Page 23 of Grave Expectations
"But not impossible."
"There will be other ways to send the witch back, we just don't know what they are yet."
Gillingham snorted.
Marchbank turned to Lady Harcourt. "Julia, what do you think?"
She had gone very pale. She hadn't moved a muscle or uttered a syllable since our announcement. It must be quite difficult for her to accept our relationship, since she believed Lincoln still loved her until quite recently. Her gaze shifted from Lincoln to mine then back again. "Do you have consent from her father?"
"Not yet," Lincoln said.
"If he doesn't give it, you'll have to wait until she's of age.
Lincoln said nothing. It would seem he wasn't going to tell them about our plan to get Holloway's guardianship overturned.
"Ha!" Gillingham slapped his hand down on the head of his walking stick. "Good point, Julia. It's unlikely he'll give it."
"He's ill," Marchbank said. "So Governor Crease from the House of Correction tells me. Perhaps he'll die."
Gillingham used his walking stick to push himself up and approached us. I steeled myself for more insults. Lincoln tensed. "This will pass, you know," he said to Lincoln. "What you think is love is just a passing…urge." He looked pleased with himself for choosing that word. "You're still young and ruled by your cock, but—"
Lincoln let me go, stepped forward, and punched Gillingham in the nose. Gillingham fell to the ground, clutching his face and choking out the vilest obscenities. Nobody went to his aid.
"Really, Lincoln," Lady Harcourt chided. "Was that necessary?"
"Get up, Gilly," Eastbrooke said. "It can't be that bad. He pulled back."
"I'm bleeding!" Gillingham lurched to his feet, one hand covering his nose, the other pulling out a handkerchief from his pocket. A trickle of blood seeped through the cracks of his fingers.
"Seth, Gus, show his lordship to the door." Lincoln held out his hand to me and I took it. "This meeting is over."
"Bloody…minded…arses." Cook interjected every word with a severe chop of his knife through an onion. "Don't listen to them, Charlie. Their hearts be cold."
"I don't care what they think," I assured him. "As Lincoln pointed out to them, they have no power to send me away. They'll grow used to our marriage, in time."
"Wish I'd seen Fitzroy clock Gillingham."
"It was rather satisfying." I smoothed my hand over the book in front of me on the kitchen table. It was a hefty tome about supernatural creatures, mostly demons. I'd found nothing yet on imps captured in amber, but I hadn't given up.
Lincoln had gone out after the meeting, taking Seth and Gus with him. They were hoping to learn more about the murders from the police, neighbors and other witnesses. I'd decided to read in the kitchen for company. I probably should have tackled some housework but it was almost dinnertime, and I really wanted to know more about the imp.
I'd found the necklace in Lincoln's desk drawer. It wasn't stealing, since it was mine anyway. I didn't put it around my neck but set it beside the book.
"Any luck?" Cook asked with a nod at the book.
"None." I sighed and slammed it closed.
"It be a pretty piece."
"It is, albeit somewhat peculiar with the creature inside. You can hardly see it with the naked eye, but it's in there."
He wiped his hands on his apron and picked up the pendant. He held it to the lamplight and squinted. "You should wear it, for safekeeping."
"It'll be safe in Lincoln's drawer."
"Not the imp's safety, yours. If your mama wants you to wear it, you should listen to her."
"She also said it was unpredictable and mischievous. I shouldn't risk it."
