Her Majesty's Necromancer (The Ministry of Curiosities #2)(61)

I drew in a deep breath. "Mr. Nelson Hampton Gurry. I summon the spirit of Nelson Gurry to this world to answer some questions."

I didn't see the mist until it was surrounding my shoes and coalescing into a human form. It must have filtered up through the cracks in the floorboards. "Who're you and what do you want?" grumbled the ghost of Mr. Gurry. He appeared to be a man of about sixty, with a receding hairline, long nose and strong frown lines scoring his forehead. He must have spent much of his life scowling for them to be so deep.

"My name is Charlotte Holloway," I told him, "and I'm a necromancer."

"A what?"

"Is he here?" Lady Harcourt whispered.

I pointed to the ghost hanging between us like a faint cloud. "There."

"Mr. Gurry," she said in her imperial voice. "Can you hear me?"

"Is she a necromancer too?" he asked. "Or just stupid?"

"She can't see or hear you."

"That answers neither of my questions, girl. You must be stupid too. Typical females," he added in a mutter.

"Mr. Gurry, I would appreciate your civility."

"I'm sure you would, but I don't care." The mist blew away to the ceiling, but returned immediately to me as if I'd beckoned it. "What's going on? What can't I leave?"

"I haven't dismissed you."

"You dismiss me?" He snorted. "I beg your pardon! If I were alive I would smack you for impertinence."

"And then I would beat you. Yes, Mr. Gurry," I added sweetly, "I am quite capable of doing so, even though I am a female."

His top lip curled in a snarl.

"I'm beginning to see why Mr. Fitzroy killed him," I said to Lady Harcourt. "He's insufferable."

Lady Harcourt stared wide-eyed at me. Gurry's spirit swelled to twice its size then flew at me so fast that I flinched out of instinct.

"You know him?" he spat. "You know my murderer?"

"We do," I said. "He was your pupil, wasn't he?"

"Where is he?" He swept around the room then came to settle in front of me again. "Is that dog here?"

"No. Tell us why he killed you, Mr. Gurry."

"That's what you want to know?" His low chuckle plucked at my taut nerves. "Why not ask him?"

"I'm asking you."

"I can't tell you. I don't know. He came across me in a lane one night, years after I'd finished teaching him. He held a long knife. Without so much as a word, he attacked me and cut my throat." He rubbed his neck above his collar. "I pleaded with him for mercy, but he showed none. He's a vicious animal, with no conscience and no soul. Take my advice and stay far away from him."

I glanced at Lady Harcourt, only to find her staring back at me. She urged me with a nod. "Well?" she whispered. "Has he told you?"

I shook my head. "Was it a chance meeting?" I asked Gurry.

"I don't know," he said. "Perhaps not. He was always devious like that, always plotting and scheming. I wouldn't put it past him to have planned the meeting for years. Who knows how long he harbored a grudge against me?"

"Why did he harbor a grudge?"

He turned his back to me. "I already told you, I don't know."

"You have no inkling? Surely you must."

"No."

"Mr. Gurry, please answer me so I can send you on your way."

He circled me slowly, his feet not touching the floor. The lines on his forehead folded together into a deep frown. "He was a willful dog. I tried to train him, but he wouldn't follow orders from the start. I had to employ more and more drastic measures to get him to listen."

"Did you beat him?"

"Of course."

I pressed a hand to my mouth but quickly drew it away. It was too late, however. Lady Harcourt would have guessed Gurry's answer from my question and reaction. She too covered her mouth and left her hand there.

"The general knew," Gurry protested. "He approved. He gave me full reign to do as I saw fit to teach my charge."

The general knew? It grew worse and worse.

"I wasn't the only one," Gurry said. "I saw other marks on his back, not inflicted by me. He didn't kill me because of a few beatings, girl. Do you understand? No, he killed me because he's mad, a crazed dog. He shouldn't be allowed out of his cage."

I slapped my palm down on the chair arm. It silenced him, but also made Lady Harcourt jump. I didn't care. I was too intent on what he was telling me, too horrified to think of young Lincoln at this man's mercy, and at the mercy of his other tutors. How many had beaten him?

Gurry was probably right. Lincoln hadn’t killed him for the beatings, or Gurry wouldn't be his only victim. Then why? Was Gurry holding something back from me?

"There has to be a reason," I said. "Tell me. I command you."

His lips flattened and he swirled again before standing still. "My methods had begun to work. I'd almost beaten that willfulness out of him when a distraction emerged. I removed the distraction. Perhaps he's angry with me for that." He shrugged.

"What distraction?" I pressed. "Another person?"