I took the handkerchief Felix offered and gently wiped my wrist, ignoring Adrian.
My mother shrieked, "Ivy! You applied to go to Lindenstadt? Have you lost your mind? You're a married woman! What business do you have going to Alderland?"
Sylvia was stunned too. She looked at me with conflicting emotions in her eyes.
Felix took a document with gold lettering from his briefcase and handed it to me. He unscrewed the cap of a black Montblanc fountain pen and held it out steadily.
"Professor Klaus asked me to tell you that your own laboratory has been approved. All the equipment will be in place next Monday."
Felix adjusted his glasses, his gaze passing coolly over Adrian's bloodless face. "We're all waiting for you, Ms. Walker."
I took the pen and, without a moment's hesitation, signed
