by Lynn Viehl
Lord Walsh looked horrified. “Miranda, what have you done?”
A transformation not unlike that of an Aramanthan possession came over Walsh’s shy daughter. “You think money can buy anything, Father? We live every day under Her Majesty’s grinding boot heel. The Reapers are coming to save us. They will muster our forces, crush the Empire, and end the occupation. Toriana will finally be free.”
“Is that what they told you?” Dredmore sounded scathing. “The Reapers have no motive to fight for our liberation. Their sole interest in Toriana is to occupy it, and use its citizens and resources to ignite another mage war. Had your plan been successful, Miss Walsh, they would have burned their way across our country, and installed their own tyrants as our rulers.”
“All Torians would have been bespelled and turned into mindless, thoughtless slaves,” I put in. “Rather like you.”
“You know nothing about our plans.” She struggled viciously against my hold. “You think you can stop them? It’s too late. The ships are almost here.”
“They’re still a fortnight from shore,” I corrected her. “By the time they arrive I expect the coastal fleet will be waiting to greet them.” I glanced at Dredmore. “You can arrange a proper reception, can’t you, milord?”
His upper lip curled. “Indeed.”
Miranda screamed something wholly unladylike as she hooked her fingers into claws and lunged for my eyes.
I put an end to that nonsense by slapping her. “You might have pulled it off, had you left your stepmother alone. But you hated her for taking your mother’s place, and you feared she might discover that Lord Walsh had been possessed. It wouldn’t have mattered if she had, you know.” I looked up to see Lady Diana standing in the doorway. “No one would have believed her.”
“My father should never have married that sniveling bitch.” Hatred contorted Miranda’s half-red face. “Always pretending to be so kind and sweet and loving. All she was interested in was his fortune.”
“My family was.” Lady Diana joined us. “I married so I wouldn’t end an old maid.” She looked at her husband. “Nolan, I expect you have business to attend to in town. If you would send for our physick before you leave, I would greatly appreciate it. Montrose, please escort your sister to her room and sit with her until the whitecart arrives.”
“You can’t put me in hospital,” Miranda shouted.
“Of course not,” Diana soothed. “There’s a lovely little place called Havenwood, not far from my father’s country estate near Settle. Some of the best families in Rumsen have sent their troubled relations there to recuperate.”
Miranda grabbed her brother’s jacket. “Monty, you have to help me. Please. They’re going to ruin everything.”
“We’ll talk about it upstairs.” Montrose guided her out of the room.
Lord Walsh gave Dredmore a desperate look. “My lord, if you would be so kind as to accompany me, and provide some explanation to our mutual friends and associates . . .”
“It would be my pleasure. Lady Walsh.” Lucien inclined his head that way, and then came to me. “Miss Kittredge.” He raised my hand to his lips and kissed it like a perfect gentleman. Then he nipped one of my knuckles. “I will be calling on you later.”
“Meet me down at the docks instead,” I murmured back.
Once the men left the room, Lady Diana rang for the housekeeper, who summoned maids to remove the carpet and apply citrus oil to the floor to remove any lingering stains and odors. The butler himself delivered a tea cart generously piled with a beautiful cream tea.
“With Lord Walsh’s compliments, Miss Kittredge.” He bowed to me as if I were royalty before he addressed Diana. “Milady, when the physick arrives, do you wish to speak with him?”
“Not at all,” Diana said. “Inform Dr. Elgis that he is to remove Miss Miranda and have her immediately and securely transported to Havenwood for whatever treatment she requires. You might mention that Lord Walsh expects her stay to be of some duration.”
“Yes, milady.” The butler bowed his way out of the study.
“What about the husband in hiding?” I asked.
“Lestin?” Diana picked up the teapot. “Without Miranda to supply him with his needs, I expect he will show his face here quite soon. We have footmen to deal with that. Sugar?”
“No, thank you. Such an unusual name, Lestin.” I thought for a moment. “An abbreviated form of Celestino, isn’t it?”
“I believe it is.” She filled two cups and handed one to me. “You might have warned me of your intentions this morning, Miss Kittredge.”
I took a sip. “It is possible I could have convinced you that Miranda was responsible for the attacks on your person,” I agreed. “But the fact that she arranged for her father to be possessed to assist in an invasion of the city?” I set down my cup. “That you had to hear from her own lips.”
“I expect you are right.” She left her own tea untouched. “Lord Walsh and I are exceedingly grateful for the discreet manner in which you have acted on our behalf.”
I gave her the answer to the question she wasn’t asking. “I’ve worked before for other families on the Hill, milady. I know how things are done here.” When she reached for her reticule, I shook my head. “This morning I refused to provide you with my services, so no payment is necessary.”
The tight lines round the corners of her mouth smoothed away. “Is there nothing I can do for you?”
“At times my work requires me to make inquiries. I am always discreet, of course, but as an ordinary cit I am denied access to certain circles.” I sipped my tea before I added, “Under such circumstances, I would be most appreciative if I could rely upon your counsel and assistance.”
“Were he to discover such an arrangement, my husband would absolutely forbid it.” She smiled. “I will have to see to it that he never does. Would you care for a crumpet?”
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
Lady Diana did not provide me with her carriage when I left her home—that would have overstepped the limits of ton gratitude—but she instructed the butler to summon a cab and have it take me wherever I wished.
“Where to, miss?” the driver asked as he helped me inside.
Somewhere in the city Dredmore and Walsh were no doubt astonishing the Tillers with news of the Reapers’ planned invasion. Even if I could find the secret meeting place of the spiritborn, as a female I would likely not be permitted entrance.
Not that I cared to be privy to Tiller secrets. I had my own to sort out.
“Drive to the docks,” I told the man. “But don’t rush. I’m in no hurry.”
He touched his cap before he closed the door.
As the cab headed down from the Hill, I reached up and curled my fingers over my pendant. I felt the movement of the gears inside, assuring me that it still functioned as my parents had intended. The chain snapped as I jerked it from my neck and tossed it onto the back-facing seat.
My grandfather appeared in the next instant, his white hair neatly slicked back, his old-fashioned suit exquisitely pressed. “I’m not going to hurt you, lass. In fact, if you’ll give a moment to explain, I may be of some considerable assistance to—”
“Save the speech, Harry,” I said, cutting him off. “Traveling back through time didn’t rob me of my memories.”
He hid his dismay by becoming chatty. “Well, then, you’ve time enough to stop the invasion. You should start with Walsh and his daughter, but steer clear of that wretched Dredmore. Perhaps that Inspector Doyle fellow can be recruited to assist you. He seems a clearheaded chap. Why are you scowling like that? I like Arthur’s boy. Young Thomas has great potential.”
“You know very well that I’ve already been to see Nolan Walsh, and that Miranda has dealt with. You were there with me, old man.” I leaned forward. “As you’ve been with me every day and night since I was a little gel.”
“All right, then.” He sat back and folded his arms. “I’ve watched over you. You’re my granddaughter, Cha
rm. No crime in that, is there?”
“You’re lying to me again, Harry,” I said with great patience. “You never had a choice in the matter.”
“Whatever you think, Charm.” He lifted the edge of the window shade and pretended to admire the scenery. “I say, are we near that fruit market? I smell peaches.”
“Hedger gave it away when he called my pendant ‘a ginny bauble,’ ” I said. “Certainly there are ladies among the ton who wear tiny flasks fashioned to look like bracelets and watches and pendants, and I presumed he mistook it for something like those. But I misheard him. It’s his accent; it’s almost as bad as Wrecker’s.”
“I just now realized, I’ve never seen your office.” Harry gave me an inveigling look. “We should take a ride over that way. I’ve time enough for a tour.”
“Hedger didn’t say ginny bauble, did he?” I waited, but my grandfather only stared at the floor of the carriage. “He said genie bottle.”
Harry made a halfhearted attempt to continue the ruse. “Don’t be foolish, gel. There is no such thing.”
“My parents did make the pendant to contain a spirit, but it wasn’t mine.” I watched his face. “They used it to capture and imprison the spirit of the Aramanthan they feared most. They used it on you, Harry.”
My grandfather opened his mouth, closed it, and hung his head.
“That’s how you knew everything that has happened to me,” I continued. “You’ve been hanging about my neck all this time, unable to escape the nightstone.”
“I did try, quite often, those first ten years.” He sat back. “I might have overcome your mother’s magic, or your father’s science, but the two together were beyond me. And then there was you and your devilish gift.”
“Every time you tried to cast a spell to release yourself, my power broke it.” I moved over and sat beside him. “Why, Harry? Why would Mum and Da do such a terrible thing to you?”
“I’m to blame for it, not them.” He shriveled down against the seat. “It was when I came to live in Toriana. I fear I was a little too eager to see Rachel. I hadn’t, you know, not since she was an infant. Without thinking I called on her, and, well, she took the news that I was her father, an Aramanthan, and a spy for the Crown rather poorly.”
I nodded. “Did she reject you?”
“She told me to get out and never darken their doorstep again.” He made a face. “Then, when I wouldn’t leave, your father tried to shoot me.”
“Go on.”
“I made several more attempts to speak to your mother. I even sent her the nightstone pendant as proof of my affection, but she still refused to see me.” He rasped a hand over his cheek. “I couldn’t accept the idea that my own daughter would reject me, Charm. I didn’t consider how much a stranger I was to her. And then there was you, my only grandchild.” Harry spread his hands. “Since Rachel wanted nothing to do with me, I began visiting you in your nursery at night. I hardly thought it would upset anyone.”
“Until Mum caught you at it,” I guessed.
“It terrified her to see me there, standing by your little bed,” he admitted. “She ordered me from the house and forbid me from having any more contact with her or you. I’m afraid by then I’d grown very fond of you, and I lost my temper with her. I told Rachel that if I wished to see you that I would, any time I wished, and there was nothing she or your father could do to stop me.”
I closed my eyes for a moment. “Oh, Harry.”
“Christopher, your father, already hated me because I couldn’t be explained by his science. When Rachel went to him and repeated my threats . . .” He made a helpless gesture. “I’d say that was when they decided to do something about me.”
I didn’t understand how such a powerful being could be so foolish. “Why didn’t you just leave us alone?”
“I didn’t mean to frighten your mother, so I intended to leave off, but I got into a spot of trouble while I was carrying out my duties for the Crown.” He ran a finger across his neck. “My host body was murdered.”
“The police came to our house that night to give Mum the news,” I recalled. “She and Da left me with the maid so they could go to the morgue and identify you.”
He nodded. “I was there in spirit, of course, waiting for nightfall so I could move on to another body. As soon as I saw Rachel come into the room with your father, I presumed she had forgiven me.” He heaved a sigh. “I didn’t realize how much they had meddled with the nightstone until the spell your mother cast dragged me into its confines. Once there, I discovered I had no means of communicating with you, Rachel, or anyone in the outside world.”
“And they knew my power would keep you trapped in it.” I felt more regret than anger now. “They made me your warden without ever telling me.”
“They thought it the right thing to do, I’m sure,” he chided. “Rachel had learned a little about the Aramanthan from Arthur Doyle. She must have known that once my host body died I would need another.”
I nodded. “So by putting you in the pendant, and having me keep you there all this time, they assured that you would never possess another mortal.”
“They saw to it that I would never possess you, gel,” he corrected. “That was your mother’s greatest fear.”
I hadn’t thought of that. “Did you ever want to possess me?”
“Take on the body of a young, impulsive female with no money, no connections, and no prospects in a ridiculously primitive, utterly repressed society under imperial occupation?” He shuddered. “I’d sooner inhabit a stray pup. At least I’d eat better.”
“Then you won’t mind if I pop you back into the genie bottle?” I asked sweetly as I reached for my pendant.
He looked hurt. “You wouldn’t. Not after all we’ve been through these past two weeks. That haven’t happened yet.” He made a disgusted sound. “This is why I hate time travel. Everything you say about time is wrong and right.”
“I suppose I could be persuaded to allow you your freedom.” I sat back and thought for a moment. “I have three conditions.”
“I’m not a genie,” he reminded me. “I can’t grant you three wishes, turn you into a princess, or any of that nonsense.”
“You can give me your word that you will not possess anyone permanently,” I said.
“Oh, not to worry.” He waved his hand. “I’ve grown accustomed to living in spirit form.”
“Promise me.”
He looked up at the ceiling of the cab as he pressed his hand over his heart. “On my honor, I promise not to possess any host body permanently.” He winked at me. “Temporary’s more fun anyhow.”
“Second,” I continued, “you go into business with me as my partner.”
“Business? Work?” He recoiled. “What for?”
“Because you have nothing better to do,” I reminded him. “If you get bored, you can teach me everything you know about magic and mind powers.”
“You’ll never live long enough for that.” He saw my face and sighed. “All right, I’ll be your business partner.” He squinted at me. “What’s the third condition?”
“Tell me your name, Harry.” As he started to reply, I raised a hand. “Your true name, the one you were born to.”
“You’ll not believe me.” When I said nothing, he muttered something vile under his breath. “I haven’t used that for ages, Charm. Hundreds of ages.”
“Then back in the pendant you go.” I saw the panic in his eyes and added, “If you want me to trust you, Grandfather, then I deserve equal consideration. Tell me your name.”
And so he did.
When the cab reached the docks I was alone again. To avoid being trapped again in the nightstone, Harry had to put some distance between us before I touched the pendant.
“He’ll never change, you know,” he said before he left me. “Dredmore will always be a cold, selfish, dark-hearted bastard.”
“Yes.” I felt an odd quietude settle over me. “I expect he will.”
I was n
ot surprised to find Lucien Dredmore standing in the exact same spot as I’d left him in the future, at the very end of the pier. It was like George suddenly appearing outside my office building; as if time had rearranged a few things to fill some gaps no one could see.
I stopped beside him to look out at the cold, dark ocean. The wind brought with it a cutting edge, promising snow. “Did you have any trouble dealing with the Tillers?”
“Hardly. They know my reputation.” He took the kerchief-wrapped stone out of his greatcoat and regarded it. “I have some knowledge of the warlord Zarath, and how many armies he commanded during the Aramanthan wars. His power to control had almost no limits. He is one of the greatest mages of all time.”
“He was.” I took the kerchief from him and heaved it into the waves. It sank out of sight. “Now he’s just another rock sitting on the bottom of the bay.”
He blinked. “That won’t kill him, Charmian.”
“He’s immortal,” I said, nodding. “Nothing can. But no one else saw, so only you and I know he’s there.” I glanced up at his stern face. “I’ve no reason to dive in after a rock, and you can’t swim. Isn’t that nearly as good as dead?”
A rusty sound came from his throat, and it took a moment before I recognized it as a chuckle. “Yes, I believe it is.” He faced me. “Are you ready to tell me about the future?”
I wasn’t going to enjoy this as much as chucking that Aramanthan jackass in the drink, I thought, wrapping my arms round my waist. “What do you want to know?”
He took off his greatcoat and draped it over my shoulders. “Why did I confide the most private details of my personal history to you?”
“I can’t say.” I tried not to breathe in the delicious scent he’d left on the wool. “You weren’t yourself at the time.”
Dredmore pulled up the collar so it shielded my ears against the wind. “What made you stop despising me?”
“I met him.” I nodded toward the water. “By comparison, you are a saint.”