Leon was already fully healed by the time we got back to the house. It was fast, even for us. I asked him about it.

“One of the benefits of staying in my original body.” He was mainly concerned with his bloody appearance so I asked the man who had served as Julian’s valet to show Leon to the dressing room. My future husband and my past one were about the same size. There was bound to be something that fit. It felt intimate having him in the private section of the house.

Mr. Edwin Hall walked into the room carrying an oversized briefcase. As confident and steady as any seeing man, Ed used the hidden latch to open the secret room. He had finished with the final canister as Leon joined us. I explained the device’s purpose and Leon immediately wanted to have it run on him. Ed acquiesced. He aimed the bell end of the collector at Leon and my fiancé did not flinch, even though his body had been blasted with a similar-looking device only an hour earlier.

I kept quiet while Ed showed Leon how it worked. “Brilliant,” Leon declared.

“Quite,” I agreed. “Madame Morvou?”

“Appears human, my lady,” Ed answered. “Her two assistants also. There was another Carrier in that room, in addition to you and the Viscount.”

“Was it—”

“The same scent as one of those you found lingering in the rooms your nephew occupied before disappearing, yes.”

Either Theodore had killed Madame Morvou or a person very close to him had.

Ed was about to take his leave when I realized now was the time to ask. “I have a curious object on which I would appreciate your opinion.” I turned to Leon and added, “Both of you.” Pulling the cylinder from my pocket, I held it out in front of me.

The two men approached. “May I?” Ed inquired and then explained. “These,” he said, gesturing to his sight-giving goggles, “do well to map out the objects in a room but do not provide as much detail as my fingertips.”

Nodding, I allowed him to take it. I had no time to contemplate if my reaction would be the same as when Dawn held it, for he immediately handed it back. Cradling it against my chest eased my apprehension. Ed held his palms out to Leon. “Are my hands burned?” he asked my fiancé.

“They appear quite normal. Do they feel injured?”

“No,” Ed answered. “Holding it didn’t hurt, but it filled me with the dread that it could and would if I hadn’t returned it quickly.”

“Where and for what reason did you acquire such an item?” Leon asked what Ed would never presume was his right to know.

I told them of Ning Shiru and his warning that led me to believe it was a weapon for a female warrior. I also described the liquid-filled center and the elaborate carvings of the woman, her suitors, and the mob.

“I could find a way to take a sample of the liquid to test its qualities,” my tinkerer offered.

Seeing the way I clutched the cylinder, the most honest man I’ve ever known then said, “If keeping that object safe matters, you will not let it out of your sight. For while I fear it, more overwhelming is my desire to see it destroyed. Other men may feel the same way.”

So females would long to be its owner and males would take action to keep it from us. It was up to me to discover its power in secret.

 

The inspector arrived at our home a few hours later. His uniform was new, yet the tailor had underestimated his size. This man was either well-compensated at his job or he took bribes, and lots of them. His mustache completely hid his mouth and only the wiggling revealed its location when he talked. I showed him into the library and asked him to sit, though he wouldn’t. I ordered tea and knew by the look on his face that when it came, he wouldn’t reject that hospitality. The constable who came with him stood outside.

The inspector asked, “What were you doing at the house of Madame Morvou this morning?”

“I had an appointment with her for a reading,” I replied, “and when she did not show, my fiancé and I went to the address on her card.”

The disdain for the supernatural showed on his face. He obviously thought my interest in such things foolish. “What did you find there?”

“You must have seen or you would not be here.” We heard a scuffle in the entry. Someone was coming into the library whether Mr. Boyd allowed it or not. My steward was not accustomed to being bowled over.

Paetus strode into the room with Mr. Boyd on his heels. Flush-faced and improperly dressed, he looked as if he’d been roused from slumber and dressed in the carriage ride. “Thank the gods you are all right.” He raised his volume as he declared, “If that fiancé of yours cannot keep you safe then he doesn’t deserve you and I will have to whisk you away for your own protection.” Paetus winked at me.

I whispered to Mr. Boyd to make sure that Leon knew Paetus was in the house. He had probably heard the man’s entrance. I must act as if Paetus was perfectly welcome in my home and I felt comfortable entertaining him, though in reality my heart beat unnaturally fast from the second he came in. Dawn was so near. What if he could sniff her out? What if he used his touch to force the truth from us?

Just then tea was wheeled in and Paetus flippantly dismissed the inspector. When the inspector made no move to leave, he was hit with the brunt of Paetus’ attention. “Why are you still here?” Paetus demanded. “Have you taken a sudden dislike for club money?”

“I… I wa-was just g-gathering information for my report,” the inspector stammered. “Surely you don’t mean to say she is a member?” He inclined his head at me as if I couldn’t see him.

“Sugar, lemon, or milk?” I asked Paetus.

“Sugar, my dear. Six, if you please. My sense of taste is not what it used to be.” He smiled at me and then turned back to the waiting inspector to answer his query. “That is exactly what I mean to say.”

“B-bu-but she is a…a woman.” He said the last in a whisper as if it was a salty word, or maybe he thought I wasn’t aware of my gender.

I passed tea to Paetus and he took a generous gulp, not waiting for it to cool. It must have burned him but he didn’t show that he’d even noticed. “Lady Brooksberry was inducted before her husband perished. After, she took his place in the top tier. Her protection comes second only to mine, as owner of the club. Her fiancé, however spineless he might be, is also a member and thus above suspicion.”

“The foreigner, an Italian?” That was worse in the inspector’s opinion than being a female.

Paetus was a Roman and I could see it rankled him to have the inspector insult his heritage. “I have had quite enough of your questioning, Inspector. You should go.”

“My report must be completed. I won’t be able to gloss over the death of Madame Morvou.”

“And just why not?”Paetus asked, incredulously. “She was a commoner, a swindler…she most likely tried to charge the murderer for fraudulent services.”

“She was known by many powerful people and there were witnesses,” the inspector pressed.

“Who saw what…a carriage?” Paetus argued.

It wasn’t difficult to determine who owned the carriage seen racing away from the scene of the crime. I was the only peeress, besides the queen and her daughters, who traveled so heavily guarded. Don’t worry, Sally assured me. No one would think that a woman of means such as yourself could ever do anything as horrific as that.

They might, I argued back. I am no stranger to bizarre deaths. If anything, they might believe I’m a serial killer. If I were ever held to the same courts as regular men, I could easily be found guilty. There was enough evidence of my involvement in illicit activities.

“Pshaw.” Paetus flicked his hand through the air. “You just say in your report that Lady Brooksberry was there to employ the medium’s services and was terribly distraught by what she saw and left in a hurry after her fiancé was caught in the crossfire.”

“Actually, that is what happened, inspector,” Leon said in his Italian accent. He stood in the hall, leaning heavily on a walking cane.

Paetus stood and bowed to me. “You have your hands full with family concerns. Now that I know you are well, I can rest easy. Thank you for the wonderful tea. I hope to see you at the club again soon. I will see myself out, since I saw myself in.” He smiled in that roguish way that made me almost forget what a fiend he was. “I will take the inspector with me.”

They left with only a short pause for Paetus to shake hands with and whisper something to Leon. After they were gone, Leon joined me for tea. I noted that he took his with a bit of lemon and a single sugar—the same way I took mine.

“What did Paetus say to you?” I asked.

“Nothing.”

I frowned, hurt that he would keep something from me.

He elaborated, “Oh, how I should donate more Carriers to the fights and how I am a disappointment to all Incola—you know, the usual.”

For the first time I was suspicious of Leon. He and I had been alone the previous night when I told him about Madame Morvou. I certainly hadn’t killed her. Sally neither. That only left him. Maybe I shouldn’t trust him as explicitly as I had been.

The spirit talking through the medium had said that Archelaos was closer to his heart’s desire than he had ever been. What if he warned me that my husband-to-be was under the control of my deceased husband? What had been my husband’s desire: me, my ability to birth an army, my children? No one was closer to us than Leon. Why would he leave the message about your blood belonging to him? It doesn’t make sense, Ramillia, Sally argued with reason but the man I had known as Julian was sly. He could be sending me on a wild goose chase.

While I sat contemplating, Ambrose came skipping in looking dapper in his sailor suit. Dawn walked behind him, somber but beautiful in her blue matching dress. My son stopped and glared at Leon, ignoring the man’s attempts to entice him closer with a scone. He came to me and in a volume none too low said, “What is he doing here at this hour?”

I pulled him onto my lap. “We had an appointment and he was injured. He is only resting and recuperating.”

“The servants say he will move in here and be my new father. I don’t like him.”

“Ambrose! What has gotten into you? I taught you better manners than that. I am so sorry, Leon.” I apologized even though a part of me wondered if I shouldn’t give more credence to a child’s instinct.

“That is all right, Ramillia,” said Leon. “I can understand. Ambrose has been the only male in the family for years now. It is not uncommon that he would feel threatened by me. Dawn likes me well enough for the both of them, don’t you, dear?” He pulled Dawn onto his knee and complimented her hair. “I remember when I found you. I knew straight away that you were Ramillia’s daughter. You will be as beautiful as your mother one day.” He bounced a golden curl with his fingertips.

“Don’t touch her!” Sally screamed at him. She stood us up, bringing Ambrose with her. I tried to soothe her but something in the way Leon had touched and admired Dawn had triggered her memories of Papa. Sally would do anything to keep Dawn from being abused as we were.

“Ramillia,” Leon uttered, his hurt at the accusation obvious. “You know I would never be untoward with Dawn.”

“Dawn, come here,” Sally ordered. “Just don’t touch her, Leon. I am warning you.”

“I am the one who found her, who rescued her. I am not y—”

“I think you should go.”

Leon stood. “I am sorry you feel that way and I will always defer to you in matters of your children. I will find a way to endear myself to the boy and you again.”

 

Leon’s endearment was effective indeed. Adorable too. He requested our presence in the garden, wearing a smile so infectious I wondered what made him so confident. “With your permission, I would like to present Ambrose with a gift.” I kept Dawn near me and Ambrose stood almost inside my skirts. I nodded my permission. Ignoring the dirt, he knelt in front of us, focusing on the small child. Making a big show out of patting his pockets and looking for something, Leon opened his jacket. A beagle puppy’s head peeked from his inside left breast pocket.

A chorus of “aww” came from all three of us. It licked our hands when we tried to pet it. Dawn asked, “Can we keep it, Mama?”

“Of course,” I assured her. How could anyone resist a face as cute as that?

Leon’s plan was genius. “Every boy needs a dog. I will come over every day to take care of it. You won’t have to do a thing, Ramillia. Ambrose and I will make sure he is fed and exercised properly, won’t we?”

My son didn’t answer him but asked me, “Is he my dog? No one else’s? He’s all mine?”

Leon took the pup out of his pocket, handed him to Ambrose, and answered, “Yes, he is all yours. You are big enough to be responsible for a dog of your own. I was your age when I got my first pet but I had many brothers to share with and to have help from. You can’t have a dog without a name. What would you like to call him?”

Ambrose thought for a moment, looking at the puppy face. “Baxter…no, Angus. His name is Angus.”

“Angus it is. I cannot think of a better name for him.”

Ambrose put Angus on the ground and the chase began. My fiancé and son frolicked for hours that day. They got dirty and all three smelled like dogs when they were finished. I sat with Dawn on the bench, watching them. That day is the fondest memory I have of Ambrose. He was just a boy that day. A boy with his dog. I can’t remember a time when he looked as happy.

When the sun became too much for our delicate skin, we females went inside. I took the opportunity to speak with Dawn about men in general and about Leon in particular. I was as delicate as possible on such an indelicate subject but I did not speak in vague metaphors. I told her what occurred at night between a man and his bride. I described the process and blushed profusely. Dawn was embarrassed but handled it well enough.

I told her that men valued ignorance in their brides, mistaking it for innocence. She would do well to feign naiveté of the matter.

I didn’t want to admit that my father had inappropriate physical contact with me when I was very young. Sally said we must. My mother had known and did nothing to protect me. She had even blamed me. I steeled myself and said, “It is never okay for a man to touch a young girl, no matter what he says.” I asked her to tell me if any man made her uncomfortable. “I will not be angry with you for this, no matter who the man may be. I would go to any lengths to protect you. Do you understand how important you are to me?”

“Yes, Mama.”

“I must ask you before I allow Leon to take a place in this family. Has he ever touched you or treated you in an ungentlemanly way?” I would not hesitate to extricate ourselves from his grasp.

“No, he is nice to me.”

Her comment seemed to only be half a statement. She was hesitant to tell me something. “Has anyone?” I pressed. “Whatever it is will be less scary after being shared. You can tell me anything. There is no one I love more in this world than you.”

“Even Ambrose?” she asked, her voice barely a whisper. She refused to make eye contact.

“Has your brother done something?” I had just told her I would take her side, never doubt her, but already I was tempted to go back on my word. Not my son, I silently prayed.

“No, Mama. It’s just that sometimes I catch him looking at me…at night…or when we are fighting…like he wants to gobble me up…like he knows a secret that I don’t…like he has plans for me. It is hard to describe but it always makes me feel strange.”

Had Ambrose inherited a pension for sexual feelings for his immediate family from my father, the way Thaddeus had? “He is just a baby, probably curious about the gentler sex. Even so, I am glad you told me. I will keep my eyes on him. We will get you moved out of the nursery too. I should have done it long ago but I guess I am hesitant to let you grow up yet. I missed so much of your childhood.” I pulled her into a hug. “I am so sorry, Dawn.”

“It’s all right, Mama. I understand. You’re a lady. You can’t very well declare to the world that you have a bastard from your youth.”

I held her away from me to look at her. “Is that what you think, that I sent you away and keep your existence hidden because I am protecting my reputation? Not so. I am unashamed of you and could not care less about my reputation.”

I paced the room, wondering how much I should tell her. I had already burdened her with so much. “I keep you hidden because there are bad people who want nothing more than to use you, imprison you, breed you until you die. I won’t have that. Your life is your own, to do whatever you want, but before I can free you, I must make the world safer.” Women’s suffrage was a small movement with no real backing. I wasn’t interested in politics but knew that until women had equal rights with men, Dawn would never be truly free. Maybe not even then, for our world had less equality than the human one. “You can travel, study, publish, do anything you desire. If you want nothing more than to have a family then you shall have it, but no man will force you to it. You will have your choice in husband. You will not be sold.”

Pausing again, I hesitated to tell her the whole truth. Sally insisted, She should know. “My husband gave your hand in marriage to a man named Paetus Crowley even before he laid eyes on you. I would give you choice in the matter but the law sees it differently. Julian thought of you as a possession to be bartered. Paetus is of the same mindset and is desperate to acquire you. He does not know you are here and I would like to keep it that way.”

“Why would he want me so badly?” she asked.

“You are special, like me.”

She looked delighted at her bare hands. “What is my gift?”

“You may have the gift of touch—we know not yet.” Both my children knew my touch was special, that it excited, although we had never discussed the source of that power. “You and Ambrose, and every child of mine to come, are not normal. Neither are Leon, Julian, me, and even Paetus. We carry genetic traits that allow us to live much longer than humanly possible. We heal quickly and are difficult to kill. You will grow up but never grow old. Ambrose is at a disadvantage because there are many males but few females. You and I are extra special because, as women, every child we bear will carry the same traits. That is why Paetus wants you so much. Without you, only a portion of his children have a chance of being Carriers.”