Chapter 4
A Journey
"Aloysius Starkweather is the most stubborn, hypocritical, obstinate, degenerate -" Charlotte cut herself off, her mouth hardening into such a thin line that Minerva McGonagall would have been proud. Everyone was in the drawing room, waiting anxiously as Charlotte read the letter to herself.
"Would you like a thesaurus?" Will inquired, sprawled on an armchair with his muddy boots on the ottoman. "You seem to be running out of words."
"And is he really degenerate?" Jem asked, he had sunk into the other armchair, hardly visible at all. "I mean, the old codger's almost ninety - surely past real deviancy."
"I don't know. You'd be surprised at what some of the old fellows over at the Devil Tavern get up to." Will mused, one eyebrow rising.
"Nothing anyone you know might get up to would surprise us, Will." Jessamine said from under a damp cloth. She's been having a heachache lately that wouldn't go away.
Henry moved to stand behind Charlotte, "Darling, are you quite all right? You look a bit - splotchy." Henry was correct; Charlotte had red patches of anger broken out on her face and neck.
"I think it's charming," Will commented, barely looking at Charlotte. "I've heard polka dots are the last word in fashion season."
"Would you like a cool cloth?" Henry and Charlotte ignored Will. With his hand on her shoulder, Henry asked "What can I do to help?" It was so adorable.
Mutinously, Charlotte said "You could ride up to Yorkshire and chop that old goat's head off."
Much as any clueless man would do, Henry replied; "Wouldn't that make things rather awkward with the Clave? They're not generally very receptive about, you know, beheadings and things."
Charlotte sunk back into the chair with despair. "Oh! It's all my fault, isn't it? I don't know why I thought I could win him over. The man's a nightmare."
"What did he say exactly?" Will asked. "In the letter, I mean."
As the conversation carried into why the Fairchilds and the Starkweathers had a falling out, and as to why Aloysius was a plain-awful person, Evan was studying them with intensity. There are somethings that her Aunt Cassie left out about everyone like the way Charlotte's face creases with worry at the slightest sign of distress but it reaches her eyes when it involves one of the children that she and Henry took in. Like how Will will look to Jem when he thinks nobody's looking but studiously avoids Tessa except when they're alone. Aunt Cassie left out that Jessamine's face is always twisted into an ugly smile and how Sophie's always wearing a little smile and takes care of everyone like an older sister, rather than a servant. How Jem watches Tessa like nobody else is in the room but Tessa doesn't notice Will or Jem until she's alone with them.
But then Evan was roped into an idea.
"Even the more reason why I should go," Will was saying.
"If it's a pretty face that he enjoys," Evan piped up, though not interrupting anyone. "I'm totally in."
Charlotte seemed to consider it. Then she sighed, "It seems a fool's errand. He isn't likely to tell you anything if he knows I sent you. If only -"
"Charlotte," Tessa interrupted softly, "there is a way to make him tell us."
"Tessa, what do you -" Hope flashed in Charlotte's eyes. "Oh, I see, Tessa, what an excellent idea."
A brief explanation of Tessa's plan was announced and Jem promptly followed up with "Then, you'll come with us to Yorkshire." Which led to another small debate before Tessa decided that she'd go because she wanted to ride the train.
Will threw his hands up. "That's it? You're coming because you've never been on a train before?"
"Yes," Tessa said calmly. "I should like to ride in one, very much."
"Trains are great smokey things. You won't like it."
"I won't know if I like it until I try is, will I?"
"I've never swum naked in the Thames, but I know I wouldn't like it."
"But think how entertaining for the sightseers," Evan chirped.
Jem smiled at her, "My apologies, Evan, you did say that you wanted to come, didn't you?"
"I've never been to Yorkshire," Evan shrugged. "I usually go to big cities or beaches. Might as well try the countryside."
"So Tessa's coming for the trains and you're coming for the sheep?" WIll groaned. "This is supposed to be a serious task."
"You can be serious and still enjoy yourself." Evan made a face at him.
Tessa smiled warmly at Evan before turning to the boys, "When do we leave?"
"Tomorrow morning," Will said. "That way we'll arrive before dark."
Charlotte picked up a pen and said "I'll have to send Aloysius a message saying to expect you." Then she paused fretfully. "Is this a dreadful idea? I - I feel as if I cannot be sure."
"The only alternative is to do nothing, dearest Charlotte." Henry said putting a hand on her shoulder. "And doing nothing, I find, rarely accomplishes anything. Besides, what could go wrong?"
"Oh, by the Angel, I wish you hadn't asked that!" Charlotte cried, bending over the paper to write.
Later that afternoon, when Sophie and Tessa had their second training session, Will told Evan to go to the attic. So she did, with her notebook meant for training notes. There, Will was in his gear with several weapons on a table, examining them.
"So this is my training?" Evan leaned against the wall.
Will looked up lazily, "Yes, well, as you said; there's only two Lightwoods and you were promised individual lessons."
"Charlotte said that you couldn't teach because you still haven't finished with your own training."
"Charlotte - and anyone else - need not know," Will's lips curled with a smirk. "Come here, Evan."
Will and Evan worked for almost four hours and in that time, Evan had a much better feel for the weapons than with Gideon and Gabriel. Will wrote over her notes, too - not the Evan minded. Will was considerably kinder with her while they practised than Will was to anyone - except for, obviously, Jem. But that was mostly because Evan thanked him numerous times and apologised just as much when she dropped a knife. But she followed instructions very well and did her best to match Will's stances. Strange, Will was reminded of his sister. It could have been her eyes; they had the same strange blue as Will and his sister; her demeanor and how she never seemed to give up but was very studious; maybe even they way she looked at everyone with wide, innocently confused eyes when they forgot she was there.
Or perhaps it was because she let Will come to her instead of the other way around.
As Will taught, he thought about her family; all dead - her older brother first, then the rest of her family - who died trying to protect her from her brother's killer. Maybe she felt the same thing Will did; that to love was to destroy? Will (subconsciously) hoped so and then almost hit himself for it. Will wouldn't wish what he had on anyone. Although, as much as it pained him to think it, maybe he was lucky; he had a warning, Evan had nothing.
After their training, Will walked her to her room (which was right next to his own) and asked Sophie to run her a bath. Then he dug through his old clothes that he was too lazy to get rid of and had Sophie give them to her as well, along with a few cloaks with hoods and some boots that may fit her. Sophie had asked, but Will waved it away "Do you really think she's going to wear a dress tomorrow?"
Sophie looked at him suspiciously. "So you suggest that she dress as a boy?"
"Not at all; I suggest that she wears those denim pants she likes do much with one my of my shirts and a cape and boots. It is up to her if she chooses to disguise herself as a boy or not." Will said cooly.
Sophie shot him another suspicious glance before returning to Evan's room. He could hear them talking and then Sophie left, and soon after, the door opened again and there was a knock at his door. Will opened it, halfway through his process of getting dressed for bed.
"Thanks for the clothes, Will," Evan said brightly. She was barefoot, in the stretchy tight material that she called leggings and a loose shirt with short sleeves that she called a t-shirt. Her hair was damp and rung out and her face was pale in the witchlight.
"They were too small for me anyway," Will said breezily.
"Well, I'm lucky you hadn't gotten rid of them before." Evan said, unfazed by his curtly tone. Then she turned to walk back to her own room. "Good night!"
Will frowned after her; how could she not be fazed? Even Jem was upset by his persona - his parabatai - once in awhile no matter how often he suppressed it, but Evan was completely unfazed. Did she know? Will shook his head and closed his bedroom door. No, there was no way to, he thought.
Perhaps it was just that Evan wasn't so much like his sister and more so that she was more like him.
The rain drizzled that way it did in Michigan did on Evan's favorite kind of day. Tessa wore a dress with a hat and umbrella from Jessamine. Will and Jem had on nice dark suits - both with a hat but Jem had his dragon sword-cane, too. Evan wore one of Will's old shirts tucked into her jeans with a thick brown leather belt, her cherry brown 'riding' boots and the cloak-like thing Will gave her. The shirt was tighter than what Will had thought it would be, Evan knew, because it clung to her curves and flat stomach perfectly but was longer than her fingertips, not that she minded. Her hair was left to spill over her shoulders and back, not unlike it was the way she arrived in London. Her studs and hoops in their correct hole in her ear with her studs in her double piercings and hoops in her first. She had her usual light blush and lipgloss on, too.
She packed two shirts, both of her boots, and one extra pair of jeans. Her hood was up to keep her hair from getting too wet. She had The Shadowhunter Codex to read, seeing as she found an extra copy in the Great Library with Charlotte's help, and she kept it under her arm, looking wistfully at the pillar that held the platform numbers 9 and 10, knowing that in just over a century, there would be a cut trolley glued to the pillar to mark platform 9 ¾.
The porter took their luggage from Cyril and snapped at them to hurry. To which Will replied with a murdering smile; "It will wait for us." Then he put his arm around Evan's small shoulder. "Come on, Evan."
"I happen to know that in eighteen seventy-eight, it's not considered appropriate to be touched in public." Evan said breezily, but didn't ask him to remove it. Her brother use to do the same thing. But then, Will did have a younger sister her age.
"Yes but in two thousand and twenty, it's considered appropriate," Will said. "That and you are interestingly dressed for a young lady."
"Point taken," Evan shrugged. Jem and Tessa followed closely behind. Will didn't help her into the compartment but it was easy enough, Tessa followed with Jem helping her in. Tessa and Jem sat next to each other, but Will had claimed the window seat so Evan sat next to the door, waiting for Will to slide into the compartment after tipping the porter before she stretched her legs slightly.
"Did you bring anything to read on the journey?" Will asked Tessa, leaving Evan to read the Codex.
"No. I haven't come across anything I particularly wanted to read lately." Tessa replied before Evan zoned everyone out, huddling in the corner to make herself smaller and invisible. Out of the corner of her eye, she watched Will tip his hat over his eyes like Indiana Jones and close his eyes.
Soon enough, Evan heard Will say "Fe hoffwn i fod mor feddw, fyddai yn cofio fy enw."
"What does that mean?" Tessa inquired.
"It means, 'I wish to get so drunk I no longer remember my own name'." Evan said without looking up from her book.
WIll grinned "Quite useful, don't you think."
"Sure, but you're hardly patriotic," Evan said, looking up through her lashes. Jem seemed quite amused, as did Tessa.
"Patriotic?" Will repeated smugly. "I'll tell you what's patriotic, in honor of my birthplace, I've the dragon of Wales tattooed on my -"
"You're in a charming temper, aren't you, William?" Jem interrupted. "Remember, Starkweather can't stand Charlotte, so if this is the mood you're in -"
"I promise to charm the dickens out of him. I shall charm him with such force that when I am done, he will be left lying limply on the ground, trying to remember his own name." Will sat up and adjusted his hat.
"The man's eighty-nine. He may well have that problem anyway." Jem muttered.
"I suppose you're storing up all that charm now?" Tessa asked.
Evan picked up from there, "Wouldn't want to waste any of it on us?"
"That's it exactly." Will said sounding pleased. "And it isn't Charlotte the Starkweathers can't stand, Jem. It's her father."
Evan tuned out again for just a few moments and looked up just at the best part.
"They're not hideous," Tessa said.
Evan watched as WIll blinked at her. "What?"
"Gideon and Gabriel. They're really quite good-looking, not hideous at all."
"I spoke of the pitch-black inner depths of their souls."
Tessa snorted, "And what color do you suppose the inner depths of your soul are, WIll Herondale?"
At the same time, Evan suggest "Mauve?" at the same time Will replied "Mauve."
Tessa looked to Jem, both with amused smiles on their face from Evan. "Perhaps we should discuss strategy. Starkweather hates Charlotte but knows that she sent us. So how to worm our way into his good graces?"
"Tessa can utilize her feminine wiles," Will suggested. "Charlotte said he enjoys a pretty face."
"What am I? Chopped liver?" Evan shorted.
Jem said "Is food a popular topic in the twenty first century? You keep bringing it up in the most humorous ways that don't relate to what you're saying at all."
"No one likes chopped liver," Evan grinned. "Mostly people avoid it like that plague, right?"
"The things you say hardly make sense." Jem's amused smile widened.
Evan smiled proudly before it turned mockingly-sinsinster. "Dude, you have no idea."
Will burst into laughter before Tessa brought them to the topic at hand; "How did Charlotte explain my presence?"
"She didn't really; she just gave our names. She was quite curt. I think it falls to us to concoct a plausible story."
"Those are the most boring," Evan muttered, sitting up to participate. Jem sent her another amused look but ignored the comment.
"We can't say I'm a Shadowhunter; he'll know immediately that I'm not. No Marks." Tessa said.
"And no warlock mark. He'll think she's a mundane," Jem added. "She could Change, but..."
"I'm good with staying a girl from the future." Evan shrugged. "Charlotte said that he wrote something to her about me."
"Perfect," Will nodded, staring at Tessa before; "Perhaps we could say she's a mad maiden aunt who insists on chaperoning us everywhere."
"My aunt or yours?" Jem inquired, shrugging slightly.
"Yes, she doesn't really look like either of us, does she? Perhaps she's a girl who's fallen madly in love with me and persists in following me wherever I go."
"My talent is shape-changing, Will, not acting." Tessa said, causing Evan and Jem to laugh out loud and Will to glare at the pair of them.
"She had the better of you there, Will," Jem smiled. "It does happen sometimes, doesn't it? Perhaps I should introduce Tessa as my fiancée. We can tell mad old Aloysius that her Ascension is underway."
"Ascension?"
"Isn't that when a Shadowhunter wants to marry a mundane?" Evan asked, knowing the answer anyway. "They can apply for the mundane to Ascend and if the Clave approves, isn't there, like, three months of studying before they drink from the Mortal Cup?"
"Yes," Jem nodded.
"Your grammar is absolutely horrid," Tessa said, her voice not-offending.
"Do you grammar?" Evan mocked. "I don't grammar. Who need to grammar?"
Tessa laughed, shaking her head. "It's not a bad idea, I suppose. I do know a lot; I've finished nearly all of the Codex."
Then Evan went back to the Codex herself, tuning out everyone and their talk of everything... even of Jem's illness, which she wasn't supposed to know about and therefore went to sleep (which was surprisingly easy) minutes before she knew the conversation would come up. She had slept through the entire train ride (which she mentally cursed herself for) and woke to Will opening and slamming the Codex next to her ear.
"Come on, let's find a porter," Will said. Jem was asleep next to a sleeping Tessa, so on their way out, Will shook Jem lightly awake and he and Evan disappeared before he could fully wake up.
"So, this is Yorkshire?" Evan said, looking around the platform ten minutes later when she, Will, Jem and Tessa were gathered under a clock, waiting for someone. No one had time to answer her before a man stepped out from the shadows, wearing all black. He was old, and dressed weirdly, even for 1878.
"Nephilim?" His heavily accented voice croaked. "Is it you?" Evan stayed silent as Will taunted him and Jem saved him before... "And 'tis the girl from the future?"
"Howdy," Evan gave him a two-fingered salute and a smile.
"Mr. Starkweather's been 'cited to meet you." He said gruffly. "Got many questions, he does."
"I hope I don't disappoint him, I don't know much about the Nephilim future." Lie.