Forged in Combat by Celia Lake

Author:Celia Lake
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Celia Lake

Chapter 7

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 29TH

Melusina tilted her head. “So, the usual arcane dances, then. The thing where you are both saying sentences that say nothing to the ordinary ear, but hopefully mean something to you?” Arthur had appeared at the house promptly just before tea time on Tuesday afternoon and Hortense had declared the household not at home to any further callers.

Arthur nodded. He was, at least, being obligingly informative. Half the time on these tasks, the actual work was well within her gifts. Easy, even. The trickier part was navigating men’s egos about letting her do the work. “To begin, what have you been up to, particularly with those stationed at the Fort? I ask not out of any prurient desire to control your pleasures - I’m quite clear that wouldn’t end well for me. But rather because it may suggest some avenues forward, or others that would be a terribly bad idea.”

“To calibrate, how are we defining ‘terribly bad’ here?” Melusina raised an eyebrow and took a precisely timed sip of tea.

“If you are seen with me, will it interfere in the smooth function of the Fort and Her Majesty’s empire? Immediately provoke a jealous rage? Cause various others to plot more actively against me?” He didn’t seem entirely bothered by the idea.

“More actively?” Now, that was intriguing. “I have heard you mentioned, but not as the target of obvious plots. The subtle ones take a bit more work to sort out.”

Arthur just waited. She liked that, too. For all he was very much of Boar House in some ways - his directness, for one - it came out in him as efficiency. Melusina appreciated efficiency, it saved a great deal of bother.

She considered. “I have been out with one officer or dined with another - more often than not two on the same day.” It wasn’t bragging. He had some right to know if they were making plans. “They were interested in how we had met, whether I had known you in England, all that.”

“And what did you say?” He didn’t move, exactly, but she could sense him leaning into the conversation.

“That you were well known to the Ardens - Hortense mentioned you were here for tea periodically, part of their salon for the magical in town.” She grinned. “Though not that part, obviously, but people know they have a select circle over regularly.”

“Not as often as all that.” Arthur nodded at Hortense, who was at the far end of the sitting room, writing letters. “My duties have had me elsewhere. But often enough for that to be a fine cover, yes.”

“To be honest, I find most of them think you a dark horse. You’re career Army, but you’ve not stayed with the same regiment. Not that that’s unheard of, of course. Especially for us. You’ve shown no particular interest in the Fishing Fleet, but enough that they don’t suspect you of unmilitary tastes. On the third hand, you socialise with at least some of the natives.”

“All accurate enough, even.

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