Page 26 of Beyond the Grave
"Your name was written in a journal belonging to Lord Harcourt," I told her.
Her eyes widened ever so slightly. "And?"
"And the journal was found in the belongings of his son, who has now disappeared. We're trying to find him."
"We?"
"My friends and I."
She glanced around the room then raised both her brows at me.
"They are not here at present," I said.
"Are they also necromancers?"
"No."
"Then I suppose their presence wasn't necessary. You seem quite unperturbed by what you've just done, Miss Holloway. Your calmness is unexpected in someone so young."
I detected a hint of admiration in her voice, and I smiled. "Thank you, but I've raised spirits before."
"Even so. You would make a good nurse, although I see that you have no need to make your own way in the world." She glanced around the room again. It may be only a small sitting room compared to Lincoln's, but it was intended for the mistress of Lichfield Towers, not a maid. Miss Pearson must have assumed I was somebody important.
I felt compelled to inform her of the truth. "I may, if I ever find myself losing my position here as maid."
She came forward and took a closer look at me. "Yes, I see the uniform now. You do seem like the sort of girl who has had to make her own way in the world for some time—sturdy of mind, confident in nature. Am I correct?"
"Thank you. And yes, you are."
"Now then, about the journal of Lord Harcourt and his missing son. I fail to see the connection between the two."
"There may be no connection, but we must look at every possibility. What particularly caught our attention is that your name appeared in Lord Harcourt's journal, in severe writing, underlined more than once. It was as if your name was very important to him. Do you know why?"
She blinked slowly. "I find it very difficult to converse with you like this, Miss Holloway."
I frowned. "What do you mean?"
"This spiritual form feels odd." She looked down at herself. "Somewhat…insignificant."
"Is that a problem?"
"I am an unmarried woman who has had to find her own way in life as a nurse. More doctors than I care to recall have treated me as insignificant, and so did much of the wider community. Without a husband or a fortune, I was nobody, unworthy of praise or even acknowledgement. My opinions were ignored, sometimes ridiculed, and I was frequently told to stop using my brain. Intelligence is unbecoming in a female, and unnecessary in a midwife who must bow to a doctor's superior knowledge." Her voice slurred into a sneer at the end. "I could have saved more babies and mothers if I had been allowed, I'm sure of it, but some incompetent doctors preferred to use methods they were taught decades ago, rather than listen to me. So you see, Miss Holloway, I would prefer a solid form instead of this faint one, if only for the few moments in which I answer your questions."
I rose from my chair so that I would be eye to eye with her. She was about my height, with a rather masculine face with strong bones and a heavy brow. Her gaze did not waver from mine and she did not back away.
"Are you saying you wish to occupy a body? You do understand that you cannot occupy a living one?" Only a medium could summon a spirit into a living body, so that the spirit overrode the person's conscious. It was known as possession. As a necromancer, I could only direct a spirit into adeadbody.
"I don't wish to occupy just any body, Miss Holloway. I wish to occupy mine."
I let out a breath. "Oh."
"The thought of being inside a stranger…" She shuddered. "You say this is Hampstead? Then my body will not be far. I made arrangements before my death to be buried at Highgate Cemetery. Do stop staring at me, Miss Holloway, and let's make haste to Highgate."
"I, er, will you answer my questions when you are in your body?"
"Yes."
"All of them?"
