Veiled in Moonlight (The Ministry of Curiosities Book 8) by C.J. Archer

Author:C.J. Archer [Archer, C.J.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: C.J. Archer
Published: 2017-06-19T18:30:00+00:00

We decided not to visit Gawler again. Lincoln felt as though we'd extracted as much information from him as we could. That put us precisely nowhere with our investigation. Lincoln decided to adopt a wait-and-see approach. After Gus and Seth returned from Mrs. Sullivan's orphanage, Lincoln sent them to follow Lord Ballantine about the city. Hopefully he would meet with his fellow pack members to warn them not to talk to us. If he did, we would have more names. Of course, there was the very distinct possibility that he would simply send messages instead.

We had not expected Seth and Gus to return a mere two hours after they departed. I spotted them through the window, lingering near a poplar tree on the front lawn. They'd arrived behind Lord Ballantine's coach, which now waited in front of the Lichfield steps.

"Lord Ballantine," Doyle announced, showing his lordship through to where Lincoln and I sat in the drawing room. We'd seen the coach arrive and braced ourselves for another fiery encounter.

Lincoln left it to me to play the hostess and invite Ballantine to sit. Lincoln neither extended his hand for his lordship to shake nor welcomed him. I thought it a reasonable response considering the man had pointed a pistol at him the day before.

Ballantine did not sit. He didn't acknowledge my presence at all. The force of his glare focused on Lincoln. Lincoln glared right back.

"Close the door, please, Doyle," Lincoln said. "His lordship won't be staying for tea and we are not to be disturbed."

Doyle's eyes momentarily flared at Lincoln's brusqueness toward a peer of the realm, but he showed no other emotion and bowed out. My apprehension couldn't be as easily schooled. I swallowed heavily and watched Ballantine closely. If he was armed, we were in trouble.

Perhaps I ought to sneak out of the room and fetch a weapon.

"Stay away from my family," Lord Ballantine growled.

"Your daughter was happy to talk to us," Lincoln said.

"You tricked her! Leonora told me she pretended to have a message from Protheroe's ghost." He stabbed a finger in my direction.

I stilled, as if he'd pinned me to the spot with it.

"You don't deny knowing Protheroe then."

Lincoln's statement caught Ballantine by surprise. His jowls momentarily shook in confused indignation but he quickly recovered. "You even dragged my Lilith into this. That's low, Fitzroy."

"I did speak to Lilith," I said. "And Mr. Protheroe."

"Charlie," Lincoln warned with a shake of his head.

"I can communicate with spirits." Hopefully Leonora hadn't used the word necromancer to describe me to her father. Lincoln was right; the fewer people who knew about it the better. But it wasn't such a ghastly thing to be a medium.

Ballantine looked me up and down then turned away, dismissing me. Clearly he did not see me as interesting or threatening. I edged toward the door.

"What do you want, Fitzroy?" Ballantine spat. "Leonora said you're blaming me for Protheroe's death."

"I'm keeping an open mind," Lincoln said. "But he was murdered."

"I know nothing of his death. The man's family only let it be known he died suddenly.

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