With Seth and Gus out with Lincoln, and Doyle busy, they had to catch the omnibus, much to Lady Vickers' horror. I thought she might suffer an attack of the vapors and decide to remain in her room, but she forged ahead when Alice claimed to be looking forward to spending more time alone with her.
"We really ought to get to know one another better," Alice said.
Lady Vickers narrowed her gaze. "Why?"
"No particular reason, but Seth speaks so highly of you."
Lady Vickers looked lost for words, a rare event. Whether she was surprised that Seth would speak highly of her, or worried that Alice and Seth had private conversations, I couldn't tell. I decided it was probably the latter, however, when she said, "We ought to have a new outfit made for you for the spring. Something to show off your slender figure to the young men. And then we'll promenade together in the park, just the two of us. Come along. We don't want to miss the omnibus."
Alice shot me a sly smile. She knew exactly how to manipulate Seth's mother and she'd only known her a little over a week. She would make a marvelous daughter-in-law, if only Lady Vickers would allow it. Or if Alice wanted it too, of course. It was difficult to gauge if she had feelings for Seth.
Lady Gillingham arrived shortly after their departure and greeted me politely if somewhat suspiciously when I informed her that Lady Vickers wasn't at home.
"The masked ball was a lot of fun," I began as I handed her a teacup.
"Yes." She sipped, her soft blue gaze darting around the room over the brim of the cup.
"I do apologize for not speaking to you on the night. It seems strange that we haven't formally met when I know your husband. He comes here for business matters from time to time," I clarified when she didn't answer.
"I know about the ministry."
I cleared my throat. "And I know about you."
She dropped her cup but caught it before much tea spilled. A few drops landed on the carpet but it could have been much worse. Lady Gillingham's reflexes were faster than mine.
Her hands shook, rattling the cup in the saucer. I took the set from her and placed it on the table. "Forgive me," I said, "that must have come as quite a surprise."
"Mr. Fitzroy assured me he wouldn't tell," she whined.
"I didn't leave him much choice." It was a bald lie, but I couldn't have her thinking that Lincoln informed me or the others lightly. He'd told us because it had been necessary, and he knew we could be trusted. Lady Gillingham wouldn't see it that way, however. "I saw the file he'd created for you when I searched the archives for something else. When I pressed him about it, he informed me of the conversation he'd had with you in your bedchamber."
"It wasn't like that," she said quickly.
She thought I suspected her and Lincoln of that? "I know."
"Really? You trust him?"
"Of course." I was about to ask her why I wouldn't but decided against it. I didn't want to hear a list of Lincoln's past mistresses.
"You're not yet married, I suppose," she said heavily. "And you're not a … a creature like me." She was thinking of her own husband's transgressions, then, not Lincoln.
"You are not a creature."
"You haven't seen my other form."
She was a pretty woman with fair hair and smooth skin. She wasn't as young as me, but she must be considerably younger than her middle-aged husband. He ought to consider himself fortunate to be married to such a lovely woman, but instead he treated her cruelly, according to Lincoln. Lord Gillingham was the monster, not his wife.
"Lincoln didn't tell you about me, did he?" I asked.
"No." She gave me an odd look. "Why?"
"I'm not normal either. I can communicate with ghosts."
She made a small scoffing sound. "Mediums are not all that unusual."
"I can also raise the dead by ordering spirits to occupy corpses."
She stared at me, her mouth forming a perfect O.
"Even decomposed ones that have been in the ground for some time," I added, picking up my cup. "Gruesome, isn't it?"
"Yes. Er, no. Not gruesome, merely … unique."
I laughed. "I can see from your face what you truly think. It's all right. I've made my peace with it. It is gruesome, but it's what I am, and I can't not be a necromancer."
She picked up her cup. "At least you can control it. I can't always."
"Like when you're asleep?"
She nodded. "He saw me, you know, while I slept. And now he … he's not as attentive."
Lincoln had told me how Lady Gillingham's beastly form disgusted and frightened her husband and that he refused to lie with her once he found out. For someone who dearly wanted children, the lack of intimacy devastated her.
"I appreciate you telling me about yourself, Miss Holloway," she said. "What is it you are called?"
"A necromancer. And please, you must call me Charlie."
She smiled. "And you must call me Harriet. My mother-in-law is also Lady Gillingham. I hate it." She giggled, reminding me of just how young she was.
"Tell me how you and Lord Gillingham met."
"I can't really recall. I was just a child. He asked my father for my hand then and there."
"How old were you?"
"Twelve. Father said he would have to wait, of course. And wait he did."
"You had no choice in the matter?"
"None. But I didn't mind. I knew it was a good match. He's an earl."
He was also a snake. This pretty woman could have had any man, and yet she'd allowed her father to marry her off to a horrid beast like Gillingham. The nobility would never make sense to me. What was more, she seemed proud of him, or at least of his position.
"You've probably already gathered that I asked you here for a specific reason," I said.
"Something to do with my shape-changing?" she whispered, glancing at the closed door.
I nodded. "A situation has arisen where a fellow impersonated another. He looked exactly like the other man, but it wasn't him. Nor is it a relative. Lincoln doesn't believe in coincidence. He thought that the imposter may have shifted shape, similar to what you can do, but so much more."
"Into another man's likeness, you mean?"
"Yes."
"That's remarkable-and so sinister. The implications are unfathomable. Such a person could change into anyone. The prime minister or even the queen! The country would be unsafe."
It begged the question, why hadn't the fellow changed into the prime minster's shape? He had more power than the dead prince consort. It didn't make sense. "As it happens, this does affect the royal family."
"My goodness." She pressed a hand to her chest. "How awful."
"Do you know anything that could help us?"
She shrugged one shoulder. "Such as?"
"Have you ever shifted into anything other than your … beast form?"
"No. I wish I could. It sounds like more fun to pretend to be another human. A man, for example. Wouldn't you want to walk in a man's shoes just for a day to see how differently they're treated?" Her eyes shone with the possibilities. I suspected this woman had a somewhat wicked streak.
I certainly understood her enthusiasm, since I had walked in the shoes of a boy. Those five years as a thirteen year old in the slums had opened my eyes to the many ways in which males and females were treated differently. Some were significant, like the freedom with which I could walk into a tavern and not have my backside groped, and others were subtle, like the friendly jokes the other gang members shared with Charlie the lad. I told Lady Gillingham none of this, however. If her husband had informed her of my background, she showed no indication. I suspected they shared very little with each other, not just the marital bed.
"Do you know anyone else like yourself?" I asked.
"No one. I'm quite alone." She peered down at her teacup but not before I saw her eyes fill with tears.
I touched her arm. "You are not alone. I'm here if you need to talk to someone. I understand about being different and feeling as if no one can possibly understand."
"Thank you, Charlie." She attempted a smile. "You're very sweet. I wish I could help you."
"Are you sure you can't? Has there been anything unusual happen lately? Anything that could be linked to shifting shape? Or anything odd at all, even if you think it may mean nothing?"
She nibbled on her lower lip and tapped her finger against the teacup. She did not hold the cup by its handle but held the cup itself. The china looked delicate in her big hands. "There may be one thing, but it's not something I've seen, but rather a suggestion on how to find the information you need."
"Go on."
She drew in a breath, but Doyle's shout interrupted her. "My lord! Sir, you can't go in there!"
The door opened and Lord Gillingham burst through. His lips peeled back from his teeth and he thrust his walking stick in the direction of his wife. "Get up, Harriet. You're leaving."
"Gilly!" The cup trembled, rattling in the saucer. "I-I was just having tea with Charlie."