A Marvellous Light

The chapter begins from Robin Blyth’s point of view. Robin is irritated and confused, as he has a new job in the Office of Special Domestic Affairs and Complaints and does not understand his responsibilities. A thin, blond man abruptly enters his office. Though he seems friendly at first, he soon looks offended and demands to know where Reggie is. When Robin asks the newcomer’s name, the man says, “I’m the Queen of Denmark,” to which Robin replies, “and I’m Leonardo da Vinci” (7).

The office assistant, Miss Adelaide Morrissey, senses the tension and interrupts, explaining that Robin now holds Reggie’s post. Robin, showing both racial and sexist bias typical of the time, is surprised to find that his assistant is a woman and Indian, though the reader will learn later that Miss Morrissey is biracial and has a white father. Because of Reggie’s confession under torture in Chapter 1, it is clear to the reader that the object his captors were seeking is likely in the room.

Robin is uncomfortable when Miss Morrissey refers to him by his title of “Sir Robert,” as his father died—thus conferring the title on him—only recently. She introduces the irritable blond man as Edwin Courcey, the liaison to their office. Courcey and Miss Morrissey are both baffled by Robin’s arrival. Robin bristles once more when Edwin asks about his family background, assuming Edwin refers to his aristocratic ties. Robin, like the reader, does not yet know that Edwin is asking about his connection to magical society in England, as the office’s main job is to prevent magic from becoming common knowledge.

Edwin sits and prepares to discuss business, but Robin reaches the end of his patience and admits that he has no idea what his responsibilities are. Edwin shocks him by saying that his reports go to Prime Minister Asquith (Herbert Henry Asquith, who held office from 1908 to 1916).

Edwin gradually realizes that Robin truly is ignorant of his new circumstances and makes a hand gesture Robin cannot interpret. Robin sees Edwin’s pen moving autonomously across the paper. He senses Edwin’s scrutiny, thinking to himself that “[he] had never been inspected this closely by a man except as a prelude to fucking” (11).

When he recovers, Robin says that he seems to be missing some key information. Edwin explains that he is the representative of the magical world, while Robin is his non-magical counterpart in the United Kingdom’s government. Edwin seems almost angry when Robin placidly accepts this explanation. Robin asks how the pen works and receives a complex lecture from Edwin. Robin grasps that magical spells are similar to legally binding documents and executed through two-handed gestures known as cradles.

Edwin conjures a single snowflake as proof of his magic. Robin is delighted, then relieved when Edwin explains that magic is innate in families, not acquired. He adds that typically Robin’s job is given to nonmagical members of established magical families to prevent such confusion. Edwin leaves, saying that he has done enough for the day.

Miss Morrissey seems quietly delighted to have been party to an unbusheling, the process whereby the uninitiated learn that magic is real. She, like Reggie, has no magic of her own, though her family members are powerful magicians. Robin’s assignment is to track any events where ordinary people might have encountered magic, and to protect the community’s anonymity. Miss Morrissey explains that Reggie has been mysteriously traveling and left her buried in paperwork. Robin reluctantly agrees to stay in his post for the time being.

Edwin, now the point-of-view character, walks through the rainy streets of London. He castigates himself for abandoning his office and for having lacked the courage and social skill to ask Reggie about his investigations.

At the Gatling family home, Edwin is greeted by Reggie’s sister Anne. Anne seems confused to hear he is searching for Reggie. They are interrupted by the random chiming of a magical clock, which Anne explains is malfunctioning. Edwin examines the mechanism and writes down a possible repair spell, explaining that the oak-heart within is like a battery and needs replenishment. Anne unthinkingly says, “pity you can’t do it for us yourself,” then upbraids herself for having accidentally alluded to Edwin’s minimal capacity to perform magic—a deficit that makes him an object of pity. Edwin tells her to let him know if she hears from her brother, who is clearly not well regarded by his family. The Gatlings are similarly condescending to Edwin.

Edwin leaves, thinking of Robin, whom he instinctively dislikes as an athletic extrovert, the kind of person who ruthlessly targeted him as an outsider. Edwin mocks himself for taking pleasure in Robin’s joy at his spells, as “he didn’t know enough to sneer at Edwin’s use of a string to guide his cradling, like a child” (23), Edwin visits his favorite bookstore to buy magical reference works. He then visits a second, more anonymous bookstore, leaving with a carefully concealed book.

Edwin returns home to his suite of hotel rooms and surveys his purchases. He begins reading—his second surreptitious purchase was illegal erotica about sex between gay men. He sets this aside in favor of his magical treatise. (The erotica titles will take on more significance later in the series, as their author, Alan Ross, is one of the protagonists in the trilogy’s final book, A Power Unbound.)

Edwin struggles to concentrate, disturbed by his visit to the Gatlings. He feels a kinship with Reggie, who chose to live apart from a family that ignored him. He dreads meeting Robin again and feels an overwhelming sense of dissatisfaction with his life.

Robin, now the point-of-view character, walks home, unwilling to face his new role as head of household. A man interrupts him, and as they talk, he feels something tied to his arm. The magical implement, which Robin will later learn is called a Goblin’s Bridle, prevents the wearer from moving or speaking unless permitted. The rope emits a terrifying light. Robin tries to identify the man but finds this is impossible as “at the top of the neck was a head shaped nothingness, a queasily shifting fog” (28). His captor leads him to a group of disguised men, whose leader tells him to answer questions to avoid more harm.

His captors explain, menacingly, that—as Reggie’s replacement—Robin must tell them where Reggie hid something critical. Robin denies having any idea what they refer to, so one of them casts a spell on him, leaving mysterious markings on his arm that suddenly bring on debilitating pain to his entire body. The man orders him, “Find the last contract. I wager you’ll be a lot more happy to help the next time we come calling” (32). Robin heads for home after the men leave.

At home, Robin surveys the marks on his arm, which remind him of tattoos. Over dinner, he listens as his sister tries to scandalize him with tales of her friends, as she did when their parents were alive. Her next effort is a demand to attend Newnham College, the only college in Cambridge University that admits women. Robin reminds her that the family’s finances are precarious and admits to himself he has been avoiding key decisions on these matters, which his parents also neglected while alive. Maud insists on the importance of education.

As he drinks his after-dinner port, Robin looks at a portrait of his mother, done by the famous artist John Singer Sergeant. In a way, his new unwanted job is due to her: His parents deeply alienated a prominent man, who tried to take revenge by assigning Robin to a post that he incorrectly assumed was lacking in prestige. Maud returns, telling Robin once more that she is serious about Cambridge. When Robin gently remarks that this ambition is new, Maud emotionally responds that their parents are dead. Robin hears what she does not say: that she is now free to become her real self. Robin is overwhelmed at the changes in his life and reproaches himself for resenting “the dreadful woes of having both a well-paying job and a baronetcy” (39).

Robin suddenly feels overheated and strange. He sees visions of places and people he does not recognize: an elaborate estate garden and a young blonde woman performing a spell. These are combined with a view into a bustling room through a glass ceiling. The final image that is no less jarring: a naked Edwin Courcey in a state of ecstasy. Robin comes back to himself, deeply disconcerted. He resolves to face his problems the following day.

The chapter opens from Edwin’s perspective as he surveys the relative chaos of his office. Miss Morrissey and Robin sort massive stacks of paper. Edwin is initially furious, blaming Robin for the disorder, until Robin tells him the office was burgled. When pressed, Robin explains his attack the evening before. Edwin realizes he cannot give Robin lethe-mint, the magical drug designed to make people forget recent events. It is typically given without consent to non-magical people who have recently been unbusheled. Edwin asks many questions, exasperating Robin, who tells him that his recall is imperfect given his terror. Miss Morrissey mentions that Reggie’s odd behavior began with a trip to Yorkshire, where residents claimed to see ghosts.

Edwin reaches for Robin’s arm to examine it, but Robin flinches away at first. Edwin declares that the design is a magical rune curse, a specific kind of malevolent spell, horrifying Robin further. Robin assumes the contract he was threatened about refers to a document. Edwin reminds himself that even if he dislikes Robin, he deserves safety. Edwin proposes they visit someone who might have a solution. He reluctantly agrees to stay and help sort documents, struck by Robin’s smile.

The point of view shifts to Robin, as he and Edwin walk to their planned meeting. Robin is struck by a sudden attack of pain, barely able to speak afterward. Robin is offended when Edwin considers it a useful data point, “as though Robin were nothing more than the pain on his bloody arm” (50). They arrive at a prominent address in Mayfair, where a butler initially tries to refuse them entry. Edwin explains that this is the residence of Jack Alston, Baron Hawthorn, who is the son of an earl. He admits, reluctantly, that the two are not particularly fond of each other.

Robin is struck by Hawthorn’s height and good looks, but soon only notices Hawthorn’s biting rudeness to Edwin. Following social convention of the time, Robin refers to Hawthorn by the territorial designation attached to his title, unlike Edwin’s and Robin’s use of their surnames with one another.

Hawthorn is unmoved by the urgency of the situation, so Robin finally shows him the curse on his arm. When Edwin points out that Hawthorn has expertise in curses, Hawthorn suggests it must bother Edwin to admit to his inadequacy, calmly reminding Edwin that he was once a very powerful magician. Robin makes one more entreaty, and Hawthorn asserts that he pays no attention to the magical world and is soon leaving for New York.

When Edwin points out the conversation could be over if Hawthorn would only consider the curse, Hawthorn says, “[I]f you were here for a fuck, that’d be different. I suppose I might be willing to bend you over my bed for old times’ sake” (54). Robin is stunned by this casual reference to an affair, as sex between men was not only socially stigmatized in Edwardian England, but illegal. He briefly fears Hawthorn has somehow guessed his own sexuality.

Robin interrupts another string of insults to point out that the design on his arm has expanded, and Hawthorn reluctantly explains that this will likely continue. Hawthorn firmly insists that he truly cannot help. As they leave, Robin has another vision, this time of Lord Hawthorn on an ocean liner (his return journey will form much of the plot of A Restless Truth, the trilogy’s second book). Robin smoothly lies to both men about a lingering illness, eager to hide his visions.

Edwin admits that Hawthorn is always cruel, and Robin privately resists pointing out that Edwin’s sensitivity made him easy to tease. He scrutinizes Edwin, thinking of his earlier, more erotic vision. Edwin reluctantly invites Robin to his family home, Penhallick, as he will need its library to investigate the curse. He briefly quotes a poem referring to magic as “the gifts of the dawn” (58). (The poem, and its author, will prove significant in the trilogy’s final book, in which Dufay will explain magic’s real origin to Robin, Edwin, and others.) Robin agrees to go, joking that books are safer than people, and Edwin agrees.