Vow of Deception (The Ministry of Curiosities #9)(14)

"I knew you could stop her without my help."

"How could you know that?"

"Because I've seen the improvement in your training. Your reflexes are exceptional, and they were already very good. Next time, hit with a closed fist not an open hand. Although perhaps save that for a fight with a man."

"You think I can beat a man in a fight?"

"I didn't say that."

"But you would like to see me try against someone other than Seth or Gus?"

His brow crashed together. "No. I would not."

"Come now, Lincoln, admit it. You're curious. I've been training for a year now, and I’ve been involved in very little real fighting. You must be wondering if it has helped or if you're wasting your time."

"It hasn't been a waste of time. You have some skills that will help you if you're attacked. I don't regret that at all."

I switched seats to sit next to him. He narrowed his gaze as if he expected me to ravish him. "Don't worry," I said. "I only wish to hold your hand."

He took my hand in his own and brought it to his lips. He kissed my glove. "In all seriousness, Charlie, are you all right?"

"My nerves are settling." I indicated our linked hands and moved as close to him as I could get without sitting on his lap. "What do you think will happen now?"

"Usually a deceased committee member officially notifies us of his or her heir via their will, but since she's living, she needs to confirm Seth as her successor in writing."

"I meant with her and Swinburn."

He merely shrugged, but I suspected he had an answer.

"I think she'll confront him over his betrayal," I said. "They'll probably argue."

"She won't mention it." I knew he had an answer, it only required some encouragement to extract it from him. "Nor will she tell him she's off the committee until after the wedding, otherwise he'll break the engagement. She desperately wants to marry again to secure her future while she's still young, and Swinburn is the best man on offer right now. No other gentleman wants her as a wife. And he only wants her as long as she can pass on sensitive ministry information."

"I see," I said quietly. "You did say you know her so well that you know what she's thinking."

He frowned. "Does that bother you?"

"No. Yes. I don't know."

He touched my chin and gently forced me to look at him. His gaze searched mine. "I cannot change my past."

"I wouldn't want you to."

He didn't look as if he believed me.

"I don't," I said again. "What's done is done."

"Don't let her come between us, Charlie."

I kissed him lightly on the lips. "I won't. I know she's not a part of your life anymore."

"Not part of my life or my thoughts. And now we'll see even less of her."

I leaned my head against his shoulder, but not for long. Lord and Lady Gillingham lived only a few streets from Lady Harcourt and the coach already slowed.

Lord Gillingham was not at home, but Harriet was pleased to see us. As always, she welcomed us enthusiastically. How this vivacious young woman had ever come to like a toad such as Gillingham was beyond me. Their marriage had been arranged when she was just a girl. At twenty years her senior, and a nasty, self-important man at that, she had every reason to hate him. Yet she didn't. Instead, she enjoyed marriage now that she'd leveraged her shape changing abilities and shifted the balance of power in her favor. Now she appeared to rule him. It probably helped that she was carrying his child.

"We're sorry for calling at such an early hour," I said.

She waved a hand. "You just missed Gilly. He has gone to see a man about horses."

"It's not him we wish to see," Lincoln said. "Although if you could pass on a message, I would be grateful." He asked her to tell her husband to come to Lichfield for a committee meeting at three.

"Is something the matter?" she asked, directing us to sit on the sofa in the drawing room. "Why the urgency?"

"Yesterday's papers reported another mauling death."

"I don't read the newspapers." She pulled a face. "They're always filled with such ghastly things. Another mauling you say? By a werewolf?"

"I cannot say without seeing the victim's injuries."

"But it's likely," I told her. "How many wild dogs are there in London's East End?"

"You'd be surprised," Harriet said. "I've seen some poor starved animals attack out of sheer hunger."

"But why attack a man? Why not another dog or a rat, something easier to kill and eat?"

"I see your point." She pressed a hand to her stomach. It was not as flat as I expected. At three months along in her pregnancy, I thought she wouldn't be showing much yet, but clearly that wasn't the case. Perhaps she'd got her dates wrong.

"Do you still run with Gawler's pack considering…?" Lincoln indicated her swollen belly.

"Not run, no, but I do visit them. As much as I adore my Gilly, I do want to speak with people who understand me. They're my friends now. I'm looking forward to running with them again after the baby's born."