Page 40 of Beyond the Grave
She nodded. "It was a few years later. He was angry, as I said, with both his son and daughter-in-law. He somehow heard a rumor that the baby was full-term, and he thought he had a right to know. I don't know how he found out, but I was able to confirm that he was correct. I'm not a liar, and it was the first and only time anyone has ever asked me directly about that baby."
"He was quite the controlling father, so I heard," Seth said. "I can imagine having this kept secret would anger him. It was, after all, his first grandchild, not merely a fetus. He probably would have liked to see him and hold him too before he died."
Lincoln shifted the curtain aside. "We are almost at the cemetery. Miss Pearson, did Andrew Buchanan ever ask these questions of you too?"
"No, just Lord Harcourt." She peered out the window as the coach rolled to a stop. "I've told you everything I know about the situation. May I go now?"
"Of course."
Seth opened the door, climbed out, then helped us ladies to alight. He remained behind with Gus, while Lincoln and I escorted Estelle to her grave. We continued past it, however, when we spotted a groundsman lingering nearby. Someone had raked over the disturbed soil to make it seem as if the body were still inside, so as not to alarm the public, but the groundskeeper watched us carefully. I did not recognize him.
Estelle kept her hat low over her head and her thin, knotty hands in her coat pockets until we were out of sight.
"We'll have to do it here," Lincoln said, stopping at a large tomb bearing a cross. It and the other tombs kept us hidden from the groundsman, but still I looked around anxiously. Fortunately the drizzling rain kept visitors away.
"When they find your body here, they'll know it's yours and return you," I assured Estelle.
She nodded. "No doubt they'll assume it was boys having a lark."
I hoped so. "How does this work? I can't send you back while you're like this."
"My strength is rapidly waning, but a reversing spell will speed up the process. You will notice the moment I've died again, so to speak, and then you can return my spirit. But first, I wish to thank you, Miss Holloway. Dr. Merton deserved justice, and because of you, I was able to deliver it."
My stomach rolled. I wasn't as certain that I'd done the right thing. What he'd done in his lifetime was heinous, however I didn't like being judge and jury—or playing God, for that matter.
She laid a hand on my shoulder and peered into my eyes. "You have helped save the lives and reputations of several young women today, but ultimately, his death is on my conscience, not yours." Without waiting for me to respond, she spoke some foreign words in the same harsh accent as earlier. At the end, she staggered a little then her eyes went dead. She remained standing, however, and her cracked, colorless lips stretched into the semblance of a smile. "There," she said crisply. "I am done. Now you may say your piece." She clasped her hands in front of her and tilted her chin. "Goodbye, Mr. Fitzroy."
Lincoln gave a shallow bow. "Farewell."
"Goodbye, Miss Holloway."
"Goodbye, Miss Pearson. Thank you for your assistance. I'll not trouble your spirit again. Please return to your afterlife now, Estelle Pearson. Leave this realm and go back."
The mist rose like a thin wisp of smoke from her chest. As the last of it left, the body crumpled, landing awkwardly on the grave. Lincoln righted it, propping her up in a sitting position. The mist formed the shape of Estelle, smiled at me, then whooshed up into the clouds.
"She's gone," I said on a sigh.
"We must leave before we're discovered." He took my hand, only to let it go again almost immediately. He stepped away from me and indicated I should walk first. "I'm sorry, I didn't bring an umbrella."
"The rain doesn't bother me."
"Even so."
We wound our way through the cemetery, keeping our heads bent against the light rain. I was in the midst of thinking through everything Estelle had told us when Lincoln spoke again, just as we headed out through the gate.
"How is your foot?"
"It no longer hurts, and I gave it every reason to do so today."
"You had no trouble descending the drainpipe?"
"None. Thank you for not doubting my ability to do it. I appreciate your faith in me."
"There was no other choice."
I gave him a withering glare. "Thank you for pointing that out."
He arched a brow and slowed, but I continued on. He caught up and reached past me for the coach door. "Your nimbleness and speed were never in doubt, Fleet-foot Charlie," he murmured in my ear.
