Magic Under Glass by Jaclyn Dolamore

Author:Jaclyn Dolamore
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub, pdf, azw3
Tags: SteamPunk, Juvenile Fiction, Love & Romance, Fantasy & Magic
ISBN: 9781599904306
Publisher: Bloomsbury USA
Published: 2010-01-02T00:00:00+00:00

17

I fell in with a crowd leaving the ballroom. My eyes felt swollen with tears waiting to be shed, but when I caught a glimpse of myself in a mirror, all was well upon my face, if not in my heart. The servants were pulling out chairs to convert the room into a dining hall large enough for the many guests. I found Hollin past the main hall, sulking in the little cave of bookshelves tucked under the stairwell.

“How did it go with Mr. Smollings?” I asked.

“Fine,” Hollin said. “I suppose we won’t know what becomes of his plan until we see how Karstor reacts to the automaton.”

Oh, no. I realized that, among all my other concerns, I had forgotten to warn Karstor not to react to Erris’s appearance and certainly not to confirm that he was the prince. Did I dare speak to him again? My eyes darted beyond Hollin before I could think better of it.

“Nimira . . .” He sounded ragged. He reached for the tips of my fingers. “Smollings thinks I ought to send you away. He asked me why I hired you in the first place. I thought I wanted a singer, but maybe it’s—maybe it’s company I wanted, all along.”

His dark eyes were so intense, just like that first time, across the room from the stage. How long had it been? I counted the days. Not yet three weeks. It felt like an eternity.

“It is . . . ? Well—” I could ask, You don’t want me to sing, then? I feared the response.

Hollin let go of my hand. He peered out from the bookshelf like he had heard someone, but no one came. He turned back to me, his eyes traveling to my neck, and I realized I had been fidgeting with Annalie’s diamonds again.

“We won’t talk about this now,” he said. He held out his arm. “Come on.”

I wished I had said something more, only I didn’t know quite what it would have been.

We dined on tiny stuffed birds; I ate just enough to stave off hunger. I tried to listen to conversation about people I didn’t know, plays I’d never seen, and places I’d never been to, but my inner voice was loudest.

What is he implying?

Don’t be so shocked, Nim. He’s hinted at affection for you from the start.

But he has a wife whom he allows to be locked up. And you don’t love him. What could you say?

What will become of you and Erris alike if you reject his advances?

Maybe you should just tell Hollin that Erris is alive.

Oh, so he can turn right around and tell Smollings?

Hollin didn’t speak much at dinner either. Sometimes he glanced at me, too quick for me to look back. Karstor sat at the other end of the table, and I sorely wished I could send him a psychic message, for I saw no way to send him a verbal one.

The dessert course came around. “After this, we’ll adjourn to the drawing room, and you will perform,” Hollin told me.

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