CHAPTER 45: JAMESON

Jameson, Avery, Zella, Branford, and Rohan are brought to the Proprietor’s plain office, where a large metal-covered book sits on the desk. The book’s importance is clear from Zella’s and Branford’s reactions. The Proprietor sends Avery into the hall with Rohan, leaving Jameson, Zella, and Branford inside.

The Proprietor says the three know why they are there, then reveals that Zella is the only person who has ever broken into the Mercy. Because of that feat, Zella’s place in the Game is assured. The Proprietor gives Zella her invitation and Avery’s, asking Zella to deliver Avery’s on the way out.

Once Zella leaves, the Proprietor tells Branford and Jameson that their places in the Game are not guaranteed. The Proprietor reminds Branford that status does not matter inside the Mercy and suggests that Branford must pay another kind of levy: something private and damaging enough to give the Proprietor leverage.

The Proprietor then turns to Jameson, noting Jameson’s resemblance to his brother and suggesting that, under different circumstances, Jameson might have had a future at the Mercy. The Proprietor asks what the metal book is, then pivots to Jameson’s earlier suspicion that the Proprietor is dying. Jameson explains that the Proprietor reminds him of Tobias Hawthorne near the end, that the ring test seemed to serve multiple purposes, and that Avery’s brief contact with the Proprietor revealed a tremor.

The Proprietor presses Jameson about the strange wheat-price bet, but Jameson deflects. Amused and intrigued, the Proprietor says watching Jameson lose the Game would be entertaining and even poetic because Jameson is Ian’s son. When Jameson offers to pay the levy, the Proprietor instead demands a profound, dangerous secret, one Jameson would not even tell Avery. Jameson admits that he has such a secret.