Willie bristled, but instead of disagreeing she sipped her tea. Her silence made quite a stark contrast to the battle of wills she usually exhibited with Duke ever since he revealed he was returning to America.
We’d joined India and Matt for afternoon tea, and to present them with the book, two days after our arrival back in London. The lull in the conversation gave Oscar the perfect opportunity. He removed it from the leather satchel at his feet and handed it to India.
“For your collection, my lady.” He bowed, stepped forward to give it to her, then stepped back.
India stroked the soft calfskin cover. “Thank you. Have either of you read it?”
“We both have,” Oscar said.
“What’s it about?” Willie asked.
“Observations on magic, or witchcraft, as the author, George Mackenzie called it. He also touches on the persecution of witches at that time.”
“Thank goodness that has all ended,” India murmured.
I sat forward. “Actually, we learned that it hasn’t. Our time in Edinburgh was more interesting and productive than we expected. You see, we rescued?—”
Matt shushed me with a finger to his lips as his aunt roused in the armchair.
Miss Glass reminded me of my grandmother, whose death seven years ago had shaken me. Both women were kind but could be snobs, too. My grandmother welcomed my friendships with university chums from good families, but she didn’t want me associating with people she thought beneath us. Considering we Nashes were firmly embedded in the middle class, her snobbery wasn’t justified. At least Miss Glass could claim to be from nobility.
As with my grandmother, Miss Glass had become quite forgetful in her later years. I saw her rarely these days, since she usually stayed on the country estate, but I had noticed a decline in her cognition. She sometimes didn’t know where she was, or who I was, and she found conversations hard to follow.
Then sometimes, like now, she could surprise us all and be quite alert. “Did someone say Edinburgh? Bristow says the newspapers reported those missing girls were found. Isn’t that wonderful?”
India pretended to refill my teacup, leaning closer to me. “Tell us how you did it later,” she whispered, adding a wink for good measure.
While Miss Glass was aware of some of the dangers her nephew and his wife had endured to free magicians from persecution, she was sheltered from other events. It would seem they wanted to continue to shelter her from negativity in her dotage.
“Wonderful, indeed,” India said loudly as she sat. “The Edinburgh police must have an equivalent to D.I. Brockwell on their staff.”
Brockwell winked at me, just as India had done. I wasn’t sure if that meant he hadn’t told any of them that the Edinburgh detective contacted him to vouch for us, or if he was withholding the information from Miss Glass alone.
Willie didn’t make it any clearer. “Nope. My husband’s one of a kind. Ain’t no detective as good as him.”
Oscar shot me a sly smile. “I can think of someone.”
I felt my face heat at his praise. To deflect their attention from me, I changed the subject to one that would draw the energy in the room like a magnet. I turned to Willie. “I see you’ve come to terms with Duke leaving.”
True to form, Willie sank into her chair with a pout and crossed her arms. “I’ll never come to terms with it. He shouldn’t be going. There ain’t nothing for him in America now.”
Duke waved a hand from side to side. “Ain’t no need to speak to me as if I’m not here.”
“I thought you two sorted it out over drinks,” Oscar said.
“I thought we had, too. Then she stopped talking to me. She’s going to ruin my final weeks in England with her bad mood.” His gaze slid to Miss Glass. “Willie’s not the only one who dislikes the idea of me leaving.”
Miss Glass seemed unaware that he was referring to her. She sat in the chair, her glassy eyes staring at the floor near my feet.
Oscar pointed at the book India had placed on the table. “George Mackenzie wrote about the unfair treatment of women accused of witchcraft back in his day. Their persecution took away their freedom, their right to be true to themselves.”
Willie narrowed her gaze. “Your point, Barratt?”
“Those two kidnapped women were elated and relieved to be freed from captivity. Their loved ones were overjoyed, too. So I imagine,” he added for Miss Glass’s benefit, although she still seemed not to be listening. “Giving someone the freedom to live their life as they wish is the greatest gift we can offer our loved ones. Even if that means we have to say goodbye to them.”
Willie sniffed as she turned her face away. Her jaw remained stubbornly firm.
Miss Glass put out her hand. “Duke, help me up.”
