Читать книгу London's Calling - Elysabeth Williams - Страница 11

Chapter 7

“You said absolutely nothing about a sword. Only a gun.” Miriam said, then stuck her tongue out at Kane.

“I can't believe her,” Silas shook his head as he watched Miriam dodge and parry the attacks from the laughing Jillian.

“You get used to it,” Kane said, looking at Miriam, who was hooting and laughing. “Do you think anything would slow them down?”

“Not certain. Probably nothing at this point. They've been at it for so long.”

There was a small silence as they watched Jillian and Miriam spar with the sabers.

“Have you heard from Devin?”

Silas shook his head. “Not at all. He was supposed to return from India earlier in the spring but has yet to resurface.”

“How odd,” Kane said, his brows furrowing.

Silas couldn't imagine Devin leaving Jillian’s side after all they had been through previously. “Yes, it is odd…but Jillian can take care of herself, right?” Kane asked sarcastically.

“Of course, but…” he shrugged. It was none of his business, obviously. He turned his sights on Eliza, who was heaving with laughter. He thought briefly about the time he was separated from her in his life. Pure torture.

Kane cleared his throat and changed the subject. “What of this Delilah Knightly?”

“Supposedly, she killed her entertainment manager, a Mr. Artie something. I can't remember. But according to Jillian, there's no way she could have done it. The way she described the murder scene, it was very gruesome. It had to have been someone else who was involved.”

“It was that bad?”

“She described it as a massacre. Blood was on the walls, and scrubbed into the wooden floors. Long gashes were dug into the walls from lord-knows-what. It was so quick and brutal– yet no one in the building heard it. The only reason the employees suspected something was amiss was when blood started to drip onto the stage below while they were rehearsing.

“How horrific.” Silas shook his head.

“It makes me wonder though…We've seen the ability of Jillian, Eliza, and Miriam. Who's to say another woman isn't capable of this kind of destruction?” Kane asked walking with his hands clasped behind his back.

Silas joined him in his walk around the area where the women still dodged and lunged at each other. “I thought of it–but given the circumstances–ones that Jillian says she didn't see one person being capable of it. I'd accept that as truth enough.”

“Did he have any enemies…beyond Ms Knightly that is?”

“None we're aware of. Then there's this mysterious newly named Earl who has yet to grace anyone with his presence. Ms. Knightly claims she was with him as he was recovering from assault.”

“Oh?” Kane turned to face Silas and cocked an eyebrow. “What's his name?”

“Dante Heller.”

Kane snapped his fingers. “I know of him. How did he become earl though? He has living family and he was the second or third son if I remember correctly.”

“His father died, and his older brother committed suicide earlier in the year.”

“Tragic.”

“Yes, indeed.”

“How did his father die?”

Silas exhaled a deep breath and shook his head. “My only source advised me it was business gone wrong. He was found in the river.”

“Curious.”

“It is. His son–Dante’s older brother–wasn’t given the title, and soon afterward hung himself. Of course, this is purely assumption.”

Kane raised his eyebrows in interest, but didn’t speak again.

“So we have a new earl who isn't showing up, a woman in the tower and a few bodies. Interesting.”

“Very.”

Silas and Kane took another turn around the area and stopped. Jillian and Miriam were now done, puffing in exertion. Silas offered Miriam a handkerchief, which she took and dabbed her sweating forehead. “You're going to hurt yourself,” Silas said to Miriam.

She stuck her tongue out at him and ignored the statement. “What is the plan?”

Jillian sipped on a cup of water and replied. “Let us meet Ms. Knightly at the tower and see if we can at least get her out of there before her trial. Should buy us some time.”

“Shall we keep her under our protection?” Miriam asked.

“Yes, if it's possible. I will be more than happy to have her stay at my house,” Jillian said. She looked down for a second. “It would be nice to have someone there for a while.”

Silas watched as she smiled, the sentiment not reaching her eyes. He was angry with Devin for not checking in with the rest. Of all of them who had a connection with the Three, as Colonel Cuthbert had called them originally, it was Devin–who had spent his whole life chasing Jillian, only to have left her in England and joined the Colonel in India for something unknown. Silas had always followed the Colonel’s orders to the letter as they were written, whenever they were written, but this last assignment Devin stayed behind for left Silas a little bitter. Not necessarily with the Colonel, but with the way it was handled. He was very much aware of the dangers they all faced when accepting duties from him, yet now, with the way they had been brought so close together by the explosion just a few years before, it was more and more difficult to overlook a friend’s disappearance.

Silas huffed and swallowed down the annoyance. “Let us go then. To the Tower…hmm…wonder if they got that bridge fixed…”