had argued that night. They would be shown the earring that was found in his house. She shook her head. “Mr. Whitby would have no problem making sure the court ruled against you. Please,” she said, “you must find a way out of here.”
Caleb didn’t say anything and the silence stretched between them, growing heavier and tenser. Finally, he gave the smallest nod of his head. “But Tabby—” he gave her a stern look as her face brightened “—I don’t want you getting any more involved in this. If Whitby is half as dangerous as you say, then I want you as far away from him as possible.”
Tabby opened her mouth, but he stopped her. “No arguments. I can be a crafty dodger when I put my mind to it, and I’ll figure this out. Alone.”
She wanted to tell him that it wasn’t just for his sake that she was concerned, but for Rose’s, as well. It might have been the urgency of the situation, or how vulnerable he looked in his rumpled suit and unkempt curly hair, but this roguish young man had somehow found the chink in the armor around her heart. If he escaped—which was his only real course of action—she would never see him again. Would it really be so very terrible if she unburdened her secret, just this once?
These thoughts flitted through her head like an erratic sparrow in flight, and before she could let all the old arguments against it sway her, she was blurting out: “I can speak to the dead. That’s how I knew your father, and Rose. That’s how I know you’re innocent and that Mr. Whitby is responsible for her murder. I’ve never told another living soul, except for my parents and sister, and they’re all gone now.”
The air around them had gone very still as she spoke, the noise of the prison melting into the background. He stared at her.
She shouldn’t have told him. It didn’t matter that she would never see him again. What mattered was that he didn’t believe her. She could see it on his face, the wariness, the incredulity. She had been right to build up a wall around her heart. She could never hope to walk amongst the living, to thrive like a normal young woman. Her sister was gone, and with her, the only person that would ever understand Tabby. She was destined to wander through this half-life lonely and misunderstood.
She braced herself for his words, but it didn’t make it any easier when they broke over her like frigid waves.
“You aren’t serious.” He searched her face, the corner of his mouth tugging up into a smile. But the smile quickly faded when she didn’t say anything. “You are serious.”
She just stared at him, hoping against hope that he would see her earnestness. He returned her look in full measure. “Tabby, love, all that spiritualism and speaking with the dead...it’s all nonsense and parlor tricks, you do know that, don’t you?”
When she still didn’t say anything, he took a step back. “Oh Christ, Tabby. Is it money that you’re after? You know, I’m quite familiar with your kind. A woman claiming to be a medium fleeced my mother of twenty dollars after my father died. Has that been your aim all along? Is that why you’re so determined to involve yourself in my affairs?”
Suddenly she was back in the churchyard, Beth Bunn and the other children’s taunts ringing in her ears. He may have had her secret now, but he would not have her dignity. Before he could see the hot tears welling in her eyes, she turned and fled.
15
IN WHICH THERE IS A PAINFUL GOOD-BYE
AND AN UNLIKELY PLAN FORMED.
AFTER SHE HAD emerged from the prison, Tabby had headed toward the docks, where she would blend in with the crowds of servants and housewives at the fish market. More than anything she wanted to run to Eli, but what if she led Mr. Whitby to him? She didn’t know how badly she had injured Whitby, but it would only be a matter of time before he came looking for her, if he wasn’t already. For all she knew, he might have someone chasing after her. She didn’t doubt that a man like him could find anyone he wanted in this city.
She just had to see Eli one last time, and then she would disappear, leave the cemetery, and ensure that she never put his life in danger. Eli had once told her that