Epilogue

A week after their return, Dorothy dressed in her finest suit and walked to the Inkwell for her reckoning. She and Beatrice had barely left the townhouse since their return to London. They both still needed to do some healing after their ordeals. While they slept, got reacquainted with each other, and tended to the damage that had been done to the house, Trafalgar and the rest of the Mnemosyne Society could deliberate and eventually come to a decision on how to proceed with Dorothy’s membership.

When they’d first arrived home, Dorothy had taken Trafalgar aside and brought up the inevitable trial. “Tell the rest of the Society that no matter what they decide, it won’t affect my contributions. The books in the library, my vault, everything that the others have utilized over the years will still be accessible to them regardless of my status.”

“That’s very generous of you,” Trafalgar said.

Dorothy shrugged. “I want them to choose me. Not my stuff.”

Trafalgar nodded. “I’ll let them know.”

Ordinarily she would have spent the intervening time dreading their verdict, but she quickly discovered she didn’t care. She had Beatrice. She felt at peace with whatever they decided. She would be happy to spend the rest of her days in her home, with her lover, drawing maps. It would be enough for her as long as they were together.

When she was finally summoned, she walked to the tavern with no dread or anticipation. She trusted the people in charge of the decision, people who had been her friends at one point, and she was well aware of how she had treated them the past few years. She was confident whatever choice they made would be fair and just.

The Council were the only members present when she arrived. Leonard and Agnes Keeping were well enough to make the trip, and Dorothy went over to their table and greeted them warmly. It had been years since she’d seen them, for which she apologized profusely and was just as thoroughly forgiven. Cecil Dubourne had also made the trip from America. She didn’t know if that was a good omen for her chances or a nail in her coffin. Trafalgar and Violet were sat at the bar, with Cora standing near them.

Dorothy stood in the center of the room and looked around. “Is Ivy here somewhere?”

“No,” Trafalgar said. “No one has heard from her since that night at Threadneedle when she attempted to break you out.”

“I’m sure she’ll make her presence known before long,” Dorothy said, although this time she wasn’t sure. She looked around at the gathered faces before she settled on Cora. “I assume my summons means you’ve come to an agreement.”

“We have. Is Beatrice coming...?”

“No,” Dorothy said. “She decided to voluntarily withdraw from the Society. She’ll offer her services when necessary but she doesn’t feel like she would be very useful without her powers. I think she also wants some time to adjust to her... new circumstances.”

“That’s understandable,” Cora said.

Dorothy nodded and finally looked at Trafalgar. “As for me...?”

Trafalgar realized she had been tacitly elected as spokesperson. She looked at Violet and cleared her throat.

“We appreciate that you were suffering from tremendous grief over the past few years. But that doesn’t excuse your actions. You were reckless, you threatened the lives and safety of every member of this group, and you withheld information. These infractions cannot be ignored. But we must also take your vast contributions to the Society into account. We would not have formed without you. Most of us would not be alive without you.

“So we have decided that you will remain a member in good standing, but you are no longer a voting member of the Council. In fact, you wield no power whatsoever in the decision-making process. You will be the lowest-ranking member of the Society, below every apprentice, for a probationary period of one year. After that time, you will be allowed to advance in the ranks. By that time, several apprentices will have achieved seniority. They will be considered for Council positions before you are.”

Cora said, “Are these terms acceptable to you?”

Dorothy sighed and shrugged. “Considering what I’ve done to you, I believe this is kinder than I deserve. Thank you for your leniency.”

Agnes Keeping said, “The Society hasn’t been the same without you, Dorothy.”

Leonard added, “And a lack of seniority or voting power doesn’t mean you’re silenced. We’ll still listen to your opinions. Take them into advisement.”

“I appreciate that.”

Violet clapped her hands. “All right. Now that all the sordid business of punishment is out of the way...” She swept behind the bar and pulled down two bottles and held them aloft. “Let’s get down to the true business of this get-together and drink!”

“A splendid idea!” Trafalgar said, slapping the bar.

Dorothy accepted a glass and spent a fair amount of time catching up with Cora, enough time to be polite, and then excused herself to go out into the courtyard. She dusted the fallen leaves from a concrete bench and sat down, her head tilted back to watch the clouds.

She had only been outside a few minutes when Trafalgar found her. She hesitated in the doorway and nodded at the bench.

“May I sit? I understand if you’d rather be alone.”

“No, please.”

Trafalgar came out and sat down. She left enough space between them for another person. Together they watched the clouds, sipped their wine, and randomly shuffled their shoes on the patio. Dorothy traced lines with the toe of her boot.

“Is Trix well?”

“She’s doing very well, yes,” Dorothy said, grateful for an easy topic of conversation. “She has some issues with insomnia. She’ll sleep at strange hours during the day, then she’ll be awake all night. But we’re trying to find a comfortable balance for her. We’re making progress. The strangest thing is food. Her tastes have changed. And we’re struggling to determine her age. She never knew when she was actually born, so it had always been guesswork. But now we have to decide whether to add in or skip the seven years she was incorporeal.”

Trafalgar nodded. “It’s an interesting question. And one without precedent.”

“Mm-hmm.” Dorothy looked into her wine. “I’ve heard what the Society decided. I’d like to know how you voted, if that’s all right.”

Trafalgar sighed. “I think it will be easier to calculate Beatrice’s age than explain how I feel about your continued presence in the Society. To be blunt, I don’t know. I had no qualms working with you in Turkey, but I can’t say whether or not I’d be willing to repeat the experience. But we’re both members of the Society so I’m sure it will happen eventually. But as for us, the partnership... no, Dorothy. My feelings on that haven’t changed. That’s over. Trafalgar and Boone have had their final adventure.”

“A pity,” Dorothy said. “But you seem to have found an amazing new partner. Rhys Tracking and Investigative Services.”

Trafalgar smiled. “She is a worthy companion in every sense of the word, yes. And I owe you for opening my eyes to possibilities I wouldn’t have considered otherwise. If I’d never known you, I would have considered Violet a very dear friend and nothing more.”

“I’m proud to have helped you find your person.”

“Mm.” Trafalgar chuckled and nodded. “Yes. And you are obviously aware that your position with the Society is...” She waved her hand vaguely in front of her. “It doesn’t have to dictate your actual work. You’ve always been independent. You can do the same thing you always did before the group was created.”

“True. But it’s hard to feel any purpose now that Beatrice is back. I’ve spent so much time dedicated to that singular goal.”

“There’s a whole world out there,” Trafalgar said. “And you certainly have the time. You did something that no one else has ever survived. You did it four times, and you were recovered within a few days. That’s enough proof for me to believe you’re immortal.”

“At least I was immortal. The water pulled four lifetimes out of me. Who knows how much is actually left? Maybe it all balanced out and I’ll have a relatively normal lifetime.”

“That’s still a very long time, potentially. Magic may have been greatly diminished, but there are still people out there with powers they don’t control and don’t understand. They’ll need help from experts, and we’re about as close as the world will get. And the artifact you discovered! My word, Dorothy, you uncovered an easy method of traveling in time. Even if there are moral issues about how it should be utilized, it’s still a powerful tool.”

“Powerful and inaccurate. But you are correct. There are more mysteries to be solved. More people to helped.” She finished off her wine and bent down to put the glass down on the ground between her feet. She sat up with a sigh and leaned back to look up at the clouds. “I was so wrong, Trafalgar. And so convinced I was right that I could have destroyed the entire world. I can’t understate how grateful I am to you for bringing me back to my senses.”

“Always. No matter what else is happening, I’ll always be there to knock you down a peg when you need it.”

Dorothy laughed. Trafalgar finished her glass and put it down on the bench between them.

The knot of anxiety that had been gathered at the nape of Dorothy’s neck relaxed itself. They sat together, the silence less uncomfortable than it had been when Trafalgar first came out, and Dorothy allowed herself to enjoy it. Nothing had ended, only changed. They weren’t partners and would likely never again consider themselves such, but they were still friends. Or, if they weren’t quite there yet, the possibility existed for them to get there one day. There were countless mysteries to solve, hidden treasures to uncover, forgotten people who needed to be brought to the light.

The road forward was unfamiliar, but she was confident they would be able to navigate it well. And if not, they could always lean on each other when the going became too hazardous.

She bent down and picked up her empty glass, holding it toward Trafalgar. “It was a pleasure being your partner. To the intrepid Trafalgar Rhys.”

Trafalgar smiled and picked up her own glass. “To the immortal Lady Boone. Be it figurative or literal, your name will live on far into the future.”

They tapped glasses and smiled at each other.

The world was a wild, wonderful, weird place. She couldn’t wait to see what it had in store for them.