Almost

Chapter 29: Varied Company

Ezra stared at her like she'd stabbed him.

"I do," she repeated, her voice softer but just as strong as before.

"Katherine, I don't think you know what you're saying."

She raised an eyebrow at him, but he didn't lose his resolution.

"Do you know how dangerous that would be? The whole point of leaving the cabin is to get you away from these people, not draw them closer."

"What does Hollinghunt have in mind?" Katherine asked, turning towards Picquery as Ezra looked at her astonished.

"She wants to make your relationship public-ish knowledge. Not give any details about you, just make it look like you've slipped up a couple of times. Let the gossip columns think they've caught you without really giving them anything meaningful. We think it'll make these people scared that others could start to figure it out, that they won't be the only ones keeping eyes on you. But we have to act fast while there's still buzz about it."

"That's precisely the problem," Ezra interjected. "This will bring others out of the woodwork. We're maybe getting rid of one problem but putting out the signal to who knows how many more?"

"We should be able to keep your family out of it for a little while at least," Picquery said, still talking to Katherine. "Though I'm sure it won't stay quiet forever. Plenty of people will wonder why you didn't go to school here in the States. It could drive them to look in other countries."

"So, what do we do? How do we plant the information?"

"We aren't planting anything," Ezra said, his voice getting louder. "Katherine, please don't—"

"Ezra," she cut him off, careful to keep her voice even. "Don't you want to get this over with? Get back to some semblance of a normal life?"

"Of course, I want that, but—"

"So, this is how we do that. I'm already being guarded all the time, and no one is going to get in here. I've looked over the wards myself, and they're good. Strong. A few pictures won't change any of that. Besides, it's not like we're waving around the tempering or giving a showcase of my magic. It's just telling the world you're marrying me—isn't that the point of a wedding in the first place?"

He stared at her like his world was unravelling. He stood and walked back to the kitchen, speaking only over his shoulder.

"Seb, I think you should go. We'll talk about this tomorrow."

"Ez, no one is trying to—"

"It's okay, Picquery," Katherine said, giving him a small nod. "We should talk this over. Thank you for bringing the paper."

Picquery looked at her a while, his dark eyes searching her face and then Crawley's.

"Okay," he said. "But Hollinghunt won't let this go. I'm sure she'll want an answer first thing in the morning. And that'll be early—Ezra has to be at Illvermorny in time for breakfast tomorrow. But, try and convince him to do it? After they got into it the other day over this, we knew it was just a matter of time."

Katherine tucked that statement away for a later moment, remembering Crawley telling her he'd had a tantrum in front of his boss.

"Has Iz said anything yet?" she asked, eager to get any information she might before Picquery left.

"Yes," Picquery responded slowly. "But just pieces so far. That's really all I can say for now."

She sighed as he apparated away with a quick wave and turned, knowing that she had to talk to Ezra. Katherine left her blanket hanging over the chair and walked back to the counter, leaning near the wisteria. Smithwick came and wove his way through her ankles, a merciful comfort for the conversation.