with a vague nod. He paused, frowned as if in thought, then seemed to come to a decision. “Now, might I ask a small favor of you? Matthews is off on an errand for me, and I hate to disturb Mrs. Talbot.”

“Of course, I’d be happy to help.”