Evermore (Emily Chambers Spirit Medium Trilogy #3)(25)

"Then why not send the footman in to tell us he's not here?" I asked.

"Perhaps he's in the middle of teaching a class," Theo said.

We agreed to wait a little longer. Another ten minutes passed. George spent the time pacing the room, his hands behind his back and looking every bit the impatient gentleman. It was lucky the drawing room was generously proportioned so he could stretch his lanky legs properly. It wasn't at all like the Clerkenwell school where Blunt had previously worked. The furniture was much more solid and modern although there was little of it. Just a sofa, four chairs, a small desk and three round occasional tables. A lovely Oriental rug covered most of the floor, its red tones providing the otherwise masculine room with some feminine color. The enormous white marble fireplace took up a great deal of wall space and would throw out a lot of heat if it were lit.

"Are you all right, Emily?" Theo asked quietly. "I know there's much on your mind lately but you seem particularly distracted today."

"I'm sorry. I'm worried about this situation in the Waiting Area. If the culprit continues his campaign, all those spirits will be obliterated. It not only affects current spirits but future ones too."

"It is bad," he said gloomily.

Bad didn't even begin to explain the enormity of our problem. "I've always known there was somewhere to go after I die. Now if Jacob's killer is allowed to succeed there will be nothing."

"The ultimate death," he muttered, nodding.

"Precisely. The fate which awaits us is very final indeed."

"It's not a certainty, Emily. Don't give up." He took my hand and his big, strong fingers were a comfort. Two weeks ago when we'd first met, his hands had been covered with calluses from his work on his family's Shropshire farm, but now they were covered in ink stains.

When we'd collected him from his aunt's house, I'd been surprised that he was home. I'd expected to be told he was attending lectures, but he'd bounded down the stairs to join us and hustled us back into George's waiting carriage. When I questioned him about his presence, he said the lecturer was ill and lessons had been canceled for the day.

"There's something more though, isn't there?" He massaged my hand, his thumb tracing circles around each of my knuckles. "I mean, I know you're worried about the future for all ghosts, but...there's one in particular, isn't there? One whom you care about above all others."

"I...I don't know what you mean."

His gentle gray gaze met mine. I looked away. "Yes, you do. It's all right, Emily. I'd rather know than not. You cannot help your feelings for him. By all accounts, he's an enigmatic fellow. At least, he was in life. Only you can know what he's like in death."

I sat there feeling stupid, my tongue thick in my mouth. I didn't know what to say. He was right, of course. I had very strong feelings for Jacob. Yet I liked Theo too and didn't want him thinking I was leading him astray when my heart was engaged elsewhere.

"Jacob is dead, Theo," I said levelly. "We have no future together." It was something Celia reminded me about almost every day in one way or another. She would be proud to hear me say it aloud, particularly to Theo. Yet I felt sick to my stomach.

"Not until you—" He cleared his throat. "You know what I mean."

Not until you die. It was a thought forever at the back of my mind, and not one I was willing to bring closer to the front. Yet it was always present, dogging every one of my actions and dreams. It was hard to plan for the future without wondering when it would come to an end so I could join Jacob.

Ice-cold fingers dug through my skin to my bones. For the first time since I'd considered the dark thought of joining Jacob, I wondered what I'd do if the curse succeeded and he became nothing. Would I want to wait a lifetime knowing I wouldn't meet him again in the Otherworld? Or would I rather be with him sooner and become nothing together?

"Besides, I have many more things on my plate than the Waiting Area problem." I tried to sound sunny when all I felt was immeasurable gloom through to my core.

"Oh? Like your father's return? That is definitely something cheerful."

"And there's Adelaide's ball," I added.

"Oh yes!" said George from the other side of the room. I hadn't realized he'd been listening. Perhaps he only had heightened hearing when Adelaide's name received a mention. "I, for one, cannot wait. You'll be there, won't you, Hyde?"

Theo nodded. "My cousin Wallace and I are both invited. Since he proclaims not to enjoy dancing, I suspect he'll spend most of the evening standing at the refreshments table."

"And gossiping," George said. "By all accounts, he knows everyone."

Everyone, including Frederick Seymour and Jacob Beaufort when they were alive. The reminder put a dampener on our cheery banter and plunged us once more into melancholy.

Thankfully we were quickly distracted by the door opening and the appearance of Blunt.

"Bloody hell!" he cried when he saw me. He spun on his heel and would have walked right out again if he hadn't lost his balance. George caught him and staggered under the weight of the bigger man, almost dropping him.

"Steady on," George said, helping the headmaster to stand.

Blunt pressed the heel of his hand to his forehead and leaned heavily on George's arm. "How did you find out I was here?" he asked, his voice unnaturally thin.