that aside, unfazed by his dark mood. “You would have to take care of the details yourself.”
“I am not about to employ a matchmaker.”
“My understanding is that Lady Milden, who operates the agency, has a true gift for matching people endowed with strong psychical natures. She has a number of resources to draw on, including Arcane’s extensive genealogical records.”
“Forget it.” He went to the window and stood looking out at the rain-dampened garden. “I am not interested in that approach.”
“Why not?”
“Sweetwaters find their own women.”
“Except when they don’t,” Aurelia said. She spoke quietly, but the words were heavy with meaning. “We both know what happens when a Sweetwater man goes too long without a true mate.”
He did not respond. There was no need.
“You have begun the nightwalking, haven’t you?” Aurelia said quietly.
A cold chill iced the nape of his neck. The Sweetwaters were very good at keeping secrets from outsiders, but it was damned difficult to keep a secret within the family.
“I have always hunted at night,” he said, trying to claw his way out of the trap. “Everyone in the family knows that. It’s the nature of my version of the family talent. I see the evidence of the monsters more clearly after dark.”
“What everyone in the family knows, ” Aurelia said, “is that you are spending more and more time on the streets late at night. It is one thing to troll for monsters occasionally. In this family, that passes for sport, rather like fishing. But it is quite another to go out alone night after night, searching for your prey. That way lies madness for a Sweetwater man.”
“I am not hunting at night for the sport of it. I have a particular client, J & J, and I have a specific target, a psychical maniac who is murdering glasslight-talents.”
“I realize that you have recently acquired a client, but that is only a short-term diversion. It will not change what is happening to you. Owen, your parents and the rest of the family are starting to worry. If you do not find the right woman soon, you will become a nightwalker.”
“What makes you think Lady Milden can find me a match?”
“I am told she is very skilled at what she does. What do you have to lose?”
“Time,” he said. “Time that I can spend searching for my own true mate.”
“You said yourself this is the modern era. You should take advantage of modern, more efficient ways of doing things.”
“I’ll consider it,” he said, lying through his teeth.
“I will take that as a promise.”
He swung around. “Damn it, Aunt Aurelia.”
“I will ignore the bad language this one time, because I am aware that you are under considerable stress.” She went toward the door. “You have wasted too much time already. You must not wait any longer, Owen. Your family does not want to lose you to the night.”
FIVE
I do not usually report to clients until the job is finished,” Owen Sweetwater said.
Caleb angled his chin in acknowledgment of the great favor that Sweetwater appeared to think he was granting to Jones & Jones. In the few months that he and Lucinda had been doing business at the agency, they had discovered that the only people more troublesome than the clients were the powerful and unpredictable talents the firm was obliged to hire in order to conduct the investigations.
“We appreciate that you are making an exception for us,” Caleb said.
His cousin Gabe, the Master of the Society, studied Sweetwater with a considering expression.
“You came highly recommended, Mr. Sweetwater, but please understand that this sort of business is new to us,” Gabe said.
The three of them were standing in an abandoned warehouse near the docks. Sweetwater had chosen the location for the meeting, just as he had selected the location the first time, when Caleb had contacted him about the possibility of employment. It had become clear immediately that when one engaged the services
“I am not about to employ a matchmaker.”
“My understanding is that Lady Milden, who operates the agency, has a true gift for matching people endowed with strong psychical natures. She has a number of resources to draw on, including Arcane’s extensive genealogical records.”
“Forget it.” He went to the window and stood looking out at the rain-dampened garden. “I am not interested in that approach.”
“Why not?”
“Sweetwaters find their own women.”
“Except when they don’t,” Aurelia said. She spoke quietly, but the words were heavy with meaning. “We both know what happens when a Sweetwater man goes too long without a true mate.”
He did not respond. There was no need.
“You have begun the nightwalking, haven’t you?” Aurelia said quietly.
A cold chill iced the nape of his neck. The Sweetwaters were very good at keeping secrets from outsiders, but it was damned difficult to keep a secret within the family.
“I have always hunted at night,” he said, trying to claw his way out of the trap. “Everyone in the family knows that. It’s the nature of my version of the family talent. I see the evidence of the monsters more clearly after dark.”
“What everyone in the family knows, ” Aurelia said, “is that you are spending more and more time on the streets late at night. It is one thing to troll for monsters occasionally. In this family, that passes for sport, rather like fishing. But it is quite another to go out alone night after night, searching for your prey. That way lies madness for a Sweetwater man.”
“I am not hunting at night for the sport of it. I have a particular client, J & J, and I have a specific target, a psychical maniac who is murdering glasslight-talents.”
“I realize that you have recently acquired a client, but that is only a short-term diversion. It will not change what is happening to you. Owen, your parents and the rest of the family are starting to worry. If you do not find the right woman soon, you will become a nightwalker.”
“What makes you think Lady Milden can find me a match?”
“I am told she is very skilled at what she does. What do you have to lose?”
“Time,” he said. “Time that I can spend searching for my own true mate.”
“You said yourself this is the modern era. You should take advantage of modern, more efficient ways of doing things.”
“I’ll consider it,” he said, lying through his teeth.
“I will take that as a promise.”
He swung around. “Damn it, Aunt Aurelia.”
“I will ignore the bad language this one time, because I am aware that you are under considerable stress.” She went toward the door. “You have wasted too much time already. You must not wait any longer, Owen. Your family does not want to lose you to the night.”
FIVE
I do not usually report to clients until the job is finished,” Owen Sweetwater said.
Caleb angled his chin in acknowledgment of the great favor that Sweetwater appeared to think he was granting to Jones & Jones. In the few months that he and Lucinda had been doing business at the agency, they had discovered that the only people more troublesome than the clients were the powerful and unpredictable talents the firm was obliged to hire in order to conduct the investigations.
“We appreciate that you are making an exception for us,” Caleb said.
His cousin Gabe, the Master of the Society, studied Sweetwater with a considering expression.
“You came highly recommended, Mr. Sweetwater, but please understand that this sort of business is new to us,” Gabe said.
The three of them were standing in an abandoned warehouse near the docks. Sweetwater had chosen the location for the meeting, just as he had selected the location the first time, when Caleb had contacted him about the possibility of employment. It had become clear immediately that when one engaged the services