“No,” Phillip said. “I wish to hear what Lady Evelyn has to say.” He stood and held his arms out to Rose.
She rushed into his embrace. He reluctantly put some distance between them, holding her at arm’s length, lest their intimate stance distract him from his examination. “Mrs. Weatheringham is correct. You have been much abused this day, Rose. Retire now and I shall inform you of all we discover in the morning.”
With a sigh she returned to her seat on the settee. “I cannot. If you insist on staying, so must I.” She pouted at him prettily. “Do you?”
He frowned at her coquettish behavior, his disquiet erupting into an inferno. Yet, he could still not bring himself to verbalize, even within his own mind, what his instincts were screaming. “Yes. I insist.”
“Then I shall stay.” Rose patted the cushion beside her with a sensual inviting smile.
Phillip pulled up a chair beside Miss Wood, who was staring at Rose with as much doubt as Phillip was beginning to feel. Once seated, he turned back to the prisoner. Suddenly, Phillip was no longer absolutely certain who was who in this room. “You were saying something about your ability to change your features?”
Eve nodded. “Have you ever witnessed someone wiggle a nostril, sir? Or twitch their ears?”
He nodded. His valet, in fact, could flutter both ears simultaneously and had proudly displayed this talent once, to his master’s great dismay. “What of it?”
“I can do that.” She demonstrated. “And more.”
His interest spiked from fascination to astonishment as her earlobes not only wiggled but her entire ear stretched and peaked at the top like that of an elf. Then her nose changed shape, flattening, rounding, then becoming pointed and hooked like a caricature of a witch’s nose. Her features were as malleable as clay under a potter’s hands. Her eyes varied their color, covering all the shades of the rainbow. Her chin grew long, then receded. Suddenly, Rose’s face appeared.
Phillip sucked in his breath. He had to force himself to be still and not check on the woman on the settee sitting beside Mrs. Weatheringham. That lady must continue to believe he had no doubts about the veracity of her identity. And he had none. For now he knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that he had ordered the woman he loved to be bound to a chair. As quickly as Rose revealed herself to him, she again hid herself behind Eve’s face. Her head was again bowed and her thumbs twirling madly. Ben had that same habit of circling with his thumbs when he was deeply troubled.
His chest tightened in terror for her. He could not imagine why Rose continued to perpetuate this sham. Whatever hold Eve had on her to make her behave this way, it must endanger those she cared for. Rose would do anything to keep anyone else she loved from being hurt.
Perhaps the danger Eve posed was to these friends with whom Rose had surrounded herself. Trenton, already injured. Mrs. Weatheringham and her granddaughter. Miss Wood. And that odd footman, Stony. Even her maid, Hannah?
Everyone but him.
He wished he could soothe her worries. Tell her that she could trust him. That he was worthy of her faith, that he would always put her welfare above anyone or anything else. As well as all those for whom she cared.
“So now we know how she disguised herself, may we end this interview?” the lady pretending to be Rose asked. Was she truly Eve?
Finally, he faced her, keeping his revulsion in check. Until he could get the woman he loved safely out of this house of horrors, he must carry on with this pretense. “You are not surprised, Rose? Did you know your sister had this talent?”
She shrugged. “I would have told you, Phillip, but I thought my sister dead, so why would you need to know? Besides, my grandmother forbade me to tell anyone about the aberrant family trait.”
“Family trait? Can you, too, change your appearance?”
“Not I, Phillip,” Rose said with a shocked look. “I am as normal as you. Only my sister is afflicted.”
Mrs. Weatheringham sent her a concerned glance, while beside him Miss Wood stiffened in her seat. “Lady Roselyn wishes to shield us, Sir Phillip. However, that is no longer necessary.” The old lady gestured toward Miss Wood. “You see, all of us can shift.”
“What?” He had not expected that.
“Oh, there is no need to be alarmed, sir,” Mrs. Weatheringham said. “We are quite harmless, despite our special talents. Well, that is not completely accurate. I can no longer shift, but in my youth, let me assure you, I could do it most beautifully indeed.”
“And you, Miss Wood?” How could he ever be sure of anyone’s identify?
Miss Wood nodded. “Not my entire face, merely my sight so I see clearly on occasion.” She glanced from one Ravenstock sister to the other. Then rubbed her forehead again, before adding, “It is rather useful for deciphering tiny scripts in older volumes.”
“Not everyone has the same ability,” Mrs. Weatheringham said by way of explanation.
He released his pent up breath, but his tension remained high. “Who is everyone?”
“Why, all the servants. We call ourselves the Rue Alliance.”
“Everyone?” he asked, stunned by that revelation. “Including Trenton?”
The old lady nodded. “He is a fire shifter.”
Glancing back at his captive, he asked, “Is this Ben’s secret as well?”
No one answered.
A modicum of unease returned to Phillip. “What is it you do not wish me to know?”
His prisoner said, “I am Ben.”
“You!” Mrs. Weatheringham sounded shocked.
Not Phillip. It was as he had expected. And all the confirmation he needed that his Rose was the one he had bound to this chair. And that confirmed that Eve was free, sitting beside Mrs. Weatheringham and was within reach of that dagger he had so carelessly placed on the center table.
It also dawned on him that he should act offended by this news, else he might give away the game. His prisoner locked gazes with him as if pleading for understanding. “It was the only way I could keep track of your investigation, sir.”
She sounded so like his Ben, he almost hugged her then and there. Instead, he shook his head and feigned offense. “No! That cannot be. Ben is my friend. I do not believe you.”
“You?” Mrs. Weatheringham said again.
“What are you saying?” Her sister asked in a flinty voice.
Mrs. Weatheringham’s glance was flying in confusion between the two sisters.
Miss Wood seemed the only one to take this disclosure calmly. She stood and eased herself toward the door. Did she plan to go for help? If anyone else barged in here, Eve would go for that dagger. Phillip was sure of it.
Eve was staring at the weapon as if it were her last salvation.
In a harsh tone, he said, “Explain yourself.”
That brought Eve’s gaze back to her bound sister. “I would be careful, sister. Do remember all that is at stake.”
Now they were getting to the heart of the matter. Whatever Eve held over Rose, it must be a tremendous lever for her to put herself in danger of being hanged in her sister’s place.
Mouth grim, his captive said, “I have no intention of lying any longer. I am done with that. I will never lie to”—her glance flicked to Phillip, and then back down to her twirling thumbs—“to anyone again.”
Phillip’s heart skipped a beat. He hoped she meant that.
His prisoner’s gaze settled on Mrs. Weatheringham. “Earlier today, while waiting for my sister, I went into the library and came upon a sheet of paper that identified every Rue Alliance member and their talent.”
Miss Wood, who had reached the door, gasped.
Eve’s hand snaked out and grabbed Gervais’s dagger.
Phillip reached for his pistol.
“I hid that list,” his prisoner said. “T
hat was how I could ensure my sister would cooperate.”
Mrs. Weatheringham whimpered softly.
“It was a good restraint, was it not?” their prisoner asked.
“If you have your sister’s cooperation, why are you tied up?” Mrs. Weatheringham asked.
Beside the old lady, Eve casually twirled the dagger as if intrigued by its markings. “Gervais showed me the list and I burned it.” She glanced at her bound sister to see if she would contradict her. When the prisoner remained silent, she glanced at Phillip and added. “Furious at the loss of that list, Eve tried to stab the little girl with this dagger.”
“Which is when I came in.” He leaned back to hide the fact his pistol was in his grip.
Eve nodded slowly and rested the dagger on the seat between her and Mrs. Weatheringham.
“And I shot Gervais.” Phillip then spoke words that almost choked in his throat, but he got them out. “Rose, I love you.”
Both sisters drew in sharp breaths at that declaration.
He focused entirely on Eve sitting beside Mrs. Weatheringham. He was determined to get Rose out of this madhouse, and the best way to do so was to pretend to take her to Newgate. “I hope you will understand what we must do next. We cannot let this evil creature continue to live. She killed your friend, Mrs. Beaumont, and probably countless others. She would have murdered that child tonight. She must pay for her crimes.”
“Sir Phillip.” Mrs. Weatheringham’s voice trembled.
“Not now, ma’am. Rose, I promised that I would let your sister go free this time.”
Eve’s startled gaze flicked to him. Her grip on the dagger relaxed a little.
Phillip heard Miss Wood ease open the drawing room door, than a shuffle of feet as others entered.
Finish it. “I am sorry, but I can no longer release her in good conscience.” He leaned forward to keep Eve’s attention solely on him. “Even if we allowed her to be transported, how many others would she endanger? And with her ability to shift, she could return here without our knowing it. I will not countenance such an uncertain future. Do you understand?”
“What do you propose?” Eve asked.
“She must face justice, and the hangman’s noose.”
ROSE’S HEART thudded in terror at Phillip’s suggestion that she be taken to prison. This was exactly what she had been working toward all night after Eve threatened to destroy the Rue Alliance. Yet, hearing Phillip say the words that would lead her to the gallows was like having that rope actually strung around her neck.
Somewhere deep inside her, she had hoped that this once, by some miracle, Phillip would see through her lies and recognize who she was. She had even shown him her real face. All apparently to no avail.
Eve was nodding, a deadly light in her eyes. “I agree. My sister must die. It cannot be otherwise. I see that now.”
Rose shuddered at the murderous intent in her sister’s eyes. This was the part of Eve she had refused to acknowledge all of her life. Eve’s thirst for blood, her inability to forgive, her intense need to have everything in her life go her way, no matter whom it hurt.
And then she realized that Eve was not even prepared to wait for the hangman to end Rose’s life. Her heart thundered in horror as her sister’s hand clenched around that dagger. The moment Eve leaped at her across the divide of the center table, Rose knocked her chair sideways to avoid the blow.
She landed on her left side but with her arms bound, she was unable to break her fall and slammed into the ground. Bone cracked and pain shot up into her left shoulder.
At the same instant, Phillip slammed his pistol across Eve’s arm while the dagger burst into flames and then sailed across the room toward Stony and his mother’s outstretched hands.
“Ow!” Eve cried, cradling her hand, “It burned me!”
In two moves, Phillip had Eve—the real Eve—on the floor, with her hands bound behind her back. His knee on her spine held her down.
Rose, bathed in pain, stared in astonishment at Phillip’s swift capture of her sister. It was reminiscent of the night he had taken her down, when she had been Ben, in Mrs. Beaumont’s bedroom.
As for the dagger, it was still smoldering on the floor by Pollard and Stony’s feet.
Daniel was slouched by the doorway beside Miss Wood. He must have set that dagger on fire at the same moment Pollard and her son whisked it out of Eve’s hand.
Her friends had come to her rescue. As had Phillip. Her heart swelled in gratitude. How surprising to discover that just when she thought herself all alone, she was surrounded by so many who loved and cared about her welfare. Tears flooded her eyes and she was uncertain if they were tears of pain or pleasure. Likely both.
If she had not still been bound, and her left arm was unbroken, she would have run around the room hugging everyone. Well, all except for Eve who was writhing under Phillip’s fierce hold.
“You did not shoot her,” Rose said, sure his pistol had been loaded. Phillip was always prepared.
He met her gaze. “I keep my word.” The hurt in his voice was unmistakable.
If I had it to do over, I would let her go. He had kept his promise. Would he ever forgive her for her lack of faith in him, and all of her lies? And despite her disguise, he had seen through to the truth. Even the alliance had been fooled by her switch, but not her Phillip. She would never doubt him again.
Phillip gestured for Mrs. Weatheringham to go over and assist Rose. Miss Wood, too, ran over to help.
“Oh, your arm is broken,” Miss Wood exclaimed with concern.
Phillip sent her a startled look.
“It will mend.” Once released from her bonds, Rose stood up with her friends’ assistance and shut her eyes, picturing her arm whole. The broken bones clicked into place and the skin and veins around that injury knit together.
Miss Wood gasped. “I did not know anyone could do that!”
A narrowing of Eve’s gaze suggested the two Cimarutas she wore had notified her sister of Rose’s self-healing. The confusion in her sister’s eyes suggested this was one trick she had not mastered. Envy and bitterness burned in Eve’s gaze.
“You too can make your hand stop hurting,” Rose said. “Simply imagine your hand as good as ever.”
Phillip lifted Eve to her feet and released her right arm but kept a firm hold on her left.
Somewhere during her capture, Eve had lost control of her shift. She looked like her real self. She held out her hand, which looked red and scorched. In an instant, it transformed into a normal hand.
“Ahh!” Eve cried. “It still hurts.”
The hand returned to its former painful-looking state.
Yet Rose’s arm was still whole and unharmed. She was unsure why healing worked for her but not Eve. She shook her arm to be sure, but it remained healed, the bones properly set, mended and tingling with glee at being right again.
“It is far too late to teach your sister any new tricks, Lady Roselyn,” Mrs. Weatheringham said, studying Eve with a thoughtful tilt of her head. “I suspect she has little strength left to do much shifting anymore. It is likely a result of years of misusing her powers.”
“And they will pay for your betrayal, Rose. I still have that listing. I left it with my solicitor, and by morning, all of your precious alliance’s secrets will be front-page news. You may delight in seeing me pay for my crimes but none of you will live one day in peace, that I swear.”
“She lies.” Miss Wood hurried over to the slashed portrait.
Rose approached the librarian and her family portrait. Those jagged strips were like rips into her memories.
“She did not have time to get that listing to anyone outside this house,” Miss Wood said. “Instead, I think she might have hidden it in here.” She knelt and reached into the torn portrait and pulled out a fol
ded piece of paper.
Eve screamed in fury and struggled within Phillip’s hold. Several alliance members rushed into the room to help him restrain her.
“Miss Wood, how did you know?” Rose asked.
“My sight acted up. It seemed to show me that something was off between you and your sister, and inside the portrait. I thought I saw your amulet, which I had left resting on the list of the Rue Alliance members in the library.”
“Then your talent is not a curse at all.” Rose hugged the young librarian. “It is as strong as the Cimarutas and a most unique and helpful gift. This proves your talent, like all of ours, is indeed a blessing, Miss Wood.”
She glanced over at Phillip, her smile waning. “Now we must burn this listing to ensure it can never again be used against us. After that, we will decide what to do about Eve.”
Chapter Sixteen
AN HOUR LATER, Phillip stood beside the hearth where a fire crackled and roasted those who ventured too close. It was the same fire in which Rose had burned Miss Wood’s listing. Then she informed him about how Eve had betrayed England by giving Joseph Bonaparte damaging information about Wellington’s armies in Spain.
Phillip instantly arranged to have a carrier pigeon wing its way with a warning to Wellington about the trap. If all went according to plan, Joseph would be the one surprised when he arrived with his army. That turn in fortune might finally help end this infernal war. Meanwhile, in a locked storeroom in the basement, Eve awaited a decision about her future.
All around him, the Rue Alliance began to convene. Phillip ran his gaze over each member, memorizing their faces and matching them to their names. The large lady who stood by the door was Pollard, Rose’s housekeeper and Stony’s mother. Her size matched her son’s girth. Her son stood guard beside her. The rest of the alliance members were on chairs or sprawled on warm fur rugs on the floor.
Rose sat in an armchair beside Phillip. Humbled by the trust that she and these people placed in him, Phillip picked up Rose’s hand and kissed it.
It surprised him how loyal the alliance members were to his beloved. He found it difficult to make one friend, yet Rose had a houseful ready to lay down their lives for her, in the same way as she had recently intended to sacrifice herself for them. The one member he had the most trouble aligning himself with was Trenton, who currently gazed at Rose while lying on the settee.
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