The Convent's Secret: Glass and Steele, #5

by C. J. Archer

  The sheriff smirked. Then he pocketed Matt's magic watch.

  I closed my eyes. Every sound was amplified in the dark. The click clack as one of the horses took a step, Payne's low chuckle, Matt's labored breaths. I slumped against the coach as hot tears slipped down my cheeks.

  "India, my love," Matt purred, his lips very close to my ear. I suspected he was about to say something else so when he'd didn't, I opened my eyes.

  Payne pointed the gun at Matt's head. "Don't move, Glass," he said. "Miss Steele, Dr. Seaford, come with me. I have work for you both."

  "Me?" Dr. Seaford blurted out. "What do you want me for? What work?"

  "Magic work."

  Dr. Seaford's nostrils flared and the muscles in his jaw pulsed. "I don't know what you're talking about."

  "Of course you do. There's no time to discuss it now. Come with me. Walk ahead of me with Miss Steele. Now, Miss Steele," he pressed. "You know what will happen if you don't."

  I squeezed Matt's hand then let it go. I took one glance at his face and wished I hadn't. There was real fear and helplessness, and bone-shattering pain carved into the hollows of his cheeks and eyes.

  I joined Dr. Seaford and together we walked off with Payne at our backs, his gun still obscured by his jacket. I resisted the urge to glance over my shoulder at Matt. I couldn't bear to see his distress.

  "Hell," Payne suddenly muttered. "I want to see him die."

  "No!" I screamed, spinning around.

  But I could not reach him in time. He pulled the trigger and fired. Matt reacted but not fast enough. His body jerked from the impact of the bullet and he fell to the ground.

  He didn't move.

  Chapter 14

  The gunshot must have acted as a signal to Payne's driver. His coach came around the corner and stopped beside us. Payne opened the door and bundled me inside. He forced Dr. Seaford in with the gun pointed at his temple.

  Noise filled my head. Screaming. I was screaming.

  Payne slapped me across the mouth and I stopped, dazed, my vision blurred. "Make another sound and I'll hit you again," he growled. "That goes for you too, Seaford."

  I stared out the window at the houses rushing past and the trees, and slab of gray sky. Then Payne closed the curtains, plunging the cabin into semi-darkness.

  No one spoke. I imagined Dr. Seaford had a thousand questions, but was too scared to ask them. I wished I could offer him an explanation at least, but I couldn't even do that. It wasn't Payne's threat that kept me silent, but the yawning hole in my chest. I felt as if it would swallow me.

  I huddled into the corner of the cabin and welcomed my tears. They slipped silently down my cheeks, my chin, onto my arms folded around myself. I felt so cold.

  Matt was dead.

  If that gunshot hadn't killed him, he'd die anyway without his magic watch. It was hopeless. I'd failed him. My magic had proved utterly useless.

  I should have told him I loved him.

  "Miss Steele?" Dr. Seaford asked gently. When Payne didn't follow through on his threat and hit him, he added, "Are you injured?"

  "No," I said.

  He heaved a breath and let it out slowly. "Can you tell me what you want from us?" he asked the sheriff.

  "Certainly," Payne said. "We have a little time before we reach our destination. You, sir, are a doctor magician and Miss Steele is a timepiece magician."

  Dr. Seaford made no sound. I wondered if he'd guessed. It was likely he'd read the newspaper articles and learned about combining magic and the attempt by Chronos and a doctor to extend a dying man's life. Whether he knew that doctor magician was also his own father, I couldn't be sure, although he probably realized I was related to the Steele mentioned in the article.

  "Mr. Glass's watch was indeed keeping him alive," Payne went on.

  "Impossible," the doctor said.

  "No, not impossible. Isn't that right, Miss Steele?"

  I said nothing. I would not help him, even in this minor way.

  "I think you can take her silence as confirmation," the sheriff said. "Mr. Glass should have died in America five years ago from his injuries. I wasn't there but I heard he lost enough blood to fill a pail. Two men, one an American doctor, the other an English watchmaker, carried him into a saloon. A short time later, he emerged fit as a fiddle. Witnesses hailed it a miracle. I don't believe in miracles, but I couldn't explain it. Five years later, I follow him here. I observe and ask questions. I see and hear things that don't make sense but make me believe in something. Not miracles, mind. Something else. Then The Weekly Gazette published an article that has the whole of London talking. Some more pieces of the Matthew Glass puzzle start to fall into place. Then it publishes a second article and there it is." He clicked his fingers. "Everything makes sense."

  "Let me see if I understand you correctly," Dr. Seaford said. "You think the watch in your pocket is keeping Mr. Glass alive because it has magic in it."

  "Not just any magic. Two kinds. One is medical magic and the other is time magic."

  Dr. Seaford huffed out a humorless laugh. "Time magic?"

  "Tell him, Miss Steele," Payne said. "Tell him what you can do."

  I simply glared at him.

  "She's a little upset." Payne shrugged. "I'll explain it then, although I think you've already guessed, Dr. Seaford. I can see you're a clever, educated man. You see, Mr. Glass's watch not only has medical magic in it, but that medical magic has been extended by the watchmaker magician."

  "So he's immortal as long as he has access to the watch?" Dr. Seaford asked.

  "No," I said. "He'll die of old age one day."

  "Thank you for your input, Miss Steele," Sheriff Payne said. "I wasn't aware of that. So he's not immortal, but the magic in his watch keeps him from succumbing to the damage done by the old injury and new ones, yes?" He stroked his chin. "Interesting."

  Dr. Seaford rubbed a hand over his face and groaned. I looked at him properly for the first time. He was quite handsome in a roguish way. Having just woken up, he had not yet shaved and wore no jacket or tie. His hair stood on end from raking his fingers through it and he sported a scowl.

  "I'm supposed to be at the hospital in an hour," he said with a measure of disbelief. It must be terribly disconcerting to find himself in this predicament. I thought he was holding himself together very well. I would have told him so if I had the will to be supportive, but I found I didn't have the will for anything much at all. I didn't even care for attempting to escape.

  Oh Matt.

  "You will be free later today, if you and Miss Steele work together," Payne said.

  "Work together?" Dr. Seaford snapped. "I will not be a party to extending a person's life in the way you describe."

  "Not even to make yourself rich? I'm not an unreasonable man. I'll share the profits with you."

  "No!"

  "Very well. More for me."

  "You can't make me speak a spell against my wishes. Indeed, I don't even know any."

  Sheriff Payne smiled a slick smile.

  "It won't work anyway," Dr. Seaford went on. "The newspaper article stated that the last time the experiment was tried, it failed and the sick man died."

  "Not true. The last time the experiment was tried was five years ago, on Mr. Glass. It worked then so it can work again. I suspect Miss Steele here knows why one attempt failed and the other succeeded. I also suspect she has the required spells."

  "I do not," I managed a mumble. "The doctor who performed Matt's surgery is dead. The spell he used died with him."

  "Then why seek out Dr. Seaford here?"

  "In the hope he knew the correct spell," I lied.

  "Which I do not," Dr. Seaford said. "Come now, Mr…"

  "Sheriff Payne."

  "Sheriff? You're a lawman?"

  "Don't be fooled," I told the doctor. "He's corrupt and ruthless. He has murdered before, and has tried to kill both Matt and me."

  Sheriff Payne smirked. "This coming from the granddaughter of a murdere
r."

  "My grandfather wanted to extend that man's life," I shot back.

  "Dr. Seaford, do you know that your real father was the doctor who colluded with Miss Steele's grandfather? That makes you both related to murderers."

  Dr. Seaford did not look surprised.

  "Let us go," I tried again. "There are no living medical magicians who know the spell. Matt is dead—" I choked on my sob. "You have won. You got your revenge on him. Let us go."

  "You're lying, Miss Steele," Payne said, sounding bored. "You know the spell. You know both spells. If you wish to be released, you'll do as I say."

  Dr. Seaford sat in silence alongside me for the remainder of the journey. I slunk into the corner and stared straight ahead, trying not to think of Matt lying on the pavement, bleeding to death while his watch was in Payne's pocket. It was impossible not to think of him, however. Impossible not to feel overwhelmed by the dark pit of sorrow where my heart ought to be.

  We finally arrived at our destination, a dark slit of a lane lined with non-descript tenements that were neither new nor well kept. Women lounged in doorways, their painted faces and low-cut bodices an advertisement for passersby.

  "Do not make a scene or ask for help or someone will be shot," Payne said as he forced us from the coach. "Not that I think anyone would answer your call for help here. I've been generous since I arrived in this stinking city." He passed the driver a pouch jangling with coins and ordered us into the nearest door.

  The row house felt empty, and smelled of damp and urine. We headed upstairs on Payne's instruction, and into a sitting room. Light speared through the holes in the curtains, revealing a sofa covered in faded green fabric, its stuffing spewing from the split seams. Peeling wallpaper hung in strips like loose skin. It had probably once been sage in color but was now faded and stained. A pile of cold ash heaped in the grate. There was no coal box, no fire tools, nothing that could be used as a weapon.

  "Are we to be kept in here like animals?" Dr. Seaford asked, looking around.

  "For now."

  "For how long?"

  "Until you two combine your magic." He pulled out Matt's magical watch from his pocket. "In this."

  "I told you," I said. "That watch is unique to Matt." My voice rasped low in my throat. It did not sound like it belonged to me.

  "That may be so, but I'd still like to prove it."

  "And if it doesn't work?"

  "You'll try on this watch too." He tossed me another. It was a simpler style than Matt's with no engraving on the silver case. It was dented on the edge but it kept time.

  "And if that doesn't heal anyone?" Dr. Seaford asked. "Then what?"

  "Then you try again and again and again until something does work. Is that understood?"

  Dr. Seaford's face fell, his brow furrowed deeply. "You're serious, aren't you? My God, man, this is inhuman. You cannot keep us here!"

  "I will see that your basic needs are met," Payne said. "I am not entirely without feeling. I'll make tea now. Prefer a bourbon myself, but you English do love tea. I'm sure you'll try and escape in my absence, but let me point out that we are one floor up and there are bars on the windows. I'll also be locking this door. Why not take the time to get to know one another better? You might be spending quite a bit of time together and it will be easier for you both if you are friends."

  "You're a fiend," Dr. Seaford snapped.

  Payne chuckled. "Fiend? You English are too polite for your own good." He marched up to me and snatched the reticule out of my hand before I realized what he intended. "Can't risk you having a small knife tucked away in there."

  He backed out of the room and shut the door. The tumbling of the lock echoed in the near-empty room.

  I sat on the sofa, both watches in my lap, feeling small and vulnerable without my own watch to save me. And now Payne had my reticule too. It contained no weapons, but it did contain the medical spell written on a piece of paper. The spell could no longer serve me any purpose, but Payne might realize what it was and demand Dr. Seaford speak it.

  Dr. Seaford flung the curtains back, sending a cloud of dust billowing into the room. Coughing, he pulled on the bars covering the windows, but they wouldn't budge. He tried reaching between the bars to tap on the glass, but his hand wouldn't fit. Undeterred, he tried the door next, but it was firmly locked.

  I watched as he searched the room for a weapon to use on Payne, but he predictably found nothing. There were no fire irons, no weighty objects, not even a rug to pull out from under Payne's feet. Our situation was hopeless. I could have told Dr. Seaford that, but he needed to learn for himself that Payne was no fool.

  Finding no weapons, he stood in the middle of the room and bellowed, "Help! Can anyone hear me? Help us!" He listened. Then repeated his shout.

  "No one will come," I said on a sigh. "Sheriff Payne will have seen to that."

  "Come, Miss Steele, don't give up without trying."

  "There is no point, Dr. Seaford." I dug my fingers into my throbbing forehead and squeezed my eyes shut. A tear leaked out and slipped down to my chin.

  The sofa depressed beside me. "I can see that you're grieving," he said kindly, "and I am sorry for your loss, but if we are to escape, we have to work together."

  I opened my eyes to see him looking earnestly at me. He had warm brown eyes, like Matt, and must have looked like his father because I saw nothing of Lady Buckland in him.

  "You're a good man," I said. "I am so sorry to have brought Payne to your door. I shouldn't have, but I was desperate, and that desperation made me selfish."

  "Desperate to save your friend, Mr. Glass."

  I nodded and clutched Matt's watch to my chest. The magic in it pulsed lightly. It seemed strange that it should feel alive when he was surely dead.

  "But you said yourself you don't know the medical spell, that the only one who did is dead." He cocked his head to the side. "Why seek me out if that's true?"

  "Your father, Dr. Millroy, wrote it down in his diary. I brought it with me so that you could read it and help me fix Matt's watch. It's in my reticule."

  Dr. Seaford dragged his hands through his hair. "Which he now has in his possession. Hell."

  "Yes. Hell." That summed up the situation perfectly.

  I buried my face in my hands and cried silently. Dr. Seaford's hand clasped my shoulder gently, but it did nothing to stem my tears. I couldn't stop them. They flowed out of me like a flooded river intent on its course.

  "I would offer you a handkerchief but I don't have one," he said. "I didn't even have a chance to dress properly."

  "I'm sorry," I said through my tears. "I am so sorry, Doctor."

  "Call me Gabe. What is your first name, Miss Steele?"

  "India." I drew in a breath and managed to quell further tears.

  "What an interesting name."

  I knew he was trying to lighten my mood so that we could put our heads together and think of a way out. Either that or he didn't want to be cooped up with a sobbing female.

  "He'll be back soon," he said. "He will probably have found the spell in your reticule."

  "But he cannot force you to speak it."

  "Yes, India, he can. If he's as ruthless as you say, he can threaten my parents."

  Oh God. He was right. Payne could do that. And to get me to speak my spell, he could threaten Willie, Miss Glass, Duke or Cyclops. I may have lost Matt, but I wouldn't let another die if I could save them.

  "So we have to do what he wants," he said, indicating Matt's watch. "We have to speak the spells into it."

  "We can, but it won't work. According to Dr. Parsons, the medical magician who saved Matt, the watch has to belong to the person being healed. We cannot simply use one of these watches to save another. Payne's will save him, but no one else."

  He held up Payne's watch by its chain and studied it. "If we tell him that, he will keep us here and bring paying clients for us to put magic into their watches."

  "Forever," I said heavily.
<
br />   He jerked the chain and caught the watch. "Then we give him what he thinks he wants. We pretend it will work on any old watch, and on anyone."

  "And when he discovers that it doesn't?"

  He shrugged. "I don't know, but we will have bought ourselves some time." He gave me a flat smile. "Time is a friend to a horology magician, is it not?"

  "Time is no one's friend. It's no one's enemy, either. It simply is, and it cannot be stopped or sped up. Not even by me."

  The lock tumbled and the door opened. Payne balanced a tray on one hand and carried the gun in the other. The tray held two chipped cups that had probably once been white but were now stained brown, and a plate of sandwiches. He set the tray on the small table near the sofa and slipped a piece of paper out from beneath the plate. I recognized my own handwriting.

  Payne handed it to Gabe. "This is for you, I reckon. I've made several copies, so don't bother destroying it."

  Gabe attempted to read it, but stumbled over a few of the words. "What language is this?"

  "Magic," I said.

  "It's complicated." He tried again and again until he spoke the spell smoothly, without faltering.

  Payne nodded with satisfaction. "Now both of you hold the watch and speak your spells into it."

  Gabe picked up Payne's watch, but Payne shook his head.

  "Try Glass's watch. It already contains some magic."

  I removed my glove and held one side of the watch while Gabe touched the other. He read his spell, and I spoke one that was close to mine, but not quite right. I switched the order of two words and mispronounced another.

  When we finished, both men studied the watch. I studied Payne.

  He clicked his tongue as if admonishing a naughty child. "Again. And this time, Miss Steele, say the proper spell."

  "That was the proper one."

  "It didn't glow. Glass's watch always glowed when the magic worked. I saw it myself. Try again, and this time, if it doesn't glow, I'll quite happily shoot that annoying little cousin of Glass's."

  I didn't know which cousin he spoke of, but I didn't dare ask or risk speaking the spell incorrectly again. I opened the watchcase and we touched the watch again. This time I used the correct extending spell.