that. It’s just a temporary arrangement. It would be no different from you teaming up with Bunchurch, or Tendy, or whoever else you’ve been with these last few weeks. Just business, that’s all.”
“But you don’t need my help,” I said. My tone was a little flat; something in what he’d said pressed on my spirits. I could feel doors slamming in my mind.
“Well, here’s the thing. We do.” Lockwood leaned forward, and I noticed a scar on the side of his neck—not large, but white and raised—one I’d never seen before. “You’re right, Lockwood and Co.’s been doing pretty nicely these last few months, well enough to be selective about our clients. We’ve had some interesting ones, like the blind dressmaker who saw ghosts imprinted on her own private darkness, but our latest is in a category of her own. You know her. It’s Penelope Fittes.”
Hold up.
That
took me by surprise as well. Penelope Fittes was chairperson of the oldest, largest, and most celebrated of all psychic detection organizations, the great Fittes Agency. Along with the head of Rotwell’s, and several of the iron and salt magnates, she was one of the most powerful people in the country. I blinked at him. “Er, doesn’t she have an agency of her own? Rather a big one, in fact.”
“Yes, but she’s taken a shine to us,” Lockwood said. “She’s liked us ever since the Screaming Staircase affair. And after we saved her from assassination at the carnival last autumn, she’s made it her business to monitor our progress and send the odd job our way. Well, she’s got a new case for us, quite a big one, and the thing is, by all accounts it needs a good Listener.”
I looked at him.
“A
very
good Listener.”
I said nothing.
Lockwood shifted in his seat. “So…I wondered if you could help us out, just this once, in a freelance capacity….You
are
the best, after all.”
Time snapped back into one piece; I was wholly in the present, alert and questioning.
“What’s the case?”
“I don’t know.”
I frowned. “Don’t you think you ought to find out before dragging me into it?”
“It’s difficult and dangerous, that’s all I’ve been told. But Penelope Fittes is intending to brief us—by ‘us’ I obviously mean me, George, and Holly, but you could join, too, if you were up for it—tomorrow morning at Fittes House. You know how much of a recluse Ms. Fittes is, particularly after that carnival thing. It must be something special if she’s personally involved.”
“I still don’t get it. Why does she want
you
to do this job? She’s got a million agents of her own.”
“Again…I don’t know, Luce. But if we do it well, it’ll stand us in good stead for further commissions.”
“I’m sure it will, and that’s great for you, but I’m no longer part of Lockwood and Co., am I?”
“No. I’m well aware of that. But you happily work with other agencies, don’t you?”
“Yes, you know I do, but—”
“What’s the difference?”
“Don’t pressure me, Lockwood. You know it’s not the same.”
I got up abruptly, grabbed the damp towel, and tossed it over the ghost-jar, blocking the face from view. Its contortions had been growing ever more frantic; they’d disturbed me even out of the corner of my eye, and I couldn’t put up with it any longer.
I threw myself back onto the bed, glowering. “What were we saying?”
“I’m not trying to pressure you, Luce,” Lockwood said. “I realize it’s odd, me just showing up, but if you’re worried about risk, the chances of anything going wrong are very small. Almost nonexistent. Maybe you had a wobble a few months ago, but personally I believe you’ve always had your Talent under excellent control. I don’t think there’s the slightest chance of you endangering us. You always were too strong for that. Sure, for whatever reason, you no longer want to be a full part of our team. It became a burden for you, one that could no longer be borne.
“But you don’t need my help,” I said. My tone was a little flat; something in what he’d said pressed on my spirits. I could feel doors slamming in my mind.
“Well, here’s the thing. We do.” Lockwood leaned forward, and I noticed a scar on the side of his neck—not large, but white and raised—one I’d never seen before. “You’re right, Lockwood and Co.’s been doing pretty nicely these last few months, well enough to be selective about our clients. We’ve had some interesting ones, like the blind dressmaker who saw ghosts imprinted on her own private darkness, but our latest is in a category of her own. You know her. It’s Penelope Fittes.”
Hold up.
That
took me by surprise as well. Penelope Fittes was chairperson of the oldest, largest, and most celebrated of all psychic detection organizations, the great Fittes Agency. Along with the head of Rotwell’s, and several of the iron and salt magnates, she was one of the most powerful people in the country. I blinked at him. “Er, doesn’t she have an agency of her own? Rather a big one, in fact.”
“Yes, but she’s taken a shine to us,” Lockwood said. “She’s liked us ever since the Screaming Staircase affair. And after we saved her from assassination at the carnival last autumn, she’s made it her business to monitor our progress and send the odd job our way. Well, she’s got a new case for us, quite a big one, and the thing is, by all accounts it needs a good Listener.”
I looked at him.
“A
very
good Listener.”
I said nothing.
Lockwood shifted in his seat. “So…I wondered if you could help us out, just this once, in a freelance capacity….You
are
the best, after all.”
Time snapped back into one piece; I was wholly in the present, alert and questioning.
“What’s the case?”
“I don’t know.”
I frowned. “Don’t you think you ought to find out before dragging me into it?”
“It’s difficult and dangerous, that’s all I’ve been told. But Penelope Fittes is intending to brief us—by ‘us’ I obviously mean me, George, and Holly, but you could join, too, if you were up for it—tomorrow morning at Fittes House. You know how much of a recluse Ms. Fittes is, particularly after that carnival thing. It must be something special if she’s personally involved.”
“I still don’t get it. Why does she want
you
to do this job? She’s got a million agents of her own.”
“Again…I don’t know, Luce. But if we do it well, it’ll stand us in good stead for further commissions.”
“I’m sure it will, and that’s great for you, but I’m no longer part of Lockwood and Co., am I?”
“No. I’m well aware of that. But you happily work with other agencies, don’t you?”
“Yes, you know I do, but—”
“What’s the difference?”
“Don’t pressure me, Lockwood. You know it’s not the same.”
I got up abruptly, grabbed the damp towel, and tossed it over the ghost-jar, blocking the face from view. Its contortions had been growing ever more frantic; they’d disturbed me even out of the corner of my eye, and I couldn’t put up with it any longer.
I threw myself back onto the bed, glowering. “What were we saying?”
“I’m not trying to pressure you, Luce,” Lockwood said. “I realize it’s odd, me just showing up, but if you’re worried about risk, the chances of anything going wrong are very small. Almost nonexistent. Maybe you had a wobble a few months ago, but personally I believe you’ve always had your Talent under excellent control. I don’t think there’s the slightest chance of you endangering us. You always were too strong for that. Sure, for whatever reason, you no longer want to be a full part of our team. It became a burden for you, one that could no longer be borne.
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