Rook

said. “Josh has to work so hard, and spend so much time away from his family. But I knew I was going to be in for that sort of thing when I married a soldier.” At that moment, the soldier himself came over.
    “Well, our two youngest children are traumatizing Conrad and his wife suitably,” he said with a smile at his wife. “I rather think they were expecting little Henry to remain as conveniently pliable as he is now. Five more minutes with a surly teen and a hyperactive twelve-year-old should leave them fearing the future. Hullo, Myfanwy. Merry Christmas.”
    “Merry Christmas, uh, Joshua,” I said awkwardly. I was used to addressing him by his title, which would have put a damper on the artificial spirit of Christmas. “Are you going away for the holidays?”
    “Oh, no,” he said. “After all, we need to have the office up to full strength the day after Boxing Day.” Phillipa and Richard both rolled their eyes.
    “That’s very true,” I said, frantic not to contradict anything he had told his family. “And thus, there are no opportunities to go away. Unless it’s onbusiness. In which case, you have to go away. Because, you know, the country needs you to.”
    “Myfanwy, relax,” he said with a laugh. “You needn’t worry about covering every base. This girl,” he told his wife and son, “is the most thorough person I have ever met.” They looked at me with something akin to awe, and I felt myself blushing crimson.
    “Oh, look, Alrich is here,” I said, pointedly distracting them from the business of looking at me. Alrich had arrived dressed in an uncharacteristically sober suit, but his marvelous complexion stood out all the more against the drab color of the jacket.
    “He looks extraordinary,” said Phillipa. “I only see him once a year, and I could swear that he looks exactly the same each time. Myfanwy, do you know if he’s had work done?”
    “Uh, probably, yeah.”
    “Oh, he must have, more even than Mrs. Grantchester, and yet”—her voice turned thoughtful—“you really can’t tell. No wonder she’s always so unhappy to see him.” It was true, our hostess’s posture was as taut as a violin string, and the smile on her face was a triumph of will over the effects of cosmetic Botox.
    “She really is all about the life beautiful, isn’t she?” remarked Richard. “Frankly, I’m surprised they got a kid—their house is so lovely, and not at all child-friendly.” He smoothly decanted little Henry into the arms of a startled-looking maid.
    “Well, it was probably the one accessory they didn’t have,” said Phillipa. “I just don’t know how a baby is going to fit in with all the gracious living. I can’t see either of them reacting well when the kid throws up on the carpet after eating his birthday cake.”
    “I apologized for that, you know, Mum,” said Richard. “And it was fifteen years ago.”
    “I know, love, and I forgave you almost immediately, but the stain is still there. Now, Myfanwy, we’d love to have you over for dinner some evening.”
    “Oh, gosh, that sounds really nice,” I fumbled, taking a sip of champagne cocktail to conceal my surprise. There’s very little socializing among the Court members; in fact, it’s almost entirely limited to business lunches andthe Christmas party. And I wasn’t entirely sure how it would fit in with my scheduled amnesia.
    “We should invite Alrich for dinner as well,” she said. “He looks too thin.” I almost spat my drink out at the thought, but settled for choking uncontrollably. Phillipa patted me on the back and handed me a napkin. After that, I cautiously sipped my beverage, listening to normal people dissect the lives of my very unusual peers. Richard remarked that the Gestalts were peculiar, and they both agreed that Gubbins was a lovely man. Then Richard’s twin, Luke, came over, and I somehow found myself cocooned in the heart of the Eckhart family. As I listened to them squabble and chatter, I grew increasingly maudlin.
    It was inevitable, really, that the party was going to be awkward. At least for Gestalt, Gubbins, and myself—the three members of the Court who had been raised at the Estate. Wattleman predated it. Farrier, Grantchester, and Eckhart had come into their powers late in life. And Alrich, well, he’d been doing this dance for more than a century. They all knew what it was like to be a person rather than a tool. But those of us who had been brought up to be assets first,