Page 35 of Of Fate and Phantoms
"He came here to order her to return home with him," I said. "He didn't like her speaking to me. He manhandled her and she lashed out. She's remarkably strong."
"Her senses are acute, too," Lincoln said. "Like an animal's."
"She picked him up and threw him at the wall as if he weighed nothing more than a cat. She shocked herself, I think. He came to and was still furious with her. He wanted to know why she was here so I told him about our meeting at the palace and how we needed her help. I didn't give him any details, though. He still didn't allow her to talk to me, however. She left without telling me what she wanted to say." I looked to Lincoln. "Should I not have told him anything?"
"I would have informed him and the others anyway," he said. "I'll set up a committee meeting."
I glanced at the clock on the mantel. "Gillingham already has. They'll convene here in thirty minutes."
"Cake and finger buns will be served," Cook said, rising. "I'll clean up now and start preparing the tea."
"You want us there?" Gus asked.
Lincoln nodded. "You'll attend all committee meetings from now on. It'll save me repeating everything later."
"They won't like it."
Lincoln lifted one shoulder and stood.
"Does that trouble you?" I asked Gus.
He grinned, revealing two rows of broken and missing teeth. "No. Just making sure it don't trouble no one else."
"Charlie," Lincoln said, holding out his hand. I placed my hand in his and we walked out of the kitchen together. "Gillingham will still be furious with you," he said.
"I know."
He rubbed his thumb along mine, the sensation gentle and soothing. "Do you want me to step in if he berates you?"
"Only if he seems to be getting the better of me. Perhaps just give him one of your deathly stares."
"Deathly stares?"
"The ones that make Gillingham and most others quake in their boots."
He pulled me into the dark recesses beneath the main staircase and held me against his body. My heart thumped so fiercely he must have been able to feel it. "You never quaked in your boots."
"I most certainly did. I just never let you see it."
He pressed his lips to my forehead and sighed. I put my arms around him and rested my cheek on his chest. His heartbeat was loud but steady.
"Did I ever look at you that way when I sent you to the school?" he asked.
"No. You hardly looked at me at all." I held him tighter, wanting him to know I didn't harbor any anger toward him for sending me from Lichfield. His deep regret had diminished my anger upon our reunion, and seeing him vulnerable, after the kitchen explosion, had dissolved it altogether. "I stopped being afraid shortly after meeting you when I realized you only killed in self-defense."
"Nowadays."
"But let's not tell Gillingham that." I pulled away and stroked his cheek. It was rough; he hadn't shaved before going into Whitechapel.
"I can always make an exception for him."
I laughed softly at his joke. At least, I thought it was a joke. "You'd better go and change for the meeting."
* * *
Lincoln'sfirst meeting as a member of the committee began with him reminding them that he was General Eastbrooke's heir and therefore not only inherited his house and wealth but also his position on the committee.
"Yes, yes," Gillingham said with a stamp of his walking stick into the floor. "We all know."
