“Yes. Fine.” He seemed surprised.

“What were you two talking about?” I said.

“Who?”

“You and Lord Ashcombe. You were in his office.”

“Oh. Nothing.” He paused. “I mean, training.”

“Training?”

“Yes. You know, while we were staying with the King’s Men, I got to train all the time. Lord Ashcombe asked if I—I mean, I asked Lord Ashcombe—if I could still train with them now that we’re home. I thought maybe even with Sir William Leech. You remember him.”

Of course I remembered him. He was Tom’s first sword master. We’d spent two weeks with him on the road to Paris. “And?”

“And what? Oh—he said maybe. He’d look into it.”

“That would be great,” I said.

“Yeah.” Tom stopped. “I think our room is this way.”

He walked on. I followed him, puzzled, confused, and hurt.

Tom had just lied to me.

CHAPTER 17

I DIDN’T UNDERSTAND IT.

Tom didn’t always approve of the things I did, especially when they involved fire. Sometimes I annoyed him. Rarely, I made him cross. In Paris, he’d been absolutely furious with me for a time.

But he never, ever lied. Not to me. If anything, I wished sometimes he’d keep his feelings to himself.

Yet he’d lied to me, just then. I could tell. It was in his face, the way he hadn’t wanted to look at me while we were speaking.

It wasn’t just the lie, either. Something in his manner made him seem a little sad, though I wasn’t sure what.

At first, I wondered if it was because he missed his family. He’d been so looking forward to seeing his little sisters again, and his spirits had sunk awfully low when he’d learned he wouldn’t. His family had been staying on a boat moored in the center of the Thames to avoid the plague. By now, the death count had fallen, from thousands a week to a mere dozen. But the scare his mother had had when she thought Tom was infected had left her hysterical. According to the last letter she’d sent, she was refusing to let any of her children off the boat until there were absolutely no more cases.

But if it was his sisters he was sad about, he’d tell me. Him keeping a secret couldn’t be good. I wanted to press him on it. And yet, I was afraid to ask. If he’d gone so far as to lie… I didn’t think I’d like the answer.

I followed him silently, wishing I was a little more brave.

Tom found our room eventually. The first thing I did was slip the map of the palace under my apothecary sash; it was clear we needed it. Then we armed ourselves: me with my twin pistols; Tom with Eternity, his Templar sword, strapped to his back. As usual, he wrapped a cloth around the moonstone pommel and gilded hilt to hide its craftsmanship. It was a blade fit for a king, not a commoner.

Bridget ran around the room madly on our return. I picked her up. Normally, this would quiet her, but she fussed in my hands. “What is with you?” I said.