Page 92 of Of Fate and Phantoms
"Your wife's disappearance has nothing to do with Charlie," Lincoln said.
"It does! It must! She's never done anything like this before, never even entertained the thought of defying me, untilshevisited. You should learn to control your woman, Fitzroy, or—"
Lincoln reached into the cabin and grabbed Gillingham by the coat lapels. He dragged him along the seat and half pulled him through the window. Gillingham's face had been mottled red with anger, but now all the color drained away, leaving his freckles to stand out against the stark whiteness.
"You have only yourself to blame," Lincoln growled. "If you didn't forbid your wife to leave, she would have told you where she was going." He let go with a shove that sent Gillingham rocking back.
Gillingham smiled, a slippery tilt of his lips. "I'll ask you if you still think that in a year. I'll wager you'll understand then, when Charlotte's being willfully disobedient."
I placed a hand over Lincoln's arm. His tense muscles relaxed a little but not completely. "I have an inkling she might have gone to the East End," I said. "To see a man named Gawler who is like her. We spoke with him yesterday and your wife had more questions of him but didn't get to ask them."
"You took her to meet another! My God, you're more stupid than I—"
Lincoln grasped Gillingham's coat again. Gillingham flung his arms over his head to protect himself, dislodging his hat. When no punches were thrown he peeped out, blinked, and lowered his arms. Lincoln let him go.
"If you ask around the East End for a man named Gawler, you ought to find him," I said.
Gillingham stopped straightening his tie and coat. "You expect me to look for her? In the East End? Think again."
"You won't go there even to find her? Are you that afraid?"
"Of course I'm not afraid." His nostrils flared. "It's just that I can't be seen in that sort of place. What will people think?"
"That you're deeply worried about your wife, whom you love and wish to protect."
He sniffed and picked his hat up off the floor. "That is certainly not what they'd think. You really are a—" He glanced at Lincoln and sniffed again. "Youmust fetch her, Fitzroy. Be discreet. Nobody important must know. Understand?"
"I'll find her," Lincoln said. "But only because I want to learn more about her kind too, not because I think she's in danger. I'm busy this morning. I'll go later."
"Later! No, you must gonow!"
"Go yourself if you're that worried."
Lincoln and I walked away, leaving Gillingham spluttering protests and threats.
"You don't think she's in any danger?" I asked him.
"She has her animal senses to protect her."
I wasn't so confident. I didn't think Gawler would pose a threat, but the East End was full of unscrupulous, dangerous types who could easily take advantage of an innocent like Harriet.
"I can't stay here and do nothing, Lincoln," I said as we re-entered the house. "I have to find her."
"I suspected as much."
"We'll go now? Before you pay King a visit?"
He nodded and explained the situation to Seth and Gus. I couldn't help but feel it was my fault that Harriet had disappeared without telling anyone, but then I remembered what Lincoln had said to Gillingham. If he hadn't confined her to the house and turned the servants against her, she would have taken footmen.
A pounding knock on the front door had me jumping out of my skin. I'd heard Gillingham's carriage leave, so I knew it couldn't be him.
"Charlie!" came a shout from the other side. "Charlie, open up!"
"Finley?" I opened the door and Finley rushed inside, his face red.
He bent over at the waist and sucked in air. We crowded around him, waiting for him to catch his breath enough to speak. If I'd had a dreadful feeling in the pit of my stomach before, I now felt positively sick.
"Mink," he finally gasped out, still doubled over. "He's gone."
