“I need a more comfortable chair,” he said, standing abruptly. Kelela was on her feet and at his side in a matter of moments.

Esjay reached out to me before I could stand. “Andromeda, could you stay behind for a moment? I have just a few things to discuss with you about the contract.”

“The stupid contract again, Esjay?” Magnus mumbled. “Hang it. I should just give her everything. What do I need money for anyway?”

“You’re tired, Magnus,” Esjay said quickly. “Kelela, help him to a more comfortable room.”

She didn’t really need to be told—she’d had her arm around his waist, leading him away before Esjay had even finished.

“Why don’t we sing a little?” said Kelela as she helped him into the other room. “I remember seeing a book on your music shelf with a song I really like.”

“I’m sorry about that,” Esjay said, when they were gone. “Peggy said he was fine this morning. Did you happen to notice what changed his mood?”

I shook my head, even more confused than he was.

Esjay sighed. “I wish Kelela wouldn’t keep bringing up the engagement. They are promised to each other, yes, but…” He shook his head. “I just don’t want her to get her hopes up.”

“In case Magnus is never cleansed?” I asked.

“Yes. I don’t doubt your skill, but we’ve been through ten debtera already. There’s always the possibility that no amount of professional help will be enough.”

“I will cleanse this house,” I said.

“I believe you.”

“And yet you won’t let Kelela learn to cook his favorite foods.”

There was a pause, long enough that it felt as if I’d given too much away. As if the word “love” was hovering at the front of my brain again, and he could read it like a sheet of paper.

“I started off as enthused about it as she is,” he said. “But things are different now, and she’s better off with an education that can take her places. That’s a sure thing. Marriage to Magnus isn’t.”

“She seems hell-bent on marrying him, regardless.”

“She’s young, and I indulge her to dream. But she’s going to France soon, to stay with our aunt … and dreams can change by the circumstance.”

Kelela was leaving? I’d been here for weeks and hadn’t heard a thing about France. Kelela seemed the type who would brag about something like that. It had to be a last-minute plan, seeing as their dreams of marrying her off to a wealthy chocolate heir weren’t working out.

Still, a flash of hope sparked inside me … and I quickly doused it with a dash of common sense. “There’s nothing about the contract you actually wanted to discuss, I assume?”