Page 53 of The Black Key

“Yes, he’s very funny, isn’t he?” Coral says. “I remember when he was my companion. He used to do impressions of the servants that made me laugh for days.”

I’d forgotten Rye worked for the House of the Downs. It seems wrong to me, unnatural that she and Coral would share a companion, but I suppose it must happen all the time.

“Don’t remind me,” Carnelian mumbles.

“And he’s a good deal nicer than that awful Ash Lockwood,” Coral continues, oblivious to Carnelian’s murderous expression. “I remember how jealous I was when the Duchess procured him for you! My mother was dying to get her hands on him. But I suppose that worked out for the best.”

“Don’t talk about him like you know him,” Carnelian snaps. “Because you don’t.”

“Well, neither did you, really,” Coral points out.

Carnelian stares out the window and fumes for the rest of the drive.

Our motorcar pulls into a station that is even smaller than the one I arrived at when I was pretending to be Lily. There is no little house beside it. It’s nestled in a copse of trees, their buds just beginning to blossom. The train is only one car, gleaming black with copper detail. The conductor jumps to attention when we arrive, doffing his hat and opening the train door for us.

The interior of the car looks very similar to a royal parlor. There are two couches, one upholstered in silver with a pretty snowflake pattern, the other gold embossed with leaves, as well as two armchairs. Lamps decorate the various tables, their shades in muted tones of peach and beige. A miniature chandelier hangs from the ceiling. There is a marble statue of a woman in a long dress, a bird perched on her outstretched hand. A glass cabinet filled with liquor bottles sits beside a very large, very realistic portrait of the Exetor.

Carnelian and Coral take seats on opposite couches. I’ve learned by now that my job is to stand quietly in the corner and pretend I don’t exist. Today’s paper sits on a small side table and Carnelian picks it up and flips through it as the train rumbles forward.

“I do read the papers, by the way,” Coral says. “There was an editorial by the Lady of the Dell about the inequity of pre-birth engagements.”

Carnelian snorts. “Please. That was a veiled attempt by the Electress to discredit the Duchess. Everyone knows she doesn’t want the Duchess’s daughter marrying her son. Probably why she sent those men to kill the surrogate at Garnet’s party.”

“The Electress wouldn’t do that,” Coral says. “It’s treason. People are just jealous.”

“You don’t really believe that, do you?”

Coral very studiously ignores the question.

Carnelian groans. “You act like you haven’t lived in this circle your whole life. You know how ruthless it is.”

“That’s such a cruel word.” Coral adjusts her hat. “People just have very strong feelings about things here, that’s all.”

Carnelian laughs at that, and I’m glad she can, since I can’t.

“You’re a joke, Coral.”

“At least I’m pretty and happy,” she responds with a shrug. “Maybe if you tried smiling more, someone in this circle will want to marry you.”

“I don’t think it’s my lack of smiles that’s preventing any House from making a match with me,” Carnelian says. “Besides, there are more important things than finding a husband and buying a surrogate.”

It’s Coral’s turn to laugh. “Like what?”

Carnelian brandishes the paper at her. “The city is falling apart out there.”

At that moment, the iron door between the Bank and the Jewel groans open. The train moves forward slowly, chugging through the darkness until we finally emerge on the other side, reminding me unpleasantly again of just how big this wall is.

But I won’t be alone. It won’t just be me trying to take it down, as Lucien once planned. I think of Indi and Sienna and even Olive, waiting in the Marsh, ready to ride into the Jewel with the girls being sold. I think about Raven and Sil hiding out near Southgate. I wonder how Ginger, and Tawny, and Henna are doing. I hope they’ll be ready, that Amber and Scarlet and the other girls have helped them practice with the elements. I hope they learn from one another, strengthen one another.

As light filters back into the train, Coral smiles smugly. “How is anyone ever going to get through that wall, Carnelian? We are perfectly safe in the Jewel. And I’m sure this whole business will blow over soon enough. These ruffians will be caught and punished.” She sniffs, smoothing out her skirts. “Can’t they be thankful that we provide them with jobs, put clothes on their backs and food in their bellies? It seems so ungrateful of them to be throwing these tantrums.”

Once again, Carnelian speaks my mind for me.

“Coral, you have absolutely no idea what you’re talking about. What you know about the lower circles could fit inside one of your stupid miniature teacups.”

The train slows and we pull up to the Bank station before the fight can continue.

It is as private as the one in the Jewel, if not more. There are trees that hide it within the confines of a brick wall. A motorcar waits for us just inside the golden gate that leads to the rest of the circle.