Clockwork Dream

vi Lessons in Deception

They swept into the party hands in hand, stopped at the door by a pudgy steward with a graying mustache. The hallway appeared to be empty, but she knew that half a dozen bodyguards waited just out of sight if anyone dare try to enter uninvited.

Jinx slipped the steward a parchment inscribed with real gold filigree. He scrutinized it, eyes peering over half moon glasses, flicking back and forth between the letter and the two of them. His eyebrows pinched together to give him an eternally perturbed look.

Jinx had assured her that the invitation was authentic and she now found herself  hoping that he was telling the truth. With one last scathing glare at the paper the porter finally settled his gaze on them. "Please come this way, Lord Ciel Blackthorn, Lady Isabel  Bellara."

Stiffly she reached out her arm for Jinx to grab hold of as they moved towards the crowded foyer. It was almost comical, taking on a fake name to hide a fake name. But then Alice wasn't really a fake name, she reminded herself, it was one she had chosen.

They glided out through a pair of wide doors into an open ballroom large enough to house a few dozen lower class citizens indefinitely. As it was, the more notorious guests were so abundant that they spilled out into the open courtyard.  Flashes of conversation flitted through the air, faked pleasantries mixed with the indiscernible undertones of serious buisness.

The strangest thing was that Jinx didn’t stand out in the least. He carried an air of practiced superiority that blended him seamlessly into the crown. If anything, she was the one garnering more attention. Few young women in attendance had such a sickly pallor.

“Aha, Lord Blackthorn, I’ve been looking for you!” A man rushed towards them, stopping before her.   “So glad you could make it Lady Bellara, I was quite distressed to learn that the reason Ciel missed our last meeting was to care for his betrothed’s failing health. You’re looking lovely tonight.”

“Thank you for your concern,” Alice replied. She kept her voice soft and timid, just barely loud enough to be heard above the noise.

Jinx stepped forward on cue. “Yes, we thank god for our turn of fortune,” Before turning to her and adding, “Isabel, This is my friend Randolph Astor and his companion Sabine Rosenthal, both prestigious traders from germany. I believe I told you about them earlier.”

“I remember, but its charming to meet you all in person,” She smiled demurely

Oh yes, he’d told her all about them. Two cut throat technology traders with direct commissions from the government and access to the newest and greatest of everything. They had pocketbooks that rivaled a small countries and triple that in assets. In other words, the perfect mark. Except there was no way in heaven or hell an ordinary sneak thief would be able to get near enough to even breath the same air as them

He’d apparently connected with the pair a little less than three months before. Their names had seemed oddly familiar to her when she’d first heard them, and she had been afraid that they would recognize her. Seeing them face to face finally quelled some of those fears.

Randolph was tall and might have been well muscled once but years of luxury had softened his edges . His face could have been considered handsome once if his nose wasn’t skewed of and swelled like it had been broken many times. His cheeks had a pink hue, and Alice guessed his overtly friendly manner was due more to wine than temperament. Behind him Sabine stood with a perpetual scowl etched into his features. His eyes scanned the room every few moments casually. If they had to worry about anyone it was him.

Of course Jinx had told her to leave it all to him. She was just there to play the part of the betrothed that he’d used as an excuse to leave before. She was just another part of the second life he had created for himself. She was there to breath life into ‘Ciel Blackthorn’, an ambitious young nobody with just enough noble blood make it acceptable to be seen with him in public and the charm to make the right friends.