But even as she said it, a chill crept up her spine. She probably would be safer at an underground club. No one there would be after a rare inaccurate map mysteriously worth millions.
“You look great, kid,” Humphrey added, and Nell glanced up to see him smiling at her—he must have thought Nell was nervous about her outfit or makeup.
“Thanks,” she managed, and adjusted her bag. The top of the leather portfolio peeked back at her.
“I’ll lock up, you get going!” He arched a brow comically. “Just kiss the guy first, as soon as you see him. Skip over the boring conversation part.”
“Goodbye, Humphrey,” she shouted over his laughter as she headed downstairs.
She’d been able to pretend she wasn’t before, but now she definitely was nervous.
Could she and Felix really make it work this time?
The subway couldn’t arrive fast enough. When the train finally screeched into the station, Nell had her nose pressed to the doors before they slid open.
What would it be like? To be with Felix again at the library, maybe even arm in arm, just as before. The butterflies that by now were permanent tenants in her stomach roused again, causing another grin to tug at her lips. Swann would be so happy.
Who was she kidding? She would be so happy.
Nell jumped off the train at Grand Central and made her way up through the rush-hour crowds in the station into the evening light at street level. As she turned onto Fifth Avenue, and the silhouette of the two stone lions and imposing columns that marked the front of the library came into view, she found herself clutching her bag tighter to her shoulder, searching again for the black car. Was that it there, at the end of the street? Or turning left? Or was she jumping at shadows? Felix was right, having Haberson’s security systems in the library now made it a safer place. But she still couldn’t shake the discomfort she felt over Haberson’s specialists scanning every single inch of every map and atlas in its priceless collections, and then breaking down their intangible artistry into some kind of data code, a bunch of ones and zeros, as if that could mean more than the original. It just felt wrong, somehow. Like giving something up. Not the maps themselves, but the magic of them. The feel of their paper, and the richness of their ink. Some things just couldn’t translate perfectly into data.
Her father would have agreed.
With a deep breath, Nell ascended the steps. At the doors, a docent bowed politely and checked her name off the guest list. “Right this way,” he said, as a waiter swooped in with a tray of champagne glasses and a stack of programs.
“Thank you,” Nell meant to reply, but the words escaped her as she entered.
Inside, the lobby of the New York Public Library was positively glittering. White marble glistened warmly everywhere, and the balustrades shined like gold. Overhead, they’d lowered the lighting to a soft yellow glow to evoke a sense of old times and ancient artifacts—she’d seen the tactic before at auctions and opera houses. Everyone was in tuxedos and gowns, hair swept gracefully up, jewelry sparkling on long necks and delicate wrists. The melody of a piano reached her over the quiet murmur of conversation and clinking glasses. And all around them, suspended on razor-thin cables in a large circle, hung a dazzling array of priceless, awe-inspiring maps.
Swann smiled when they spotted each other, and he made his way to her through the crowd milling near the entrance. “Nell! You’re here.” His eyes were misty, a tangle of pride and sadness, an observation that made her pull him into a protective hug.
“It’s beautiful,” she whispered to him as she let go.
“You really mean it?” he asked.
Nell knew her father would have found the whole thing cheesy and ridiculous, and she would have thought she’d feel the same as well, but standing there now, she couldn’t argue that the dramatic mood did give the library an irresistible atmosphere. She felt like she was about to be let into a secret vault to hunt for lost treasures.