Page 16 of Of Fate and Phantoms
I paced the entrance hall until Lady Vickers ordered me to be still. How could I be still when Lincoln might have to confront his father again?
Seth and Gus approached from the direction of the service area at the rear of the house. "Why are you all gathered near the door?" Seth asked.
His mother clasped his arms, her face alight with excitement. "Someone from the royal household is here!"
"Blimey," Gus muttered. "Who?"
The door suddenly opened and Lincoln entered. He handed the thoroughly wet umbrella to Doyle who raced away with it, dripping water onto the tiles.
"Well?" Lady Vickers asked. "Who was it?"
"The Prince of Wales," Lincoln said, his gaze connecting with mine.
"I knew it!" Lady Vickers clapped her hands. "What did he want?"
"To summon Charlie and me to the palace. He didn't say why, but it must be about Leisl's vision."
"Me?" I blurted out. "Go to Buckingham Palace? Don't be ridiculous. I can't go there. I'm a nobody."
"Did you not once say that you're Her Majesty's necromancer?"
I gave him a withering glare. "That was a joke, Lincoln, and you know it."
"The fact is, youareher necromancer. Although they've never been aware of our existence, we work for the crown. We've been summoned and we have to go."
"Can't you go alone?"
"No. This is a ghostly matter, and you see ghosts."
I needed to practice my curtsy.
"When word gets out about this, you'll be the envy of everyone." Lady Vickers lifted my arms and inspected my simple woolen dress. "You must change."
"Word about our visit is not to leave this house," Lincoln told her. "If we're recognized upon our arrival, then so be it, but gossip about the visit will not be traced to here. Is that clear?"
Lady Vickers bowed her head, all demure acquiescence. "Of course. Now, Charlie, your dress."
"I'll wear the blue," I said.
"Why at the palace?" Seth asked. "Why not here? He did come all this way to speak to you, after all."
"He came in person because he didn't think an invitation in the hands of footmen would be safe enough," Lincoln said. "He doesn't want the world to know that he's taking Leisl's warning seriously. The meeting is to be at the palace because his mother wishes to attend."
"The queen!" My stomach churned. "I am to meet the queen?"
"After lunch."
"I can't possibly eat! Lady V, can you show me how to do a proper curtsy so that I don't lose my balance?"
Her eyes brightened. "It will be my pleasure. I've always wanted a daughter to teach the art of curtseying." She strode off to the parlor. "Come, Charlie, we'll begin immediately."
Seth frowned at me as I passed. "I feel as though I'm being replaced.
* * *
Both Sethand Gus insisted on driving us to Buckingham Palace, so in the end, Lincoln allowed them to sit together on the coachman's seat, but Gus held the reins. They drove us through to the palace courtyard and deposited us at the steps. Two footmen in the distinctive red and gold livery led us inside.
I tried very hard to act as if I walked the halls of palaces every day, but my wonder must have been clear on my face because Lincoln looked amused. How could he not gawp at such opulence? We were led through room after room filled with golden candelabras, vases and frames, ornately carved furniture, doors, and ceilings, and finely detailed frescoes. The lengths of thick drapes puddled on the floor and soft carpet woven with crowns deadened our footsteps. The blue and pink walls took me by surprise and didn't appeal to my tastes, but they did suit the palace's splendor.
