Fool For You [2]

Chapter Two

Every muscle in Rosalie's body ached; she had scarcely moved all day. Charlotte had been running everyone ragged in an attempt to gather any information on Mortmain. They had spent all day in the Great Library, hunched over books and news articles. Yet in all of that searching and scouring, they had found nothing. Absolutely nothing. Rosalie leaned back in her chair with a sigh and pressed her palms against her eyes. If research was all she could contribute to the search for Mortmain, she would do it without complaint. No matter how tired or frustrated she felt, she would continue working. For Charlotte. For the woman who had taken her in during her most desperate hour; for the woman who had protected her younger sister on multiple occasions. She owed Charlotte.
Across the table, Jessamine pushed a book away from herself and frowned. She wanted to quit; Rosalie was sure of that much. The girl scarcely did anything that wasn't to her own benefit... so why would today be any different? What would Charlotte's predicament mean to her? "I think we're wasting our time." she said, her eyes focused on Charlotte.
At this, Charlotte tore her eyes away from the book she had been scanning over. The words had clearly pained her, it was all over her face. "You do not have to help, Jessamine." Charlotte began slowly. She looked much older than Rosalie had ever seen her; her eyes were tired, and a series of dark rings sat beneath those tired eyes. "You never applied yourself to your studies," she went on. "So, I cannot help but wonder if you even know what you are looking for."
Everyone seated around the table had stopped reading to look between Charlotte and Jessamine. The surprise splayed across everyone's features was evident. It was so rare to hear such unkind words from Charlotte. Other than Henry, she was undoubtedly the nicest person in the Institute. Yet Rosalie knew precisely why she had taken such a sharp tone with Jessamine. She's worried. Charlotte must be fearful that they would fail in gathering a new lead on Mortmain; and that fear was beginning to take its toll on her.
"I want to help!" Jessamine disagreed; a flicker of hurt laced into her words.
Rosalie glanced around the table, surveying everyone's expressions. Tessa had returned to her book, pretending she could not hear a word of the conversation surrounding her; Henry appeared stunned by his wife's tone, yet part of him seemed to be miles away; Jem and Will were exchanging undecipherable looks, and Jem was undoubtedly urging Will to stay out of it.
As if on cue, Will chimed in. "No, you don't." he said tonelessly. "What you want is for Nate to be caught. You want him to be punished for pretending to love you."
Beside her, Rosalie felt Tessa tense at the mention of their brother. She was struggling more than Rosalie had initially thought; Tessa had gotten so good at masking her emotions that Rosalie was never quite sure what she was thinking. She was nothing like the Tessa she had been a few measly months ago. Rosalie could no longer read her sister like an open book. She had to dig before she could even scratch the surface of her sister's thoughts. Rosalie reached to place a reassuring hand over her sister's and gave a gentle squeeze. Tessa looked up from her book once more and smiled faintly. It was a ghost of a smile; it was nothing like the bright and pleasant smile she used to wear. This one was tired and drained of nearly all emotion. Yet another mask.
The doors of the Great Library opened with a loud creak to reveal Sophie. She crossed the room in quick strides to stand beside Charlotte, where she murmured something Rosalie couldn't quite make out. She watched Charlotte as she rose to her feet and announced that Brother Enoch had arrived before leaving with Sophie.
"I know you are hurting, Tessie." Rosalie whispered. She kept her tone as quiet as she could so that the others wouldn't hear her. "What Nate did is nothing short of awful... but we will find him. We will find both of them, and then you will be safe again. I know it." she went on in the same hushed tone, her eyes never leaving Tessa's. "And when this is all over, we can go wherever you'd like. We can go home, or we can make a new life for ourselves somewhere new."
Tessa blew out a long breath and nodded. "My safety is not my concern at the moment." Tessa said. "I only want to help Charlotte... nothing else matters right now."