Undying Hope (37 page)

“I have every right when you point your fat finger at me.”

“Who do you think you are? I know where you come from Lillian Dellacourt. I know what you are.”

Drake Cullum pounded the table. “Shafton, that will do.” The demon hunters’ leader stood rigid, narrow-eyed. He was formidable when he was calm, but enraging him was never a good idea. He was furious now.

Had she gone too far? The idea she might have overstepped her bounds with Cullum was enough to make her relax the grip on her blade. Lillian turned and stormed from the dining room.

Shafton yelled something about not having dismissed her from the meeting.

Once in the hallway, she pulled her second blade and turned to go back in and finish what she’d started. It would be nothing to remove his pompous head from his shoulders.

Cullum stood in the doorway. He smiled at her and closed the door, barring her reentry.

Had she ever seen him smile before? No instance came to mind. She stomped toward the front entrance. She’d leave the damn castle, get her carriage, and ride like the devil back to London. Yet the one person in the world she could really talk to was a resident of Brendaligh. Holding her full skirts with both hands, she sprinted up the curved grand staircase.

Brendaligh, the Earl of Shafton’s Scottish holding, boasted fine marble floors, crystal chandeliers, and expensive draping. To the casual observer, the entry looked like any other wealthy man’s country home, but upon closer inspection, they would find the bedchambers rather bare and the ballroom fitted for mock combat sessions. Instead of fancy draperies, shields and weapons hung on the walls. He’d converted the estate from its former grandeur into a school for demon hunter training. Of course, in Lillian’s opinion, it was also the earl’s way of shirking his responsibilities to his family.

His wife and daughter had never been to the Scottish castle until Belinda’s life was in jeopardy, and she descended on her father unannounced to verify his part in the demons’ desire to capture and kill her. Before that, the earl had hidden his knowledge of any hunting activity and made excuses to remain in Scotland.

At the top of the stairs, she turned right, then entered a small salon, set up as a kind of hospital. A strange little demon’s poison had turned a strapping man into the withered soul sitting in a wingback chair near the window.

Her heart tightened painfully. It took willpower not to clutch her chest.

Reece Foxjohn had been her constant companion for the last five years. His handsome face showed strain where there had always been joy. His bright blue eyes had dimmed.

Elizabeth Smyth picked up the untouched food tray from the table beside Reece, whispered something to him, and turned toward the door. Slimmer from her hunter training, she looked up and smiled. “Miss Lillian, I’m so happy to see you.”

Reece turned sad eyes toward Lillian.

She put on her best grin for his sake. She wanted to detect his joy at seeing her, but nothing in his expression indicated he was happy she’d come. He returned his attention to whatever was outside the window.

“It’s good to see you, Lizzy. You should just call me Lillian. No need for formality here.”

“Thank you, Lillian.” Lizzy blushed, but her brown eyes were sharp and direct.

“How are your studies going?”

“Very well. I’ve never enjoyed anything more in my life. I know there will be danger, but it is still better than scrubbing pots.” She’d been a scullery maid in a wealthy home before the hunters rescued her from a ritual sacrifice in London.

“I’m glad your finding your time here well spent.”

“Oh yes, Miss—um, Lillian.” She appeared far fitter than when she’d joined the demon hunters, her waist small, even beneath her voluminous dress.

Lillian wanted to learn more about Elizabeth Smyth. “You’ll get used to it. It takes time to shuck the old ways. Then you’ll have to learn when to act the part again. It won’t be easy going into society once you get used to the equality of our little group.”

Lizzy glanced away, then back. “I imagine it will be another challenge, which I had not counted on.”

“I’m sure you will be up to it. How is your patient doing?”

Lizzy studied the floor. “He’s not my patient. Dr. Barns has that privilege. Whatever poisoned him left him very weak. His shoulder has healed and he is getting stronger, but he still refuses to eat much. He’s been leached several times, and the leeches die from the poison in his blood. I think that must mean they are successfully drawing it out, and he is getting better.”

“I hope you’re right.” Lillian kept her voice low so Reece couldn’t hear the doubt in her tone.

“He is so much better than when he first came from Edinburgh. He is a strong man, a fact he seems to have forgotten. Once he remembers, his recovery will go quickly.”

“I can see you are the perfect person to nurse him.”

“It is the least I can do. If not for you and Reece, I might not be here today. I would have died on that altar, and who knows what plans the master had for my soul.”

“You owe us nothing, but I’m glad you are here to help with his recovery. I don’t know how you find the time while training to become a hunter.”

Lizzy glanced at the clock on the mantle. “Oh my, speaking of time, I must get his tray down to the kitchen and get to my combat class. If you’ll excuse me?”

“Of course.”

She turned to leave, but stopped. “I almost forgot to tell you. Mei Lin asked me to give you her regrets that she is not here to see you.”

“I heard she has already been sent on her first assignment.” The strong willed Oriental girl had been a hellion when Lillian found her. It was impressive that after only a few months training she was ready for assignment.

“Yes. She is remarkable.”

“Do you know where they sent her?”

“I’m afraid not. I’m not even sure Mei knew where she was headed.”

Lillian didn’t like the sound of that, but there was little she could do. Drake Cullum knew what he was doing. “She will do well, no matter where she has gone. You had better get to class.”

After a bob, Lizzy scurried out of the room.

“Hello, Reece.” She sat across from him on a small settee.

Dark wood wainscoting and rich draperies darkened the room. Three beds had been set up, but at the moment, only Reece occupied the space. Other wounded hunters had been treated here rather than carting them all the way to London.

Hunched in a dark blue robe, Reese stared outside. Fog rolled in and a light drizzle added to the gloom. “How are you, Lilly?”

“I came to complain and bristle about the meeting I’ve just walked out of, but I can see you are not in the mood for my foul temper.”

He turned his head, and a hint of a smile lit his face. “I always love to see that fiery temper of yours, my sweet. Nothing gives me more pleasure.”

“Lies. Many things give you far more pleasure. In fact, I’m surprised that lovely young woman who just carted your uneaten tray out of here is not under your spell. There was a time when a girl like Lizzy would have brought a smile to your face.”

He frowned and the glint went out of his eyes. “She is a sweet thing, but that time has passed.”

“She looked at you as if you were the sun and the moon. Why don’t you court her?”

His stare returned to the window. “Those days have passed, Lilly. I am not the same man anymore. Lizzy deserves a man who can take care of her.”

“I think she is well on her way to taking care of herself and you as well.”

He shrugged. “Then a man who will fight alongside her.”

“You will fight again, my dearest.”

He shook his head. His malaise was worse than expected. The short, hairy pravus demon had damaged him more than sword or fist injuries ever had.

The hunters had first encountered the harmless looking demons at the Fatum Manor battle. Pravus climbed walls and ceilings like spiders on a web, and had almost cost Reece his life.

She shivered against the memory of that terrible night. She should have come sooner. Perhaps she should have brought Reece to The Company sponsored hospital in London to recover. She’d thought the castle comforts offered a better place to regain his strength. All the youthful recruits should have bolstered his spirits. “I spoke to Dr. Barns not a week ago, and she told me you were recovering nicely from your injuries. Why don’t we go and watch the students practice their combat training? It will cheer you.”

Dr. Emily Barns made the long trek once a month if there was a need. It was time The Company invested in a second doctor. Lillian had a feeling the wounded would be increasing in the short term.

His chest lifted as he sighed deeply. “I would rather not. Tell me why you were in such a fit of temper when you came in here?”

She paced the carpet. “I nearly cut the head off of our host in the meeting downstairs. I imagined his bulbous crown rolling down the table and landing in Cullum’s lap. He is insufferable, going on and on about how we have jeopardized all of England because we chose to save Belinda. The fact that he didn’t provide us with enough information to destroy, or even trap, the master never entered into his tirade.”

“Do you think that could be why he’s going overboard with blaming us? Is he covering up his failure?”

Lillian saw fear behind the earl’s bluster, fear that needed an explanation. “I think it’s more than that, Reece. He’s hiding something. We saved his daughter’s life, and he is completely ungrateful for our effort. In fact, he accused Belinda of negligence for not singlehandedly killing the master while she was imprisoned in the Fatum dungeon.”

“He did not.” Reece’s voice rose, and he scowled.

“I know he is hiding something, and I intend to find out what it is.”

Reece’s attention returned to the window. “Would not your time be better spent finding the master and destroying him?”

Lillian knelt in front of Reece’s chair and took his hands.

He looked down at her with tired eyes.

“I know that seems like the thing to do, but if I find him, how do I kill him? I don’t even know if it’s possible to kill the master. Is he even alive? Does he bleed? In my belly, I know whatever Shafton is hiding is a clue to how to win this war.”

“Wouldn’t he be eager to tell us something that might help us defeat these demons?”

“I don’t know. He is a proud man, too proud. Look at how he endangered Belinda to keep his secrets. I don’t trust him.”

Reece kissed her forehead. “You have the best instincts of anyone I’ve ever seen, my sweet. If you are sure discovery of Shafton’s deception will better our cause, then I support your quest. I only wish I had the strength to accompany you.”

“Thank you.” If Reece supported her, she could go hunting information with a clear conscience. Her gut told her she was on the right track. The earl’s anger was out of proportion with the facts, and there had to be a reason for it. She hugged Reece.

His arms came around her, and he patted her back.

She longed for his strength but settled for the light comfort.

“You are my dearest friend, Lilly. Never doubt I am on your side.”

She pulled away and looked him in the eye. “It’s not that I doubt you. I’m unsure of this path because it’s not in line with headquarters’ orders. I was told to stay here and wait for a partner to be assigned to me. I’ve never disobeyed reasonable orders before, Reece. What if Cullum tosses me from the demon hunters? Where would I go?”

A man cleared his throat behind her.

Startled, she turned.

Belinda and Gabriel stood inside the doorway.

Embarrassed, Lillian rose brushed out her skirts and pulled her shoulders back.

Gabriel closed the door behind them and ushered his lovely wife forward. A bump preceded Belinda’s normally athletic figure, evidencing the coming of the couple’s first child.

“We did not mean to eavesdrop, but since we overheard the last of your concerns, I have something to add.” Gabriel Thurston had been a soldier in the king’s army and fought bravely in France. He’d survived capture and imprisonment only to come home to London and find Belinda, his fiancée, altered from the sweet girl he’d left behind. The earl had taken a leap of faith to join them on a hunt and afterward join The Company.

How any depth of feeling survived the madness of a hunter’s daily life was beyond explanation. Demons brought nothing but death and mayhem with them, yet they had found beauty in the midst of disaster.

Lillian straightened her spine. “Say your piece, my lord.”

“My name is Gabriel, as you well know, Lillian, since you have called me by that name on many occasions.” He flashed a crooked smile. “I speak for my wife and myself when I say, should the demon hunters ever be foolish enough to dismiss you, you shall always have a place with us. I could not work for an organization that showed you disrespect after all you have given to this cause.”

Her vision clouded and her throat clogged. “Perhaps you should know what I’m about to do before you make such a blanket statement.”

Belinda stepped in front of Lillian. A smile lit her eyes, and she brushed blond hair back from her forehead. “It makes no difference to us, Lilly. We are confident whatever mission you choose will always be for the cause of good. If you need our help, you have only to ask and we are at your service. I would be dead now, or worse, living in the hell of the demon realm if you had not risked your life to help save me.”

Lillian took her hands. “I appreciate the thought very much, Belinda, but you might not feel that way if you knew.”

Gabriel said, “You underestimate our powers of deduction if you think we cannot recognize Shafton has something to do with whatever you intend.”

“He’s your family. I do not want to put more strain on your relationship with your father, Belinda. You have just become reacquainted.” Even though they were not her blood, they were the only family she knew. She didn’t want to lose them, but some things were more important than what she wanted.

A deep frown marred Belinda’s pretty face. “My father overreacted in the dining room. Everyone at the table saw it. I hope my father is not so foolish as to harm the hunters or England, but my relationship with him is tentative at best. We shall stand behind you no matter the outcome.”