From the walkways, the residents of Blackthorn watched in silence. Then someone started clapping — a single pair of hands — and within seconds most of the walkway was doing it.
The marquess looked at the clapping crowd with an expression that suggested he was not entirely sure what to do with approval. He settled on a brief, stiff nod. Nicholas, who had been standing at parade rest behind him throughout the entire process, allowed himself a small smile that he directed at the ground.
Jack lowered his Perception Field and let the vertigo settle. He had been watching the marquess's mana circuit during the work — careful, oblique observation, not the full flood — and what he'd seen confirmed his earlier assessment and then exceeded it.
