The Girl in the Steel Corset

by Kady Cross

  “Advances?”

  Finley sighed, part of her wanting to reach out and slap the man for being so dense. “He tried to force himself upon me. Apparently he made quite a habit of it amongst the younger servant girls.”

  Constable Jones frowned. “Why did you not report this injury, Miss Jayne?”

  She snorted, drawing a censorious look from Lady Marsden. “Begging your pardon, Constable Jones, but you and I both know that the police would have done nothing against a peer of the realm and I would have been turned out without so much as a reference.”

  “I doubt very much running away will serve you well, either, miss.”

  Finley smiled at him. “It got me here, didn’t it?” Dear God, what was she saying? She felt perfectly normal and yet her other self was awake—and talking.

  The constable looked so surprised by her statement that he was momentarily speechless. This was when Griffin finally joined the conversation. And it was about bloody time. “Really, Constable. I respect that you have a job to do, but surely you can see that Miss Jayne has no knowledge of your reason for calling upon her today. A girl her size would be no match for Lord Felix, I’m sure you would agree.”

  The officer seemed to mull this as he watched Finley. Finley looked away from him for a moment to stare at Griffin, who now had a strange glint in his eye. She wondered just how far he would go to protect her—and why he would bother. Then she returned her gaze to Jones. “What is your reason for calling upon me, sir?”

  Constable Jones sighed. “It will be in all the papers by tomorrow. Lord Felix August-Raynes was found dead this morning. He was murdered.”

  Griffin watched as the color drained completely from Finley’s face. For a moment he’d feared that her “other” self might make an appearance given the earlier change in her demeanor, but now she just looked shocked.

  “How?” she asked.

  Constable Jones didn’t look surprised that she asked, which meant that he didn’t really consider her a suspect—at least he didn’t anymore. There was no faking such terrible surprise as Finley’s. “He was strangled,” the Peeler replied.

  Finley pressed a hand to her mouth. It was a good thing she was a girl, and that Jones knew nothing about her past, otherwise he might not be so quick to scratch her—and her bruised knuckles—off his list of possible culprits.

  Griffin didn’t know whether to scratch her off his list, either. Oh, he believed her shock, but that didn’t mean she was completely innocent. She might have been so completely taken over by her darker nature that she didn’t remember. She had been out late last night and he had no idea where she’d been or what she’d been doing. He didn’t want to believe her capable of such violence, but the simple truth was that she was not a normal girl and she was very capable of killing a full-grown man should she put her mind to it.

  Regardless, he had made up his mind to help her as best he could, and that meant protecting her as he would any of his friends. If she had harmed Lord Felix, it wasn’t her fault.

  It was his father’s, and—by primogeniture—his, as well. The reminder drove him to action. He rose to his feet, officially put an end to the interview. “Constable, if you’re done I think Miss Jayne needs time to recover from this terrible news.”

  The officer gave Griffin a bland glance, obviously accustomed to being brushed aside by rich and powerful men who rose and dismissed him before he was ready. “Of course, Your Grace.” He tucked his notebook inside his coat and stood.

  “Thank you for your time, Your Grace, Lady Marsden, Miss Jayne.” Jones bowed. “I’ll show myself out.”

  Griffin remained by the desk for a few minutes, watching Finley, waiting until he knew the three of them were truly alone before crossing the plush rugs to close the study door.

  The police had only been in his home twice, once after the death of his parents and now. He didn’t like his home or his people being looked at by Scotland Yard. Not even Sam’s attack had brought the law into this house. Part of him was a little angry at Finley for calling attention to him. People would talk about this. Society would be abuzz, wondering what the Peelers were doing at the Duke of Greythorne’s.

  He turned and looked at the girl sitting in front of him. This wasn’t about him. He was a bloody duke and could tell the world to go to the devil if he wanted. In fact, he was above the law in most circles. He had nothing to fear except a few whispers, which would blow over when another scandal erupted.

  “Finley,” he said. “Are you all right?”

  “Isn’t there another question you should ask her?” Aunt Cordelia prompted from the sofa where she’d been sitting quietly up until now. “Such as whether or not she killed that boy?”

  Finley’s head lifted. Wide eyes turned to his. “I don’t know what I did last night. I don’t remember anything.”

  Bloody hell. Griff ran a hand through his hair. It was as he feared. “Nothing?”

  She shook her head, little tendrils of hair brushing her cheeks. Had she always had that bit of black in her hair? “Nothing.”

  “Wonderful,” Cordelia muttered.

  Griff shot his aunt a sharp look. “She didn’t do it.” He believed it. He had to.

  Cordelia returned the expression, mouth tight. “She’s capable of it. You thought so yourself.”

  Finley flinched and Griff swore under his breath. “She is physically strong enough to do it. That’s a far cry from having the moral flexibility to snuff out a life. And stay the hell out of my head.”

  His aunt rose from the sofa. “Enough of this debate. If you won’t take control of this situation, I will.”

  Griff wasn’t sure what she meant until he heard Finley make a low noise. His head whipped around. She was sitting in the chair in front of his desk, her head in her hands, an expression of pain on her face.

  “Stop it,” she pleaded. “Please stop.”

  His attention jerked to his aunt, who was staring at Finley with such intensity she looked positively frightening. A trickle of blood slowly slipped from her right nostril.

  “Cordelia.”

  Finley moaned. Her eyes were squeezed shut now as she leaned forward. She was on the edge of the chair, looking as though she might slump to the floor at any moment.

  “Delia!” He grabbed his aunt’s arm, but she didn’t seem to notice. She kept her gaze fastened on Finley. Blood trickled from her nose, and slowly ran down her chin to drip on the front of her gown. She was too deep into Finley’s head—determined to get past the girl’s barriers even at the cost of her own well-being.

  Any force against Cordelia might do real damage to his aunt’s mind. The connection had to be broken at the focal point, which was Finley, who was on the floor now, kneeling in a silent scream.

  Griff swore again. He knelt beside Finley and put his hand around the back of her neck. She didn’t even seem to notice his touch, she simply continued to suffer, in so much distress not even her other nature could overcome this attack. All of her energy was directed at keeping Cordelia out as instinct demanded, when it could all be over so quickly if she just let his aunt in.

  “Finley?” he said softly. “Sweetheart, can you hear me?”

  Nothing.

  He took a deep breath and focused inward. Summoning up his determination, Griffin concentrated very carefully. He had never done this before, but it was the only solution he could think of with both of them so far beyond his reach in this realm.

  It was like opening a window and letting the wind in. The Aether welcomed him with the spiritual equivalent of open arms. Power rushed to meet him, so potent he could taste it. He resisted the urge to let it fill him completely, closing his eyes and allowing himself to see Finley with his inner sight. On the Aetheric plane she was awash in pain, but the strength of her soul was undeniable. Her power glowed around her in a dual aura—one for each separate side of her personality. Those auras would have to merge into one for her to ever have any peace. At this moment the darker aura was the more powe
rful, pulsating under the strength of Cordelia’s psychic attack. His aunt was a powerful telepath—and determined. She would not give up until Finley let her in—a moment that very well might come too late for either of them. She wouldn’t give up because she thought Finley was a threat to him, and despite being cocky about her abilities, Aunt Cordelia would give her life to protect him. As much as he loved her for it, it was bloody inconvenient at the moment.

  Fortunately, mediums, spiritualists and telepaths like his aunt operated within the Aether. He could see and sense them in the Aether—like the ghosts they sought. Only, they pulsed with life, while ghosts did not.

  But ghosts weren’t what he needed to think about right now, and he ignored those who “tugged” at his sleeve in this strange world behind the world.

  Griffin turned his attention to the connection between the two women, fixating on the stream of undulating power between his aunt and Finley. It bathed them both in an iridescent light, covering them, joining them. He reached out, concentrating on the Aetheric stream. His free arm went around Finley as he tried to bend the energy to his will. Cordelia’s power didn’t want to let go, and if it was forced, his aunt would be struck by Finley’s. There was only one other solution.

  His heart skipped a beat—just one—before he recaptured his calm. If he lost control now there was no telling what the Aether would do to him. Once, it had sucked him in and kept him for a full day. It had taken him three to recover from the experience. And left him with several white hairs, which he’d promptly plucked from his head. That was when he’d learned there was a price to pay for being able to touch the Aether.

  He moved the chair so he could kneel beside Finley and wrap both arms around her. She was warm against his chest, trembling as her mind fought against Cordelia’s intrusion. His concentration deepened as he drew the energy pushing against her—and emanating from her—into himself. Slowly, he took control of the Aether, pulling it away from Finley to focus instead on him. Once he had it, all he had to do was hold it. It tried to dance away from him but he held fast. The energy whirled around him, filling him. It was so much.

  When Cordelia’s mind seemed to realize the connection between it and Finley had been broken, it stopped pushing. Like an elastic band pulled so taut it snapped, the energy flew into him, hitting him with a force that sent both him and Finley to the floor.

  Griffin barely managed to catch the girl, still bombarded by Aetheric energy. With his guard now so lowered, the Aether rushed at him. Spirits—that’s how the strange beings here had always seemed to him—crowded around him, a million voices talking at once. Some were crying, others shouting—some were just whispers.

  The energy filled him, like a crashing tide. Cordelia and Finley had exchanged so much energy that it was in constant motion. He had drained the power, but without direction it blew around inside him with hurricane force, trapped in one body rather than cycling between two. To the Aetheric plane he was a doorway, not just a mere window. And it wanted out.

  He struggled to his feet, barely aware of the two females lying unconscious on the floor. He had to get out of the house.

  French doors at the back of the room led out into the garden and he ran toward them. Power arced from his hands as he reached for the handle, sending the doors flying open without a touch.

  He leaped down the shallow stone steps to the garden, the frantic pounding inside him pushing him to run at full speed across the freshly cut grass. He stumbled but kept running, his vision beginning to blur. He could feel his scalp starting to stretch under the pressure.

  The Aether was tearing him apart.

  There was a pool in the garden—picturesque with statues and perfectly groomed topiaries surrounding it. That was his destination. Just another forty feet—water would fix this.

  He almost stumbled again. He was running out of time. His skull felt as though it was about to crack.

  Almost there.

  His feet ate up the distance. He could see the edge of the pool now, blurred and multiplied. Colors danced before his eyes.

  As his boots hit the stone edge, Griffin launched himself. He flew through the air, falling now. God, he hoped he’d calculated correctly. If he hit the ground…

  He hit the water, the shock of it hitting him like a cold boot to the chest. His mouth opened, water drowning his shout as the Aether forced its way out. He let it go.

  Then everything went black.

  Chapter 9

  It was the explosion that woke Finley up.

  Groggily, she used the desk to pull herself to her knees and then to her feet. Her head felt as though it had been kicked repeatedly, such was the pounding in it. A few feet away, Lady Marsden was also coming around. Blood covered the older woman’s face. Slowly, she began to sit up, her gaze quickly scanning the room as she dabbed her nose with the back of her hand. She looked at Finley, her eyes wide.

  “Griffin.”

  Finley didn’t think, she simply reacted. She knew the ferocious noise she’d heard had to do with Griffin, just as she knew he’d run out through the garden doors. The shattered glass from the panes in the doors lay scattered across the wet stone steps.

  The entire garden looked as though it had been heavily rained on, despite the sun shining in the sky. Fog clung to the ground at the far end of the lawn, where the pool was. That’s where Finley ran, despite that every time her feet struck ground the pain in her head made her want to vomit.

  As she reached the pool, she realized it wasn’t fog curling around the wet grass. Fog wasn’t hot—steam was. It burned her as she walked through it to stand on the stone edge.

  There was no more than two inches of water left in the entire pool, and there, lying in the middle of it, was a sopping-wet Griffin, steam pouring off him like a teakettle at full boil.

  “Griffin!”

  Heedless of her boots or her own safety, Finley jumped into the pool, hot water splashing her legs, burning her skin through her stockings. She hissed in pain, but ran to Griffin’s side.

  “Griffin?” She crouched next to him, tentatively reached out and touched his dripping hair as he pushed himself to his knees.

  He didn’t lift his head, but his mouth curved into a smile. “Finley.” His voice was a raw rasp, as though the heat that emanated from him had burned his throat, as well. “You’re all right.”

  Realization hit her hard—he had stopped his aunt’s intrusion into her mind, and this was the result of whatever he’d done. For her. She could have kissed him right then, if she hadn’t thought his lips might blister hers.

  Lifting his arm, she placed it over her shoulders, gritting her teeth against the fiery sting as water seeped through her clothes. Her other self rose up just a bit and she allowed it, taking the edge off the pain.

  “Can you stand?” she asked, putting her arm around his waist.

  He nodded. Together they stood. Finley could feel the tremor in Griff’s body as he stood. He couldn’t support his own weight at all, the stubborn liar. She bent down and put her other arm beneath his knees, sweeping him off his feet into her arms, carrying him like a child toward the top side of the pool.

  “Finley,” he said.

  “Yes, Griffin?”

  “Put me down, please.” There was laughter in his voice.

  She looked at him. Their faces were so close she really could kiss him if she wanted. He had quite nice lips, and right now they were smiling at her. “Please,” he said again. “As nice as this is, I refuse to be carried into my own home by a girl who weighs a good three stone less than I.”

  Heat that had nothing to do with the steam filled her cheeks. “Sorry.” But she didn’t set him on his feet until they were out of the pool, then she let his legs down, but she continued to support him with an arm around his waist, his over her shoulders. His male pride obviously did not mind leaning on a girl three stone lighter than he.

  “What happened?” she asked as they moved slowly toward the house. The steam seemed to be less
ening, no longer rolling along the grass.

  He sighed. “Simply, I went into the Aetheric plane and absorbed the energy flowing between you and Aunt Cordelia to disconnect your psychic connection. The water helps to disperse the excess, so I jumped in the pool.” He glanced over his shoulder. “I shall have to refill it.”

  “You pay people to do that for you,” she reminded him a little sharply. “And you shouldn’t have put yourself in that kind of danger for me.”

  He glanced at her out of the corner of his eye—she knew this because she was doing the same to him. “If not for you, then for whom?” he asked softly.

  Finley looked away. “Thank you,” she mumbled. Of course he might have done it to save his aunt, but he had done it for her, as well. No one had ever done anything like that for her.

  “This might not be the best time to bring this up,” he remarked as they neared the house. “But did you happen to notice when you picked me up whether or not your ‘other’ side was in attendance?”

  Finley stopped, forcing him to, as well. She was so astounded that she could neither move nor speak for a good few seconds. Then she turned to him. “I don’t know. I felt it earlier. I let it take away the pain, but then…” She stared at him. “But I couldn’t have been so strong without it.”

  Griffin grinned, flashing straight white teeth as water trickled down his face from his hair. His cheeks were flushed, making his eyes seem all the brighter. “You controlled it.”

  She stood there, looking at him with wonder. She had controlled it. Not simply fought it until it went away, but honest to goodness used it and made it work for her! She didn’t know how she’d done it—only that her thoughts had been on Griffin not herself. But if she could do it once, surely she could do it again?

  They began walking again. Griffin’s steps were stronger now, though he didn’t remove his arm from her shoulders, nor did she take hers away from his waist. Despite the discomfort from the burns, she liked this contact.