Page 148 of Immortal Rose

“What a scene,” Reddy said, returning to our side. “What’s the point of all of these bloody policemen if they can’t stop a kidnapping?”

Two of the City Police lifted the man by the arms. A third, his eyes like flint, took in the sight of me with a sneer. His hand was pressed to the pistol at his side.

“They saw it,” I managed to get out.

“What?!” Reddy drew back, anger blazing.

Hugh and the boys were at our side at once.

“What is it?” Hugh asked.

“Lockwood said the police witnessed it all and did nothing—”

The air sharpened suddenly with salt, as if a hard gust had blown in straight off the sea. I swung around toward it just as a cry rose. The would-be captor had somehow freed himself from the police and was stumbling away, clawing at the air to drag himself forward. The third policeman simply raised his pistol and took aim.

“No!” Reddy barked, lunging forward. “We need to question him!”

Hugh stepped in front of Felicity and me, shielding us as the shot thundered through the park. Felicity screamed, the sound tearing at my heart. My pulse drummed ferociously in my ears, and I felt ill, horrified with myself as relief swept through me.

Because as the body collapsed to the ground and the man’s soul ripped free, he carried my secret down to hell with him.

Chapter Thirty

By the time we arrived back at Foxcourt House, the sun had finally begun to set on the terrible day. The sullen violet tones of the sky felt oddly condemning, or at least like a personal slight, as the five of us trudged through the back garden.

The footmen’s faces brightened a touch as their noses finally picked up on the enticing dinner that awaited us. Mrs. Silver had been at work for hours: spiced stewed mutton and a variety of warm vegetable pies were on the menu. Despite the horrors of the day, my empty stomach refused to be denied, cramping with longing as Hugh opened the door.

The warmth of the candlelit kitchen wrapped around us like a shawl. Mrs. Silver, Fleming, and Mrs. Keyes sat at the table, well into their meal and conversation.

At our arrival, they looked up and took in the sight of us: My missing bonnet and gloves and thoroughly rumpled dress. Hugh’s bloodstained attire. Willie, Tommy, and Felicity’s strained expressions.

Fleming’s face went the color of chalk. Carefully, he set his plate of stewed mutton aside and brought his head to rest against the table, as if anticipating a swoon. Mrs. Silver’s brows rose ever higher as her gaze shifted between us.

Mrs. Keyes, however, dabbed at her lips with her napkin and stood from the table. Brigadier, who’d been hiding beneath her chair, trotted after her, sniffing at us.

“Went that well, did it?” she asked Hugh.

“I’ll be in the study,” he said in a hoarse voice.

And then he was striding away, cutting a harsh path through the house. The silence was punctured by the sound of its slamming door. Even Brigadier jumped.

“I’m sure you’ll all wish to change and tidy yourselves,” Mrs. Keyes said. “My lady, I would be glad to assist you—”

I held up a hand. “I can sort myself out.”

“Then I’ll bring you up a tray in a few minutes,” she said.

Something about the thought of sitting near Mama’s portrait, alone with only my bleak thoughts for company, stirred an aching desperation in me. “Actually . . . I would prefer to join you all. If that’s all right?”

Fleming was revived in an instant, sitting up with a sharp breath. His face pinched with censure, as if the mere thought was a mortal offense to propriety. But just as he was about to protest, he jerked as if someone had kicked him beneath the table.

“How splendid!” Mrs. Silver declared. “We would be delighted.”

And that was how, no more than twenty minutes later, I found myself standing awkwardly in the doorway, finally realizing I might be intruding. Fleming shot to his feet at my appearance and moved to pull out a chair for me, helping me shift it forward again.

“There we are, my lady,” he murmured. “How glad we are that you’re home.”

My heart constricted painfully in my chest as I nodded, the surge of feeling stealing my words from me. Within moments, I found myself with a heaping plate of food and comfortable conversation.