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| �What�what�s happened here?� Jane the housemaid and Mrs. Parkes flew to him hysterically: �It�s Miss Rose, sir�� �Never seen the like of it my life�� �Poor Mary Ann�� �Oh, it was awful�� �Oh God, Rose!� cried Dr. Munro. �See here now, we�ll need to ask you a few questions!� shouted one of the police inspectors, but Dr. Munro was already up the stairs running to his daughter�s room, where he found West bent over her bed while Nell was bundling up torn clothes and sniffling. �I did the best for Miss Munro that I could,� West said gloomily, collapsing into a chair and wiping his face. �It�s too late for the servant girl. She was already gone by the time I reached her.� He watched the older man lean over the bed, pull a stray tendril of hair from the young woman�s face and tuck it behind her ear. Nell had at least gotten Miss Munro into a nightgown, out of the ripped dress, and cleaned the blood away. As it was, the injury was most apparent in her face�in the lividity of her skin, the shallowness of her breath between half-parted lips. Munro�s fingers hovered over the bandage, but did not touch. He turned to West. �It wasn�t�they didn�t�� But Munro sounded like he had already guessed the truth. �I didn�t mean for this to happen, Munro�� Dr. Munro went pale. �Does she need a transfusion, West?� �I wanted your opinion before I attempted that�have you ever done one?� �Oh, God,� said Dr. Munro. �I�ve seen one done�� Both men looked up with a start�a fresh racket had begun downstairs. An imposing man, tall but sleek in business black and precisely combed hair, advanced into the front hall of Munro House. �See �ere, sir, we can�t have strangers comin� in off the street�� began one of the constables, but caught sight of something on the man�s lapel and stopped cold. A phalanx of his colleagues appeared behind him shortly. �Seal the premises; no one is to enter, particularly journalists, or to leave.Hamilton, stand watch at the gate. Dawson, take care of our friends the Metropolitans here. No one enters; no one leaves,� The Man said calmly, striding through the crowd; the words tripped out like a wellworn formula. Mr. Parkes the butler came forward to intercept him and The Man smoothly flicked out��My card,� and after Mr. Parkes had fully read it, he stood back, rather bewildered, and let the man pass. �I should like to see the master of the house,� The Man said. Mrs. Parkes exchanged glances with Parkes, who nodded to her almost imperceptibly. �He�s with Miss Munro, I�ll take you to him,� she offered nervously. �Very good. A minute, please.� He nodded to the man, evidently his secretary, at his right. �Now then. We are well prepared to reward your silence on this matter. As far as the Crown is concerned, an exotic animal, previously contained at the London Zoo, broke free, found its way to the Munro house, and wrought a great deal of havoc before the proper authorities arrived to remove it. Possibly a wildcat. Quite regrettable, to be sure. We are terribly sorry for the grief and inconvenience this has caused the household, and we are prepared to make reparations to all involved, including the victims� families and��The Man cut his eyes over to the assortment of policemen��the brave men who assisted the Munro family in their time of need. Do I make myself understood?� �How much?� asked the secretary, opening his attach� case on the ormolu console. The Man�s gaze swept back over the confused and blood-stained assemblage, now frozen in his thrall. �Fifty pounds. Each.� His point amply made, The Man nodded to Mrs. Parkes and proceeded up the stairs. It was about this time that Rose Hannah regained consciousness�enough that she caught Nell�s eye; Nell rushed to her side and took her hand. �Don�t speak, Miss Rose,� she whispered. �Don�t try your throat just yet. Save your strength.� The two men had not yet noticed at all, because they had heard what Rose Hannah was now hearing�an imperious voice giving commands, assigning tasks, growing louder as it floated up the stairs. Mrs. Parkes opened the door a crack and peeked around, as if holding something outside at bay: �There�s a gentleman to see you, Dr. Munro�? To see if Miss Rose is�?� �To see the extent of her injuries,� said the voice outside, mincing no words. �Let him come in,� said West, sounding to Rose Hannah�s ear as if he were resigning himself to something. �No!� cried Nell, startling the two men�one of whom was, after all, her employer, who gave her a look of befuddlement. �Leave poor Miss Rose alone! This is a sickroom, how dare you�� �Step aside, Miss Wilkins,� said the voice as its owner strode into the room, and Nell was so taken aback that he knew her by name that she let him push her aside. The Man pulled off the bandages at Rose Hannah�s throat, took her chin in his hand and turned her head this way and that, eyeing her wounds. Rose Hannah felt too weak to do anything but glare, but glare she did, so long and so hard that the man finally met her eyes. There was nothing there in his face, no sign of offense or bemusement or pity, nothing. The Man turned calmly to the two doctors. �The same as Bonneville,� he said, as Nell furiously regained her place and began to reset the bandages. �Although I doubt for the same reasons.� �Let�s take this outside Miss Munro�s room,� said West uneasily. It seemed to Rose Hannah as if The Man were stalling. �The sitting room just outside, then. What I have to say concerns the lady as well, though�� �She shouldn�t hear it just now!� snapped West. �Please�� began her father, but that was when Seward pushed past them into Rose Hannah�s sitting room. �In here, then.� And he closed the door behind them. Nell rushed to the door to listen at the keyhole, and Rose Hannah closed her eyes. Nell groaned��I can�t hear them!��but Rose Hannah found, to her hazy surprise, that she could. Given the plush carpet and the closed door, she shouldn�t have been able to hear the very sound of her father�s pacing in the sitting room, but Rose Hannah heard the entire conversation as clearly as one in a dream: I must congratulate you, West, on making an utter mess of things. I can�t just magically arrive in London and finish the job in a week, you know, Seward. And the Ministry hasn�t been very helpful. I�ve had to track them through newspaper headlines� from match girls and costermongers, for God�s sake� In the opinion of our organization, that is what we have paid you do. The job doesn�t come on a silver platter. Obviously not. Rose Hannah could smell a cigarette lighting; she imagined it was the stranger�s. She shifted a bit under the covers, feeling feverish, and then heard her father moaning to himself: If I had known� I would have kept Rose out of this, taken her to the house in Dorset, sent her back to New York, anywhere else� It�s all my fault. Dr. West�s tone had changed. I haven�t been careful. A child could have followed me here. And by the looks of it there�s an entire coven in the country now, an organized number. And I have reason to believe they�ve come now after me. I�ve endangered your family, Munro, and� I can�t begin to apologize� (Poor girl, Mary Ann� murmured her father, and yet the voice was as clear to her as if he were standing beside her.) How many, then? asked The Man. I can personally account for eight. Some escaped. Hmm. Yes. The housekeeper seems to think there were about an even dozen, but naturally she is in an hysterical state and cannot be fully reliable. She could have sworn she actually heard The Man blowing smoke at that point. Well, now that you�ve seen the failings of your investigation, West, there�s the matter of the Exhibition. I�m afraid you won�t be attending, Munro. And I�ll need you to hand over the remaining materials before I leave. We�ll hold them in trust for you. Rose Hannah was not entirely sure she believed that last point. Take them, take them. The Exhibition�s the last thing to concern me now. And as she faded back into a restless sleep, she felt a stab of pity for her father. �Surely not mine, though, Seward,� said West. �Of course not�I imagine you will need them. Wouldn�t want them falling into the wrong hands, though, or your little displays of valor won�t do you any good. Where are the bodies?� �Burning in the furnace downstairs,� said West promptly. Dr. Munro was pacing by the window, unable to keep still. �That was hasty of you, West �we would have kept them for further study.� �I�ve studied them more than enough. It may take the servants a while to finish the job, but I imagine they�re at least nicely charred by now�� �About Miss Munro, then�� Dr. Munro veered back to the conversation: �Please�please, not my Rose. There must be a way to help her, there must be something we can do for her�� Seward shrugged. �It�s your friend here who�s the proponent of extreme measures. I simply tucked Bonneville away in Arkham, no harm done�� �Please let me keep her here�don�t take her away to that place, I beg you�� Seward threw the end of his cigarette into the fire. �If I had wanted her there, she would be there now. It�s unfortunate, of course, for it to happen to a lady, and one so young as that. But we are perfectly content to leave the two of you as her guardians, although naturally, we will hold you responsible if anything unfortunate happens.� And that seemed to be the end of the matter to Seward; he checked his pocketwatch and headed for the door out to the hall. �You�re willing to leave her free as air, then?� asked West with a dark, skeptical look. �Why shouldn�t I? She�s in the custody of the most ruthless hunter in the western hemisphere. I imagine you would have her in that furnace as well, if she so much as looked at you cross-eyed.� Before either of the doctors could reply, a frenzied knocking started up at the door: �Dr. Munro, come quick! It�s Miss Rose!� Seward shrugged to himself. �I�ll let myself out. Good evening, gentlemen.� |
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