The Alchemist’s Secret – Lucy’s Choice

The Alchemist’s Secret – Lucy’s Choice

WARNING – MAJOR SPOILERS

A couple of people asked about the decision Lucy made towards the end of The Alchemist’s Secret, one insisting it had come out of nowhere and that it was somewhat out of character as well as being unwise (to say the least). I understand the scepticism, but there are a number of countervailing points that I will go into in greater detail in the next book. Put briefly:

First, unlike all the other Great Houses, House Lamplighter has no particular interest in maintaining the patron-client networks; Lucy does not have a patron-client network of her own and no real way to build one up, certainly against even minor opposition from the other Great Houses (who can simply outbid her). When the story starts, Louise is demanding reforms that will not (at worst) harm House Lamplighter and (at best) actually work in Lucy’s favour.

Second, Lucy is engaged to Gary, a common-born craftsman apprentice whose family are amongst the moderates in the rebel alliance, and don’t share the more extreme positions (unlike Jill) or have other agendas (such as Zadornov). Lucy genuinely believed a degree of reform was possible, without destroying the entire system, and that was what both Gary and Louise wanted as well.

Third, while Lucy does have some friends amongst the aristocracy, she has relatively few outright allies. In fact, in both her book and The Alchemist’s Secret, she gets pressured into surrendering her family’s rights to other families and in the latter she is actually threatened with losing what remains of her independence, assuming the hardline aristocrats emerge from the conflict victorious. It’s worth noting that Lucy, unlike Akin and Alana, did not attend school in the city and never had the chance to build the sort of contacts she would need to overcome her lack of money and power, or understand what her peers were truly thinking.

Fourth, because of her connections to the moderates, Lucy didn’t realise that the extremists intended to do something a great deal worse than a demonstration of power followed by an offer for a peace no one would like, but everyone would be able to tolerate. She did not set out to cause a near-disaster, and was caught by surprise as much as Rebecca when she realised what the real plan actually was.

And fifth, if you look at her book, ‘act in haste, repent at leisure’ is pretty much Lucy’s motto.

I’m not saying there won’t be consequences for her in the next book. There will be. But I’m not saying her actions came out of nowhere either.