"Fallon tells me some of the other Council members are wobbling because of some vicious rumors about him."
"Which is why Zack insisted that Fallon come tonight." Raine smiled. "I've got to tell you, though, I wasn't sure he would show up."
"Why not?"
"Fallon isn't the kind of man who responds to social pressure. But I suppose a threat to cut off funding for his precious anti-Nightshade project did the trick." Raine wrinkled her nose. "I'm afraid Zack is very good at figuring out exactly what it will take to get someone to do what he wants that person to do. It's part of his talent. One of the two reasons they put him in charge of Arcane."
"What's the other reason?"
Raine raised one shoulder in an elegant little shrug. "He's a Jones. There has always been a Jones in the Master's Chair. Technically speaking, since the changes made by Gabriel Jones back in the Victorian era, the Council has the power to elect anyone it pleases to the Chair."
"But somehow the result of every election has been a Jones?"
Raine raised her brows. "Yes. Coincidence?"
"I think not." Isabella smiled. "Sounds like the Society operates more like a hereditary monarchy than a democracy."
"Power rules in this organization, just as it does in any group," Raine said simply. "Within Arcane that means, among other things, a lot of raw talent. There happens to be a great deal of that in the Jones bloodline. In addition, the Joneses have been running Arcane a long time. They know where all the bodies are buried. In fact, they buried a few of them."
"Hmm."
Raine's brows went up. "What?"
"I'm not so sure that Fallon is here just because he's worried about the J&J budget. At least I don't think that's the only reason he agreed to show up tonight."
"Really? What other reason might there be?"
"I don't know," Isabella admitted. "Fallon is not always entirely forthcoming."
"You mean he's devious."
"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.