by C. J. Archer
"King's dead," Alice said. "So you've foiled whatever plans he was involved in."
"Yes," Lincoln said simply.
But it left me feeling uneasy, not knowing where to find this new pack. They may not have been behind King's duplicity, but they had the potential to be very dangerous. One murder might not be enough to satiate their appetites.
Leisl's home wasn't at all what I expected. It was nothing like the gypsy camp we'd visited at Mitcham Common back in the autumn. For one thing, she lived in a cottage, not a caravan, with a neat garden out the front. Little flowers poked their white bell shaped heads through the earth along the path leading from the gate to the front steps. Budding trees and shrubs promised more color in the weeks to come.
Leisl opened the door herself and, after a gasp of surprise, ushered us inside. "You are most welcome. All of you. Very welcome. Come in, come in." Her face creased into an uncertain smile and her gaze darted often to Lincoln but never lingered. As always, when I saw her, I marveled at the similarity of their eyes and strong features. On Lincoln, the sharp cheekbones were handsome, but they gave Leisl a more weathered appearance, as if time had worn the skin smooth there.
She led us into a small sitting room packed with furniture and knick-knacks. It reminded me of Lela's crowded van in Mitcham Common with its multi-colored rug and tasseled cushions in vivid hues. Nothing looked faded or dusty, and the room had a cozy feel. The fire's warmth welcomed us as much as Leisl's smile.
"Sit, sit." Leisl ushered us to the chairs just as a young woman entered, an apron over her blue and white checked dress.
The woman's dark brows lifted in question. "Mama?" So this was Leisl's daughter. She looked to be in her early twenties and bore the same striking cheekbones and eyes as her mother and half-brother. Her hair was as glossy black and wavy as Lincoln's. She wore it in a simple style, high on her head, unlike her mother who wore her gray locks loose.
"Eva, come." Leisl beckoned her closer. "This is Miss Holloway and Miss Everheart. And this is Mr. Fitzroy."
Eva's brow arched ever so slightly before lowering again. Her other features remained schooled, as did Lincoln's. "A pleasure to meet you, sir." She dipped into an unconvincing shallow curtsy.
"And you, Miss Cornell," he said stiffly.
"Call me Eva," she said, matching his tone. I couldn't tell if she intended to or if it was simply an inherited trait neither of them was aware of.
Lincoln nodded once. I resisted the urge to nudge him with my elbow and decided to rescue him instead.
"You must call us by our first names, too," I told her. "I'm Charlie, this is Alice, and he's Lincoln."
"It's an odd name," she said, not showing any surprise, however. It was likely she knew the explanation behind his name.
"I did not choose it," her mother said a little defensively. "Eva, bring tea and cakes."
Eva shot an appraising glance at Lincoln before leaving. She neither smiled nor frowned at him, merely taking in his appearance with clinical interest.
"Eva is a good girl," Leisl said. "She helps me keep house and is learning to be a nurse, too. She is busy and will become busier when she weds and has children."
"She's getting married?" I asked.
"She will after she meets him."
I almost choked on my laugh. I managed to turn it into a cough, although I doubted I convinced anyone. Leisl must have seen Eva's future husband in one of her visions.
"And is your son well?" I asked. "Your other son, I mean."
"David is a fine young man. I wish he was here for you to meet, but he is at the bank where he works. He is a clerk, but will rise higher." Again, the certainty. If only I could see the future like that.
"You have abandoned the gypsy life completely," Lincoln said. I thought it rather a rude comment, but perhaps, as her son, he could be forgiven.
"That life was hard and the general gave me this house and money to live." She was matter of fact about the compensation paid to her for giving birth to Lincoln and being abandoned by the Prince of Wales after their one night together.
Alice, however, looked quite uncomfortable, even though she knew the details surrounding Lincoln's existence. Her middle class prudery ran deep. Mine had been abruptly cut off when I was thirteen. Very little made me feel uncomfortable now.
"My husband was English man, not gypsy," Leisl went on. "He worked hard in a factory but did not bring home much. The general's money give my children a good education so they do not need to work in a factory like their father. I am grateful."
It sounded like she did not regret giving Lincoln up. I couldn't fathom it. If I had a child, I would fight for him or her, and no amount of money could compensate for my loss. But perhaps Leisl had always known her fate was to be the mother of the first man to lead the Ministry of Curiosities in centuries and she had made peace with that even before she'd met the prince at the fair.
Lincoln sat like a statue, his hands resting lightly on his thighs, no outward appearance that this meeting played havoc with his nerves. But I knew it did. He wouldn't have avoided visiting for so long if it was easy for him. "We came to ask you what you know about Alice," he said. "You called her a door."
"To other worlds, yes." Leisl's gaze settled on Alice. "I have not known of one like you before."
"But you recognized me as a door when you saw me," Alice said.
Leisl nodded. "I have heard stories."
"What is my purpose? Why am I like this?"
Leisl lifted one shoulder. "Why am I a seer? Why can Charlie raise the dead? We do not know. If there is purpose, the gods keep it to themselves."
"Tell us what you do know about Alice," Lincoln said. "And about other realms."
Eva returned carrying a tray that she set on the table. She poured the tea and, when her mother didn't respond to Lincoln's request, urged her to go on. "I must know these things too, Mama. Sooner or later, I need to learn about supernaturals. I'm a seer too," she told us. "I inherited my mother's abilities."
"Thank you for telling us," Lincoln said. "Charlie will create a file about you in our ministry archives. It's important that we catalog all supernaturals. The information will remain confidential."
"Very well. I will allow it."
"It wasn't a request."
"Thank you, Eva," I said quickly. "Your details will not be shared with anyone outside the three of us." I did not tell her that Gus and Seth had access to the files too. I didn't want her changing her mind.
"Tell me what being a door to other realms entails," Alice pressed. "People haven't really come from other places to here, only figments of my imagination. They only exist in my dreams and disappear when I wake. So how am I an actual door?"
Leisl accepted the teacup from her daughter. "It is not a real door, but a spirit one. They are spirits traveling here using your dreams. Your dreams are like a…like a coach or train. They bring the spirits here, but they can only enter through you, the door."
"Does it work the other way?" Lincoln asked.
"Yes," Alice said before Leisl could answer. She blinked at him over her teacup, her eyes huge. "I recall now. When I was very young, I had a dream about a strange land. I met some odd creatures, had some odd adventures, and then woke up. I haven't had that dream since, and I hadn’t connected it to the strange goings on that have occurred recently. Until now."
Leisl nodded. "Your spirit went there, and now their spirits come here."
"If it's merely spirits, why are we able to touch them?" I asked. "And they us?" The weapons used by the Queen of Hearts's army against us at the School for Wayward Girls had caused some very real damage. They would have captured Alice's physical person if they could. And Gus would swear on his life that the talking rabbit felt real enough.
"I do not know," Leisl said with a shrug. "Perhaps I am wrong. Perhaps it is more than the spirit that travels between worlds. It may be that the spirit becomes real because of you. Perhaps that is the true secret of the door." She shrugged agai
n. "My mother taught me this but she had never met a door before. You are special, Alice."
"I wish I weren't," she muttered into her teacup.
I laid a hand on her arm for reassurance. "You're not alone."
"If she is a door," Lincoln said, "then presumably the door can be opened or closed."
Alice's head snapped up and her bright eyes studied Lincoln and then Leisl. "Is it possible? Can I close the door and stop these dreams?"
"Doors do open and close," Leisl said. "Sometimes a key is needed."
"What my mother is trying to say, in her unique way," Eva said, shooting Leisl a warning look, "is that she doesn't know."
Leisl used her hands to gesture both agreement and apology. "I do not. This is for you to learn, Alice. Lincoln will help, no?"
"I want to get to the bottom of Alice's dreams as much as she does," he said.
"Perhaps not quite as much," Alice said. "You mentioned other realms before, in plural? Are there more than one?"
Leisl nodded. "I do not know the number. Perhaps no one does. It is not easy to move between realms and count."
"Only through people like me and my dreams."
"There are portals that are not human. Places that are special and open up to let demons from other—"
"Demons?" three female voices cried. Lincoln remained quiet.
"Creatures from other worlds are called demons," Leisl went on patiently. "You did not tell Alice this?" she asked Lincoln.
He hesitated then said, "I've heard only one other person call them demons. I didn't think it an adequate word, considering the negative connotations. Apparently not all demons should be feared or reviled."
My teacup began to rattle in the saucer. I put the set down, but could not shake the thought that had just occurred to me. But I couldn't question Lincoln about it here.
"So demons can come to our world through these portals," Eva said to her mother. "The real portals, not the spirit ones like Alice. Correct?"
Leisl nodded.
"Good lord," Alice said on a breath. "That's worrying."
"How do those portals open and close?" Eva asked. "Perhaps it can help us with Alice's problem." She was clever, like her half-brother. I could see in Lincoln's curious gaze that she intrigued him.
"I do not know," Leisl said.
"A complex spell is required to open and close it," Lincoln said, taking over the explanation.
"It?"
"I only know of one such portal."
Frakingham House. The portal must be there. It had to be linked to Jack Langley and his home. Langley was the only person Lincoln had questioned recently in relation to Alice's dreams. Why hadn't he told me? He'd let me believe he'd learned nothing of use.
"The guardians of the spell don't like anyone knowing about the spell or the portal," Lincoln said. "For obvious reasons."
"It could prove dangerous in the wrong hands," Eva agreed.
"You must tell me who these guardians are," Alice blurted out. Her color rose, and I thought she might leap across the space and shake Lincoln. "Perhaps the spell can be used to stop my dreams."
"It's doubtful," he said.
"Do you know for certain?"
"No. Nor do they."
"Then we must try."
"Speaking the spell could have untold consequences. I'm sorry, Alice, I can't allow it."
I took her hand in mine and squeezed hard, anchoring her to the sofa as much as offering comfort. At least now I understood why Lincoln hadn't wanted Alice to know about Frakingham. It was cruel to raise her hopes then dash them like this. He'd wanted to spare her the heartache. But why keep it from me?
"Is there anything else you can tell us?" Lincoln asked his mother.
She shook her head. "There is no need to rush off," she said, even though he hadn't made any move to get up. "Have cake."
He shook his head and rose. "We're very busy."
"Organizing a wedding?" Eva said with a tilt of her lips. "Mama told me congratulations are in order." She took my hands as I stood. "I'm very pleased to have met you, Charlie. I may not know my new brother very well yet, but I am glad that he has found happiness." She leaned in and kissed my cheek. "And Mama is very glad too," she whispered.
There were so many things I'd like to tell her about Lincoln, so many questions I'd like to ask her and Leisl, but I simply smiled and thanked her. Lincoln stood by the door, hands behind his back, waiting.
Eva walked us out to the carriage, but Leisl remained in the cottage. She looked small and too thin, and very much like a gypsy with her long gray hair hanging loose around her shoulders. I waved and she waved back.
"Your mother requires a housemaid," Lincoln said to Eva without looking at her. His gaze roamed the street, up and down, as if he were searching for something. "I'll make sure she receives more funds if you wish to hire someone."
"Our mother will not thank you," Eva said with an emphasis on 'our' that wasn't lost on anyone. "She thinks only the lazy need a maid. Apparently I am enough."
"And what do you say?" I asked.
"That I appreciate the offer and will gladly accept some help, particularly with the cooking. I'm quite hopeless at it, and it takes up so much time. I need to study."
"For nursing," Alice said with a nod. "What a wonderful vocation."
Eva gave her a tight smile. Her gaze raked up and down Alice's length through eyes that missed nothing. She suddenly blinked then folded her arms, as if warding off the cold. She looked away, her jaw tight.
Had she seen something in Alice's future? Something to fear or worry her? I couldn't tell and I dared not ask. I didn't want to make Alice aware of it too.
Lincoln opened the carriage door and held his hand out to me. "Do you have your imp?" he asked.
"Yes." I studied his face. "Why? What's wrong?"
"Someone followed us here and is perhaps waiting for us to leave. I sense them but can't see anyone. Hold the orb and be ready to speak the spell to release the imp if necessary."
His words sent my heart racing. I pulled the orb pendant out from beneath my bodice and held it tightly. It did not throb, however. I checked the vicinity but saw only a dozen or so people strolling along the street, all women and none acting suspiciously. A carriage rolled past as Lincoln guided me up the coach steps followed by Alice. The passing vehicle rolled on without stopping. It was empty.
At least now I knew why Lincoln had been distracted on the journey to Enfield. He wasn't ignoring me because of our kiss.
We traveled home in silence, all of us alert for someone following. With our attentions on the street outside, no one brought up the discussion with Leisl. Perhaps Alice didn't want to dwell on the fact that we'd learned so little. Even so, she must be disappointed.
"Anything?" I asked Lincoln as we approached the iron gates to Lichfield Towers.
"I can't see anyone," he said. "But I can sense something."
Alice and I exchanged glances. I didn't ask Lincoln to elaborate. It was likely he couldn't explain it anyway.
His head suddenly jerked as a flash of red appeared between the gaps in a hedge. Before I could take up a better position by the window, he opened the door.
I didn't have time to catch his sleeve before he leapt out. "Drive on!" he called as he landed on his feet and took off at a sprint. Thank God he was all right. Anyone else would have fallen.
Sunlight glinted off the blade he held in his hand. He must have pulled it from beneath his sleeve, where he often kept one strapped. There would be another on his lower leg. I prayed he wouldn't need to use them.
The coach slowed but didn't stop as we turned and headed through the gates. I pulled the door shut before turning to look back through the window. I gasped.
Lincoln ran along the road, chasing a figure dressed in the distinctive red and gold of the royal livery.
"I don't understand," I said, shaking my head.
"I don't either," Alice said, also watching. "Why is the queen's man running away fr
om Lincoln?"
"Why was the queen's man spying on us?"
Chapter 4
I pushed past Doyle when he opened the front door. "Gus! Seth!" My shout echoed around the broad entrance hall and spiraled up the stairwell.
They appeared moments later. "What is it?" Seth called down.
Cook approached from the rear of the house, a large carving knife in hand. "Charlie?"
"It's Lincoln," I said. "He's chasing someone along Hampstead Lane. We must help him."
"Pistols." Seth raced down the stairs and disappeared in the direction of the gun room.
A wide-eyed maid blinked after him until Doyle ordered her to hurry along. Seth returned moments later, loading a pistol, another tucked under his arm. He handed one to Gus, and they headed outside. Cook followed. He may not have a gun but he could throw a carving knife with precision.
I went to follow but stopped at the top of the steps. "Wait! There he is!"
Lincoln jogged along the drive at an easy pace. I let out a pent-up breath.
Alice looped her arm through mine, offering comfort without needing to say anything. Seth, Gus and Cook went to meet Lincoln, but I could see that he offered no answers to their questions.
"Well?" I asked when he reached me.
"Will I be met with this kind of welcoming party every time I return home?" he asked.
"Save your jokes for when I'm not so worried."
He clasped my hand and kissed it gently then led me inside. "My study," he said simply. "Immediately."
Whether he intended all of us to go wasn't clear. It would seem we all intended to hear what he had to say, however, including Cook. Seth and Gus handed their weapons to Doyle and asked him to disarm them before storing them safely, but Cook kept his knife with him. He rarely let anyone touch his knives. I was only allowed to handle them during throwing practice.
We filed into Lincoln's study and sitting room. Alice and I sat, but the men remained standing.
