From The Ashes (The Ministry of Curiosities #6)(34)

It certainly would make a difference to my life, and not merely in a financial way. It bought me time to choose my own future. I didn't need to rush into marriage, but could wait. It meant I would never have to rely on Lincoln—or anyone—rescuing me, as I'd had to do at the school. If I ever found myself in that situation again, I could just leave and live off the money from the rent. I would never again be homeless.

I laid my cheek against the cool, rough branch and breathed. Just breathed. My thudding heartbeats were loud in the stillness, echoing through my body, between my ears. Was this real? Was I now truly safe and in command of my own life?

Or would my security be once again ripped from me when I least expected it?

The rumble of wheels on the drive made me sit up straight and peer over the treetops toward the gate. Two carriages approached. If the occupants looked toward the orchard at the side of the house, I would be seen in the bare tree.

I climbed down, snagging my hem on a twig. "Damn." I picked up my skirts and ran toward the back of the house. I peeked round the wall, just as the carriages stopped at the front steps. General Eastbrooke alighted from the foremost coach, followed by Lord Gillingham. Lady Harcourt and Lord Marchbank stepped out of the second one. Hell. The committee had arrived.





Chapter 8





"Have you gone mad?" Lord Gillingham's voice could be heard from where I stood in the depths of the service area at the back of the house.

I bit my lip and slipped past Bella, arranging tea things on a tray to join Gus and Cook in the corridor just outside the kitchen. "He sounds angry," I whispered. There was no need to whisper. The committee members wouldn't have heard us speaking in our normal voices, but it came naturally.

"Bloody furious," Gus said. "Sounds like they just learned Fitzroy's been warnin' the supernaturals. That were quick."

They all had spies, some in government organizations where they even set triggers on certain files to alert them of anyone requesting the records. It wouldn't surprise me if they also had people watching the supernaturals here in the city too.

"You haven't thought this through," came General Eastbrooke's booming voice in response to something someone, probably Lincoln, had said.

"What will it take for Death to hit one of 'em?" Gus asked with a snicker.

"Or kill 'em," Cook added. "My money's on Gilly going first."

"Is Seth with him?" I asked.

Gus nodded just as Doyle appeared up ahead. His brisk footsteps were at odds with his usual steady pace. "Tea! And quickly!"

"Bella be doing it now," Cook told him.

"Which room are they going into?" I asked, following Doyle into the kitchen.

"Library," he said, shooing Bella out of the way. She clicked her tongue and thrust her hands on her hips. He ignored her. "Out of Lady Vickers' hearing."

"But not out of mine."

"You're going to listen at the door?" Cook said.

"Of course."

He grunted. "Don't get caught."

"I'll go in now," Gus told me. "I'll stand by the door and tap it if someone is about to leave."

"You're a marvel," I said.

He walked in front of me and signaled with a nod when he reached the end of the service corridor that it was clear to move forward. Muffled voices grew louder as I approached the library, but I couldn't make out their words. Gus opened the library door enough to slip through and I heard Lord Marchbank chastise Lincoln for taking matters into his own hands. I wished I could see Lincoln's reaction.

Gus winked at me then closed the door. I crept across the tiles and put my ear to it. Not for the first time, I wished the house had secret passages and rooms to make sneaking about easier.

"You're a fool," said Gillingham. "You overreacted, as usual."

"Lincoln never overreacts," Lady Harcourt snapped. How curious that she was now defending Lincoln. The last time I'd seen her, they'd argued. Perhaps my departure from Lichfield had rekindled her hopes of renewing a romantic liaison with him.

"In this case, he has," Gillingham went on. "We won't know where to find them now. What's the point of the ministry at all if we don't know where the curiosities we're supposed to be monitoring are located?"

"Agreed," Eastbrooke intoned.

Doyle joined me and I stepped to the side, out of sight. With the tea tray balanced on one hand, he opened the door with the other. All chatter ceased.

"I'll serve, thank you, Doyle," Lady Harcourt said.

A moment later Doyle reappeared and returned to the service area. I resumed my position by the door.

"It was a foolish move, Lincoln," Eastbrooke went on. "Particularly when they could have acted as bait to draw the killer out."

"No one will be used as bait," Lincoln growled. "They're not pieces of meat."

"Don't pretend they're normal humans either," Gillingham shot back.

For a man whose wife was 'inhuman' too, his words were cruel indeed. I, however, felt quite unaffected by them. I'd ceased to care what Gillingham thought of me very soon after meeting him.

"While I don't blame you for taking such drastic action, you should have consulted us," Lady Harcourt said. "We are the committee, after all."