I nodded. “It is a kindness to preserve the fiction of Archibond’s respectability for his sister’s sake.”
“It is more for the sake of my men,” he said with more candor than I expected. “Their morale is at low ebb at present. I could not countenance breaking it further. Those who are here today are my most trusted juniors. They will die before they reveal what he was. And it is a good secret to die with.”
He gave me a tired smile. “And you will go on about your life,” he said firmly. “Without meddling in matters you oughtn’t.”
“Certainly,” I said in a milky tone whose blandness did not fool him for a moment. His expression turned severe.
“You have had enough lucky escapes to do credit to a cat,” he told me. “One might even say you were born under a lucky star.”
He reached into his pocket and drew out the diamond star that had been the source of all our troubles. He held it out to me and I took it, marveling at the heft. Illumination broke across the surface, glittering in the gaslight.
“Where did you find it?”
“Archibond had it in his pocket. My man turned it over when Mornaday and I were in conference.”
I handed it back to him. He regarded me in obvious surprise. “I thought you might like to return it yourself.”
“No, thank you,” I said firmly. “I have had quite enough adventure for the moment.”
He gave me an enigmatic look. “I am glad to hear it, although I think I shall believe it when I see it, Miss Speedwell.”
He shook hands and left me then, just as Mornaday returned, looking a little green for his recent exertions. Mr. Pennybaker entered with a fresh can of hot water, his eyes shadowed with fatigue, but he would not rest with unfinished business.
“What about you now, Miss Speedwell?”
“What about me?” I inquired.
He looked at my arm. “My dear, didn’t you realize? You have been shot.”
I glanced down at the sleeve of my jacket where a neat hole formed the black heart of a rose of blood. “Mornaday,” I said distinctly. “I do hope you won’t hurt yourself when you catch me.”
And before he could respond, I pitched headlong into blackness.
•••
When I awoke, the first exquisite sensation was one of floating, just resting gently upon a golden cloud that drifted on a golden sea. I shifted slightly and a shaft of pain ripped through my arm.
“Mind you move slowly,” said a familiar voice. “If you tear out those stitches, Pennybaker will have my guts for garters. He told me to watch over you.”
I opened my eyes to find J. J. Butterworth sitting on a chair, her eyes deeply shadowed, but her mouth curved into a smile. A line of sunlight fell upon the carpet at her feet.
“Stoker,” I said, barely forming the words through lips so parched I could scarcely speak.
“Awake before you, and now out again,” she told me. She rose and put a cup to my lips. Water, that most precious, most deliciouslibation. I drank greedily until she took the cup away. “Not so fast. You will heave it all up again if you aren’t careful. It is the ether making you thirsty. I will give you another drink in ten minutes if you stay awake.”
I forced my eyes wider. I turned my head, that strange and floating balloon that seemed oddly detached from my body. I tried to move, but my legs refused to answer, weighted and dead.
“I am paralyzed,” I murmured, closing my eyes.
J. J. snorted. “You are not paralyzed. Vespertine is lying on your legs.”
I opened my eyes again to see the great shaggy beast draped over my lower limbs, head heavy upon my stomach, eyes gazing up at me in anxious adoration.
“He refused to leave you,” she told me, ruffling his ears fondly. “I wanted to keep him for myself, but he has attached himself to you.”
“I do not want a dog,” I said, forming the words slowly and distinctly. My tongue still felt not entirely under my command.
“Well, you have one,” she said firmly. “Deerhounds are a frightfully loyal breed, and he has already lost one mistress this week.”
