Page 33 of Of Fate and Phantoms
I sighed and shut the door behind them. I considered myself a non-violent person, but if ever a man deserved to be thrashed, it was Gillingham.
I spent the next little while interviewing the housekeeper that Lady Vickers had chosen before helping Cook in the newly refurbished kitchen until the others returned in time for a late luncheon.
I didn't need to ask how their morning went. The frustration was written clearly across Seth and Gus's faces. Lincoln's was as impassive as ever.
"We were thwarted at every turn." Seth lowered himself into the armchair in the corner of the kitchen and stretched out his long legs. "No one would answer our questions, not even when we paid them."
"That in itself is telling," I said. "Perhaps they're keeping mum because they're afraid of this fellow."
"Or they know nothing," Lincoln said, peering into the pot on the stove.
"Who did you speak to?"
"Anyone we came across," said Gus, pulling bowls out of the cupboard. "Flower sellers, vagabonds, old women who were too slow to run away from us." He set the bowls on the table. "They're a suspicious lot."
"They probably thought you were the police."
"Dressed like this?" Seth plucked at his thick brown woolen trousers. He'd discarded his coat, jacket and cap in the cloakroom upon his return. The three of them had gone out in clothes befitting laborers, not gentlemen, to blend in. It would seem it wasn't enough.
"It is strange that you didn't get a single piece of useful information," I said to Lincoln. "Interrogation has always been one of your strengths."
"Fitzroy should have questioned them more thoroughly," Seth told me. "He's gone sof—" He cut himself off as Lincoln's gaze turned hard.
Lincoln dipped a wooden spoon into the pot and tasted the soup. Cook would admonish either Seth or Gus if they did that, but he didn't even wince this time. "I find my methods of interrogation somewhat restricted these days," Lincoln said.
Because hehadsoftened somewhat, most likely because of my influence.
"We'll try again tomorrow," he said.
"In a different area?" I asked. "Using a different approach?"
"Perhaps."
"Why don't I come with you? That way—"
"No!" Seth chopped his hand through the air. "Absolutely not. Whitechapel is not for ladies."
I pressed my fist to my hip. "Have you forgotten that I used to live there?"
"Have you forgotten that you're no longer a scrawny lad but a…" He made the shape of a curvy woman with his hands. "A pretty lady of breeding and education?" He pushed to his feet and snatched up a bowl. "No gentleman in his right mind would allow a lady he cared about to wander through the slums of the East End. Right, Fitzroy?" Seth thrust his bowl at Cook and arched his brows at Lincoln.
Lincoln plucked a bowl off the table too. "If you're not busy tomorrow, Charlie, I'd appreciate your help."
Seth shook his head and muttered something at the ceiling that sounded French.
"She'll be fine," Gus told him, lining up for his soup. "We'll be there to make sure nothing happens to her."
"I'llbe there," Lincoln said.
"What are we supposed to do while you two go gallivanting through Whitehall after a body changer who may or may not exist?" Seth asked.
"You could take your mother and Alice out," I quipped. "I'm sure they'd both love spending time with you. Do try not to make cow eyes at Alice, though. You know how it riles Lady V."
He screwed up his nose. "Stop being so smug, Charlie. You only won because he can't say no to you, not because it's a good idea."
Cook snorted as he ladled soup into my bowl. "Seth be asking for it now," he whispered.
"The stables need cleaning," Lincoln told Seth. "There's a task for you tomorrow. Gus can take the day off."
