Lucky Rabbit

The doors to the dining hall were closed, and the servants must all be occupied elsewhere, which left Pandy and Augustus alone in the foyer. The chancellor glanced around, then took hold of Pandy’s elbow.

“I’d very much like to see what you bought,” he told her, and Pandy followed as he drew her back up the stairs again.

She finally thought to wonder why as they passed through his office, then remembered her current role and dug in her heels as they turned into the hall. “It’s none of your business!”

She might as well have been talking to a wall for all the good her protests did. She didn’t want to use her full strength to pull away, for fear of hurting him, though something about the implacable grip of his fingers said that he wasn’t quite as much of a scholar and a gentleman as he pretended. Down the hall and into her office they went, and Augustus dropped Pandy’s arm like it was covered in spikes before closing the door.

With a relieved sigh, he bowed his head, saying, “I’m sorry, Pandora. After everything that’s happened, I wouldn’t trust Ms. Wellington or anyone she brought onto these premises, so I had to maintain that pretense while we were in public. As it is, however, I’m more concerned that someone may have snuck something unwanted into one of these packages. I doubt your young helper was involved, but it’s better to be safe than sorry.”

Pandy stared at him, then around at the tumbled packages. “Oh. That…makes sense? You really think the Shadow Exchange would try something like that?”

His face became unwontedly grim. “I’m quite certain they would, actually. If they believe you are who you say you are – and please forgive me when I say you’re not very convincing as a master manipulator – it will be a message. If they don’t believe you, it may be something that would reveal your true identity, or, worse, get you out of the way so they can slip another operative in.”

Eyes widening, Pandy held out her hand, palm out. “I forgot to tell you! On my way back from Lanthorne Court, a person appeared in my carriage. They told me I was being followed – that’s how I knew something had happened to Zephra – and told me to come back in two weeks. Next week, now, I suppose.”

He started to reply, but Pandy hurried on. After outlining the events that took place in the carriage, she pointed to the spot where the strange figure had pricked her palm with their black knife. “They cut me, right here, then seemed a bit more convinced that I was actually Ms. Wellington. So I think they believe me, at least for now. They also gave me a pouch with sixty gold in it.”

Augustus went a little pale at this, his eyes sweeping up and down her body, as if looking for further damage. Finding none, he gave a small shake of his head and said, “Real gold?”

“As far as I know?” she replied. “Am I supposed to bite it?” She mimed chomping into something and trying to bend it, like shopkeepers did in the old Westerns she’d watched with the grandmother of one of her foster families. That was one of her better memories of growing up, though after she found Grandma Caroline’s dentures in a slice of pie, she’d never quite trusted anything the old lady baked again.

He hesitated, his expression saying he was weighing which of several responses to offer, before finally saying, “No. Do you still have it?”

“Of course I do! It’s underneath Thaniel’s bed.” Whoops, she hadn’t meant to say that last bit, but it was out now, and judging by the look on his face, he actually hadn’t known about her not-very-secret hiding place. Was Zephra not watching her all the time any more? Or was the little elemental not fully recovered yet?

“Would you bring it to me?” he asked, carefully neutral. “Even one piece would be helpful.”

“Sure. Um, I mean, yes?” Pandy told him. “And I almost forgot. They also said they’d ‘lost’ Ms. Wellington’s knife when she, uh-” She drew her thumb across her throat and made the eyes-crossed-tongue-out-I’m-dead face, along with the appropriate croaking noise.

Augustus ran a hand down his face, hiding his response to that, and sighed. “Only certain Shadows have those knives, and, yes, the Exchange can track them. Professor Beeswick and I have kept it blocked, but I suspect you’ll need to provide a better explanation for its absence or we’ll have to give it back to you for the meeting next week.” His gaze sharpened. “That is, if you’re willing to go. You have to know it’s extremely dangerous, and no one will force you.”

Pandy frowned. “But isn’t Eleanor in danger? And maybe Thaniel, too, if they still think he’s a Dark mage? I told them I saw him heal someone, but-”

Augustus took a step toward her, his eyes locked onto Pandy’s. “You are not a soldier,” he reminded her. “Nor do you have any personal stake in all of this, other than your affection for the children, at least as far as I can tell.”

Pandy’s frown deepened. “But this was the plan. You seemed fine with it last weekend.” She offered him a tentative smile. “And I’m tougher than I look.”

“Most of the time, you look like a small, fluffy bunny,” he reminded her rather dryly, and Pandy flushed.

“Then I’m a lot tougher than I look,” she returned, barely resisting the urge to stick her tongue out at him. That would be incredibly childish, even for someone who spent most of her time around literal children. Instead, she said, “I’ll do whatever it takes to make sure Thaniel is safe. And Eleanor, too.”

For the briefest moment, he closed his eyes, but when he opened them again, he looked like the Augustus she’d gotten to know over these last few weeks. “Then let’s look through these packages. If you see anything even slightly odd or unexpected, show it to me.”

It was like half a dozen Christmases and birthdays all rolled into one, especially given that most of Pandy’s gifts in her past life had consisted of second-hand clothing. These very definitely were not second-hand, and when Pandy held them up against her body, they looked like they would fit perfectly. The style was very similar to the one Pandy had been wearing when she met Saskia, but with subtle changes that made each one unique. The materials were quite different, though, with lighter, softer materials replacing the stiff, shiny fabric Ms. Wellington favored.

Pandy quickly realized that the smaller, floppier packages contained things like underclothes and stockings, and pulled those over to her side of the desk, where she quietly worked across from the chancellor. The body she wore wasn’t her own, but she still didn’t want him – anyone! – to see her support garments and bloomers, however unflattering they were. One thin, flat packet contained a new corset, and this one clearly laced up the front, rather than the back or sides. It was more flexible than her old ones, as well, with the boning made of something that felt like, but probably wasn’t, plastic.

And then there were the pants. When Augustus found them – because of course he did – his eyebrows went up. Pandy quickly snatched them away, holding them up to her waist, then peering inside to see sturdy ribbons with buttonholes that could be used to tighten or loosen the band. The legs of two pairs were loose, more like a split skirt than true pants, but the third pair could have come straight from Augustus’s closet, other than the fact they were several inches too short for him.

Holding them up, Pandy asked, “Can I wear these? While I’m working?”

Augustus looked startled. “Of course. All we ask is that teachers wear clothing that the students could also wear.” His lips twisted. “Well, that’s all we ask now. Under Lord Findlay, teachers had almost as much of a uniform as the children. Many of the staff members still wear what they did then, since buying a whole new wardrobe is expensive. As you know.”

That explained so much, and also spawned several more questions. The first one being, “So do the girls not have to wear skirts?”

He shrugged. “I don’t care if the girls wear pants, and the boys want to wear skirts. The uniform consists of a certain style and color of shorts, pants, or skirts, along with shirts, jackets, shoes, and socks or stockings. How they put them together is up to them and their parents, so long as they’re clean, tidy, and appropriate.”

Pandy absolutely couldn’t wait to tell Geraldine. And as long as Pandy had to go back to Lanthorne Court again next weekend, she could stop in at the Needle and Tread – or had Luca meant to say Needle and Thread? – and ask Gwen to have Saskia and Luca’s mother make some pants for both girls. They would need them, and Pandy very much doubted if the queen, at least, would be willing to get her daughter traditionally masculine attire. Though how would Saskia know the girls’ sizes without seeing them?

But that was a concern for future Pandy. Right now, she was curious about something else. Picking up the next package from a rapidly dwindling pile, she said, “Who was Lord Findlay? I mean, I assume he’s not dead, but he was never mentioned in Gacha Love-”

Augustus snorted. “Gotcha Love? That was the name of the game that you played?”

Cheeks burning, Pandy stopped picking at the knotted string and just pulled on it, snapping it apart. “Gacha Love. A gacha is a…like gambling, I guess? You pay money and spin it, hoping to win a good prize. Most of the time it’s silly things, like restoring a single point of Stamina, or giving you a flower you can gift to one of the…to someone else.”

“And love?” Augustus asked, his own hands still in the skirts of a particularly fluffy blue dress.

Pandy spluttered. “You know what love means. You… In any case, I asked about Lord Findlay.” She turned over the roll of soft material that was probably another pair of stockings. Really, how many socks did Saskia think Pandy was going to need?

“Lord Findlay was-” Augustus paused, and Pandy looked up to see him carefully laying the blue dress across the end of the large desk, where several others already waited. With a sigh, the chancellor finally said, “He was an impediment. King Oliver appointed him, and he performed…adequately. He was – is – a political creature, however. He had wealth enough of his own, which is something of a prerequisite for chancellors of these schools, since the nobles will try to bribe their childrens’ way to better scores and higher rankings. Unfortunately, he likes power and comfort, and allowed certain aspects of his responsibilities to languish in the name of pleasing those whose favor he felt might benefit him. Which was almost everyone, frankly.”

“He didn’t protect the students’ privacy, did he?” Pandy asked. “In...in Gacha Love, several people mentioned that they’d known who Kaden was for years. I’m sure the parents know, or can figure it out easily enough, but the children aren’t supposed to, right? But even though Kaden goes by Aiden, even the other students know he’s the crown prince.”

She laid aside the stockings, and picked up another package. It was one of the last ones, languishing on the bottom of the pile because of its weight. In piles of floofy dresses and lace, this thing felt like a brick, and looked a bit like one, too, with a long, rectangular shape. Pandy couldn’t think of anything it might be right off hand, but then, when she first encountered petticoats, she’d just wondered why the women of this world wore three or four dresses on top of each other. Frankly, she still wondered that sometimes.

“That was part of it,” Augustus admitted. “When Kaden was here, Lord Findlay sold everything from being his roommate to being part of his Small Group. Of course, Fergus was still alive then, so eventually he found out and put a stop to the worst of it, but it was too late by then. The boy shut down, pretending none of it mattered. Fortunately, he, Edgar, Dorian, and, yes, young Killian became fast friends. The other three boys shut out anyone else who tried to approach Kaden, giving him some peace.

“By the time Eleanor was supposed to go to school, Fergus was gone, but it was clear to Louisa that she couldn’t trust Lord Findlay with her daughter’s secrets. Eleanor is smart, but not resilient in the same way Kaden is, and, of course, there were…other factors to consider.”

He shot Pandy a look, probably wondering just how much he should say. When Thaniel collapsed during Small Group on Tuesday, he and Mistress Rose had been at the door in less than a minute, so Pandy knew Augustus was either watching over them or Isidor called him somehow. Either way, she had no doubt he was aware that Eleanor had spilled the beans about her Nature magic, but Pandy still didn’t understand why it was such a big deal. Well, she did, in a very Game of Tomes kind of way, but she still wanted to know the details.

Augustus opened his mouth as if to say something, but his eyes widened, and his hand shot out, covering one of Pandy’s as she was about to open the box she’d just unwrapped. “Put that down, please. Slowly.”

Pandy froze, her brain short circuiting for a nanosecond as she realized he was holding her hand, and then she set the box down as carefully as she possibly could. She’d just gotten a whole wardrobe of beautiful clothes. She definitely didn’t want to blow them up or get blood all over them before she even got to admire the way they looked hanging in her closet.