by C. J. Archer
Another hop around the office brought me no closer to a plan of escape. I needed to get the damned ropes off. Even if I managed to escape the room, I couldn't run anywhere, trussed up like this.
I tried rubbing the rope that bound my wrists against the edge of the desk, but it was hopeless. It didn't even fray. The small rectangular brass plates on the filing cabinet would be better. They acted as both handles to pull open the drawers and holders for the label. Their edges were sharp.
I hopped toward the cabinet, but tripped on the edge of the rug and landed heavily on my side. Pain flared in my cheek again but I bit back a cry.
It didn't matter. My fall had been heard. The door unlocked and swung open. Captain Jasper stood in the doorway and held his lamp higher. If I'd been closer, I could have used the moment it took for his eyes to adjust to tackle him.
But I wouldn't have been able to do more than that with my hands tied behind my back. Particularly if Jimmy and Pete were in the next room.
He spotted me on the floor and came over. "It's Miss Holloway, isn't it?"
"And you're Captain Jasper," I hissed.
He looked surprised that I knew that much. "Are you all right?"
"Do I look all right?"
"I'm very sorry for this, but you shouldn't have fought back. My men were already afraid of you and then when you hit them, they thought you must have been possessed. I tried to assure them that you weren't." He helped me to my feet and waited until I was steady before letting me go. "You're not, are you?"
"What do you want with me?" I snapped.
"We'll get to that in a moment." He set the lamp down on the desk near a stack of papers then sat on the edge. "Are you all right? That bruise on your cheek looks nasty."
"Of course I'm not bloody all right. I am being held against my will. I don't know what you want. My face hurts, and so do my ankles and wrists." I turned and waggled my hands at him. "If you are a gentleman, you would set me free."
"I'll untie you, if you'll listen to my proposal. I don't wish to hurt you. Will you listen?"
He would untie me? It was more than I'd hoped for. I nodded quickly and tried to school my features.
"Sit on the chair and don't attack me," he said. "Jimmy is just outside this door. If anything happens to me, he has my authority to hurt you again."
Jimmy, not Jimmy and Pete. I only had two men to get away from, not three. The odds were improving.
I sat quietly while he untied my wrists then remained still as he stepped back out of my reach. He didn't untie my feet, but had no objection when I bent down to do it. The knot was tight and I broke half of my fingernails in the attempt, but I finally got them off. My god, such relief!
"Did you learn to tie knots like that in the army?" I rubbed the raw skin at my ankles then set the rope in my lap.
"I did, as it happens. How much do you know about me, Miss Holloway?"
"Very little. I know you're experimenting on dying men, then testing their bodies after their deaths. I just don't know to what purpose. Or why you've kidnapped me."
"I've kidnapped you because you'll make my experiments so much easier. You can raise the dead, and I wish to speak to the dead. It will solve a host of difficulties I've encountered."
I shook my head. "I don't understand."
"That night at Mr. Lee's establishment, you opened my eyes to a new way of gathering information from my test subjects."
Subjects? Was that what he thought of the men who died after he fed them that liquid?
"I wasn't aware of people like you until then," he went on. "I didn't know it was possible to raise the dead. It wasn't until I got home that I began to consider the applications of your…gift. It could change the way I work and will certainly save a lot of time and effort."
"What work, Captain? What are you doing to those poor men? Killing them?"
"No! Good lord, I'm no murderer. No, I wanted to save them."
"That doesn't make sense. Save them how?"
"They were going to die anyway, Miss Holloway. When I found them, they were already close to death. I didn't hurry the process along, I simply watched them as they deteriorated and grew closer to the end."
"Then what was the liquid you fed them?"
"That was supposed to save them. Well, not save them as such, but bring them back to life."
My stomach rolled. Another mad doctor obsessed with bringing back the dead. Why couldn't they leave them be? "The dead don't want to be brought back to life, Captain."
He scoffed. "Of course they do." He pushed his glasses up his nose. "No one wishes to die. I'm trying to develop a serum that brings the dead to life again."
"Is that what you fed them? That liquid was the serum?"
He nodded. "It must be administered before death."
"And the blood in the syringe?"
"I extract samples for testing. I need to record the changes to the subjects both before and after death. That's why I kept those four bodies in the butcher's cold room."
"You were testing them too."
He nodded. "I took samples from them periodically to monitor changes to their muscle mass and vital organs. I couldn't bring them back to life yet, but they helped me fine tune the serum."
"And how close are you to developing it?"
He sighed and pushed off from the desk. "Not as close as I would like. It would help if I could speak to the subjects about the changes they experience. That's where you come in." He smiled at me. "You'll raise them for me and I'll interview them and perform tests. We'll start today. Bertram Purley will be buried this morning. It's best to start with a fresh corpse."
I willed him to turn around, to take his eyes off me for a moment. But he did not. "Were you experimenting with this serum in the army?" Keeping him talking was all I could do for now, but biding my time grated on my nerves. I just wanted to get out and go home.
He smiled. "It's where I developed and nurtured the idea."
"Until your superiors discovered what you were doing."
He pushed his glasses up his nose again. "On the contrary. They were quite happy for me to continue. They encouraged me. The application of such a serum has enormous benefit for the army, naturally. Ordinarily, when a soldier dies on the battlefield it means they are a man down. But if he can rise again…" His face lit up, his eyes bright in the lamplight. "It would make the British army a strong force, impossible to defeat."
It certainly would. "None of your superiors objected? How many knew?"
"Only two. But the secret got out." He sighed. "Others learned of it and they didn't see the benefits. The very thought sickened them." His mouth twisted into a mocking smile. "Some people are closed minded, and nothing can convince them of the wonderful possibilities that science and medicine can offer the world. I was dismissed from the army, but I continued my work here, in this office—and at Mr. Lee's and the butcher's too, of course."
"Did you hide the bodies in the cool room to slow down their decay?"
"Very clever, Miss Holloway. That was the intention, but it wasn't cold enough for my purposes. I need to learn what happens to them much, much faster. That's where you come in." The light in his eyes flared again. "Miss Holloway, I haven't been this excited in years. My mind is running wild with possibilities. Perhaps I can study you too, one day."
My chest constricted and my stomach rolled.
"Do you think your master will present a problem?" he asked.
He thought I was going to help him? Just like that? I opened my mouth to tell him he was wrong, but shut it again. Playing my hand too early would work against me. Wait, Charlie. Just wait.
"He might," I said carefully.
"Then you should hand in your notice. I'll rent accommodation for you nearby."
"Where are we?"
"Savile Row."
"That's a nice area. Can you afford to keep me?"
He smiled. "I have funds. My work hasn't been abandoned by everyone. Some still see the benefits."
&nbs
p; "Who?" I blurted out.
He shrugged. "Anonymous benefactors." He laughed. "Isn't that always the way?" He grasped my hand and patted it. "You won't regret this, Miss Holloway. I'll pay you a wage too, of course; much better than you're paid as a maid. I trust our arrangement will be to your benefit as well as mine."
I withdrew my hand and forced a smile to my face. "Thank you. You've answered all my questions. Oh, one more. Those two men who work for you…" I effected a shudder. "They frighten me."
"They frighten you?" He laughed again. "My dear Miss Holloway, you frighten them. Particularly Jimmy. He's terrified you'll set a ghost onto him."
I laughed too. "Shall I assure him that I won't as long as he doesn't hurt me?" I touched my cheek. "Is he just outside?"
"He is, but he's asleep. Let him rest a while longer." He glanced at the window where the birds had begun to wake up and chirp for their breakfast. "It's still early."
"How did you know where to find me last night? From Mr. Lee?" I thought about the boy who'd benefited from Seth's coat and gloves. It saddened me to think he would betray me to this man, but it was understandable. I would have done the same thing when I'd lived in the gutter and a little money meant the difference between living and starving to death.
"One of the groundsmen from Highgate Cemetery, as it happens. Chap with an ugly birthmark on his face. I asked him who had been to Thackery's grave, and he described you. He said you lived in the big house with the iron gates at Hampstead Heath."
I gasped. "How did he know that?"
Jasper shrugged. "Perhaps he followed you home after one of your visits to the cemetery. He said you go frequently."
My fingers tightened around the rope. Had the groundskeeper followed me of his own volition, or on someone else's behalf? Both options filled me with horror. I shuddered again.
"Are you cold?" Jasper asked.
"Yes. Can you build up the fire?"
"Of course. Wait here." He smiled sheepishly. "We removed the fire tools when we brought you in here. Couldn't have you using them as weapons, could we? I am sorry for the harsh treatment, Miss Holloway. We couldn't be certain how you would react when you awoke." He nodded at my cheek. "I'll take a look at that after I see to the fire." He gave me another warm smile, and I almost felt guilty for what I was about to do.
Then I felt the tender bruise on my cheek. I was not going to feel guilty for a single thing.
Jasper left the room and returned a moment later with fire irons and coal box. He was still smiling. I smiled back and poked my head out the door.
"He's still asleep," he whispered to me. "Shut the door."
I shut it and couldn't believe the man's naivety. Did he really believe I would just help him? I supposed he thought I was simply Lincoln's employee, easily bought like any other servant.
He knelt by the fire and opened the lid of the coal box.
"It will be nice to be appreciated for what I can do," I said cheerfully as I came up behind him. "And adequately compensated for it too."
"You're not appreciated where you are now, are you?" He scooped out some coal and shoveled it into the grate. "No one ever notices maids. I sympathize, Miss Holloway. No one ever notices the medics on the battlefield, either. It's all about the soldiers and officers. We're expendable but they're not."
I tightened my grip on the rope in both hands and quickly looped it around his neck. I pulled back hard, dragging him against my legs.
Jasper grappled at the rope but I held it so tight that his fingers couldn't get underneath it. He thrashed and tried to call out, but I'd shut off his wind pipe. His face turned red, then purple. His eyes bulged, as he peered up at me, his lips moving in a silent plea.
It was horrible.
I released the rope, but before he could recover, I brought my elbow down on his temple. The blow knocked him out.
I picked up the fire iron and opened the office door. Jimmy's snore was the only sound coming from the reception room. He sat sprawled in a chair, his feet on the desk, his head tipped back and his mouth open. I crept past him to the door that led to the street, but it was locked.
Blast! I searched for a key nearby, but found none. It must be in a drawer or on either Jasper or Jimmy's person.
I couldn't believe I'd got this far only to stumble at the last hurdle. I quietly opened the top drawer of the reception desk, but it mustn't have been quiet enough. Jimmy snorted and woke up. I froze.
"Oi! What're you doing?" He lunged at me, but I jabbed the fire poker into his stomach, not hard, but enough to keep him at bay and make him think I would run it through him if pressed.
"Where's the key to the front door?"
Jasper groaned from the next room. Jimmy glanced toward him, and swallowed heavily "Captain! Captain! You there?"
"He's dead," I told him. "That's the sound of his spirit waking up inside his body."
He licked dry lips. "You're pullin' me leg."
"Am I? Just wait a moment and we'll see, shall we? It takes spirits time to become aware again, but once they are, they're under my control. I'll get him to show you how strong he is now that he's dead." I smiled, injecting it with as much wickedness as I could muster. Please believe me, you stupid blighter.
"Don't," he said, licking his lips again. "Don't let him out here. I don't want no trouble."
"Give me the key so I can leave."
Jasper groaned again and called out something unintelligible.
Jimmy crossed himself with a trembling hand. "Take him with you!"
"I have to get out to do that."
"Second drawer." He nodded at the desk.
"You get it, then unlock the door."
I stepped aside and he jerked the second drawer open. The key sat on top of some paperwork. He fished it out and dashed to the door. He fumbled once but managed to insert the key in the lock. I glanced back at the office. I could hear Jasper recovering. If he managed to come out and convince Jimmy that he was alive, I wouldn't stand a chance.
"Hurry!" I whispered.
Jimmy finally unlocked the door and wrenched it open. We jostled to be the first out, and burst through together. I ran one way and he another.
I kept the fire iron with me and fled down lanes and streets that were both familiar and not until I felt I was far enough from the office that I wouldn't be traced.
I slowed to catch my breath and take note of my location. The cold air made my cheek ache even more. Pain shot up from my left foot too and blood dripped onto the pavement. I'd cut it on something sharp.
I held the fire iron tighter and limped out of the lane. I knew this spot. It was near one of my favorite places to relieve gentlemen of their wallets. I was far from Lichfield, but at least I knew the way. I walked on, but the pain in my foot grew worse. The bleeding seemed to have stopped, at least, but I couldn't put all my weight on it. I'd grown soft since moving into Lichfield. I used to be able to walk barefoot for miles in the cold and not feel this wretched.
Few people were awake at such an early hour. Some delivery boys eyed me up and down, and one made a lewd comment about my state, but no one offered me help. I didn't care. I would be home soon.
Home, at Lichfield, with a warm bath and bed waiting for me, and friends to bandage my foot and see to my cheek. Friends who cared for me, not because I was a necromancer, but because they liked me.
Lincoln was among them. At least, I hoped he still considered me a friend. Somehow, that didn't matter as much as being welcomed back. We could rebuild our friendship in time if I were to remain at Lichfield.
It took me twice as long to reach Highgate as it would have without a limp. The traffic going in the opposite direction thickened as bank clerks and office workers headed into the city. Several gentlemen asked if I needed assistance, but I politely refused and limped on. It felt like I'd been walking all day, but it had probably only been two hours since setting out from Savile Row.
I finally reached the Lichfield gate and paused at the spot where Jas
per had kidnapped me. I drew in a shuddery breath and congratulated myself on getting free and reaching safety.
The pounding of horses' hooves sent my heart racing again. The large beast bore down on me, but I recognized it and didn't try to get out of the way. I suddenly couldn't, anyway. My feet were too sore and my legs felt like lead. Everything ached, from my head to my toes.
The horse pulled to a stop and the rider slid down to land noiselessly on the road. Lincoln stared at me with eyes that were so familiar and yet not at the same time. They swirled with emotion—or was it my vision that swirled?
I could no longer hold myself together. It felt as if every piece of me was unraveling, peeling away, leaving me exposed and vulnerable. I hated that he saw me looking so pathetic, but I couldn't stop my tears. They poured out of me. I dropped the fire iron and covered my face with my hands.
Strong arms cocooned me and pressed me gently against his chest, where I could hear in his erratic heartbeat how worried he'd been.
CHAPTER 16
Lincoln massaged my neck with one hand, and splayed the fingers of the other across my back. I stayed locked in his arms until my tears dried and his breathing returned to its normal rhythm. I was acutely aware that he hadn't spoken, but his embrace said more than words ever could. He wasn't throwing me out. He did care.
His horse moved and the hand at my neck let go to catch the reins. The clip clop of hooves on the road grew louder and I looked up.
"Charlie?" Seth jumped down before his horse had come to a complete stop. He beamed at me and opened his arms.
Lincoln let me go and stood aside while Seth scooped me up, lifting me off my feet.
"Bloody hell!" he murmured in my ear. "We were so worried about you."
"Have you both been out looking for me?"
"All night. Gus too. Cook wanted to join us, but someone had to stay here in case you returned." He set me down again and I winced.
Lincoln crouched at my side. He removed his riding gloves and skimmed his hand over the frayed patch of my stockings where the rope had bitten into my ankles. He gently lifted my foot the way one would a horse's hoof. I placed a hand on his shoulder to steady myself, and felt him slump as he peeled away the shredded, bloody mess of my stocking at the sole.