Rook

of his eyes. Of course, that would probably have led to his veering the car directly into a crash barrier. But the point was that she could if she chose to. She didn’t need to touch him, as Thomas had implied in her letter. It seemed that her predecessor had misjudged the extent of her powers.
    However, it was evident that the years of training Thomas had undergone at the Estate had given her a much finer control than Myfanwy currently enjoyed. Thomas’s letters had mentioned feats that Myfanwy had no idea how to accomplish. At the moment, she felt she could affect only the most basic bodily functions. But unlike her predecessor, she was eager to explore her abilities.
If I could sit down with somebody for a few hours and just read his system, I’d have a much better understanding.
Unfortunately, she couldn’t think of any way to do that beyond engaging the services of a prostitute.
Which would definitely be out of character
.
    Myfanwy was still musing when she was delivered to the front door of Simpson’s. All of the hippest young things were dressed as formally as their budgets would allow, while the powerful old things dressed as they normally would. A charming maître d’ led her through the crowds, her black eyes drawing a few stares, to the table where sat, in all her importance, Lady Linda Farrier.
    “Good evening, my Lady,” Myfanwy said, debating whether to curtsy. It was the woman from her dream, of that there was no question. Those eyes, that intense concentration, and the unflappable poise that came with power. The last time they had spoken, both had been asleep, and Myfanwy had been only a few hours old.
    There was a pause in which Farrier looked at her steadily, and then she gestured for her to sit. Under that gaze, Myfanwy busied herself with tidying her skirt and examining the cutlery.
    “Do you know who I am?” the lady finally asked.
    “You are Lady Linda Farrier, the female head of the Checquy,” Myfanwy replied smoothly.
    “Do you know who you are?”
    “To a certain degree.”
    “Indeed?” Farrier said. “When last we spoke, you had no idea who either of us was. At least one problem has been solved.”
    “Yes, ma’am.”
    “And you have managed to turn up on Monday at the Rookery and start conducting business. Very impressive. It was never an option that you leave. After all,
I
knew you had lost your memory, but I doubt that any of the others would have believed it. And, of course, no one leaves the Checquy. Myfanwy Thomas was privy to state secrets at the highest level. Even if you have not retained those memories, simply by showing up to work today you have learned things that no one outside our organization can know. You are a horrendous security risk. Still, I had vaguely hoped to make some sort of arrangement for you. Perhaps some sort of sequestered retirement.”
    “That’s it?” Myfanwy asked. “Didn’t you owe Myfanwy Thomas a debt?”
Which reminds me, I need to find out what that debt was,
she thought to herself.
    “Young lady, I don’t know what kind of relationship you think I had with Myfanwy Thomas, but we were not friends. She fought me, in her own way, on many issues. We were civil, and that itself was not easy. My keeping your secret—a secret of massive implications, by the way—and permitting you to assume this life served to pay back that debt.”
    “But what if I had been killed? I have enemies, clearly. You can’t just leave somebody wandering around without any memory of who she is!” She didn’t know what she thought Farrier should have done, but leaving her to sink on her own didn’t seem like much of a favor.
    “Of course you can. And I’m very sorry, but if you’d been killed, that would simply have served to tidy up an inconvenience,” Farrier said calmly, taking a sip of wine.
    “An inconvenience,” repeated Myfanwy.
    “What do you call a Rook who has no memory of who she is? At best, you were a liability, at worst a danger. Fortunately, you have proven far more resilient than I anticipated,” Farrier said with some satisfaction.
    “Oh?”
    “Of course. You knew nothing, and now, only two days later, I learn that you have been firmly ensconced in the Rookery, meeting successfully with some of the most powerful people in the land, and ruling on matters that are both secret and terrifying! Do you not find that a trifle peculiar?”
    “Lady Farrier, that’s not the most peculiar thing I have heard today. It doesn’t even