Tessa, staring down in fascination, realized that indeed she could hear the murmur of voices. “Can they hear us?”
Will shook his head. “The enchantment is strictly one-way.” He frowned, leaning forward. “What are they talking about?”
The three of them fell silent, and in the quiet the sound of Benedict Lightwood’s voice rose clearly to their ears. “I don’t know about this, Charlotte,” he said. “This whole plan seems very risky.”
“But we cannot simply let de Quincey go on as he has,” Charlotte argued. “He’s the head vampire of the London clans. The rest of the Night Children look to him for guidance. If we allow him to cavalierly break the Law, what message does that send to Downworld? That the Nephilim have grown lax in their guardianship?”
“Just so I understand,” Lightwood said, “you’re willing to take Lady Belcourt’s word that de Quincey, a longtime ally of the Clave, is actually murdering mundanes in his own house?”
“I don’t know why you’re surprised, Benedict.” There was an edge to Charlotte’s voice. “Is it your suggestion that we ignore her report, despite the fact that she has given us nothing but reliable information in the past? And despite the fact that if she is once again telling the truth, the blood of everyone that de Quincey murders from this point onward will be on our hands?”
“And despite the fact that we are bound by the Law to investigate any report of the Covenant being broken,” said a slender dark-haired man at the far end of the table. “You know that as well as the rest of us, Benedict; you’re simply being stubborn.”
Charlotte exhaled as Lightwood’s face darkened. “Thank you, George. I appreciate that,” she said.
The tall woman who had earlier called Charlotte Lottie gave a low, rumbling laugh. “Don’t be so dramatic, Charlotte,” she said. “You must admit, the whole business is bizarre. A shape-changing girl who may or may not be a warlock, brothels full of dead bodies, and an informant who swears he sold de Quincey some machine tools—a fact that you seem to regard as a piece of the most consummate evidence, despite refusing to tell us your informant’s name.”
“I swore I wouldn’t involve him,” Charlotte protested. “He fears de Quincey.”
“Is he a Shadowhunter?” Lightwood demanded. “Because if not, he isn’t reliable.”
“Really, Benedict, your views are most antiquated,” said the woman with the catlike eyes. “One might believe, talking to you, that the Accords had never happened.”
“Lilian is correct; you’re being ridiculous, Benedict,” said George Penhallow. “Looking for an entirely reliable informant is like looking for a chaste mistress. If they were virtuous, they would be little use to you in the first place. An informant merely provides information; it is our job to verify that information, which is what Charlotte is suggesting that we do.”
“I would simply hate to see the powers of the Enclave misused in this instance,” Lightwood said in a silky tone. It was very odd, Tessa thought, hearing this group of elegant adults addressing one another without honorifics, simply by their first names. But it seemed to be Shadowhunter custom. “If, for instance, there were a vampire who had a grudge against the head of her clan, and perhaps wanted to see him removed from power, what better way than to get the Clave to do her dirty work for her?”
“Hell,” Will muttered, exchanging a glance with Jem. “How does he know about that?”
Jem shook his head, as if to say I don’t know.
“Know about what?” Tessa whispered, but her voice was drowned out by Charlotte and the white-haired woman both talking at once.
“Camille would never do that!” Charlotte protested. “She isn’t a fool, for one thing. She knows what the punishment for lying to us would be!”
“Benedict has a point,” said the older woman. “It would be better if a Shadowhunter had seen de Quincey breaking the Law—”
“But that’s the point of this whole enterprise,” Charlotte said. There was a tinge to her voice—of nervousness, a strained desire to prove herself. Tessa felt a flicker of sympathy for her. “To observe de Quincey breaking the Law, Aunt Callida.”
Tessa made a startled noise.
Jem looked up. “Yes, she’s Charlotte’s aunt,” he said. “It was her brother—Charlotte’s father—who used to run the Institute. She likes to tell people what to do. Although, of course she always does whatever she wants.”
“She does at that,” Will agreed. “Did you know she propositioned me once?”
Jem did not look as if he believed this even slightly. “She did not.”
“She did,” Will insisted. “It was all very scandalous. I might have acceded to her demands too, if she didn’t frighten me so much.”
Jem simply shook his head and turned his attention back to the scene unfolding in the library. “There is also the matter of de Quincey’s seal,” Charlotte was saying, “which we found inside the body of the clockwork girl. There is simply too much evidence linking him to these events, too much evidence not to investigate.”
“I agree,” said Lilian. “I for one am concerned about this matter of the clockwork creatures. Making clockwork girls is one thing, but what if he’s making a clockwork army?”
“That’s pure speculation, Lilian,” said Frederick Ashdown.
Lilian dismissed this with a wave of her hand. “An automaton is neither seraph nor demon in its alliance; it is not one of the children of God or of the Devil. Would it be vulnerable to our weapons?”
“I think you’re imagining a problem that does not exist,” said Benedict Lightwood. “There have been automatons for years now; mundanes are fascinated with the creatures. None has posed a threat to us.”
“None has been made using magic before,” said Charlotte.
“That you know of.” Lightwood looked impatient.
Charlotte straightened her back; only Tessa and the others, looking down upon her, could see that her hands were knotted tightly together in her lap. “Your concern, Benedict, seems to be that we will unfairly punish de Quincey for a crime he has not committed, and in doing so jeopardize the relationship between the Night Children and the Nephilim. Am I correct?”
Benedict Lightwood nodded.
“But all that Will’s plan calls for is for us to observe de Quincey. If we do not see him breaking the Law, we will not act against him, and the relationship will not be threatened. If we do see him breaking the Law, then the relationship is a lie. We cannot allow abuse of Covenant Law, however . . . convenient it might be for us to ignore.”
“I agree with Charlotte,” said Gabriel Lightwood, speaking up for the first time, and much to Tessa’s surprise. “I think her plan is a sound one. Except in one part—sending the shape-shifter girl in there with Will Herondale. He isn’t even old enough to be at this meeting. How can he be trusted with a mission of this gravity?”
“Smarmy little prig,” Will snarled, leaning farther forward, as if he longed to reach through the magical portal and strangle Gabriel. “When I get him alone . . .”