Vow of Deception

by C. J. Archer

  Vow of Deception

  Ministry of Curiosities, Book #9

  C.J. Archer

  C.J. Archer

  Copyright 2017 C.J. Archer

  Visit C.J. at http://cjarcher.com

  Created with Vellum

  Contents

  About VOW OF DECEPTION

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  A Message From The Author

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  Also by C.J. Archer

  About the Author

  About VOW OF DECEPTION

  With the wedding only days away, the Ministry is thrown into turmoil when another murder is committed by a shape-shifter. But this time the newspapers make the connection to werewolves - and the Ministry. Suddenly the attention is focused on Lichfield Towers and its residents as the police investigate and parliament wants to shut the organization down.

  It could spell the end of everything Charlie has come to love.

  As the authorities close in and ministry secrets are exposed, past allies can no longer be trusted. Can Charlie save her home, her loved ones, and herself? Or will she lose Lincoln and her friends forever?

  Chapter 1

  Hertfordshire, Summer 1890

  Frakingham House could have stepped out of a Gothic novel with its arched windows, abundance of turrets, and a vine creeping up one of the stone walls. If it weren't for the lake sparkling in the sunshine, and the lush green lawn, it would have looked grim. The house reminded me of Lichfield Towers but on a much larger scale.

  "So this is Freak House," Gus said, tipping his head back to squint up at the gabled roof.

  "Don't call it that to Mr. Langley's face," I warned, fixing a smile in place for the benefit of the approaching footmen. "We don't want to upset our host."

  Seth held out his hand to assist Alice from the hack that had driven us from the station. "Not before we get information, anyway."

  "Seth!" I hissed.

  He merely shrugged and turned a beaming smile upon Alice. She was too busy blinking owlishly at the handsome couple framed by the arch of the massive doorway to notice. The gentleman's dark good looks and impressive height certainly drew my gaze at first, but it was the woman's abundance of curly red hair that demanded more attention. That and her lovely blue eyes. They brightened when she smiled. So this was Mr. and Mrs. Langley, the couple Lincoln had met in Paris before he met me. Apparently Jack Langley was a fire starter and knew about demons and portals that led to other realms. Indeed, a portal was said to exist on the Frakingham grounds.

  "Welcome to Freak House," Hannah Langley said, taking her husband's arm.

  Gus tossed a smug look my way.

  Lincoln shook Mr. Langley's hand and bowed before Mrs. Langley. We exchanged introductions and insisted on calling one another by first names. It wasn't at all what I expected from the residents of such a grand country manor. Although I hadn't truly known what to expect. Lincoln had met most of my questions about the character of the Langleys with blank looks. He'd merely noted that Jack Langley had an investigative mind but could be overprotective of his wife. And apparently Hannah Langley had a courageous streak. Lincoln wasn't one for noticing whether a person was easy to talk to, kind, or amusing.

  "We don't stand on formality here," Hannah said as we headed inside. Her husband walked alongside her, his hand on her lower back.

  "Nor do we at Lichfield Towers," Seth said. "We all prefer it that way. Except for my mother. If it were up to her, I'd be head of the household and everyone else would be at my beck and call."

  "Actually Lady Vickers would prefer it if she were head of the household," Lincoln said with a straight face. I knew he was joking, of course, and Seth and Gus seemed to know it too, but Alice and the Langleys gave tight smiles. Lincoln really ought to learn to laugh or wink when he made a joke.

  "You mean she's not?" I said. "Someone really should inform her."

  Hannah laughed, turning her eyes even bluer. "The footmen will take your luggage up to your rooms. Would you like some time to yourselves before we take tea in the drawing room?"

  "No," Alice said at the same time that I said, "Yes, thank you."

  She and I exchanged glances. "Just a few minutes," I assured her.

  She was eager to learn as much as she could about herself from the Langleys. I hoped they had something to tell her. Alice had been restless of late. While usually composed and poised, I often found her at the piano giving the poor keys a pounding. She'd jumped at the offer to meet the Langleys after Lincoln received Jack's invitation last week. Two months ago, Jack had refused. I wondered why he'd changed his mind.

  "May I show you to your room, ladies?" Hannah said, indicating the stairs.

  We headed up the stone staircase, our footsteps deadened by the red carpet. The landing spread both left and right before more stairs ascended up and up. It would have been a cold entrance to the house if not for the summer sun streaming through the arched windows reaching high up the wall.

  The men went one way, led by a footman, and we went the other with Hannah. Jack remained downstairs, talking quietly to the butler.

  "I'm so glad you could come," Hannah said, lifting her skirts just enough so she didn't trip on them. Her gown was a lovely forest green and cream that complemented her hair and showed off her neat figure. "I think we can learn a lot from one another."

  "What changed Mr. Langley's mind?" I asked. "I mean, he wasn't all that keen to meet us. Lincoln gave up requesting an audience some time ago."

  "I happened."

  "I don't understand," Alice said.

  "Jack's worried that talking about the supernatural with people we don't know will invite danger to Frakingham. We've had quite our fair share of supernatural problems and we don't wish for any more, and we have a baby to protect now. But I knew Mr. Fitzroy—Lincoln—could be trusted when we met him in Paris. I convinced Jack to change his mind." Hannah smirked. "Sometimes husbands need to be reminded that their wives are not always delicate flowers. We don't all faint at the sight of paranormal activity."

  "Quite true," I said. "Although I think Lincoln knows that about me. Seth, on the other hand…"

  Alice stiffened. "Why are you looking at me, Charlie?"

  "I…er…no reason."

  We arrived at the room Alice and I were to share for the night. Hannah made sure the maids had set it up and the footmen had deposited our luggage before leaving us to change out of our traveling clothes into something prettier. Hannah had offered the use of a maid, since we'd not brought one, but we declined.

  "What do you think of this house?" I asked Alice as I removed my jacket.

  "It's quite forbidding on the outside, but I like it." She unpinned her hat and carefully placed the pin on the dressing table. "The abbey ruins down by the lake give it quite a spine-tingling feel, though."

  "I thought the ruins added to the charm. Imagine being here in the midst of a storm with lightning cracking over the roof and black clouds closing in. What a commanding sight that must be. I can see why the locals call it Freak House." At her silence, I glanced up from my cuff buttons to see her staring at me.

  "You have an appreciation for the dramatic," she said.

  "It must be because I raise the dead. Although this place does tend to make one think of dark, stormy nights."

  "And Lichf
ield doesn't?"

  "Of course not. Lichfield is quite homely if one doesn't venture down into the dungeon."

  She laughed. "Or the tower prison."

  "It's not a prison anymore," I shot back. "Not until we capture something or someone worth imprisoning, that is. Now, stop disparaging my home and help me with this gown. It does up at the back."

  Alice's cool, nimble fingers quickly had me out of the bodice. I put on my pale blue dress with the white trim and waist sash. Alice changed into a yellow gown embroidered with orange flowers. It was quite the thing this summer according to the latest edition of The Young Ladies Journal. Alice had brought it to Hertfordshire with her, after having it made last year before being sent to the School for Wayward Girls in Yorkshire. She was always ahead when it came to fashion. I, however, didn't care a whit for it. Sometimes I dreamed of leaving the house dressed in my training outfit of loose trousers and man's shirt. The sensation I would create was as much of a lure as the comfort.

  We finished dressing and tugged on the bell pull. A moment later, a maid arrived to escort us to the drawing room. We passed through a maze of rooms and traversed staircases and galleries lined with gilt-framed paintings. I half expected the eyes of the men and women depicted in the gloomy portraits to follow me.

  A flash of movement up the stairwell had me pausing mid-step. I caught sight of a very tall man with dark hair receding into a widow's peak. From his deathly pale face, I'd say he was a ghost that hadn't yet crossed to his afterlife, but the figure was gone from sight before I could get a proper look. Alice did not react.

  The maid directed us into the drawing room, a large airy space filled with sturdy furniture and thick brocade curtains. Delicate china had been set out along with sandwiches and cake. The others stood upon our entry, and Hannah welcomed us. Jack asked the maid to leave and shut the door behind her. Alice twitched at the click of the latch.

  Seth took her hand and directed her to sit with him on the sofa. He smiled gently and spoke quietly to her, as one would an elderly aunt. She nodded at whatever he said and seemed to buck up, although her fingers wouldn't stay still in her lap.

  I sat on one of the other sofas and Lincoln joined me. "Have you noticed any hidden passages from your room?" he whispered.

  I stared at him. "Honestly, Lincoln, only you would ask a question like that. No, I haven't found one."

  "But you'll look?"

  "Why? Planning to visit my room tonight and ravish me?"

  "Only you would ask a question like that," he quipped.

  I smiled and he smiled back—sort of. "You'd better behave yourself or the resident ghost might report you to the master of the house," I said.

  "Ghost?" Gus echoed, proving we weren't being as quiet as we thought.

  "What ghost?" Jack asked.

  Hannah paused in pouring the tea and glanced at Gus. "There are no ghosts here. Cara and Emily have assured us."

  "Mediums?" Lincoln asked.

  Hannah nodded and continued pouring the tea. "And good friends, although we don't see them as often as we'd like. They live in London. Jack?"

  She didn't have to say anything further. Jack seemed to know that she wanted him to hand out the teacups.

  "Who thinks they saw a ghost?" he asked Gus.

  Gus took great interest in the Oriental decorations on his teacup. "I must have misheard."

  "I did," I piped up.

  I felt rather than heard Lincoln groan beside me.

  "You're a medium?" Hannah asked. Apparently mediums were so common to her that it didn't even warrant a glance in my direction.

  "I'm a necromancer."

  That got more of a reaction. She set down the teapot and studied me intently. Her husband handed me a cup and saucer but did not let it go immediately as he too eyed me.

  Seth gave a slight shake of his head, warning me not to say too much. But Lincoln said nothing. He was leaving it up to me to tell the Langleys whatever I wanted about myself. I wondered what self-control it cost him to remain quiet.

  "It's all right," I said. "I promise not to raise any bodies while I'm here."

  Jack released the saucer. "We appreciate it."

  "Anyway, it may not have been a ghost." I described the man I'd seen on the stairs.

  "That's Mr. Bollard, Jack's uncle's friend," Hannah said. "He can seem rather ghostly at first but he's quite the gentle giant. And alive."

  "Will we meet Mr. Langley, your uncle?" Lincoln asked.

  "I doubt it," Jack said, taking a seat near his wife. "He doesn't like visitors."

  "I hear he's brilliant. I'd like to discuss his pathology research."

  "It's complicated, and he doesn't like explaining his theories and experiments to laymen. I'm sorry, but that's just the way he is."

  I spoke up before Lincoln said something cutting. "He wouldn't have to explain much to Lincoln. He was tutored by a physician when he was younger and has quite a thorough knowledge of all medical and scientific things."

  "That may be so," Jack said. "But my uncle prefers not to meet strangers. He has a low tolerance for people he doesn't know well. I hope you understand."

  "Oh, I do," I muttered, keeping my gaze averted from Lincoln.

  Alice cleared her throat and dropped her teacup heavily onto the saucer. "To the matter at hand," she began crisply. "Tell us what you know about portals, Jack. Lincoln says you have one here that leads to the demon realm."

  "Perhaps we should discuss that after tea," Seth said quickly. "We ought to get to know one another first."

  Alice didn't seem to care about manners or the proper order of things. It was most unlike her. But I did understand. We'd come all this way to Hertfordshire so she could learn more about herself. Idle chit chat didn't interest her. I knew it didn't interest Lincoln either.

  "It's all right," Hannah said, passing the plate of cakes to me. "We don't mind discussing it now. The only problem is, where to start?"

  "Start with the portal," Lincoln said. "Where is it?"

  "Down by the abbey ruins." Jack told us about the ancient abbey that had once stood on the site. The abbots had been guardians of the portal and of the book of spells in their possession. When the abbey was destroyed, only one page was saved—the page that told how to open and close the portal.

  "What's beyond the portal?" Seth asked.

  "Wonderland," Alice murmured.

  Everyone looked at her. "What is Wonderland?" Hannah asked.

  Alice shook her head. "It's a place. I…I'm not entirely sure where."

  "Another realm?" Jack asked. But Alice had no answer for him. "It's likely," he went on. "There are many realms, apparently, although I suspect the shape shifting one is closest, as they appear to be the most common supernaturals here. The portal is our doorway to those realms."

  "May we see the portal?" Gus asked.

  "There's nothing to see," Jack said. "It looks quite normal until it's opened. And no, I won't open it for you."

  "Where's the page with the spell kept?" Lincoln asked.

  "Somewhere no one can find it. We're the guardians now, along with our friends."

  "Is it wise for others to know about it?"

  "I trust them," Jack said icily.

  Lincoln's eyes narrowed ever so slightly. "You can trust me, too."

  "Not yet."

  "Tell us about the ministry," Hannah cut in before an argument erupted. "It's a secret organization, is it not?"

  "Not all that secret," Gus said. "You'd be surprised how many know about us."

  Seth told them about the ministry's function and some of the supernatural problems we'd faced in recent times. He told them about the records of supernatural bloodlines that we kept and how the committee had acted as guardians through the centuries when the ministry lay dormant.

  "So you have people you trust too," Jack said to Lincoln.

  "I only trust Charlie," Lincoln said flatly.

  "And us." Seth waited for Lincoln to agree. When he didn't, he added, "He do
es trust Gus and me, he just doesn't like admitting it. He considers it a weakness."

  Lincoln shot him a flinty glare. "Have you traveled to any of the realms through the portal, Langley?"

  Jack nodded. "Just one. It was much like our world. A friend of ours is somewhat more knowledgeable about other realms than we are, however."

  "Why?"

  "You'd have to ask him that."

  "He's not here," Lincoln said. "I'm asking you."

  "His story is not ours to tell," Hannah said, handing a plate to Lincoln. "Cake?"

  He took the plate but did not eat the cake. Perhaps I could sneak it onto my plate and no one would notice.

  Jack set down his plate, his slice of cake also going uneaten. What was wrong with these men? The cake was delicious. "Your letter mentioned that you think Alice might be a portal," he said to Lincoln. "How can that be? She's a person."

  "A seer called her a door to other realms," Lincoln said.

  I expected Seth to clarify that the seer had been Lincoln's own mother, but he did not. It was just as well. I doubted Lincoln wanted the Langleys to know he was also a seer, although a less powerful one than Leisl.

  "Alice has dreams that sometimes become real," Lincoln went on.

  "When I'm upset or frustrated, mostly," Alice added.

  "Become real?" Jack hedged. "In what sense?"

  "In the sense that the objects and beings from her dreams exist outside of her dreams," Lincoln said. "They have physical form. They can touch and be touched. They are, in every essence, present in our time and space."

  "Remarkable," Hannah said on breath.

  "We suspect the dreams are a conduit between this realm and another, and Alice is the portal."