Meanwhile, Will (William Reticulata-Iris) as Duke is having to field all of the angry audiences with his Society subjects who think his wife is way out of line - and for Society in the Nether, she certainly is. What's worse, Lord Iris and the Patroons, Sir and Dame Iris, are forcefully pushing for a child from Will and Cathy, but Cathy keeps Will at arm's length and he may be forced to use magic once more to get her into his bed. After all, a pregnancy would keep the both of them safe(r) and greatly please Lord Iris. Further, Will's brother Nathaniel has discovered that Margritte Tulipa is no longer his prisoner, although he has no idea that Will is the one hiding her. When Nathaniel's position in Oxenford is threatened, will he choose family and obligation over friendship and loyalty, turning Margritte over to save his brother's skin?
Sam AKA Lord Iron has a houseful, since taking in many of the exiled Nether residents Cathy rescued from the asylum, but he's also making some interesting discoveries about himself, his power as Lord Iron, and about his home. He unwittingly flirts with danger when he takes on a job to forge some special iron chains for Beatrice, a Sorcerer's assistant, but little does he realize that she is far more than a mere errand girl. As the pair learn more about one another, he discovers that all of Albion is out of balance and desperate measures will have to be taken, if things are to be set right again. With Rupert, former Sorcerer of Mercia, now Sorcerer of Albion, building a new Chapter and working with not only Max the Arbiter, the gargoyle, and a brilliant mundane girl named Kay, Sam's new alliance with Beatrice could put many of them in harm's way without even knowing it.
Max gets a great deal more backstory in A Little Knowledge: The Split Worlds - Book Four and it's interesting to see where he came from and the mysteries surrounding him becoming an Arbiter. While researching his own past, he uncovers a long-running problem with mundanes being kidnapped that links to his own past, but also allows him to meet a former police officer who may be a great deal of help in getting to the bottom of just who the kidnappers are. Shock - they belong to one of the Great Families in Society, but Max is relentless in his pursuit for justice, going so far as to involve Sam.
Unfortunately for Sam, he still kind of holds a torch for Cathy and wants her to leave the life of Duchess of Londinium and come to him, where she can be safe from the Fae and the Fae-touched, but Cathy is convinced she can make a difference in Society, even as she is shut down at every turn. Her mother even sends her bratty younger sister Elizabeth to her in order to secure a good match for her marriage, and Mrs. Rhoes-Papaver drops a bombshell on Cathy while she is there.
As Cathy and Will feel pressure on all sides to meet the desires of Lord Iris, they go about dealing with it in their own ways, especially following a deadly chain of events that is meant to show them the seriousness of the baby "request." But when one of them secretly tricks and betrays the other, it could be the very straw that breaks the camel's back. One thing is for sure - the final book in The Split Worlds series is sure to pack a punch, as all of these plots and plans that have been brewing and being intertwined across the first four books will surely and finally come to an explosive head. I, for one, can't wait.
