“Can you, now?” Stephen asked, amused.
“Can once this stuff wears off. Stop grinnin’ like that. Unbecomin’ to a man of your years.”
“I’ll take that under advisement,” said Stephen. “And if you think that your mind is valuable, perhaps you can continue to tell us why the wards failed. What’s wrong with me and Mina?”
“Oh, that.” Colin tried to wave his broken arm dismissively, swore, and shook his head. “What?”
“The wards?”
“Maybe we should wait,” Mina said. “He’s not thinking clearly right now.”
“I’m thinkin’ very clear, thankyouverymush. The wards are ver’ simple, really. You two are linked to ’em. And to each other. When you’re both here or you’re both out, ’sallright. You’re both…one thing. Coherent.”
“More than I could say for you at the moment,” said Stephen.
“Hush. When one of you is in the house and one’s outside, the wards get confused. Stretched. Things get in through the stretched bit. Is that all? I’ve things to do.”
“Sleep being first on the list, I’d think,” said Mina, shaking her head. “We’ll think about the rest of this later—and we’ll need to decide what to tell everyone else,” she added, looking to Stephen. “Meanwhile, I think I can take his feet if you can keep his shoulders fairly still.”
“You don’t have to do that,” Stephen said. “I’ll ring for Baldwin.”
“Baldwin’s got quite enough to cope with right now,” said Mina. “So do the rest. I promise I won’t let him drop, if that’s what you’re concerned about.”
“It’s not,” said Stephen, moving to take hold of his brother’s shoulders. He couldn’t have said what reallywasbothering him, though—or perhaps he just didn’t want to.
Thirty-four
In the ballroom, the servants stood quietly assembled, uniforms cleaned and pressed, backs straight, hands clasped in front of them. That was the way you presented yourself to your employer. It also made Mina wince with guilt, and she was relieved to see a similar expression on Stephen’s face. Nobody in front of them had done anything to deserve this. Emily had done nothing to deserve that hellish half hour in the pantry, and neither she nor Stephen deserved such an expression of loyalty and professionalism.
Later, she would realize that she’d classed herself with Stephen, and neither her presumption nor her readiness to share his guilt would surprise her, though they would dismay her. For now, there was a task at hand.
“First of all,” Stephen said, “is everyone still all right?”
Heads bobbed. “Yes, sir,” rose in a ragged chorus, valiant and not entirely true. Polly still looked gray around the lips; Baldwin’s hands twitched slightly; Emily might have been at any other reasonably solemn assembly. The resilience of youth, Mina thought. It was a wonderful thing in some respects.
“You know now,” Stephen began, “that I haven’t told you everything. I couldn’t, for you’d not have believed me until now. There’ll still be things I must conceal, for your sake and mine both, but I’ll explain what’s in my power.”
“The monsters,” said Mrs. Baldwin with an outward calm that itself spoke of inner turmoil. “Emily told us about them.”
“Aye,” said Stephen. “Miss Seymour told you that I’d an enemy, and that’s true enough. She didn’t say that the enemy had—has—some mystical powers. That he’s capable of sending things other than men after me.”
Nobody looked surprised, though a few people shifted and looked away, uncomfortable to hear Stephen put the situation into words so bluntly.
“I’ve some abilities of my own,” Stephen went on. “I’d set up my own protections on this house, and I had thought they’d work well enough to keep any such things away. I was wrong, and I am most sincerely sorry for that.”
The words hung in the still air. Polly swallowed hard. Mrs. Hennings closed her eyes for a second.
Stephen cleared his throat and looked over at Mina. Briefly, she wondered if he expected her to say anything—and she wondered what she would say—but he turned away again just as quickly and spoke once more. “I believe I know what went wrong. With Miss Seymour’s help and with my brother’s, we should be able to make the house safe from any further attacks.”
Both maids turned their eyes on Mina now: Emily wondering, Polly dubious.
“However,” Stephen took a long breath, “given the circumstances and the unforgivable risk I’ve placed you all in, I will quite understand if any of you wish to depart my service, either for the duration of this crisis or permanently. I’ll provide a month’s wages and a good character to anyone who wishes to leave, and I’ll be glad to take you back on afterward if you’d like.”
Clearly unable to help himself, he glanced for a moment at the Baldwins and then over at Mina again.
“You can speak with me privately about your decision, and you don’t have to make it just now. I’ll be here if you have any questions. Once again, you have my deepest apologies,” said Stephen, and he actually bowed.
It wasn’t a very courtly bow, particularly given the wounds he’d suffered, but the mere fact of a lord bowing to his servants drew a few gasps. After a moment of stunned silence, the servants bowed in response. They left in twos and threes, leaving Mina and Stephen alone once more.
