Ashes To Ashes: A Ministry of Curiosities Novella (The Ministry of Curiosities Book 5) (5 page)

Lincoln didn't need those pieces of evidence to know she'd fallen on hard times. Seth had explained the family's destitution when they'd met, and Lincoln had researched them thoroughly before employing him. Indeed, little research had been required. He'd already witnessed the circumstances Seth had been reduced to.

Lincoln had saved Seth from auctioning himself off amid a crowd full of men at a gentleman's club. Prior to Lincoln stepping in, the highest bidder had been an aging gentleman whose younger wife was known for her sexual appetites. The husband was equally known for his—with other men. Lincoln didn't care what the couple had in store for their prize. For all he knew, Seth had wanted them to win. It wasn't sympathy that had led Lincoln to bid for Seth.

It had been Seth's skill in the boxing ring that had first brought him to Lincoln's notice. He could fight either Queensberry Rules or bareknuckle and knock his opponent to the ground in mere seconds. Many pugilists merely stood in one spot and tried to pummel the opposition, taking just as many blows as they gave. But Seth avoided contact by dodging and ducking, something that allowed him to get into a position to take his opponent by surprise. His sequence of moves were never the same, and this variety meant he could outwit even the strongest fighters on the circuit.

The fighting had definitely brought Seth to Lincoln's notice, but it was his other qualities altogether that secured his decision to employ him. He admired that Seth had been prepared to do anything to pay off his father's debts, including lower himself to a point that no man, let alone a nobleman, should lower himself to. That showed honor and a strength of character rarely seen in a man of his class. After Lincoln made the decision to employ him, it was merely a matter of waiting for the opportune moment—a moment when Seth would be grateful that Lincoln had stepped in and saved him when he did. That moment had come at the auction. Seth had indeed been grateful, and he became the perfect employee.

Until Charlie came along. With her wit, courage, and friendly manner, she'd quickly won over Seth, Gus and Cook. Ever since Lincoln had sent her away, Seth could barely even speak to Lincoln, and he was certainly no longer grateful.

"My son says there is a larger suite of rooms on this level," Lady Vickers was saying.

Lincoln's gaze slid to Seth's. Seth swallowed heavily.

"May I have them?" she went on.

"No," Lincoln said.

"But he tells me that your fiancée no longer lives here, and so I assumed—"

"You assumed incorrectly. The suite is unavailable."

Behind her, a strange smile crept across Seth's face. "The yellow room will have to do, Mother. I'm sure it's comparable in size to the one your footman secured for you in New York."

She stiffened at her son's barb. It would seem that Seth wanted to punish his mother for running off to America with the family's second footman, leaving Seth with debts to settle. Lincoln couldn't blame him for that.

"Seth tells me there are no maids here," Lady Vickers said.

"That is correct," Lincoln said.

Her smooth forehead dipped into a frown. "But who will see to my personal needs?"

"Who saw to them in America?"

"Oh, the Americans are different." She waved her hand. "They don't like to keep maids."

Lincoln had been to America. New York's upper classes kept as many servants as the English gentry. It was more likely that Lady Vickers and her footman lover couldn't afford one on his wages. Lincoln wondered if the footman was indeed dead, or if she had left him to return to a country where she assumed people still recognized her and respected the Vickers title. If so, she was in for a shock. Seth may have paid off all his father's debts, but the name was as firmly stuck in the mire, as it had been when she left. She needed to take the blame for that as much as her late husband, in Lincoln's opinion.

"I have no objection to you appointing your own maid," he told her. "As long as she stays out of my way and that of my men. Seth will see to the expense." He gave Seth what he hoped was a knowing nod.

Seth must have understood that Lincoln would give him an allowance to cover the wages of a maid, because his lips parted and nothing came out. For once, the man took several moments to respond. "Er, yes, sir. I'll see to it. Thank you, sir…for reminding me that I will see to it, that is." He cleared his throat and smiled at his mother, only to have it wither when she frowned at him.

She turned back to Lincoln. "You call my son by his first name?"

While Lady Vickers knew that Seth lived in Lincoln's house, she probably didn't know that he was effectively a servant. How would Charlie respond to such a question?

"That's what friends do," he said lamely. No, Charlie wouldn't have said that.

"A friend of a peer calls the peer by his title, in this case, Vickers. The peer would then respond with the fellow's first or last name, not 'sir.'" If her lip curled up any more it would disappear into her nostril.

Since he could think of nothing to say, Lincoln simply nodded at Seth, in the hope he would understand that Lincoln wanted the woman gone from his rooms. "Seth, if you're finished, I wish to speak with you."

"Yes, sir."

Lincoln suspected he'd added the "sir" to rile his mother. The man's lack of pomposity was another reason Lincoln liked him.

Lady Vickers bristled. Her back went rigid in the same way that Julia's did when she felt slighted. "What time is the dinner gong?"

"We only use the gong when we have guests," Lincoln said. "Dinner can be at whatever hour you like. Simply inform Cook. Or inform Doyle, who will inform Cook."

"But what time do you prefer, Mr. Fitzroy? I don't want to upset your routine."

"You won't. I eat in here at odd hours. You are free to do the same in your own rooms."

"Oh." She touched her ring finger again. "I had hoped to eat in the dining room."

"Then eat there. I don't mind."

"Alone?"

"Ask Seth to join you." He didn't emphasize the name, yet Lady Vickers's spine straightened even more. Behind her, Seth smirked again. Lincoln almost nodded at him, as if they'd shared a private joke. "I have work to do, and I need your son, madam. Seth, fetch Gus."

Seth left. After a moment, his mother left too, muttering under her breath about England having gone to the dogs since her departure. Lincoln ate lunch while he waited and tried to think of his next course of action. It wasn't easy reining in his thoughts, and he finally gave up. Hopefully discussing everything with his men would help him focus.

"She wants to restore the family name," he heard Seth tell Gus as the men approached the open door.

Gus snorted. "How, when she ain't go no ready to buy friends?"

"Try telling her that! She seems to think they'll accept her with open arms because she's a Vickers. That's not the worst of it. Once she has re-established herself, she plans on finding me a wife."

Gus was still laughing when he entered ahead of Seth. It quickly died, and he stood like a statue by the door. The joke wasn't to be shared with Lincoln.

It was a little early for liquor, but Lincoln poured two glasses of brandy and offered them to the men. Gus accepted but Seth crossed his arms. After a sigh, Gus handed the glass back. Resisting the urge to drain the contents himself, Lincoln set the glasses down on his desk.

"O'Neill wasn't killed because of his relationship with Ela," he told them.

"How do you know?" Gus asked.

"I just do." When both men exchanged glances, he added, "O'Neill knew about Buchanan and Ela, but his revenge took the form of a harmless joke. He made Buchanan slip over on the street then walked away, laughing. I have no reason to believe he was going to confront Buchanan, and Buchanan wasn't lying when he told me he didn't know about Ela and O'Neill."

"Again, how do you know?" Seth demanded.

Lincoln made his decision quickly. He didn't know if he could trust these men anymore, but if he was going to keep them at Lichfield in his employ, he needed to be someone
they
could trust. And that meant revealing something about himself he'd only ever revealed to Charlie. "I have some capacity to know when others are telling the truth or not. It doesn't work on everyone, but it did work on Buchanan. He told me no lies."

Seth lowered his arms and took a step forward. Gus's hand whipped out, stopping his friend from getting too close. What did he think Lincoln would do?

"How do you have this ability?" Seth asked.

"My mother was a seer. I seem to have inherited it from her, but in a limited capacity."

Seth didn't look like this revelation made him trust Lincoln more. Quite the opposite, in fact. Lincoln was no expert, but his stiff stance was decidedly hostile. "Can you tell when
we're
lying?"

"No."

Seth studied Lincoln, and Lincoln bore it until Seth gave up with a grunt.

"Seers can predict the future," Gus said. "Can you?"

"No. My powers only extend to…feelings."

Both men burst out laughing.

Lincoln could see how it would be amusing from their perspective, although he didn't think it
that
funny. "What I mean is, I know when someone new is in the house, for example, or when someone is missing." He didn't tell them that these "feelings" were strongest in regard to Charlie. Mentioning her name could prove volatile.

They both took a moment to digest this, then Seth said, "If a jealous lover didn't kill O'Neill, could there be another motive?"

"I haven't found one."

"Excepting the fact that he was a supernatural, and perhaps killed because of his powers."

"Excepting that." Lincoln waited while the men considered this. "Billy the Bolter's information is my—our—only link to the man who is hiring killers to assassinate supernaturals."

"But he didn't tell us much," Gus said. "Nothing we can use, anyway."

"Only that the fellow is a toff," Seth said.

"We can be almost sure that the person has access to our archives, or has records of their own." Lincoln waited as both men staggered under the weight of this news. He held out the glasses of brandy to them.

They both drank the contents in one gulp. Gus slammed the empty glass down on the desk and swore. "The committee."

"Will you confront them?" Seth asked.

"Not yet," Lincoln said. "Not until I'm sure."

"How will you be sure?"

"Through observation and investigation, beginning with attending Julia's Christmas ball tonight."

"You hate balls," Gus said.

"I didn't say I wanted to enjoy myself." Lincoln nodded at Seth. "You're coming. Bring your mother."

Seth's face fell. "Do I have to?" he whined.

"Yes."

"You want her to interrogate the committee members too?" Gus asked.

"I thought she could use the event as a way of announcing her return to London. She can reacquaint herself with her old friends."

Seth's face fell even more. "Has she been invited?"

"Tell her she has been. Julia won't mind. She and scandal like to flirt with one another, after all."

That almost earned a smile from Seth. Gus chuckled. "Wish I could go to watch."

"You will drive us, then keep warm in the mews. The servants know you and might offer some gossip. If you speak to the inside servants, ask them who has accessed the attic archives in recent times."

"Right, sir."

They both looked enthused by the prospect of being involved in the investigation. Good. Perhaps this was a turning point. Perhaps they'd given up on Charlie ever coming home.

"You're both dismissed." Lincoln turned away.

Even though he couldn't see them, he knew they were gesturing to one another and urging the other to speak. In the end, it was Seth who cleared his throat. Lincoln braced himself. He didn't need to have a seer's powers to know what the conversation would be about.

"Her birthday is only days away," Seth said.

Charlie's nineteenth birthday had been on his mind too lately, among other things. "And?"

"And we wish to send her a gift. We can't do so without knowing where she is."

"I won't be giving you her location."

"You have to!" Gus snapped. "She's our friend."

"She's like a sister," Seth added in a rough voice. He sounded like he was barely holding in his temper.

Lincoln leaned his knuckles on the desk and bowed his head. "I cannot risk anyone finding her."

Silence. He resisted the urge to glance over his shoulder to see if they were looking at him or gesturing to each other again.

"So you
do
still care for her wellbeing," Seth finally said in quiet tones.

"I knew it." Gus sounded pleased.

Lincoln straightened and turned to face them. "Sending her a gift would only give her false hope that she will return."

Gus gave him a blank look. He shrugged. "But she will return. After you've caught the killer, you'll fetch her and bring her home."

Lincoln gripped the desk behind him and shook his head. "She's a distraction to me. I cannot afford distractions."

Seth's fist shot out, but Lincoln deflected it. He grabbed Seth's arm, twisted it, and forced him to the ground. The maneuver would have caused pain, but to Seth's credit, he merely winced. He didn't try to resist.

Gus, however, decided to fight on his friend's behalf. He wrapped one muscular arm around Lincoln's throat and squeezed. With his knee still in Seth's back, Lincoln let go and grasped onto Gus's hair. Lincoln could break his neck, but he chose to pull out a fistful of hair instead.

Gus let go and clutched his scalp. He reeled backward, out of reach. "I'm bleeding!"

Lincoln stood and held out his hand to Seth. Seth ignored it and got to his feet on his own. He stepped up to Lincoln, his fists at his sides, a murderous scowl on his face.

"You are the most selfish, cold-hearted prick I've ever met," he snarled through his teeth. "When the killer is caught, I'm leaving Lichfield. I no longer want to work for someone who can banish the only person who cares about him without batting an eye."

Lincoln was too far away from the desk to use it as support, so he had to stand there and concentrate very hard on being still, on not blinking or showing these men that he felt sick to his core every time he thought about Charlie being far away.