Page 77 of From the Ashes
"They were dismissing him anyway," I said. "He simply agreed to it."
"Huh?" Seth rubbed his fingers in his eyes then blinked back at us. " You two really shouldn't be left alone with the committee."
We told them how the committee had met that day and voted to oust Lincoln as leader, and why, mentioning that Eastbrooke had been the only one against the decision. We went on to tell them what Lincoln and I had subsequently decided to do.
"Then, when all this is over, they'll happily reinstate you as leader," Seth said with a knowing tap of his finger on the side of his nose.
"Aye." Gus nodded. "They'll be bowin' and scrapin' and beggin' you to come back. Make sure I'm there. I want to see it."
"I'll reassess how I feel about the ministry after the murderer is caught," Lincoln said. "I might not return."
Two sets of eyes bulged. Then they both turned to me, as if I held the answer to why Lincoln had suddenly lost his mind.
I stood, wanting to cut off questions before they uttered them. "Goodnight, everyone."
"We go out for one evenin' and look what happens," Gus mumbled, helping Seth out of the chair. "We come home to a mess."
Seth nodded, but the action caused him to sway. Gus caught him before he fell back into the chair. "They shouldn't be left on their own with only the servants to keep an eye on them. We can't trust them."
I smiled as I headed out, feeling content for the first time in weeks.
* * *
"Finally!" Lady Vickers declared when I told her there was no need to keep my return a secret anymore.
"Finally?" I asked. We sat in the sitting room by the fire. Lincoln had taken Dr. Fawkner with him to Barts to find out what he could about Lord Harcourt's investments. He'd promised the doctor he'd take him to see his mother and sisters afterward, as long as he did as he was told. A bleary-eyed Seth was visiting The Honorable Jane Stebney-Green's maid. Meanwhile, Gus kept watch over me, a job he took very seriously. He'd already ordered me back from the window when I went to sit there to soak up the morning sunshine. He remained alert while Lady Vickers and I sewed.
"Yes, finally," Lady Vickers repeated. "There is already interest surrounding you, thanks to my edited account of your intriguing past. Once I put out the word that you're available to attend parties, I expect the invitations to pour in. I'll begin today."
"So soon?"
She patted my knee. "Of course, my dear. There's no time to waste. You're not getting any younger."
I sighed and appealed to Gus for help.
"It might be fun," he said with a shrug. "You need a little fun. Ain't good for you to be cooped up in here."
"How did Seth fare?" I asked, eager to change the subject. "Did he meet any agreeable young ladies last night?"
"Several," his mother said with a preening smile. "He was very popular."
"Any in particular catch his eye?"
"Miss Yardly seemed to, and I knowhecaughthereye. She told me after dinner that he was utterly charming, and he amused her greatly."
Gus and I exchanged glances and suppressed smiles. Miss Yardly had been the debutant with the roving hands.
"He must like her," Gus said with a serious air. "He mentioned her last night, didn't he, Charlie?"
I glared at him until Lady Vickers looked my way, an expectant smile on her face. "Did he? I wasn't sure he took to her. She's not the prettiest girl or the wittieset, but her father's business is doing well, by all accounts, so she's popular. Very much so." She lowered her sewing to her lap and frowned at the fire. "Although, her popularity is quite out of proportion to his wealth. All the gentlemen seemed to be trying to catch her eye last night. Indeed, they couldn't stop looking at her." She sighed. "That's what happens when a girl with such a feminine shape wears a low cut gown. At least you won't have that problem, Charlie."
My cheeks heated, but I couldn't protest. She was right.
Lady Vickers picked up her sewing again and attacked it with vigor. "Mrs. Yardly ought to point to Lady Harcourt as an example to teach her daughter some modesty. That woman doesn't know the meaning of covering up."
Gus's cheeks flamed and he kept his gaze firmly on the window, pretending not to be listening. Lady Vickers seemed to have forgotten he was there.
"To be fair," I said, "Lady Harcourt has fallen prey to the gossips over her past as a dancer, not her clothing."
