“No, he’s just a very private person, and he’s not accustomed to sharing his thoughts with others because most people don’t understand how he thinks.”
“That’s certainly one way of putting it,” Raine said. She gave Isabella a searching look. “I think you may understand him better than anyone ever has.”
Isabella took a sip of champagne and lowered the glass. “I expect that somewhere along the line he got tired of trying to explain himself and his talent.”
Raine switched her attention back to Fallon. “You may be right. I hadn’t thought about it quite like that.”
An attractive, expensively dressed woman in her late fifties approached the alcove.
“Good evening, Raine,” she said warmly. “You look lovely tonight, as always.”
Raine smiled. “So do you. Nice to see you, Maryann. Have you met Isabella Valdez, Fallon’s new assistant?”
“No, I haven’t had the pleasure.” Maryann turned quickly to Isabella. “I’m Maryann Jones, one of Fallon’s many aunts. Ours is a somewhat extended family, to say the least.”
Raine grinned. “That tends to happen when one of your ancestors sires offspring by three different women.”
“Old Sylvester was a bit of a rogue,” Maryann sighed. “Then, again, he considered fathering a lot of children part of his research program. He was anxious to test his theories of the laws of psychic inheritance.”
“How do you do, Maryann,” Isabella said politely.
“It really is nice to meet you,” Maryann said. “All of us in the family are so relieved that Fallon finally hired an assistant. He has been trying to handle far too much alone for far too long.”
Isabella cleared her throat. “Actually, I’m an investigator at the agency now.”
Maryann looked intrigued. “Is that so?”
“In addition to being the office manager,” Isabella added hastily.
“Well, regardless of the title, I’m just grateful that Fallon found someone who could work with him day in and day out,” Maryann said. “I’m afraid most people find him rather difficult.”
“He needs his space,” Isabella said. “Given the nature of his talent, he has to spend a lot of time in his own head.”
Maryann’s expression sharpened. “Yes, he’s always been somewhat of a loner. Not everyone understands that. Oh, there goes Linda McDonald. I must speak to her. If you’ll both excuse me?”
“Of course,” Raine said.
Isabella waited until Maryann had been swept up in the crowd.
“A woman of strong talent,” she said.
“Oh, yeah,” Raine said. “Like everyone else in the family.”
“Uh, mind if I ask what kind?”
Raine smiled. “Didn’t you know? Maryann Jones is one of the top matchmakers at arcanematch.com. In fact, she is considered to be the best. Runs the agency.”
“I see,” Isabella said. She couldn’t think of anything else to say.
“No,” Raine said.
“I beg your pardon?”
“You’re wondering if Maryann matched Fallon with his former fiancee, aren’t you?”
“The question did cross my mind.”
“I don’t know the whole story, mind you, but Zack told me that Fallon is convinced that with his talent he’s not a good candidate for arcanematch. He became even more convinced of that when Zack got a disastrous match through the agency.”
“Not you, I take it?”
“No.”
“What happened?”
“Zack’s fiancee tried to kill him.”
“I’d say that qualifies as a poor match.”
“Fallon’s case was a little different. Since he didn’t have any faith in arcanematch, he decided to find his own partner. Legend has it he went about it very methodically, using a computerized matrix, a detailed personality inventory and his own personal theory of para-compatibility. It didn’t go well.”
“I gathered that.”
“And, yes, she’s here tonight. That’s Jenny Austin over there near the terrace doors. The redhead. She’s talking to William Hughes.”
Isabella looked toward the doors and saw a strikingly attractive woman chatting to an older man. Jenny was dressed in a sleek black gown that, although elegantly cut, managed to convey a funereal air. Something in the atmosphere around her, Isabella thought, a faint, telltale disturbance.
She opened her talent very cautiously and immediately regretted it. Glacial mist filled the entire room. Everyone in Arcane had secrets, and a lot of them were the deep, dark kind. Hastily she shut down her other sight. From this distance she could not see the precise sort of energy that swirled around Jenny Austin, anyway.
“What kind of talent is she?” Isabella asked.
“Jenny’s a spectrum energy-talent. Quite brilliant. She’s a very respected researcher in the L.A. lab. Actually, I think that was part of her appeal for Fallon.”
Isabella could feel a small cloud of gloom gathering over her head. Of course Fallon would be intrigued by a woman who was not only beautiful but also a gifted researcher.
“I can see where he would have been attracted to her because she has a scientific mind,” Isabella said, trying not to let her glum mood show.
“That was no doubt part of it,” Raine said. “But according to Zack, there was an additional feature as far as Fallon was concerned.”
“Well, she is lovely.”
“It wasn’t just her looks,” Raine said. “It was the fact that one of Fallon’s several times great-grandmothers was also a scientist—a botanist, as a matter of fact. Lucinda Bromley Jones lived in the Victorian era and was married to Caleb Jones.”
“The other half of the original Jones & Jones?”
“Right. I’m afraid that Fallon went with the assumption that if the founder of J&J had good luck marrying a scientist, it made sense for his descendant to find himself a wife with scientific inclinations.”
“In other words, Fallon tried to apply logic to the problem of finding a wife.”
“Typical Fallon.”
Isabella stifled a small sigh and switched her attention to the other side of the room where Maryann Jones was chatting with a group of distinguished-looking people that included Fallon’s mother, Alexia Jones. Fallon had introduced his parents at the start of the reception. Alexia and Warner Jones had been very gracious but that was only to be expected, Isabella reminded herself. There was no way to be sure what they really thought of her. Fallon had made a point of presenting her as
“Fallon’s aunt was checking me out, wasn’t she?” Isabella asked.
Raine smiled. “She certainly was.”
“Think she knows that Fallon and I have a personal relationship as well as a business relationship?”
“I think everyone in the room is aware of that.”
“Good grief.” Isabella tried to squelch a tiny surge of panic. “How on earth could they possibly know? And don’t you dare tell me it’s because everyone in the room is psychic.”
“You don’t have to be clairvoyant to sense the energy in the atmosphere when the two of you are close together. The fact that you and Fallon are involved in a personal way was obvious the minute you walked into the room tonight.”
“Ack. I think I need another canape and a second glass of champagne.”
“I’ll come with you to the buffet table. I need to fortify myself for another round of socializing.”
They made their way around the fringes of the crowd, pausing occasionally so that Raine could greet someone or introduce Isabella.
“I imagine being the wife of the Master of the Society can be somewhat demanding at times,” Isabella said
