Within moments, they were kneeling next to Tabby, who was white as a sheet and with blood smeared on one side of her face.
“Tabby,” whispered Verity. “Oh Tabby...”
Lucas, having ascertained that she was conscious and not seriously injured, began moving the crowd along, politely but firmly. As he did so, he casually asked one or two people if they’d seen what happened.
There were varying accounts, as he’d expected. But more than a few were similar enough to give him a picture of the incident.
She’d been depositing the money, when someone in a dark cloak struck her head, grabbed her reticule, and fled. Descriptions varied. Tall, short, in between, dark gloves, woman or man. Again, Lucas had to filter out the dramatics and extract what information he could.
Armed with that, he returned to Tabby and Verity.
They were both sitting on the curb, Verity holding Tabby’s hand and dabbing away the blood with her handkerchief.
“Should we go the hospital?” he asked calmly.
“Oh nooo, no, I’ll be fine in a moment or two. Really.” Tabby looked up at him.
“No pain?”
“I have a nasty headache,” she admitted. “But other than that, I’m uninjured.” She turned to Verity and clutched her hand. “My reticule’s gone. The money...the codes...” She touched her head and frowned. “I wish I could remember...”
“Hush now. You’re far more important to me, Tabby. So put all that aside for now.” Verity shot a glance at Lucas, and then at the aethercoach.
He nodded. “Let’s get you home, Mrs Monroe. I know you’ll feel better once you’re tucked up and resting.”
Still trembling a little, Tabby managed to stand. “I’d like that, sir.”
He put his arm around her to steady her. “Good. We’ll get you there in no time.” They took a couple of steps. “By the way? It’s Lucas. None of this “sir” business.”
Verity smiled at that and walked on Tabby’s other side. “Are you sure you don’t want me to summon a medic for you?”
“Yes, I’m sure,” she sighed. “I suppose I must have a hard head, because even though it cut my head a little, it didn’t knock me out.”
“You were very lucky,” replied Verity. Then she turned to Lucas. “The aethercoach?”
“Yes. We’re almost there.”
Tabby was tucked comfortably into the cab, the settings were changed to her home, and Verity gave her a hug. “Take care of yourself, my dear girl. I do not want to see you out and about for at least a few days. And if you have any unpleasant reactions, it’s straight to the medics for you. No argument.”
“I’m sure your family will be glad to have you home in one piece,” added Lucas. “I believe you have two children?”
She managed a smile. “I do. And they’ll be quite impressed with my adventures this evening, not to mention my riding in a first class aethercoach. My mother lives with us, so I’ll be fine.”
“That’s good to know.” Lucas moved back. “If you need anything at all...”
“You’re very kind.” She blinked and then gripped Verity’s sleeve. “Oh...wait...there wasperfume,” she paused, “flowers—roses, I think, or perhaps gardenias—and...and...silk. I remember thinking it was unusual, very fine, too clean. Then everything went dark.”
And with that, the vehicle quietly moved forward and away from the few people who had hung around in case anything else interesting happened.
Lucas looked at Verity. “Come home with me. We need to talk about this.”
She stood for a moment, as if gathering her thoughts. Then she nodded. “All right.”
Chapter Twenty One
Walking through the darkened streets of Arcvale close enough to Lucas to sense his warmth, Verity took stock of the day.
“This has been...well I don’t really know how to describe it,” she sighed. “So much happening, too few answers. It’s concerning.”
