His Lordship Possessed (24 page)

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father to be possessed to assist in an invasion of the city?”

I set down my cup. “Th at you had to hear from her own

lips.”

“I expect you are right.” She left her own tea

untouched. “Lord Walsh and I are exceedingly grateful

for the discreet manner in which you have acted on our

behalf.”

I gave her the answer to the question she wasn’t

asking. “I’ve worked before for other families on the Hill,

milady. I know how things are done here.” When she

reached for her reticule, I shook my head. “Th is morning

I refused to provide you with my services, so no payment

is necessary.”

Th e tight lines round the corners of her mouth

smoothed away. “Is there nothing I can do for you?”

“At times my work requires me to make inquiries.

I am always discreet, of course, but as an ordinary cit

I am denied access to certain circles.” I sipped my tea

before I added, “Under such circumstances, I would be

most appreciative if I could rely upon your counsel and

assistance.”

“Were he to discover such an arrangement, my

husband would absolutely forbid it.” She smiled. “I will

have to see to it that he never does. Would you care for

a crumpet?”

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Lady Diana did not provide me with her carriage when I

left her home—that would have overstepped the limits of

ton gratitude—but she instructed the butler to summon a

cab and have it take me wherever I wished.

“Where to, miss?” the driver asked as he helped me

inside.

Somewhere in the city Dredmore and Walsh were no

doubt astonishing the Tillers with news of the Reapers’

planned invasion. Even if I could fi nd the secret meeting

place of the spiritborn, as a female I would likely not be

permitted entrance.

Not that I cared to be privy to Tiller secrets. I had my

own to sort out.

“Drive to the docks,” I told the man. “But don’t rush.

I’m in no hurry.”

He touched his cap before he closed the door.

As the cab headed down from the Hill, I reached

up and curled my fi ngers over my pendant. I felt the

movement of the gears inside, assuring me that it still

functioned as my parents had intended. Th e chain

snapped as I jerked it from my neck and tossed it onto

the back-facing seat.

My grandfather appeared in the next instant, his white

hair neatly slicked back, his old-fashioned suit exquisitely pressed. “I’m not going to hurt you, lass. In fact, if you’ll 197

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give a moment to explain, I may be of some considerable

assistance to—”

“Save the speech, Harry,” I said, cutting him off .

“Traveling back through time didn’t rob me of my

memories.”

He hid his dismay by becoming chatty. “Well, then,

you’ve time enough to stop the invasion. You should

start with Walsh and his daughter, but steer clear of that

wretched Dredmore. Perhaps that Inspector Doyle fellow

can be recruited to assist you. He seems a clearheaded

chap. Why are you scowling like that? I like Arthur’s boy.

Young Th omas has great potential.”

“You know very well that I’ve already been to see

Nolan Walsh, and that Miranda has dealt with. You were

there with me, old man.” I leaned forward. “As you’ve

been with me every day and night since I was a little gel.”

“All right, then.” He sat back and folded his arms.

“I’ve watched over you. You’re my granddaughter,

Charm. No crime in that, is there?”

“You’re lying to me again, Harry,” I said with great

patience. “You never had a choice in the matter.”

“Whatever you think, Charm.” He lifted the edge of

the window shade and pretended to admire the scenery.

“I say, are we near that fruit market? I smell peaches.”

“Hedger gave it away when he called my pendant ‘a

ginny bauble,’” I said. “Certainly there are ladies among

the ton who wear tiny fl asks fashioned to look like

bracelets and watches and pendants, and I presumed he

mistook it for something like those. But I misheard him.

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It’s his accent; it’s almost as bad as Wrecker’s.”

“I just now realized, I’ve never seen your offi ce.” Harry

gave me an inveigling look. “We should take a ride over

that way. I’ve time enough for a tour.”

“Hedger didn’t say
ginny bauble
, did he?” I waited, but my grandfather only stared at the fl oor of the carriage.

“He said
genie bottle
.”

Harry made a halfhearted attempt to continue the

ruse. “Don’t be foolish, gel. Th ere is no such thing.”

“My parents did make the pendant to contain a spirit,

but it wasn’t mine.” I watched his face. “Th ey used it to

capture and imprison the spirit of the Aramanthan they

feared most. Th ey used it on you, Harry.”

My grandfather opened his mouth, closed it, and hung

his head.

“Th at’s how you knew everything that has happened to

me,” I continued. “You’ve been hanging about my neck

all this time, unable to escape the nightstone.”

“I did try, quite often, those fi rst ten years.” He sat

back. “I might have overcome your mother’s magic, or

your father’s science, but the two together were beyond

me. And then there was you and your devilish gift.”

“Every time you tried to cast a spell to release yourself,

my power broke it.” I moved over and sat beside him.

“Why, Harry? Why would Mum and Da do such a

terrible thing to you?”

“I’m to blame for it; not them.” He shriveled down

against the seat. “It was when I came to live in Toriana.

I fear I was a little too eager to see Rachel. I hadn’t, you 199

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know, not since she was an infant. Without thinking I

called on her, and, well, she took the news that I was her

father, an Aramanthan, and a spy for the Crown rather

poorly.”

I nodded. “Did she reject you?”

“She told me to get out and never darken their

doorstep again.” He made a face. “Th en, when I wouldn’t

leave, your father tried to shoot me.”

“Go on.”

“I made several more attempts to speak to your

mother. I even sent her the nightstone pendant as proof

of my aff ection, but she still refused to see me.” He rasped a hand over his cheek. “I couldn’t accept the idea that my

own daughter would reject me, Charm. I didn’t consider

how much a stranger I was to her. And then there was

you, my only grandchild.” Harry spread his hands. “Since

Rachel wanted nothing to do with me, I began visiting

you in your nursery at night. I hardly thought it would

upset anyone.”

“Until Mum caught you at it,” I guessed.

“It terrifi ed her to see me there, standing by your little

bed,” he admitted. “She ordered me from the house and

forbid me from having any more contact with her or you.

I’m afraid by then I’d grown very fond of you, and I lost

my temper with her. I told Rachel that if I wished to

see you that I would, any time I wished, and there was

nothing she or your father could do to stop me.”

I closed my eyes for a moment. “Oh, Harry.”

“Christopher, your father, already hated me because

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I couldn’t be explained by his science. When Rachel

went to him and repeated my threats . . .” He made a

helpless gesture. “I’d say that was when they decided to

do something about me.”

I didn’t understand how such a powerful being could

be so foolish. “Why didn’t you just leave us alone?”

“I didn’t mean to frighten your mother, so I intended

to leave off , but I got into a spot of trouble while I was

carrying out my duties for the Crown.” He ran a fi nger

across his neck. “My host body was murdered.”

“Th e police came to our house that night to give Mum

the news,” I recalled. “She and Da left me with the maid

so they could go to the morgue and identify you.”

He nodded. “I was there in spirit, of course, waiting

for nightfall so I could move on to another body. As

soon as I saw Rachel come into the room with your

father, I presumed she had forgiven me.” He heaved a

sigh. “I didn’t realize how much they had meddled with

the nightstone until the spell your mother cast dragged

me into its confi nes. Once there, I discovered I had no

means of communicating with you, Rachel, or anyone in

the outside world.”

“And they knew my power would keep you trapped

in it.” I felt more regret than anger now. “Th ey made me

your warden without ever telling me.”

“Th ey thought it the right thing to do, I’m sure,”

he chided. “Rachel had learned a little about the

Aramanthan from Arthur Doyle. She must have known

that once my host body died I would need another.”

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I nodded. “So by putting you in the pendant, and

having me keep you there all this time, they assured that

you would never possess another mortal.”

“Th ey saw to it that I would never possess
you
, gel,” he corrected. “Th at was your mother’s greatest fear.”

I hadn’t thought of that. “Did you ever
want
to

possess me?”

“Take on the body of a young, impulsive female

with no money, no connections, and no prospects in a

ridiculously primitive, utterly repressed society under

empirical occupation?” He shuddered. “I’d sooner inhabit

a stray pup. At least I’d eat better.”

“Th en you won’t mind if I pop you back into the genie

bottle?” I asked sweetly as I reached for my pendant.

He looked hurt. “You wouldn’t. Not after all we’ve

been through these past two weeks. Th at haven’t

happened yet.” He made a disgusted sound. “Th is is why

I hate time travel. Everything you say about time is wrong

and right.”

“I suppose I could be persuaded to allow you your

freedom.” I sat back and thought for a moment. “I have

three conditions.”

“I’m not a genie,” he reminded me. “I can’t grant

you three wishes, turn you into a princess, or any of that

nonsense.”

“You can give me your word that you will not possess

anyone permanently,” I said.

“Oh, not to worry.” He waved his hand. “I’ve grown

accustomed to living in spirit form.”

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“Promise me.”

He looked up at the ceiling of the cab as he pressed

his hand over his heart. “On my honor, I promise not to

possess any host body permanently.” He winked at me.

“Temporary’s more fun anyhow.”

“Second,” I continued, “you go into business with me

as my partner.”

“Business? Work?” He recoiled. “What for?”

“Because you have nothing better to do,” I reminded

him. “If you get bored, you can teach me everything you

know about magic and mind powers.”

“You’ll never live long enough for that.” He saw my

face and sighed. “All right, I’ll be your business partner.”

He squinted at me. “What’s the third condition?”

“Tell me your name, Harry.” As he started to reply, I

raised a hand. “Your true name, the one you were born

to.”“You’ll not believe me.” When I said nothing, he

muttered something vile under his breath. “I haven’t used

that for ages, Charm. Hundreds of ages.”

“Th en back in the pendant you go.” I saw the panic

in his eyes and added, “If you want me to trust you,

Grandfather, then I deserve equal consideration. Tell me

your name.”

And so he did.

When the cab reached the docks I was alone again. To

avoid being trapped again in the nightstone, Harry had

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to put some distance between us before I touched the

pendant.

“He’ll never change, you know,” he said before he

left me. “Dredmore will always be a cold, selfi sh, dark-

hearted bastard.”

“Yes.” I felt an odd quietude settle over me. “I expect

he will.”

I was not surprised to fi nd Lucien Dredmore standing

in the exact same spot as I’d left him in the future, at

the very end of the pier. It was like George suddenly

appearing outside my offi ce building; as if time had

rearranged a few things to fi ll some gaps no one could

see.I stopped beside him to look out at the cold, dark

ocean. Th e wind brought with it a cutting edge,

promising snow. “Did you have any trouble dealing with

the Tillers?”

“Hardly. Th ey know my reputation.” He took the