Ghost Girl

by C. J. Archer

  "It's not in this realm I want your help, but in the Waiting Area."

  "That place with all them other spirits I went to after me death?" His nose twitched again. "I don't like it. Too crowded and everyone's real sad to be there."

  I gave him a sympathetic look. "I can imagine. It must be a confusing time for you." I needed to get him on side quickly before Quin became suspicious or restless. "Do you see that gentleman behind me?" The ghost squinted at Quin. "His name is Quintin St. Clair and he's an otherworldly warrior."

  "Blimey."

  "Can you ask around up there for any information about him? He's very old. He died in the twelfth or thirteenth century and he's been a warrior ever since."

  "That were a long time ago. Not sure any spirits up there would have known him. They died recent, far as I know."

  "You're right. I was actually thinking that you could ask the administrators of the Waiting Area for me."

  "Them in charge? They won't speak to the likes of me, miss."

  "You can only ask. If you tell them it's for Cara Moreau, then that may sway them. I helped them out some years ago along with Emily Chambers and Jacob Beaufort. Perhaps mention their names if they refuse your request for information."

  His mouth twisted to the side and one eye twitched rapidly.

  "Please," I added. "I really need your help. And when you get back, I can help you." I nodded at the butcher through the window. "Do we have a deal?"

  He narrowed his gaze at the butcher as the fellow caught sight of Sylvia and I. He also had protruding front teeth, and similar eyes to the lad. He held up a joint of meat with a hopeful smile to tempt us inside. "All right," the boy said. "Say them names again."

  I repeated mine, Emily's and Jacob's then promised to return later. He cast a frown at the butcher then blinked out of existence.

  "Was that wise?" Sylvia said as we walked slowly back to Quin.

  "Why wouldn't it be?"

  "Because Quin is going back and you're staying here. Learning about his past makes no difference to the current state of affairs."

  I sighed. She was right, and I did not have a good reason for finding out more about him behind his back. But I couldn't help it. I needed to know everything I could about him.

  We rejoined him and I suggested we head to the stream for a gentle stroll along the bank. Thankfully Sylvia chattered endlessly about nothing in particular so Quin and I didn't need to speak, or even listen for that matter. I had nothing to say to him, and he seemed just as disinterested in talking to me. If he was curious about when I would speak the counter-curse and send him back, he didn't ask. Thankfully. I wasn't sure what answer I would give. I felt no more ready to say goodbye to him than I had been yesterday.

  We didn't reach the stream, however. We got only as far as The Red Lion. Quin halted and put out his arm to stop me. I followed his gaze and my stomach did a little flop.

  Nathaniel Faraday and Everett Myer stood on the front steps of the inn and squinted into the sunlight at us. Myer hailed us and headed our way. Faraday hung back, his slack-jawed stare aimed at Quin.

  I tightened my hold on the book in the sack, tucked under my arm, and had the sickening sense that my delay in speaking the counter curse might prove to be a mistake.

  CHAPTER 16

  "The book!" Myer said as he marched across the street to us. "Where is it?" His unblinking, beady eyes settled on the package under my arm. "Is that it?"

  "No," I said, edging back. "This is a new pair of gloves."

  Myer kept coming as if he hadn't heard, or didn't care.

  Quin stepped in front of me. "Stay back," he growled. "Leave Cara be. We no longer have the book."

  "What?" he cried. "Faraday! Here! Now!"

  Nathaniel rushed up behind Myer and offered me a nervous smile as I stepped out from behind Quin. His smile quickly vanished, however, when Quin turned the full force of his glare onto him.

  "You told me we left London ahead of them," Myer spat at him.

  Nathaniel put up his hands. "I was under that assumption, sir! I came to you as soon as I learned that the book was here."

  "When did you arrive in Harborough?" Myer snapped at us in a voice that wasn't at all like his usual calm one. I'd never seen him so angry before. He was usually charming and conciliatory, his occasional frustrations taken out on his wife only.

  Behind him, Nathaniel shook his head at me. It would seem he had decided to do the right thing and delay his employer's chase so that we could keep the book out of his hands. His actions were commendable, and it seemed fair that he not be punished for them.

  "We traveled overnight by coach," I said. "And arrived early this morning. Nathaniel wasn't to know that we'd already left." I prayed Myer didn't return to The Red Lion and question the landlord.

  He didn't. It would seem he had other plans to learn the truth. "Listen to me," he said, his voice gentler but no less commanding. Alluring. "Listen to my voice and only my voice."

  A humming noise set up in my head, turning me a little dizzy. I fought against it, clamping my hands over my ears. Beside me, Sylvia did the same. Nathaniel looked somewhat panicked, as if he wasn't sure what to do.

  Myer took a breath to continue his hypnotic words, but Quin grabbed him by the throat, cutting him off. Nathaniel closed his eyes in relief and breathed deeply as if he were glad the confrontation wasn't left to him. My head cleared and I lowered my hands.

  "Be quiet," Quin growled. "Or I will snap your neck."

  Myer's face turned dark red and he made a gurgling sound that Quin took for assent. He let him go and Myer lost his balance, falling back against Nathaniel. He rubbed his throat and coughed as Nathaniel righted him.

  "I can move faster than you can speak," Quin told him. "So save your voice and listen to me. I drove last night and hid the book along the way. It was dark and nobody knows which route I took. I am the only one who knows the book's location, so using your powers against anyone to find out the information will not work. If I learn that you have tried, I will ruin your life. Do you understand?"

  Myer's hand stilled at his throat. He swallowed, nodded, but I didn't think he would give up that easily.

  "You shouldn't be so desperate for it," Sylvia told him, hands on hips. "It's a dangerous thing. It's best left hidden."

  Myer continued to rub his throat and took a moment to answer. "With respect, Miss Langley," he rasped after a moment, "I think I do know. I only wish to study it, not use it for any wrongdoing."

  Wisely, she didn't respond. Making a bigger enemy of Myer than we already had could prove dangerous.

  "Nevertheless, the book is safer hidden as it is," I said. "Only Quin knows where."

  "And I suppose he'll take that information back to Melbourne with him. When do you leave, sir?"

  I arched an eyebrow at Nathaniel. He hadn't told Myer that Quin was from Purgatory? The omission was rather a large one, considering his employer would undoubtedly be enthusiastic about the idea of studying Quin.

  Nathaniel gave me a small shrug and I offered up a smile of thanks for his discretion. Perhaps, like us, Nathaniel had come to learn how ruthless Myer could be when it came to the supernatural and had decided to be selective with the information he passed on to him. It would seem Nathaniel wasn't quite such a sycophant after all.

  "I will be leaving Frakingham House in the morning." Quin spoke to Myer, but I felt as if he were addressing me. He expected me—wanted me—to speak the curse this evening. "My ship departs in two days. The information about the book's location goes with me. I'll alert the authorities here to the danger you pose to Cara and the others. If anything happens to them, you will be the first one they question and I will be the first one they notify. I'll return and make good my promise to hunt you down and destroy you. Understand?"

  I could see Myer digesting the threat. Whether he believed Quin or not wasn't clear, but he did seem genuinely concerned about his own health. He rubbed his throat, still red from where Quin had grabbed it
.

  "No harm will come to these ladies because of me," he said. "You have my word."

  It was the most we could hope to get out of him. I didn't like the fact that he could hypnotize me once Quin was gone, but I did believe that he wouldn't harm any of us. We were more useful alive and in good health. I began to form a plan that would save me from telling him where the book was while under hypnosis.

  Myer bowed shallowly. "I wish you safe travels, sir. Miss Moreau, Miss Langley, I hope we'll see one another again under more pleasant circumstances." His smile was forced, his words false, but at least he left, and Nathaniel went with him.

  "Good riddance," Sylvia muttered as she watched them return to the inn. "Do you think he believed you, Quin?"

  "Perhaps. But you are vulnerable now. He may still try to hypnotize you."

  "That's why we're going to stop at the post office and send a telegram to Samuel," I said. "I hope he'll be free to leave immediately."

  "Good thinking." Sylvia walked off toward the post office. "That way he can arrive tonight before Quin leaves."

  I hazarded a glance at Quin and caught him doing the same to me. We didn't need words to say what needed to be said. We both knew that I had to speak the spell soon so that the book could be hidden. We couldn't risk Myer getting hold of it.

  "What do you think of Nathaniel not telling Myer that we'd left London yesterday morning?" Sylvia asked, breaking into my melancholia as we walked.

  "It was a wise decision," Quin said. "But I still don't like him."

  "Of course you don't," she quipped.

  "What do you mean?"

  Her arm tightened in mine. "It means that Nathaniel likes Cara and you are protective of her. That's all."

  He grunted. "She can do better than Faraday," he muttered. "Much, much better."

  My face heated and I studied the ground hard.

  "I agree," she sang. "Although he is very handsome. We must learn what his connections are before we dismiss him altogether, however; particularly in light of his noble gesture in not telling Myer. It would seem he's rather a good egg after all. Don't you think, Cara?"

  "I, er, he is very handsome, yes, but there is more to a man than his face, Sylvia. And his connections."

  "Hmm."

  We arrived at the post office and sent off our telegram to Samuel. It began with the word URGENT.

  "Come, let's return to Dr. Gowan's rooms." Sylvia was already striding off in that direction before I'd stepped onto the pavement. "Perhaps he's finished and we can speak to Tommy."

  I hurried to catch up and looped my arm through hers. "Even if he is finished, Tommy may still be under sedation and unable to communicate. But if you want to return, then we'll just wait in the waiting room."

  That reminded me. It was unlikely that the spirit had learned anything from the Waiting Area yet, but I wasn't sure when I'd get another chance to speak to him. We walked via the butcher's, but he wasn't there and Sylvia was in no mood to linger. We continued on to the surgery and were directed to sit down and wait.

  We waited a few more hours and were finally allowed to see Tommy mid-afternoon. He was a little tired and heavily bandaged, but otherwise in good spirits. Sylvia fussed over him, ensuring the blanket was tucked tightly around him and he was comfortable. The doctor allowed us a few minutes and then his assistant shooed us out. Quin was the last to leave, and I waited at the door while he spoke a few quiet words to Tommy then shook his good hand in farewell.

  I blew out a measured breath. It was becoming more real now. The goodbyes had begun. A lump formed in my throat and remained there the entire journey to the house.

  I napped for two hours in the afternoon while Quin sat in the armchair near the door, reading a book about Captain Cook's expeditions that he'd borrowed from Langley's library. I still felt tired when he woke me with a gentle shake of my arm.

  "We have a visitor," he said.

  I yawned. "Who is it?"

  "Gladstone."

  "Already?"

  We went in search of him and found him with Sylvia, talking in the drawing room. He told us he'd left as soon as he'd got our telegram and had run to catch the train. Sylvia had already informed him about meeting Myer in the village and of Quin threatening him.

  "I'll hide the book," he said. "I agree that it's the best course of action, with Myer on the loose. Until he loses interest in the book, I must be the only one to know of its whereabouts. I won't even tell Charity."

  We separated to dress for dinner and reconvened outside the dining room when the bell was rung by the housekeeper. She and Maud delivered the dishes too, but did not serve. Langley had decided to have an informal meal where we served ourselves.

  "We're practically all family anyway," Sylvia said with a smile. She'd been smiling rather a lot since returning from the village. It was good to see her anxiety had dissolved after seeing Tommy on the mend. Despite outward appearances, it was obvious to me that she liked him beyond what was acceptable between mistress and servant. I worried for her, however, if that was the case. Worried for both of them. Theirs was an impossible situation.

  It seemed Sylvia had already told her uncle and Bollard about meeting Myer and Nathaniel in the village, as well as informing them of our plan to give the book to Samuel after I'd used it.

  "I've been thinking," Langley said as we tucked into our first course when the servants had left. All except Bollard, that is. He remained behind his master's chair, standing like an automaton that only worked when wound up. "You will need to make provisions in the event of your death, Gladstone."

  "Uncle!"

  Langley gave his niece a curious look, as if he didn't know what he'd said wrong. "Death comes to us all, my dear. This book is too important to lose track of completely. Gladstone, like all of us, must consider his mortality and what it means for the book."

  "I will see that a letter detailing its location is left with my lawyers," Samuel said. "I'll take the book in the morning. Will that be enough time, Cara?"

  I nodded and risked a glance at Quin. He set his fork down, his fish uneaten, and laid his palm flat on the tablecloth. It was not like him to abandon his food.

  "Yes," I said quietly. "I'm sure it will be."

  "I think we ought to consider using another spell from the book," Sylvia said, also setting down her cutlery. She gave each of us a determined look. "The one that permanently closes the portal."

  "No!" I cried.

  "Cara, I know you want to keep it open, and I know why." She didn't have to look at Quin for me to catch her meaning. Whether Langley or Samuel knew he was the reason I wanted it left untouched, however, I couldn't tell. Neither of them asked her to explain. "I think we must consider it. There have been too many escaped demons lately, and I'm not sure how much longer we can go on pretending the attacks are the work of wild dogs."

  "But all those demons were let loose either by accident or by wicked people," I said.

  "And they will continue to be released as long as that portal is accessible."

  I shook my head. "Not if Myer is banned. Everything will be well again soon, Sylvia. These past few months have been an aberration."

  "Cara, I adore you and I respect you, but in this you are wrong. Remember, you won't be living here. I will."

  "And you forget that it's my house," Langley snapped. "I will decide what's to be done."

  Sylvia bit her lip and my anger dissolved. She hadn't deserved that admonishment. She wasn't known for giving thoughtful opinions on difficult topics, and she ought to be commended for thinking for herself and coming up with a reasoned argument, not be treated like a child. I only wished I could support her, but I couldn't. Destroying the portal would mean saying a permanent goodbye to Quin. Even though he'd said he would only come back if a dire situation called for it, there was still hope. Closing the portal forever would destroy that hope.

  Speaking of destruction, I remembered something Myer had said. "Destroying the portal might cause Frakingham House its
elf to be damaged beyond repair. You would lose your home, Sylvia."

  "It's only bricks," she muttered. "Not a life."

  "I'm not sure I could afford to rebuild on this scale," Langley told her, taking stock of the dining room's elaborate gilded ceiling rosette and cornices, the marble mantel, and the carved wooden wall panels. "I would have to borrow a large sum and I'm not sure if we could repay it. I don't want to leave you and Jack in debt."

  Bollard blinked rapidly but otherwise remained immobile.

  "Oh." Sylvia looked down at her lap. "Well, I don't mind." She shrugged off her concerns. "As I said before, it's just bricks and plaster and things, not people."

  We all blinked at her. I'd wager nobody could believe their ears. When I'd first met Sylvia, she wouldn't have entertained the notion of losing her home. She was somewhat selfish, and liked her comforts and the status the house gave her. It would seem she'd changed.

  "I'll speak with Jack upon his return," Langley said.

  I shot to my feet, grabbing the book and its carry sack as it slipped off my lap. "No! Stop this talk at once. You can't go destroying portals and changing the way things are and have always been. It's madness! You don't know what the repercussions will be."

  "Cara, calm yourself," Sylvia soothed.

  "Not until you've given me an assurance that you won't destroy the portal, or the book, or…or anything!" I heard the rising panic in my voice, and I tried hard to swallow it, but couldn't.

  "I know this is about Quin—"

  "It's not! It's about not interfering with things we don't fully understand." But she and I both knew that wasn't entirely true.

  His hand closed around mine. "Do you want to leave?"

  I shook my head and plopped back down in my chair. Sylvia was my friend and I wouldn't allow this to come between us, nor would I insult her by storming out of her dining room like a petulant child. Perhaps we could discuss it again when we had both calmed down.

  I forced myself to eat, although I was merely going through the motions and hardly tasted the food. The conversation turned to safer topics. It seemed Sylvia had read her mail before coming into the dining room. Jack and Hannah had written to say they would be arriving home within the week, paving the way for Sylvia to set a date for the ball. She settled on three weeks hence.