by C. J. Archer
"But we should speak to her."
"Without the others present."
"Then we should wait here until they go out."
He edged away from the hedge, keeping low and out of sight of the house. He stopped when he realized I wasn't following. "I'll come back tonight," he said. "The climb up to her room shouldn't be too arduous."
I lifted my skirts off the ground and joined him. "I'm coming back with you."
We were far enough away that we could both now stand without being seen from the house. "Your presence isn't necessary, Charlie."
"I beg to differ. Leonora will scream the house down if a man climbs through her window. If she sees me, she'll remain calm." When he made no comment, I added, "Luckily I brought my boys' clothing with me. Dresses are not ideal for climbing."
I thought I heard him sigh but it may have just been the breeze. "We'll return after dark."
It wasn't so long ago that I climbed up to another shape changer's bedroom with Lincoln behind me. That time it had been to see Harriet. I wasn't sure if Leonora's reception would be as civil. The climb was easy enough, thanks to the addition of modern plumbing at Beaulieu House and the external pipes that went with it. With one foot and one hand on the pipe, I reached out and tapped on Leonora's window. The sash flew up, startling me. My foot slipped off the clamp holding the pipe to the wall. My fingers clung on tighter but I was stopped from falling by Lincoln. He held onto my foot and guided it back to the clamp. He showed no ill effects from his injury.
"What the devil— Miss Holloway!" Leonora whispered loudly. "What are you doing?"
"Visiting you without your mother knowing," I whispered back. "May we come in?"
She peered past me, squinting into the darkness below, and sniffed the air. "Is that Mr. Fitzroy?"
"It is. We have questions."
She groaned. "I can't. I'll be in enormous trouble if someone sees you."
"Please, Miss Ballantine. You owe us after that ambush earlier."
She gasped. "How do you know it was me?"
"Please, let us in. We only want to talk to you about Eddy." When she hesitated, I added, "We know he's a prince."
She nibbled her bottom lip then opened the window fully. She helped me through, her unnatural strength a blessing as she lifted me over the sill. Lincoln needed no assistance. He swung through the window and landed silently on both feet. I would never be that graceful, no matter how many times I practiced.
He closed the window and guarded it with his arms crossed. "Did you intend to kill us today?" he whispered.
Leonora plopped down on the bed and drew the covers over her nightdress to her chin. Her unbound hair flowed over her shoulders in silky waves and her big eyes blinked back at me. She looked demure and childlike, yet this woman had kissed the prince, and perhaps done more, to lure him into marriage. She was no innocent. "I didn't want you to get hurt," she insisted. "I didn't want to participate at all."
"You were forced to," I said. "We understand."
I felt Lincoln's glare piercing my back. But while we needed answers, I would be kind to Leonora. Besides, she was a victim too. She'd lost her lover and been manipulated by her parents. She hadn't asked to be born a shape changer, nor did she want to participate in her father's scheme, but she had no choice. Like so many young women of her station, she was a pawn in the game of power.
I sat on the bed near her feet. "We have some more questions for you," I said. "And you must answer them truthfully."
She sniffed. "I've been warned not to speak to you again."
"By your father?"
She leaned forward and lowered her voice. "He'll be so angry if he finds out you were in here."
"He won't learn about it from us, but Miss Ballantine, you must understand that you are involved in a treasonous plot now."
"Treason!"
"Your father's scheme is either designed to cause scandal, thereby forcing the queen to remove Eddy from the line of succession, or end in marriage. Trapping a prince into marriage is a treasonable offense." I had no idea if that were the case but it seemed like it could be. Ballantine wanted power through his daughter's marriage to the heir to the throne. Why else would he want that power if not to manipulate it to his own ends?
"Not scandal," she muttered. "We don't want Eddy cut off. But you're right. The aim was for him to marry me. As to why, I don't know. You'd have to ask my father."
"Was it he who encouraged you to make a play for Eddy?"
She drew up her knees under the covers and wrapped her arms around them. "And Sir Ignatius."
I resisted glancing back at Lincoln. This was the first time we'd heard Swinburn's name directly connected to the scheme.
"Who is the leader of your pack?" Lincoln asked.
"Sir Ignatius."
I sucked in a breath. I hadn't expected that answer. Swinburn was the lesser ranked of the two men, his beginnings far humbler, and yet he'd risen to pack leader, perhaps on the basis of superior strength alone. A pack's makeup appeared to be founded on the baser qualities of the animal kingdom rather than those of nineteenth century human society.
"Did Swinburn introduce you to Eddy?" I asked.
"Nigel Franklin did. It was probably at Sir Ignatius's instruction, however." She sniffed again. "He controls everything the pack does. That's not entirely a bad thing," she added quickly. "He only has our best interests at heart. He's a good man."
"Then why did he order your lover be killed?" Lincoln said.
Leonora's jaw went slack and she stared at him. She shook her head. "No he didn't."
"Are you sure?"
"Of course. Why would you say such a thing?"
"Because your marriage to Roderick Protheroe would have ruined Swinburn's plans for you to marry royalty."
"But murder!" She settled her chin on her knees. "Impossible. And anyway, I didn't tell him about Roderick. How would he have found out we were running away together?"
"Your maid, other servants, your mother, Protheroe himself. There are numerous ways if one has access to your household, as he does."
She considered this then shook her head. "Sir Ignatius is not as greedy for power as you make out. He's a wonderful, generous man. My father, however, now he might have done it," she bit off. "Not in person, mind. He's not that bloodthirsty."
"You think he ordered Franklin or one of the other pack members to do it?" I asked.
She pressed her forehead to her knees and hugged them tighter. "It's possible," she mumbled. "Nigel is obsequious enough that he'd do whatever Father ordered. He thinks being agreeable to Father and Sir Ignatius makes him indispensable and liked. It only makes him ridiculous and dull."
"You lived near Bristol before you came to London," Lincoln said. "Did your family mix with Swinburn's there? And what of the other pack members? Are they from the same area?"
"Our family has lived there for centuries, along with others from the pack. I don't know the history very well, but I think they moved to be near us after word got out about a powerful leader who wanted to expand his pack."
"Swinburn's ancestor?" I asked.
"No. Mine. Swinburn is the current leader, but before him, members of my family led the pack for, well, forever."
I wondered what Lord Ballantine thought of a sailor's grandson taking over the leadership after centuries of rule by the rich and powerful Ballantines.
"Swinburn's father was given money by your grandfather to start his own business," Lincoln told her. "Do you know why?"
"Of course I don't. Ladies do not concern themselves with vulgar matters."
I somehow refrained from rolling my eyes. She would not think that way if she'd ever had to worry about money.
"What was Swinburn's father like?" Lincoln asked.
"I never met him, but I heard he was strong in his other form, like Sir Ignatius. He was very clever too. He wouldn't have done so well in business if he was not."
Nor would he have done so well without an injection of m
oney from an investor. "Was it Swinburn's idea to come to London?" I asked.
She nodded. "He decided to move his company headquarters to the city, although he still has an office in Bristol. He thought London would be a good place for the pack to live, so we all moved with him, although we return home from time to time."
"Just like that?" I said. "You make it sound like such a move was easy."
She lifted one shoulder. "Where our pack leader goes, we all go."
But if that pack leader had his business interests at heart rather than the pack's wellbeing, would any of the pack members realize? Or care? "Does Swinburn's success mean success for you all?" I asked.
"You mean financially? Not directly. But if he rises, we all rise because he helps us. We help one another. That's how packs work." She shoved off the covers with sudden vehemence and climbed off the bed. "I shouldn't be talking to you. It's a betrayal of my leader's direct orders. I could be excluded from the pack if anyone found out."
"Your parents wouldn't exclude you," I said.
The clock on the mantel chimed. She glanced at it and gasped. "It's ten already! You have to go now." She pushed me toward the window.
"What happens at ten?"
"My mother and Mrs. Franklin bring up a cup of milk for me. They're very punctual. Please go before you're caught. I'll be in enormous trouble and they'll see you as a threat."
Meaning they would attack. I did not need to be told twice.
Lincoln pulled up the window sash just as voices sounded outside the door. My heart skid to a halt in my chest. We had mere seconds. Lincoln assisted me out and I scrabbled to find purchase on the pipe. He was half out of the window before I had secure footing but I had to make room for him. My hand wrapped around the pipe but the bloody clamp where my foot should go eluded me.
Above me, Lincoln hung from the sill by his fingertips, his toes pressed against the wall beneath. He could not hold on for long. With the window open, the shape changers would be able to smell his scent too. Leonora could not close it with his fingers in the way.
She settled in the window embrasure and stared dreamily out at the sky. A pale sliver of moonlight struck her throat. She swallowed heavily but continued to stare into the distance. The bedroom door opened with an ominous creak.
"Leonora!" a crisp voice snapped. "What are you doing? Why is the window open?"
Oh God. If I did not move, Lincoln would be seen. But without a secure foothold, I would fall.
So I jumped.
Chapter 14
I jumped to the side. My hand slipped down the pipe but I managed to partially grip it with the soles of my shoes, stopping me from sliding too far. I used my thighs and knees to clamp myself to the pipe and shimmy down. The cold metal stung my bare hands but it was not yet slippery from dew or rain and I managed to maintain my grip.
No sound came from above me. I glanced up and breathed a sigh of relief when I spotted Lincoln following me down the pipe. He must have secured his position with stealthy silence. I felt like an elephant in comparison.
"What are you doing by the window?" the shrill voice demanded. "Who's out there?"
"No one, Mrs. Franklin," Leonora said with a convincing sigh. "I'm just thinking of my poor Roderick."
"Forget him. He's gone."
"My darling child," came another, softer voice.
A figure blocked the light from the room. I held my breath and glanced up to see a woman's back as she brought her arm around Leonora. Her hand was bandaged. Leonora closed the window without looking down at us.
I shimmied the final few feet to the soft earth. Lincoln landed beside me, took my hand and we slunk off into the night.
I didn't take a full breath until we reached the beach at East Cowes. "That was close," I said, speaking for the first time.
"They would not have attacked," he said. "I'd wager they don't want us associating them with their shape changing form."
"But they already know that we know they're shape changers."
"Leonora does, and her father, but I'd wager he didn't share the information with his wife. Otherwise they wouldn't have attacked us earlier. They were counting on us blaming wild dogs if we managed to escape."
I checked behind me to make sure we weren't followed. No one did, yet I felt uneasy. "So Swinburn is pack leader," I said, "and he wants to get his pack member into the royal family through marriage."
"Not just one pack member. Do you recall his behavior toward Miss Collingworth at the dance? He did not want her flirting with Seth."
"I remember Franklin saying she was intended for another."
"Prince Eddy's younger brother, George, perhaps."
He put his arm around my shoulders and I felt the tension leach away. In fact, I began to enjoy the moonlight walk. The waves lapped gently at the shore, a soothing balm for my frayed nerves. The air was cool but not cold, particularly with Lincoln's arm around me and my body tucked against his. The man always managed to feel warm, no matter the weather.
I breathed in the salty air and looked up at the sky. It was the same sky as London's, and yet different. There were more stars, away from the city's miasmic haze, and even the crescent moon offered enough light to see by. Beyond its enchanting reflection on the water, endless darkness yawned, the lights from the mainland too far away to see.
"We should come back here again," I said, snuggling into Lincoln's side. "It's beautiful."
"If you wish." The softness of his voice had me looking at him.
"You don't wish to come back?"
"I only want to be where you are, Charlie."
I smiled and rested my head against his shoulder. His grip tightened and he kissed the top of my head. "You must be able to appreciate this place for its own merits," I said. "You don't find it beautiful?"
"I appreciate beautiful scenery," he said. "But beautiful scenery is not why I choose to visit a place."
"That's because you never take holidays. You only leave London if it's ministry business."
"If you want to leave London for a holiday, then I have no objection."
He didn't understand what I was saying at all, but it didn't matter. He wanted to be with me, and that's what mattered. "What if I want to sail around the world?"
He fell silent, and I worried I'd offended him by teasing him about his seasickness. "Will you tend to me in my weakened state?"
"Of course."
"Then I have no objection."
"I hear New Zealand is lovely."
We arrived back at Lichfield late the following day to a rather frosty household. Seth and Lady Vickers were not on speaking terms after she took Alice with her on her afternoon calls. I thought it sweet of her and told Seth so, only to be informed that there'd been gentlemen present on both occasions. Young, eligible gentlemen, and they'd taken an interest in Alice.
So much so that one had sent her a letter and the sister of the other had asked if she'd like to join her on a walk around Hyde Park the following day.
"Hyde Park!" he declared. "And with the sister no less."
We sat alone in the library with the doors closed. Lincoln and Gus had departed in haste after we'd exchanged ministry news. I think they'd seen the troubled expression on Seth's face and decided they'd rather be anywhere else but listening to his lovesick moaning. I was beginning to wish I'd gone with them.
"What's wrong with Hyde Park and sisters?" I asked.
"It allows Alice and the fellow to meet without raising suspicions. Everyone wanders through Hyde Park at some stage, so it wouldn't be suspicious if one stumbled upon an acquaintance there. And the sister is merely the one issuing the invitation for propriety's sake. That's the benefit of sisters. They can act as co-conspirators."
"Diabolical."
"Don't mock me, Charlie. I am bruised enough."
"And what does Alice say about these two gentlemen?"
"How would I know?"
"By asking her."
He pulled a face. "I can't ask her that
. She'll think me desperate."
"She'll think you're jealous, which you are."
"Yes, but I don't want her to know."
"You do if you want to secure her affections. A jealous man is quite attractive, as long as it doesn't become an obsession. A little jealousy shows her you're interested in her."
"She knows I'm interested."
I sighed. He and Lincoln had more in common than either realized—women were attracted to them and yet they were both inept when it came to genuine courtship.
"You need to speak to her, not me," I told him.
"I can't."
"Just try."
"No, I mean I can't because she hasn't come out of her room since the mail arrived."
"After receiving the gentleman's letter?"
"She received that and another, from her parents, so Doyle said."
"You asked Doyle to tell you who sent her mail? Seth, that's underhanded."
He slumped further into the chair. "Fitzroy would have done it."
True, and it wasn't fair for me to judge Seth harshly when I wouldn't have judged Lincoln. The thing was, I expected Lincoln to be underhanded. For some reason, I put Seth above Lincoln on the honesty scale, and that wasn't fair to either man.
"I'm going to freshen up," I said, rising. "It's been a long day and last night's sleep was broken."
"A good night, eh?" His lips didn't move but his eyebrow quirked, telling me exactly what he thought Lincoln and I had got up to on our last night at the Fountain Inn.
"Because we were speaking to Leonora," I said, hand on hip, "not because of…that."
"I didn't say a word!"
"Your eyebrow said it for you."
He pressed his fingers to his brow. "It has a mind of its own. I'd never suggest such a thing to a lady. Or to you. I mean you are a lady, now." He cleared his throat. "Don't tell Fitzroy I disparaged your virtue. He'll kill me."
"He won't kill you. Hurt you, yes, but not kill you. He's grown rather fond of you."
"He has an odd way of showing fondness. I swear he growled at me just now."
"That wasn't a growl, it was a groan. He groaned because he didn't want to hear about your woes with Alice. Nor do I. I want to hear how you've wooed her and won her over with your charm."