Clouds drifted in to cover the moon, deepening the gloom within the glass conservatory.Darkness is my friend,Charlotte told herself, seeking to steady her emotions. The thought of friendship—nay, the thought of love—crackled through her body like a jolt of electricity.Be damned with fear.She had too much to live for. The boys growing to manhood . . .
And Wrexford. Whatever confusions tangled their relationship, she was not ready to give it up.
The kiss of steel shoved up against her back. “Move.”
Charlotte took a step, only to see a spectral silhouette take shape from the shadows.
“Ju-Ju, my dear.” A mournful sigh followed as Justinian DeVere cast a look at Hollister’s crumpled body and shook his head. “This can’t go on.”
“I know, I know, and there will be no need,” she replied in a honeyed voice. “We’re almost there. Tonight it will happen, and then our momentous discovery will make the world deem all the sacrifices worthwhile.”
“Mr. DeVere,” murmured Charlotte. “Please, you must make her see reason.”
“Reason!”repeated Julianna. “What do you know ofreason,limited as you are by conventional thinking? Like your cousin, your mind is incapable of understanding the divine workings of the cosmos.”
“Mr. DeVere.” Charlotte fixed him with a steady stare. “Surely, you don’t wish to see any more lives lost in this experiment.”
He drew in a deep breath. “Julianna—”
“The secret is now in our hands, I swear it!” declared his ward. “We’ve worked so hard for this, and now we’re so close. The new electrolyte has proved successful. And with this one last element . . .” She touched a hand to Charlotte’s coiled hair. “Imagine the accolades when we succeed at transcending to a new plane of knowledge and unleashing the power of eternal life.”
Her voice had a macabre note of persuasiveness to it. Madness could make hell sound like heaven. “You’ve agreed with me on this, Justinian—Western thinking is so very limited. In India, the idea of reincarnation has been understood for centuries. We’re simply discovering a different form of it. Think of it—bringing back corporeal life for the people we love.”
Charlotte suddenly understood how an unspeakable horror had kindled the obsession behind her twisted thinking . . . a young girl witnessing the murder of her parents . . . the sense of unbearable loss.
But that did not forgive—
“Just one more sacrifice, that’s all,” she crooned. “And then you’ll be one of the most famous men of science in history, immortal in the annals of great thinkers.”
“Just one more?” repeated DeVere.
Ye gods, he was as deranged as she was, realized Charlotte.
“One more,” promised Julianna.
“Mr. DeVere—”
But he had already turned his back to her and disappeared into the darkness.
The pistol’s snout dug in between Charlotte’s shoulder blades. “Move!”
* * *
“Danger!” exclaimed Sheffield. “Have you found something in the puzzle Lady Charlotte brought to you?”
Cordelia shook her head. “No, I can’t begin to make sense of all that mystical habble-gabble. It’s something far simpler—the bloody hat!”
She made a wry face. “I suddenly recalled that I’ve seen a Wellington hat in Lady Julianna’s private study. As you know, I’ve often attended the scientific soirees at the DeVere villa, and one evening I took a wrong turn on my way to the ladies’ withdrawing room and came upon her gathering some books to take back to the drawing room. She was quick to leave the room and close the door—locking it, I might add. But I did catch a glimpse of the hat and a dark overcoat.”
“Did the overcoat perchance have one shoulder cape trimmed in braid?”
“Why, yes. I believe it did. Is that important?”
Before Wrexford could respond, a hackney came careening into the square, shaking and shuddering like a bat flying out of hell.
He started to reach for his pistol as the door flung open.
Damnation.On seeing a small figure dart down from the cab, he pushed through the bushes. “Over here, lad.”
