“I’ll go to the kitchens,” Mina said, “and see what the mood is. They might be more likely to talk with me.”
Stephen nodded, frowning, then stepped toward her with inhuman speed and put a hand under her chin. Immediately, Mina’s blood began to heat, her heart to race. His lips were close, his strong body closer, and she found that she wasn’t as weary as she’d thought.
His thumb brushed over her cheekbone. “I’d make the same offer to you, you know. You’d get the hundred pounds and a good character—I wouldna’ bind you here, not when it’s so dangerous. Not when you were nearly killed.”
“I hear danger’s good for the mind,” Mina said, trying to breathe steadily.
Stephen’s other hand clenched on her shoulder. “Mina—”
“Besides, I can’t leave now, can I? Not without making a big hole in your wards.”
“When Colin’s well enough, we can reset them,” said Stephen. He sighed and stepped back, and the air seemed very cold in his absence. “Until then—I feel the worst sort of cad, draggin’ you intae this as I’ve done.”
“You didn’t drag me,” said Mina. A dozen questions came to her mind, questions for which this was neither the time nor the place. In the face of Stephen’s guilt, she might not have trusted the answers anyhow. She turned away. “I’d better go and talk to the others.”
***
When Mina reached the kitchen, Mrs. Baldwin was pouring out tea for herself, Polly, and Emily. “Hennings is upstairs,” she said when Mina came in. “Packing.”
“I don’t blame her,” Polly said. “Especially with her knee the way it is. If I couldn’t run, I’d be out of here like a shot,” she added, heedless of any contradictions in her speech.
“But, since your knees are fine…” Mina replied, with a questioning look at the housemaid.
“Oh, I wouldn’t leave now for the world,” said Polly, and gave Mina a daredevil grin. “I’ve been in service three years, and I haven’t seen anythingnearthis exciting anyplace else.”
“You call that thing at the door exciting?” Mrs. Baldwin said, shaking her head. “I can well live without that sort of thrill, that’s certain enough, and so can anyone of any sense.”
Polly’s eyes flashed. “People die in this city every day, you know. Typhoid’s as deadly as boogeymen, and a blasted sight less interesting. Besides, I don’t see you upstairs folding your petticoats.”
“I’ve been with his lairdship for many years,” said Mrs. Baldwin stiffly, “and with his family for longer, and they’ve always treated us very well indeed. There’s such a thing as loyalty. But I don’t think any of this horror is some sort of seaside attraction.”
“She’s right, you know,” said Mina, looking at Polly and Emily. “We were lucky this time.”
“And you’ll have fixed the…protections…by next time, his lordship said,” Polly shot back. “So it’s even odds, isn’t it?”
“What about you?” Mina asked Emily, giving up on convincing Polly.
The younger girl looked down and bit her lip. “I don’t know,” she said finally. “I’d miss it here, that’s sure, and I don’t know as another place would be better—um, other than the creatures, that is. But—”
“How old are you, lass?” Mrs. Baldwin asked.
“Fifteen.”
“And have you family about?”
“My father, in Leyton.”
“Then you’ll go and see him for a month. I’ve no doubt he’ll be glad to see you, wi’ your wages and all. You’ll come back after, if you’d like. One way or another, we’ll know a good deal more by then.”
“Oh—” Emily looked up, her face caught between delight and reluctance. “I’m not sure I should—”
“I am,” said Mrs. Baldwin. “And if I go to his lairdship, he’ll be too. We’ll not have a child here at a time like this. I’d not sleep at nights if we did. Go and pack your things.” She sent Emily on her way with a firm pat on the back, and turned to Mina and Polly. “Well, then. There’s the three of us, it seems.”
“Unless Miss Seymour wants to go,” said Polly.
“I don’t,” said Mina, which was more or less accurate. She was past being dismayed by that thought now.
“No, I thought you wouldn’t,” said Polly. “But you’re not one of them, are you? Not properly—you’re from Bethnal Green. I’ve heard from your letters.”
