Earlier surveillance had identified two separate patrols of guards to dissuade any would-be body snatchers. One group started at the eastern side of the cemetery, the other at the western edge, and they met in the middle, where the Anglican chapel and catacombs were located. Julianna’s plot was located closer to the east end, which meant a diversion was needed for the eastern patrol. Glory and Fiona had volunteered for the task.
That left the remaining group—Pippa, Charlie, Livy, Hadleigh, and Hadleigh’s friend Mr. Chen—to dig up Julianna’s grave. Even with many hands, the task would take time, especially since they needed to leave the plot looking undisturbed. Glory and Fiona’s decoy would only buy them so much time; if the eastern patrol failed to show up at the Anglican chapel, their western counterparts would surely come looking for them.
Charlie gathered them into a circle.
“Is everyone clear on the plan?” she whispered.
Like Pippa, she’d tied a dark scarf over her hair and was dressed head to toe in black. All the ladies wore trousers, their outfits designed by Mrs. Q to meet the demands of the mission.
The Duke of Hadleigh held up the pair of shovels he was carrying. “Dig up the grave. Don’t get caught. Am I missing anything?”
“Do not anger the spirits.” This came from Mr. Chen, an austerely handsome fellow with thick black hair and a lean, wiry build. “It is best to disturb the dead as little as possible.”
Glory shuddered; perched on her shoulder, her ferret mimicked her.
“Can wepleasenot speak of ghosts before we enter a graveyard?” she requested.
Chen gave her an amused look.
Charlie said, “Glory and Fi, keep the guards occupied as long as you can. We’ll meet back here in two hours. All right, everyone, let’s go.”
The men scaled over the high wrought-iron gate first, Chen doing so with a lightness of movement that made Pippa blink.
“How does he do that?” Glory said in hushed tones.
“Perhaps by not consuming two dozen of Gunter’s cakes?” Pippa replied wryly.
The Angels made it over easily enough. Glory and Fi went east to deal with the guards, and Pippa and Charlie led the way toward Lady Hastings’s grave. They didn’t risk lighting their lamps, relying on the moonlight. As Pippa traversed the pebbled walk lined with stone mausoleums and sarcophagi, her senses were on high alert, her muscles tensing at the scurrying of animals through the underbrush.
“Julianna’s site is in the next grove,” Charlie whispered.
As they neared the thick cluster of trees, Pippa drew to a halt. Voices were coming from within the grove. Heart thudding, she saw that Charlie was already drawing out a pistol; she did likewise. She strained to hear what was being said.
She heard two voices, male and female. The conversation was muffled.
Suddenly, the woman’s voice rang out. “You couldn’t leave well enough alone. Do it, Clive.”
A shot blasted through the night.
Pippa charged ahead, Charlie at her heels. They dashed along a leafy path, which widened into a circle of trees. Here, moonlight fell like a silver web over the gravestones. And caught in the gossamer strands of light was…Louis Wood? He lay on a pile of fresh earth, and he was gasping, clutching the dark bloom spreading over his chest.
Chen rushed over to examine the wound. “I can temporarily stanch the bleeding. But I need to get him someplace with the proper equipment to remove the bullet. Otherwise, he will not survive.”
Pippa crouched on the man’s other side. “Mr. Wood, who did this to you?”
“Stop her, can’t let her get away with…Julianna…” Wood’s gaze was glassy. “Has a brute with her…”
“Which way did they go?” Livy pointed to the three paths leading out from the grove.
Wood’s face slackened; he’d lost consciousness.
“Chen and Hadleigh will have to carry Wood out of here,” Charlie said. “The rest of us will each take a path. One of them should lead to Julianna.”
“It isn’t safe to split up,” Hadleigh cut in. “That woman already shot a man.”
“Now, darling—” Livy began.
“Don’t darling me,” Hadleigh said in stern tones. “I’m not letting my wife, the love of my life and mother of my child, go after a murderesson her own. And before you argue, it’s not about your sex. Would you wantmeto take such a risk?”
