Streets flashed by in a blur as Elspeth dodged horse-drawn carts and pedestrians. She splashed through puddles and evaded dirty sprays of water thrown up by carriage wheels. She had no idea where she was going. She just wanted to get as far away as she possibly could.
Only when her vision blurred with tears did she stumble to a stop and cover her face with her hands on the corner of Bond Street.
Is this freedom?she thought, sobs pouring out in a paroxysm of giddy disbelief. Could she be rid of Laurent at last?
Her reprieve did not last long. “I have killed a human,” she whispered between her fingers.
ChapterTwenty-Seven
The rain continued, foiling their efforts. Kendrick turned up his collar and pulled his hat low as he left Fernside to coordinate with the searchers still on the hunt in other areas. Most of the search teams had relocated to Fernside as a base of operations, but a few had gone to ground during daylight elsewhere. They were still hunting for Laurent, though much hope that they would find him soon, or at all, had passed. He had gone several blocks and had just turned north on Regent Street when a figure stepped out of the shadows.
He checked the motion to reach for his sword when the figure fell to their knees, trembling.
“F-Forgive me, sire. I have k-killed a human. I submit myself to the king’s justice,” Elspeth forced out through chattering teeth.
“Elspeth,” Kendrick said. She flinched but steeled herself when he advanced on her.
“I h-have left Laurent,” she continued. “He made me inform him of what Genevieve was doing, but I tried—I tried not to tell him anything important! I can tell you where he bides—there is a house in Chelsea?—”
She swallowed the rest of her sentence when Kendrick went to one knee in front of her and placed his hands on her shoulders. “Are you well?” he asked. She looked wet to the skin.
She blinked at him uncomprehendingly. Kendrick could still see the brown trails where the rain had not managed to mop away old tears. “I have come t-to confess and place myself under the king’s justice. I have c-conspired with your enemy. Killing a human m-means death.”
“Are you sure you wouldn’t rather submit yourself to the king’s mercy?”
She gaped at him.
Kendrick gentled his voice. “You were commanded and manipulated against your well, Elspeth. While it is true that you did unlawfully kill and turn a human, you enabled Evangeline to come back to her family, unfettered by evil. I pardon you.”
“I-Itworked?” she whispered. “She’s woken up?”
“Yes.”
She hiccupped. “I just didn’t want what happened to me to happen to her… and then this evening… I don’t understand what happened. Laurent ordered me to do something, and there was no force behind it. No pain. I didn’t have to do it. So I ran.”
“What you did freed you both,” Kendrick assured her. “And I believe you will be far more cognizant of the responsibility you hold. Here is my sentence—you will come back with me to Fernside to teach, guide, and help Evangeline navigate this new world. Will you do it?”
Elspeth nodded, pressing a fist to her mouth. “Yes, of course, my liege.”
Kendrick stood and extended his hand. Trembling, Elspeth took it, and Kendrick lifted her to her feet. Then he kissed her on both cheeks. “You are a brave and honorable woman, Elspeth Gibbins.” He handed his handkerchief, and she wiped her tears away.
Elspeth walked back to Fernside beside Kendrick in silence, still reeling. A reprieve. Acquitted of the sin she had committed. And free—gloriouslyfree!—of Laurent. The persistent drizzle was like a cleansing rain straight from heaven for her soul.
The whole world felt changed, turned upside down. She did not know when it would turn aright. Did she even want it to?
As she and Kendrick approached Fernside, Elspeth looked up apprehensively at the door. But she did not have long to fret.
The front door flew open, a figure in a kilt backlit in the doorway.
Elspeth shrank back, shame and guilt strangling her. What must Robbie think of her? They all had to have heard what she had done. She reached up to pat her hair reflexively and realized her bonnet was gone. She had lost it somewhere between Chelsea and Mayfair. And her sodden hair was half tumbled down her back.
Kendrick whispered, “Courage.”
In the next moment, Robbie MacPherson leapt down all eight steps and landed agilely on his one leg. Elspeth gasped.
His crutch clattered to the pavement as he seized her by the shoulders, his eyes scanning her wildly. Then he crushed her into his embrace. Elspeth stared over his shoulder in shock as he clutched her to him. “Robbie…?”
“Elspeth, please forgive me for not seeing your suffering,” Robbie whispered. “I’m so sorry.”
