“You’re mad,” I said.

The pressure behind the compulse increased, demanding that I stay. With a thread of my lace, I severed the bond. Rhyanon felt it give way and frowned.

“I’m done here.” I rose.

“I chose you for a reason,” she spoke calmly, as if I hadn’t said anything. “You have an excellent memory and a keen eye for detail. Your hot-headedness, however, might be a problem.”

“You have the wrong woman.”

“I can get you out of Renewal duty.”

I thought that I had misheard her, but no, she had said those words, and now she observed me to gauge my reaction. Sly, calculating, like a snake watching a mouse through the grass.

I gripped the back of the chair, my mouth dry. “Excuse me?”

“Not the Renewal you’re scheduled to perform tomorrow. But subsequently, it’s a possibility.”

She can’t be serious. “How did you know—”

“That you’re expected at the Wards in the morning?” She shook her head. “That would be telling. Suffice to say I know a lot about you, Elfreda. Your placement test results, for example, and the way you scored exactly seventy-five percent every year. That your counsellor happens to be a childhood acquaintance, and she muddies the official records to allow you to skip sessions. Kamillian Vidar, I believe.”

I stiffened.

“Relax,” she said. “I’m not here to harm you. All I’m offering is an opportunity.”

“What you’re offering amounts to treason.”

“I’m well aware of that. Are you saying no?”

She had me there. I hesitated a moment too long, and she continued.

“Think about it, then. A cab will be waiting on Reverence Street in the evening. Eighteenth bell. If you decide to attend the party, the driver will provide further details.” She got up. “The choice is yours to make.”

I didn’t perform the gestures for respect due to her station. “I’ll consider it.”

She inclined her head in acknowledgement. “I’m glad to hear that. If you’ll excuse me, I have a preliminary report to misplace.”

Was it a trick? I wondered as she left the room. Some kind of cruel and extravagant test of my loyalty to the Order? And, if so, had I already failed?

The sun had travelled halfway across the sky when I emerged from the Detainment Offices. Rhyanon’s words repeated in my mind.

I can get you out of Renewal duty.

So casual, so self-assured. If nothing else, the woman was bold. Difficult, then, to reconcile this smirking stranger with my memories of her daughter’s naming ceremony.

The details surrounding the event still remained a little hazy in my mind. I had been young, perhaps eleven, and while I had not fully understood the situation at the time, I had been aware that everyone at the gathering was deeply uncomfortable. The guests spoke too loudly, and the conversation moved in circles. Rhyanon sat in the corner beside the cradle. She cried over her sleeping infant.

I remembered handing her the doll I had brought.