Page 30 of The Starling and the Hatter

“I go by White now,” he said, then turned to me and lowered his voice to a whisper. “For the act and all.”

“You’ll have to tell me about it,” I invited.

“Of course.” He swept a hand toward the opening of the tent. “Shall we?”

I nodded and stepped up beside him. “Bye, Hatch,” I threw over my shoulder.

Maddox

My gut clenched and I tried not to snarl as the hurt curled inside me. Had Elise realized that she had introduced Robert White to me, but had not bothered introducing me to this…former friend? Current friend? Then, not a moment later, she’d called me Hatch. It was her nickname for me. Once I’d started calling her Lisey, she’d been determined to have her own name for me. Calling me Mad wasn’t something she would do, and I refused to let her call me Maddie. I still shuddered at the thought. So she’d moved on to my last name, dubbing me Hatcher, or Hatch for short.

And yet, she had not deemed me worthy of introducing to this White.

This was obviously the friend she’d been so keen to find yesterday, yet she hadn’t seen fit to call me a friend in his presence.

I shook my head, trying to get rid of the anger that wanted to rise inside me. It hadn’t been a slight. I knew Elise well enough to know she’d never mean to insult me. It was just…an oversight. But that didn’t mean it didn’t hurt. It also didn’t prevent my neck from burning with jealousy.

Not that I had any right to be jealous. I didn’t have any claim on Elise—no matter how much I wished it—but the jealousy was there nonetheless. Who was this White, and why was Elise so comfortable in his presence? What history must they have for her to trust him so fully?

It had taken months for her to become comfortable with me. Not the fake comfort that came along with her air of confidence, but true comfort. The kind where we could work around and with one another without her looking at me with fear or suspicion. I knew she trusted me now, but it had been hard earned, and the idea that she just gave it to White was…painful.

Elise

“Tell me about your act,” I asked, walking at Robert’s side.

He pulled a watch from his pocket and glanced at it before swinging it on its chain. “Well,” he said, turning his attention to me, “I’ve always been good at magic.”

“I remember.”

“But my parents’ act was always a little too serious for me.”

A chuckle bubbled in my throat. Robert had always preferred humor. “So are you a jester now?”

“Ah,” he said, holding up a finger to make his point. “A jester magician,” he said grandly. “And the secret,” he said as he tucked the watch away with one hand and pulled a deck of cards out of thin air with the other, “of being a jester magician”—he reached for my ear, and when his hand came back into view, he held a wildflower—“is to entertain the children.”

I rolled my eyes. “So I’m a child now?”

“No, but if a child begs to stop and watch…”

“The parents must stay as well,” I said, knowing the routine all too well. “I saw you did that very well earlier.”

“And the parents have the money.” He closed his fist over the wildflower, and when he opened it again, there was a copper sitting on his palm.

My brow rose. “Your sleight of hand is much better than it used to be.”

He grinned and slid his hand into his pocket. “I’ve had a bit of time to practice.”

“Three years,” I mused.

“And what have you done in those three years, Miss Elise?”

“Survived,” I said, proud that I could claim as much.

“Is that all?” he asked with clear skepticism. “From what I saw of the Starling, you seem to be thriving.”

I fought a blush. “Only by the grace of good people,” I said.

“And your own talent.”