Page 103 of Affair

She eased her arm through the broken windowpane and groped for the door lock.

She was inside in a matter of seconds. Housebreaking was a surprisingly uncomplicated business.

She went through the kitchens to the stairs that led to the ground floor.

“Is anyone home?” she called loudly. “Miss Post?”

An eerie silence was the only answer.

Her sense of foreboding increased as she slowly climbed the stairs. An unwholesome scent greeted her in the front hall.

“Juliana? It’s Charlotte Arkendale.”

No response.

She sniffed cautiously. The smoky smell was familiar. She recalled that Juliana used an exotic blend of incense to provide atmosphere for her fortune-telling sessions.

This is different, Charlotte thought.Not the same fragrance as last time. But I know it. From where?

And then it struck her. This odor was very similar to the unwholesome incense that Hamilton and his friends had used in their private chamber at The Green Table. But there was a subtle difference. This time the vapor seemed darker, more acrid.

“Juliana?”

The door to the small parlor that Juliana used for her fortune-telling sessions was closed. Charlotte could see tendrils of scented smoke wafting out from beneath it.

A terrible sense of urgency washed through her. She rushed down the hall to the door, grabbed the knob, and twisted frantically.

The door was locked.

Shocked, she glanced down at the unyielding lock and saw the key. Someone had deliberately locked the room from this side.

“Juliana.”

Frantic now, Charlotte unlocked the door and yanked it open.

Great billowing clouds of incense curled out into the hall and swirled around her. It stung her eyes and made her head swim.

She stepped back quickly and grabbed her handkerchief from her reticule. Taking a deep breath, she folded the cloth once and held it over her nose and mouth.

She dashed into the exotic black and crimson room. The incense was so heavy in there that it appeared as though a fog had settled inside the parlor. Her eyes watered. She could take only a moment to search for Juliana. She knew that she would not be able to stay in this room any longer than she could hold her breath.

She almost stumbled over the low fortune-telling table. She looked down and saw several cards lying faceup. One of them had fallen to the floor. It depicted a shrouded figure holding a scythe. An unmistakable image of death.

She stepped around the table and looked toward the hearth. A bundle of crimson satin robes was tumbled on the floor next to the scarlet sofa.

Juliana.

Lungs burning, Charlotte rushed toward the prone figure on the carpet. She could not tell if Juliana was dead or alive. There was no time to check.

Holding the handkerchief with one hand, she grabbed one of Juliana’s ankles and started to drag her toward the door. Fortunately, Juliana’s satin robes slid easily along the carpet.

But the door was very far away. She knew she would not make it if she did not take a breath. She was already dizzy.

She inhaled cautiously through the handkerchief.

The linen reduced the intensity of the incense but it could not filter out all of it. At first Charlotte thought that it had had no effect. Then she watched in horror as the black and scarlet room began to melt and dissolve before her eyes.

The incense, she thought. It was doing this to her. She must keep moving toward the door.

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