CHAPTER 14: JAMESON

Jameson and Avery arrive at an elite racecourse event that Jameson compares to a royal version of the Kentucky Derby. There is no press on the grounds and no personal security allowed, but Oren has approved Avery's attendance because the crowd is filled with people even more prominent and exposed than Avery.

After an hour, Avery's presence has become a topic of interest among wealthy, famous, connected, and royal guests. Because Avery is giving away twenty-eight billion dollars and owns horses in the races, attendees gather around Avery and Jameson to ask about Avery's horses, including Thamenold and Lady Monoceros.

Jameson listens closely as one man asks whether Avery plans to sell Thamenold. Jameson notices that the horse's name rearranges into “the old man,” another layered clue or joke from Tobias Hawthorne. Avery gives a coy answer, and Jameson uses the opening to mention rumors, legends, wagers, intrigue, and “options,” deliberately steering the conversation toward the kind of underground gambling connected to the Devil's Mercy.

When another guest asks whether Avery has bet on Lady Monoceros, Avery hints that she and Jameson are interested in a different kind of wager. Jameson then claims his money is on “Devil's Mercy,” creating a loaded silence before another man corrects the name to Devil's Duel. Jameson pretends to accept the correction as a mistake.

Jameson and Avery repeat this pattern through multiple encounters, dropping suggestive references and watching for a reaction. Jameson knows someone in the elite crowd may be a Devil's Mercy member and may recognize that Jameson did not misspeak, but Jameson cannot predict how that person will respond.