A Devilish Slumber

by Shereen Vedam

  Never wishing to be caught without something she wanted, his mother always took all her clothing with her. And the servants would have taken their things with them when they closed the house. Only Phillip kept spare clothing here.

  He dropped the gown on the floor and sprinted across the hall to his room. Lighting a candle took precious minutes and then he checked inside his wardrobe. His brown wool coat was gone! Had Rose worn men’s clothing to return home?

  Then a second coincidence slammed into his memory.

  Last night, Ben’s coat at the Lockharts had looked better made than his usual atrocious choice in garments. As usual, they had been loose, but they had also seemed vaguely familiar. Because they were mine?

  How could both Ben and Rose have been wearing his clothes on the same night? He abruptly sat down on the floor, his thoughts in a whirl.

  When he spoke to Ben about his odd idea about a shape-shifter, the lad had not said a word in protest at Phillip’s wild speculation. And right after Phillip mentioned his idea that Eve might still be alive, Ben had appeared completely shaken, scrunching up his hat and appearing to be in a daze. But what could that mean?

  The only plausible answer was that Rose and Ben were one and the same. It was so hard to believe, and yet so easy to accept. Could this be why he felt so drawn to Ben that first night at Mrs. Beaumont’s rooms? Why, when he first shook Ben’s hand, Phillip had the same response he had whenever he touched Rose. Why kind-hearted Rose had uncharacteristically balked at his going in search of Ben. And, in fact, had seduced him to keep him by her side.

  Phillip chuckled, recalling Ben’s affront at the idea of bets being placed on whether Phillip would bed Rose.

  He was such a fool. The clues had all been there. Ben’s inability to hold hard liquor. His being so touched simply because Phillip bought him a few fripperies. And at White’s, Ben had stood up for the right of a woman to be spoken of with respect. Because she was defending herself.

  Remembering the friendship he and Ben eventually forged made Phillip feel extraordinarily happy. Perhaps there was hope for his salvation in Rose’s eyes yet. Then a shadow fell on his optimism. If all of his suppositions were correct and shape-shifting was indeed possible, then most likely, Eve also possessed this ability to disguise herself.

  And suddenly, all the dots connected. Eve was most likely alive and back in London. She must have killed Mrs. Beaumont and was attempting to destroy her sister. She had always been jealous of Rose, though Rose never seemed to be aware of her sister’s darker side. But if Eve had impersonated Rose the night she murdered Mrs. Beaumont, how could he prove it? Then another huge problem raised its ugly head.

  Three years ago, he had relentlessly pursued Eve and as a result, lost Rose’s love. He took a deep breath.

  This time, he intended to speak to Rose before taking any action against Eve. He would tell her that he was onto her disguise as Ben. That there was no longer any reason to lie to him. And then he and Rose together, could come up with an equitable way to deal with her bloodthirsty, traitorous sister.

  ON SHAKY LEGS, Rose approached Eve across her entryway. Her sister invited her to enter the drawing room, followed by Miss Wood and a trembling Hannah.

  The room was packed with alliance members, many huddled near the window. As Rose approached, they stepped aside.

  Daniel lay in a pool of blood.

  With a cry, Rose ran to his side.

  Stony knelt by him, his tearstained face increasing her fear that Daniel was dead. She laid a hand on Daniel’s cheek. Clammy. A slight stirring of labored breath against her wrist. Thank heavens! He was still alive. Merely wounded. Her breath whooshed out in relief.

  “What happened?”

  Stony pointed to a man crouched beside the settee where Hope and Mrs. Weatheringham sat, his dagger held to Hope’s throat.

  Mrs. Weatheringham clasped the girl’s hands in hers, her expression furious.

  “Your sister’s flash cove shot Daniel when he caught him stealing around the back garden.”

  So that was who Eve had been looking at out the window earlier. Probably signaling to her associate.

  “Can you take the dagger from him?” she whispered to Stony in the guise of brushing a gentle hand over Daniel’s forehead. Then added in a louder tone, “He needs a physician.”

  “He holds it too hard,” Stony whispered back.

  “Why bother?” Eve asked, peering over Rose’s shoulder at Daniel with clinical interest. “If he were to recover, I would merely have him shot. Again.”

  “How can you speak so callously?”

  “I have lost count of the lives I have taken,” Eve said. “No, that is incorrect. I never bothered to keep count.”

  Rose’s mind reeled at her sister’s disregard for life. “This is not how our parents brought us up.” Was this wretched creature truly her sister? “How can you act so unfeeling?”

  “It is no act. The blinders you wear have become embedded. I have always taken what I wanted and be dammed to anyone who stood in my way.”

  She brushed back Rose’s hair with a bony finger. Then she grabbed a fistful and yanked. “Do you not recall how angry I would be if someone denied me anything?”

  Rose cringed with pain, shocked at seeing such hatred in Eve’s eyes.

  “For the past three years, you have enjoyed everything that belongs to me,” Eve breathed beside Rose’s left ear. “Tonight, I intend to claim them all back and more.”

  “I will do nothing to help you.” Rose jerked herself from her sister’s grip, her scalp burning. “I will not aid you in taking more lives.”

  Eve gripped Rose’s upper arm and dragged her across the room until she was looking directly into Hope’s frightened face. “Not even if this little one dies as a result of your stubbornness?”

  She tossed Rose to the floor. “For as surely as I stand here, sister, she will be the first to go, and then that old hag and then another of your servants, and another, until this room is as littered with the dead as a French battlefield.”

  Rose shuddered at that violent image. Every decision she had made today had been wrong. First, she had refused to see Eve for the wicked woman she was, the one Phillip had seen three years ago. These people were her responsibility. It was time she put aside her childhood fantasies and accepted life for what it was.

  Rose pushed herself upright and faced Eve. “Let them go and then tell me what you want of me.”

  “No,” Mrs. Weatheringham said. “We are all one, Rose, never forget that. You are never alone.”

  “Ah, but she is,” Eve said. “But I tire of your presence. Leave my sister to me. All but the child. She remains to ensure your good behavior.”

  No one moved.

  “Be gone!” Eve shouted.

  Rose left her sister to return to Daniel’s side. “Stony, carry him to a bed and see to his wound.”

  “No physician,” Eve said.

  Rose thanked her lonely years spent reading the Times at the breakfast table every morning, for there she had gleaned descriptions of how injured soldiers were tended.

  As Stony bent to lift Daniel, she whispered, “Use your talent to remove the bullet, then apply pressure to stop the bleeding and use alcohol on the hole before bandaging him.”

  “Let the others help him,” Eve said. “Rose, I want you here, by me, where I can see and hear you.”

  Her heart was beating so loud that Eve must surely hear it pounding from across the room. Rose brushed past Miss Wood and whispered, “Fetch Sir Phillip from his mother’s home.”

  They left, one after the other, giving her worried looks. Especially Hannah.

  “You too,” Eve said to Mrs. Weatheringham. “Out.”

  The elderly lady stood and released her granddaughter’s hand at the very last moment. He
r hard, uncompromising gaze met Rose’s. Despite the danger to her granddaughter, Mrs. Weatheringham was warning Rose not to go along with Eve’s plans.

  Rose blinked once in assent. All she must do was keep Hope safe and prolong this interview long enough for Phillip to come to their rescue.

  The door closed on the old lady. Rose’s gaze wandered to her family portrait, leaning beside the fireplace. Dagger slashes had left the canvas with strips curling like untidy ribbons.

  She shivered, sensing the wrath behind that brutal attack. She could hardly imagine the horrors Eve must have faced in France, the experiences that stirred her soul into such a rage against humanity. Facing her sister’s pain frightened her.

  Perhaps the man who held the dagger on Hope would be easier to deal with. Could he be persuaded to see reason? “Have you no scruples, sir? How can you harm a small child?”

  His grin, which revealed many gaps among his yellow and black teeth, did nothing to alleviate her worries.

  “I would not look to him to aid you.” Eve strolled to the man and, leaning in, she glided her hand along his burly chest. “His parents confined him to a cage. To free him, I had to kill them. He has been my trusted servant since. Together, we braved the seas to reach England on the Lady Tourville. If he ever betrays me, he knows the consequences, do you not, Gervais?”

  The large man nodded and smiled.

  The little girl stirred beside him, inching along the settee. He jerked her back in place

  “You will not succeed,” Rose said.

  “Oh, but I already have,” Eve said. “Not only in regard to your puny little life, but to the fate of England.”

  Rose’s throat closed. “What do you mean?”

  Her sister tilted her head with pride. “I have changed the course of the war, Rose.”

  It was hard to draw breath, but she managed enough to gasp out, “How?”

  Eve shrugged. “Napoleon sent me to Spain to aid his brother, Joseph, who is a stingy bastard. I could never make enough for my needs working for him. And I wanted to return home. When the war turned against him, I saw my opportunity.”

  Eve’s triumphant smile sent a shiver up Rose’s arms. What had her sister done?

  “I discovered Wellington’s secret,” Eve whispered.

  Rose’s heart thudded. Her sister spoke of treason.

  Eve nodded. “You understand me. A lieutenant in Wellington’s confidence gave me everything I needed to know. As I took us on a wild ride toward ecstasy, he proudly announced their strategy to capture Joseph near Vittoria. I thanked him by ending his life while he was still in his prime.”

  Rose sucked in her breath. She did not know this woman who crowed about killing an innocent, foolish, soldier.

  “For that information,” Eve said, “the fleeing king paid me handsomely, but with the caveat that I not leave Spain until after the bloodbath he planned for Wellington and his forces was over. Joseph will await the great general west of Vittoria to finish him off once and for all! I, of course had no intention of waiting. I booked passage to France with Gervais by impersonating one of the sailors on board the Lady Tourville, and then made my way to England as quickly as I could arrange it.”

  “The country you betrayed?” Rose’s voice shook. “To Napoleon’s brother.”

  So many soldiers would be slain simply because her sister wished to procure enough funds to return home?

  “Vive Napoleon!” Gervais said, his yellowed teeth flashing in a gap-toothed smile. “Qu’il reigne supreme. Qu’il reigne toujours!”

  Eve chuckled. “Well said, Gervais. May he reign always, indeed, especially if he and his family continue to pay me well. While the war continues, I can convince the French that I am more useful in England, spying on their enemies movements from here.” Her attention returned to Rose and she shook her head. “What do you think I have done these past years, sister? Uncle trained me in the game. Then the fool became a liability, so I disposed of him.”

  “Uncle died in a carriage accident.”

  “Did he?” Eve casually lifted her eyebrow in inquiry.

  Their uncle had raised Eve. If she could forget her loyalty to the man who brought her up, perhaps kill him as she intimated, what was she going to do to Rose? Especially if she truly believed that Rose had betrayed her. Eve had an unforgiving soul. “You will eventually pay for your crimes.”

  “Do you mean at your lover’s hands?” Eve laughed. “I dispatched Helen Beaumont. I can do the same with him, when the time is right.”

  Rose crossed her arms and held herself tight to still her shaking. “Do not speak of Helen.”

  Eve circled her, an innocent look on her face. “Do you not want to know how I sliced her open, Rose? That, at the moment she died, she believed you killed her?”

  Rose shut her eyes, but the image her sister evoked only magnified. She had to think. Then she remembered something.

  Even if Eve had approached Helen in disguise, Helen had the ability to spot a shifter and she would have known of Eve’s state. “She knew you were not me.”

  “Because of this?” Eve pulled out a string from her bodice on which hung a Cimaruta. “I sold this at a flea market when I first arrived in France. I needed the coin. You can imagine my surprise when I landed on English soil, disguised as my dear sister, and the first person I ran into at Mayfair was a woman who greeted me as if we were old friends and sported my amulet. I could not imagine how she came by it.”

  “Helen traveled extensively.” As fascinating as the tale her sister told was, Rose was more interested in keeping Eve talking until Phillip arrived. She disliked the current topic, but discussing Helen might be the best way to keep Eve distracted. “She probably came across the amulet while in France.”

  “With it, she identified me as a shifter,” Eve said, confirming Rose’s suspicions. “Now you know why I had to end her days. She would have interfered with my plans before they ever began. Though she pretended innocence, I saw her touch that amulet in surprise. I followed her home. Once I knew her address, I sent her a note to meet me at that warehouse in Wapping. I said that, as your sister, I needed her help to contact you without alarming you. When we met, she even waved my letter at me, asking how she could help. I disposed of it, and her.” Eve chuckled. “The silly trollop actually believed everything I said to her.”

  “No, she did not,” Rose said. “She wrote to Sir Phillip to meet both of you there that night, only he arrived too late. He saw you leave the warehouse, disguised as me, and surmised I must have been involved in the murder. Especially after he found your handkerchief with the Ravenstock crest.”

  “That is where I lost that,” Eve said. “I used it to muffle her screams but after I ran off, I could not find it again. But you, with your innocence, convinced him to discount his own eyes and physical evidence?”

  “Leave Phillip out of this. What do you want from me?”

  “For too long I suffered hunger, insults, and abuse,” Eve said, “while you lived here, in this rich country, in this luxurious home, at the heart of the ton. Everything you take for granted rightfully belongs to me. I intend to take it all back.”

  Her heart shuddered at her sister’s mad raging. Her aching scalp screamed at her to stop the stinging where hair strands had been rudely pulled out, but Rose refrained from using her healing ability. With that Cimaruta around her neck, her sister would immediately know that Rose was using her shifting, and want to know what she did. This was one secret Rose intended to hug close to her chest until she needed it most.

  “How?” Rose asked. “How do you plan to take all this away from me?”

  “Why, you will give it to me, sister.”

  At Rose’s skeptical expression, Eve said, “I see you need further convincing to learn to share. How about if you do not agree to give me all I want, it will mean t
he demise of all of your servants?”

  “You cannot harm them all,” Rose said. “They will overpower you and your henchman.”

  “I did not mean their physical demise.”

  Rose frowned, confused.

  “While I awaited your arrival downstairs, dressed in all your new finery, I used my time well. I had a quick hunt in the library next door.”

  Eve’s smug look captured Rose’s terrified attention. “Do you know what I found?”

  Rose held her tongue. What could be keeping Phillip?

  “I found the most unexpected treasure. Did you know that your Miss Wood keeps a list of shifters’ names and their talents? Who would have thought there were others like us in London? And now I know why your ‘servants’ are not surprised by our ability to shift. Why you confide and trust them with our secret.”

  The room tilted. “We need your help,” Mrs. Weatheringham had said. “To keep us strong and united and safe.” And instead, by inviting them to her home, she had led them straight into hell.

  “That list is now well hidden,” her sister said. “And if you do not do as I say, that roster will be published on the morrow in the Morning Post. What do you suppose will happen when the general public, the government, and the rich and ruthless of this fine city discover all about your friends?”

  Rose shook her head. This could not be happening. “No one will believe a word. They will see it as a hoax.”

  “Yes,” Eve said. “The ones with common sense will scoff. The government might not, especially if I were to show them how shifting works. They will ask themselves, if such talented people exist, and they prefer to keep their abilities a secret, might they be using their odd talents to further their own ends? They could steal into people’s houses disguised as servants. Or wait, what if they spied on England itself, threatening the kingdom’s security?”

  “Those are things you have done,” Rose said. “None of us would dream of committing such atrocities.”

  “How can the government be sure of that? Unless they recruit each of you, women and children, to work for them?”