“I beg your pardon,” said Cassie.
“Come here, Lady Darkford,” Mr. Fortesque commanded.
Cassie found herself wanting to obey him. She would have pulled her hand free from Lakehurst’s arm, but he caught her hand and held it in place.
“I—” She shook her head and closed her eyes briefly as if that could help clear the muddle in her mind.
“Lord Lakehurst, let her go,” commanded Mr. Fortesque.
“No,” Lakehurst said.
Stillworth laughed. “You didn’t use enoughburundanga,Fortesque, you didn’t account for his size. You made a mistake. Imagine that, you making a mistake. The same mistake that got you kicked out of the East India Company and sent back to England. The same mistake you made with Darkford.”
“Shut up, Stillworth,” Mr. Fortesque snarled as he pulled a small, two-barreled revolver from his coat pocket.
Lakehurst gently pushed Cassie behind him.
“I should never have introduced you to Darkford,” Stillworth said.
Cassie thought she heard sincere regret in his voice. She peeked around Lakehurst’s broad chest, calmed by his even breathing, though she could feel how tense his muscles were under his jacket.
Mr. Fortesque’s mouth quirked up at the side. “But you did, and together we have started down a path I intend for us to finish!”
“And what path is that?” Lakehurst asked calmly, as if he were asking about the weather.
“I will have his power!” Fortesque declared.
“Power? Whose power?” Lakehurst asked.
“Our lord, Satan!” Fortesque proclaimed. “And Lady Darkford will give it to me,” he said.
“Satan!” Lakehurst repeated. “I’ve read ofburundangaorDevil’s Breath,as it is sometimes called, being used in devil worship rituals in South America, not India.”
“His disciples have spread the word worldwide of theDevil’s Breathand its uses,” Fortesque said smugly. “Lady Darkford, your marriage bed awaits,” he said, pointing to the stone altar.
“No!” she screamed.
Lakehurst held her behind him and urged her to walk backward to put distance between them and Fortesque.
“You’re too late, Fortesque,” Stillworth said. “The drug has worn off. Just like it wore off Darkford.”
“Stillworth, how did you get involved with Mr. Fortesque?” Lakehurst asked as they inched backward.
Stillworth laughed. “Over mugs of ale. I told him my sad tale of being the rightful Marquess of Darkford. I am Darkford’s brother. Did you ever guess that, Lady Darkford? Richard told me he was my brother, and dear, helpful Uncle Edmund explained to me that his brother took Richard for his heir as his hair was blonder, though he was the second born. Imagine losing a title because of hair color.” Stillworth laughed again, harshly and a little hysterically.
“After hearing my sad tale, to cheer me up—Fortesque kindly said—he took me to an Indian gentlemen’s club that catered to gentlemen with boys. I am ashamed to say I indulged, and he has never let me forget that. I evendispatchedCarlyle on his orders when he discovered Carlyle could read lips.”
“I told you to shut up!” Fortesque yelled as he raised the gun and fired at Stillworth.
Cassie screamed as Stillworth crumbled to the floor, clutching his side. His lantern shattered on the stone floor, the oil mixing with the bat guano to whoosh the small lantern flame into a fire that followed the piles of excrement on the floor.
Panicked, Stillworth scrambled backward, then stood up, still clutching his side as he tried to escape the fire.
Lakehurst plowed into Fortesque as the man retook aim at Mr. Stillworth. The shot went wild as Lakehurst and Fortesque fell to the floor, and the torch Mr. Fortesque carried ignited the pile of dung the men lay in.
Cassie screamed. Fire ran across the floor, now jumping from pile to pile.
Lakehurst scrambled backward and pulled Fortesque with him, but the man’s coat had already caught fire.
