Of Fates And Phantoms (The Ministry of Curiosities #7)(12)

"And the future king?"

"He's just a regular man, really, except he never called the queen Mother or Mama. I wonder if he does in private."

Lincoln and I recounted the events of the meeting. When we got to the part about the medium, Mrs. Beaufort, Seth said, "I know of Beaufort, but we've never met. They keep to themselves and their own circle. Is she listed in the archives?"

Lincoln nodded. "I see no reason to speak to her at this point in time."

"The most interesting part of our meeting occurred after we left the queen," I said. I told them about the imposter and Lincoln's theory of body changers.

"They exist?" Alice asked, her eyes huge.

"I heard rumors of one some time ago," Lincoln said. "I never found him, however, and have no proof."

"Surely it's impossible."

"Mere months ago, I thought raising the dead was impossible," I said. "And dreams coming to life."

"Aye," Gus muttered into his teacup.

Seth went to sip his tea but changed his mind and lowered the cup. "Imagine what a body shifter can do? If they can pretend to be anyone …  My god. It would be chaos. Utter chaos."

"We don't know how easy it is for one to change at will into the likeness of another," Lincoln said. "Such a person must be rare or we'd have one listed in our archives."

"You said yourself that you've heard rumors," Seth said.

"Rumors are not proof."

"This imposter could be a relative of Old Prince Albert," Gus said. "Or a son born on the wrong side of the blanket."

"We considered that," I told them. "The Prince of Wales insists his father wasn't that sort of man."

Seth snorted and opened his mouth to comment, but caught sight of Alice watching him. He pressed his lips together and studied his biscuit with keen interest.

"Let's resolve this issue once and for all," I said. "I'll summon the Prince Consort again. I think everyone except Lincoln should leave the room. He may not be inclined to speak if strangers are present."

Alice rose and picked up her cup and saucer. "Of course. Come along, everyone."

Seth and Cook followed her out, but Gus hung back. "I want to meet him," he said. Upon Lincoln's glare, Gus snatched up a biscuit. "I'm going."

Once he shut the door, I looked to Lincoln. "Do you recall if it's Francis Albert Augustus Charles Emmanuel or Francis Albert Augustus Emmanuel Charles?" 

"The former."

"I do hope he's not angry at us for calling him twice in one day. Or for asking such a personal question."

"It's irrelevant if he is. You're in command, Charlie, not him."

Easy for him to say. He didn't think royalty deserved special treatment. "Francis Albert Augustus Charles Emmanuel of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, I summon your spirit here."

The mist burst through the ceiling rose like a cloud of steam from an engine and swooped toward me.

I ducked. "Bloody hell!"

"That is no way for a lady to speak," the ghost of the Prince Consort said as the mist formed his shape by the fireplace.

My spine stiffened. "And that is no way for a gentleman to enter a room, even though he may be a ghost."

His nostrils flared. "You dare to admonish me?"

"I dare. You may be a prince but I control your spirit here. Do you understand?"

He sniffed and turned his back to me. He stretched ghostly white fingers toward the burning coal in the grate even though he could feel no cold. Lincoln gave me a nod of approval.

"Why have you summoned me here?" the prince asked. "And where is here, precisely? I do not recognize this room."

"Lichfield Towers in Highgate," I said. "It belongs to Mr. Fitzroy."

The prince glanced at Lincoln, sniffed, and turned back to the fire. "Answer my first question."

I sucked air between my teeth and prepared for an irate response. "A man approached the palace claiming to be you, sir."

He clamped his hands together behind his back. "I hope they sent the crackpot away."

"He looked remarkably like you, as it happens. So like you, in fact, that the Prince of Wales was summoned to speak to him."

"Bertie would have told the madman to take his leave."

"He did, however the incident has stayed with him because the man bore such a remarkable resemblance to you. Your son assumed it was a coincidence."

"It is."

I fanned my fingers in my lap, stretching the muscles in frustration. "Or could there be another explanation?"

The prince strode up to me. He would have been imposing in his youth, with his erect posture and the disdainful curl of his lip, but a mere mist didn't make me quake. "What are you implying?"

I glanced at Lincoln. He nodded at me to go on. "Could that man be your son by a mistress?" I asked.

The ghost shimmered and broke apart. The mist circled me, swirling and swirling until it became a blur of white. I got quite dizzy trying to follow it.

"Enough!" I shouted. "Be still and answer me."

The corner of Lincoln's mouth lifted as the ghost stilled.

"You command me." The prince's voice softened in wonder.

"I do," I said huffily. "My question is indelicate and I didn't want to ask it, but I had to. Your family may be in danger from this man. We must find him. If you can tell us anything about him, it would help our search."

"I can't tell you anything. I don't know of anyone resembling me closely enough to pass as me, nor have I ever had a mistress. There. Satisfied?"

"Thank you. That will be all. You may return to your afterlife."

The mist rose in the air. "I hope I will not be disturbed again."

"I hope that too. Very much so."

His brows shot up but then his face dissolved away and finally he disappeared altogether.

"He's gone," I said.

Lincoln rose and opened the door to let the others back in.

"We heard you shouting, Charlie," Seth said, frowning in concern. "Is everything all right?"



       
         
       
        

"He's a pompous, overbearing man." I drank the rest of my tea then refilled the cup from the pot and drank half of that.

"Need something stronger?" Cook asked.

"No, thank you. The prince insists that he's never had a mistress." I locked gazes with Lincoln. "It seems your theory is correct. So now what do we do?"

"We investigate the possibility of a person changing into the likeness of another human, as opposed to the likeness of a beast," he said. "And we see if we can trace the imposter."

Everyone began speaking at once, a dozen questions tossed out, until Lincoln lifted a finger for silence.

"Lady Gillingham may have some knowledge about shifting shape," he said.

I quickly explained to Alice that Lady Gillingham was like our two friends from school who could change form. She was not shocked or disgusted. Like me, very little perturbed her.

"Invite her to tea and see what you can learn about her," Lincoln said to me. "I will ask questions in Whitechapel where the palace footman lost the imposter. Seth and Gus will come with me."

"You think you'll get answers from East Enders?" I scoffed. "They don't like strangers asking questions."

He simply looked at me with those fathomless black eyes of his.

"Oh. Right. You've done this before."

He stood. "It's growing late. We'll go tomorrow."



Lady Vickers had Doyle running ragged before Lady Gillingham's visit. Between dusting and polishing the furniture, he didn't get time to help Cook prepare. Cook had to make do with the rather inept Bella.

"She be worse than Seth," he muttered when Bella disappeared into the scullery with an armload of dirty pots. "She don't know sugar from flour."

"I'll help," Alice said, unbuttoning her sleeve. "Where shall I start?"

Cook stopped beating the dough to death and gawped at her. "Er, it be all right, Miss Everheart. Bella and me can manage."

"I like cooking and used to help out all the time back home. Please do call me Alice and not Miss Everheart."

"I … I can't," he choked out, his cheeks aflame.

"You call Charlie by her first name."

"Aye, but she weren't all proper at the start. She be like me."

"I'm not sure I'm proper now." I patted Cook's shoulder. "Let Alice help. You wouldn't want to serve Lady Gillingham something ordinary, would you?"

He pounded his fist into the dough. "I ain't never served nothing ordinary ever, Charlie."

I winked at Alice and left them to it. Doyle raced past me, his face flushed and his breathing heavy. "It won't be for long," I called after him. 

He stopped to acknowledge me then hurried on his way. Poor man. But I meant it. Lady Vickers had a candidate for housekeeper lined up. It only remained for me to approve of her. Although I'd told Lady V I didn't know what qualities a housekeeper ought to possess, she insisted I have the final say since I was the mistress of Lichfield Towers. My insistence that I hadn't accepted Lincoln's proposal-his second one-fell on deaf ears.

Lady Vickers left the house mid morning to go shopping on Oxford Street, taking Alice with her. We hadn't told her why she had to leave, but merely said it was ministry business and that Lady Gillingham was less likely to talk in the presence of her peer. That appeased Lady V and she readily agreed that I wasn't a threat.