Page 39 of From the Ashes
Or was it because he knew I would one day be on my own again, gone from Lichfield, and in need of shelter?
I couldn't think through my tumultuous thoughts. I felt like I was floating adrift, unable to steer my boat. I turned and ran from the room. He didn't follow.
I ran outside and across the lawn. The wind nipped at my face and teased my hair from its pins. It whipped my cheeks and stung my eyes. By the time I reached the bare trees in the orchard, I was out of breath, yet my mind was a little clearer. I climbed my favorite apple tree, even though it gave me no shelter, barren as it was. When I reached the topmost limbs, I sat in the fork of two branches and wiped away my tears.
The estate of Lichfield spread before me, draped in what remained of the morning frost. Smoke from four of the chimneys curled up to the insipid blue sky, but otherwise, the house was quiet, dormant. Lincoln hadn't followed me out. I shivered, suddenly cold.Thiswas my home. If Lincoln was telling the truth, and he didn't plan on sending me away again, why give me a house that I wasn't going to live in?
'I wanted to give you something that will make a difference to your life,'he'd said.
I suddenly understood. Aside from a home, which I already had in Lichfield, the one thing I desired most of all was freedom to do as I pleased, to not be a victim of others' whims, even his. As an unmarried woman with no money and no experience working in a trade, I was entirely at his mercy, something that had been driven home to me all too well. By giving me the house, Lincoln was giving me a means to earn money through the rental income, or to keep the capital if I chose to sell it. The house gave me freedom and independence that few women possessed, and even fewer unwed ones.
It certainly would make a difference to my life, and not merely in a financial way. It bought me time to choose my own future. I didn't need to rush into marriage, but could wait. It meant I would never have to rely on Lincoln—or anyone—rescuing me, as I'd had to do at the school. If I ever found myself in that situation again, I could just leave and live off the money from the rent. I would never again be homeless.
I laid my cheek against the cool, rough branch and breathed. Just breathed. My thudding heartbeats were loud in the stillness, echoing through my body, between my ears. Was this real? Was I now truly safe and in command of my own life?
Or would my security be once again ripped from me when I least expected it?
The rumble of wheels on the drive made me sit up straight and peer over the treetops toward the gate. Two carriages approached. If the occupants looked toward the orchard at the side of the house, I would be seen in the bare tree.
I climbed down, snagging my hem on a twig. "Damn." I picked up my skirts and ran toward the back of the house. I peeked round the wall, just as the carriages stopped at the front steps. General Eastbrooke alighted from the foremost coach, followed by Lord Gillingham. Lady Harcourt and Lord Marchbank stepped out of the second one. Hell. The committee had arrived.
Chapter 8
"Have you gone mad?" Lord Gillingham's voice could be heard from where I stood in the depths of the service area at the back of the house.
I bit my lip and slipped past Bella, arranging tea things on a tray to join Gus and Cook in the corridor just outside the kitchen. "He sounds angry," I whispered. There was no need to whisper. The committee members wouldn't have heard us speaking in our normal voices, but it came naturally.
"Bloody furious," Gus said. "Sounds like they just learned Fitzroy's been warnin' the supernaturals. That were quick."
They all had spies, some in government organizations where they even set triggers on certain files to alert them of anyone requesting the records. It wouldn't surprise me if they also had people watching the supernaturals here in the city too.
"You haven't thought this through," came General Eastbrooke's booming voice in response to something someone, probably Lincoln, had said.
"What will it take for Death to hit one of 'em?" Gus asked with a snicker.
"Or kill 'em," Cook added. "My money's on Gilly going first."
"Is Seth with him?" I asked.
Gus nodded just as Doyle appeared up ahead. His brisk footsteps were at odds with his usual steady pace. "Tea! And quickly!"
"Bella be doing it now," Cook told him.
"Which room are they going into?" I asked, following Doyle into the kitchen.
"Library," he said, shooing Bella out of the way. She clicked her tongue and thrust her hands on her hips. He ignored her. "Out of Lady Vickers' hearing."
"But not out of mine."
"You're going to listen at the door?" Cook said.
"Of course."
He grunted. "Don't get caught."
"I'll go in now," Gus told me. "I'll stand by the door and tap it if someone is about to leave."
"You're a marvel," I said.
