Tristan and I parted ways in the entrance hall, he to the library and I to Fana's room.

My brother only opened the door after I had been knocking on it for ages, an irritated look on his face.

"Polite people knock once and wait." He scowled at me.

"Polite people don't have their valets confiscated for bad behaviour." I stepped in to his room, having to dodge around stacks of books, bits of spare wood and metal, and tools and weapons to get to his couches, putting my feet up on the table.

"Polite people don't put their feet up on the table." Fana sat down across from me, gathering the papers from off the table.

"It's boring now, have you found anything out about Evie yet?"

Fana smirked and passed a fresh sheet of paper across to me, his block capital writing printed across. I saw Evie's name at the bottom, alongside Nicolas Bence, Georgiana Bence and Anna Bence, I assumed Nicholas was the brother she told me about. The lines and names between them were definitely a family tree. I recognised the last name Bence for four generations, then it was lost to the name Gregor.

"You know I didn't recognise any names on there, at all. No distant relatives." Fana pointed out pushing his hair out of his face and yawning, I smiled at the papers, looking to him.

"Exactly why she's so perfect for my Queen, no tied loyalties." I pulled my jacket off and threw it over the edge of the sofa.

"Unless of course she owes anything to the Baracosians." Fana's eyes met mine darkly. "Nothing has indicated either way yet, but I have no idea who she is or where she's from, other than that she lives somewhere in Anglesey predominantly, and that her family own a town house somewhere near the winter gardens."

I nodded, turning a piece of twistedly shaped metal over in my hands. "That's all you've found? Nothing about her schooling? Apparently she went to Greengate in Oldcliff."

Fana nodded nonchalantly, digging through more of the papers on his table, tossing another to me. "Flying colours apparently."

I scanned down the sheaf of formal reports, each one sounding worse than the last.

Miss Evangeline is an incompetent oaf barely worthy of my tutelage.

I have received many complaints about Miss Bence's behaviour from other young ladies here, I am of half a mind to send her home.

Your daughter is a disgrace who will throw our humble school into disrepute. You should expect her back this very afternoon.

I chucked the rest of them on the table. "How the hell do you even get these?" I looked across to him, he was scribbling into a little notebook.

"I have... Agents I suppose you could call them? Maybe informants is better."

"Who? Where are they? Why even bother with this, it does make you seem a bit creepy you know."

He looked over to me from beneath his fringe, before pushing it out of his face. "I'm not allowed to tell you that, sorry." I scowled, but then again I got the information I wanted, so he could keep his secrets. "What are your first impressions on the lot then?" Fana tossed his notebook onto a side table and sat forward.

I scrunched my face up. "I haven't spoken to Holly Reichen yet, but Trist says that she's very boring. Edith Sanders, bless, she shouldn't be here, not very knowledgeable in court protocol. Angel... Is Angel."

"I can't believe you forced me to dance Pavanne with her." Fana huffed and I laughed.

"Serena Jeffords could be a threat, but she's very confident in her father's power, I don't think she knows as much as she thinks she knows. Evie Bence, obviously you have my opinion on her, I'm going to meet with her again tonight. Elena Frost,"

"The name certainly suits the attitude doesn't it." Fana smirked and I nodded.

"Gosh, who's still to go? Annabelle Crawley, she's far far too young, lucky that there aren't any inductees this year. Amber Greive, danced with her a couple of times, seems rather naff. Eloise Farthing is Tristan's sweetheart to be, seems fine. Cecily Affer, charming young lady really, even vaguely understands humour. I think that's the lot." I went over to the water pitcher and poured myself a glass.

"Who should I go giving my ballet ticket to then?" Fana asked and I scoffed.

"They're letting you come?" I exclaimed. I honestly would've thought that mother and father would return his valet before his outings.

"Mama has convinced father that it's for keeping up appearances." He grinned. Mother was too gentle with Fana.

"Ugh." I scoffed again, sitting back down. "I think you ought to take Serena really. Especially if it's for keeping up appearances."

He scowled. "But she's so talkative. I won't be able to actually watch."

"That knocks out Angel as my next suggestion. Who would you actually want to go with?"

"Someone who'll sit and listen." He scowled, and I scowled back at him. He went over to his bookshelves, mostly things he had written himself but an ample mix of fiction and non. He pulled out one of the books and seemed to wait on my response before opening it.

"Maybe Annabelle? She's about your age and doesn't seem to do much."

"Is she pretty?" Fana flicked through the book, stopping to look at one page in particular.

"Very, she's like a doll, exactly what you seem to want really." I chuckled grimly to myself.

"She's a Crawley, father might think about giving me Tikhon back if I take her. Want one?" He offered me a box of jellied and sugared fruits, I scrunched my nose up and shook my head.

"When are you next out? You should deliver the invitation yourself." I got up and walked over to the window, to see the gaggle of Debutantes follow mother about the gardens. When most of them walked they seemed to glide, there were two who weren't quite as uniform, I recognised them to be in the colours which Evie and Cecily had been wearing.

"I'm not back with your lot until the ballet itself, might ride through the county or something and have the invitation delivered." Fana shrugged, his mouth half full.

"You'll do no such thing." I snapped, pushing myself up onto the windowsill. "You have to stop visiting the Brown sisters. Plus Definis is all over the place at the moment. Come practice fencing with me tomorrow, Mother's bringing the Debutantes to watch."

Fana snorted. "My, what a treat for them."

I sighed, watching them in their little Colony. I hoped to God that I wouldn't wind up stuck with any of the ones who glided.