Page 114 of Of Fate and Phantoms
He resumed dressing, pulling his shirt over his head, allowing me a moment to watch and admire. "What about them?"
"Their presence here makes Lichfield very crowded, and I'm not sure Lady V will cope with them all running about. Since the cottage you gave me for my birthday sits empty, I thought I'd give it to them. They can live there, get jobs or go to school. A dry, warm place to stay will do them wonders."
He hiked up his trousers at the knees and sat. "I've been thinking about them, too, and have a better idea."
"You've been thinking about Mink and Finley? I knew it."
His eyes narrowed. "What does that mean?"
"It means I knew you cared about them more than you admitted. You left them a coat while I was away, and perhaps more that you won't own up to. They certainly wore better clothes than when I lived there. It's not a weakness to care about them, Lincoln. It merely makes you more human."
His lips twitched. "Less like a machine?"
"I never thought you were a machine. I only called you that to rile you."
"You did not succeed. Not with that."
"Can we get back on topic, please? What's your idea and how could it possibly be better than mine? I think giving them the cottage solves many of their problems."
"But not all. It is a good idea," he added quickly. "And the boys may prefer it when they hear the particulars of mine." He stretched out his legs until his bare feet were alongside my booted ones. "I inherited more than the general's position on the committee. I inherited his house and fortune, neither of which are inconsiderable."
"You want to give them the general's house! But it's enormous and there are only five of them."
"Not them, Gus's aunt, Mrs. Sullivan."
Gus's great aunt had been a charwoman for more than forty years, but in her retirement had opened up her home to poor girls in need of shelter. She was a kind soul, full of vigor, wisdom and a generous spirit that outstripped her means. I knew Lincoln gave her money to provide for the girls, something he'd only begun to do after I noted how Mrs. Sullivan could have changed my life if I'd met her years ago.
"You win," I said, smiling. "Your idea is better than mine."
"You haven't heard it all yet."
"I don't need to. I suspect you'll hand over the running of the house to her, and let her take in as many girls as she can manage. Boys too. She'll need help with all of that."
"The house is staffed, their wages paid for out of the income earned from Eastbrooke's investments. There's enough to cover more staff, provisions, and wages for a permanent teacher."
"You have thought it through," I said.
"Do you think Mink's gang will agree to it? They don't strike me as the sort who'll take kindly to being told what to do."
"If they want to live in the free world and not behind bars, they'll have to get used to a little discipline in their lives. But not too much. Mrs. Sullivan is very fair. She'll have the right touch. And I know Mink will secretly want an education. He's so bright, he could be anything when he grows up." Tears pricked my eyes and tingled my nose. "Oh, Lincoln, don't ever let anyone tell you you're unkind. You're going to change their lives for the better. Few people can go to their graves saying that."
"I'm not dead yet, despite King's best efforts." But he smiled to soften the shock of his statement.
It still wiped the smile off my face. The beatings had been brutal, and the thought of King wandering freely around the city sickened me. He ought to pay for what he'd done. But how? Tell the police? That would involve a trial and we'd all be witnesses. It wasn't an ideal situation but I would do whatever was necessary.
Lincoln crouched in front of me and took my hand. "Thank you for staying in Rugby Street and not going home. If not for you, we would not be alive."
I looked down at our hands because I didn't want him to see me cry. Somehow I'd blocked out my role in tonight's events, but now it all came crashing back. "I killed her. I ended her life."
"It was kill someone or die ourselves. All of us."
"I know." I looked up and wanted to fall into the warm depths of his eyes and never come out. "I would do it again given the same circumstances. If it's in my power to save you, I will."
He kissed my forehead. I closed my eyes and listened to my thundering heart, my ragged breaths. I knew he meant it as a platonic kiss, but it still affected me deeply. Everything about him did.
* * *
Gawler arrivedmid-morning as Lincoln and I prepared to go to the palace. With so many people now living at Lichfield, it was difficult to find somewhere private to talk. We had to ask Mink to leave the library. He took a stack of books with him.
