Page 15 of The Journal of a Thousand Years
“I don’t think so. If he was a magician, it was probably silver, like our mother. We were both raised as artless.”
He huffed and gave a disappointed shake of his head. “You only just discovered your magic?”
“Yes. It’s been a long journey that began when I met Gabriel Glass. You remember his family, don’t you? You tried to kill his mother.”
His gaze lowered to the table. “I can’t believe James is gone.” His voice was so soft that I barely heard him. “I’ve been searching for so long…and to discover this…”
If he was a friend, I’d reach across the table and take his hand. But I wasn’t ready to feel sympathy for this man. I wasn’t sure if I would ever be ready.
He looked up and blinked at me. “You said James was your brother. Half-brother?”
“Why would I be welcomed by the Hendrys if I had a different father to James?”
His gaze took me in anew. “I thought…”
“We have the same parents. You’re my father,” I clarified as he seemed to be having trouble taking in the news.
“How old are you?”
“Twenty-six. I was born in 1894.”
“When she ran away,” he murmured.
“Marianne?”
His gaze refocused on me. “She must have been pregnant with you when she left. Perhaps that’s why she left.”
To protect me, I wanted to say. But I kept the thought to myself. I felt no threat from Melville, seated as we were in a popular café in the middle of London. But if he was as dangerous as everyone claimed, I needed to be careful. “Why were you looking for James?”
“Because he was my son,” he said, matter-of-factly. “Marianne shouldn’t have taken him from me. She had no right.”
“She was afraid of you.”
“I wouldn’t have hurt James.”
“What about her? Or me?”
The lowering of his gaze gave me my answer. “I was different then. I was under the influence of a powerful man.”
“Lord Coyle.”
He stilled. “Of course, you’d know all about him if you associate with the Glasses. You must know everything.”
“Why did you allow Coyle to have such power over you?”
“You think I had a choice? He forced me to do his bidding. He forced your mother and me to have children.”
“Why? Was he blackmailing you?” When he didn’t respond, I took it as confirmation. According to the file Gabe’s parents kept on Melville, Lord Coyle had used his influence to get him out of jail.
He suddenly stood.
I reached over and caught his sleeve. “Wait. Please. I promise I won’t ask again about Coyle.”
He slowly sat, his gaze wary. “I won’t tell you where I’m living now. You know that don’t you? I can’t afford for the authorities to find me. They’ll arrest me.”
“I know. I just need to clarify some things.” I blew out a measured breath. What could I ask that wouldn’t send him fleeing, never to return? “Did you know Marianne Folgate was a silversmith magician?”
He nodded. “That’s why we were together. Two strong magical lineages…” His top lip curled with his sneer. “I didn’t know her surname, however. Nor did I know where she was from. I didn’t find out about the Folgates from Ipswich until recently.”
