The Orphan of Cemetery Hill - Hester Fox Page 0,73

“I don’t know. I suppose that after all this time I assumed that even if Tabby were still alive that she would resent me for leaving her.”

“I think she would want to see you.” Caleb fiddled with his cuffs, saying the words that he hoped were true of him, as well. “She needs you.”

“I don’t know about that. Tabby is resourceful.” Alice gave him a thoughtful look. “I don’t know anything about your relationship, so you’ll excuse me saying so, but it seems to me that you certainly need her.”

Caleb swiftly shifted his gaze. “I doubt it. I was...that is, I acted the cad when last I saw her, and I wasn’t exactly a gentleman in our dealings prior to that.”

“But she obviously holds you in some regard if she confided in you about her ability.”

Caleb wasn’t so sure, and even if she did, he didn’t deserve it. Like Tabby, talking to Alice was easy, and before he knew it, he was telling her about his father, about the other body snatchings around Boston. He told her about Whitby and Rose’s murder. He told her everything. Perhaps the more she knew, the more she would somehow be able to help. He already knew the answer, knew it because of the hot ball of guilt he felt deep in his gut, but he asked anyway. “You don’t think that Tabby could be in danger, do you?”

“Tabby has been in danger since she was born, just by virtue of her gift. Our mother taught us never to share our gift with anyone, for fear that it would be exploited.” She leveled a long look at Caleb and he felt his stomach drop even further. “But she shared it with you. I hope you guarded that secret like the treasure it is.”

But he hadn’t. He had traded it for his freedom, and now she was vulnerable, alone. He let out a groan and cradled his head.

Alice narrowed her eyes. “What.”

“I—I may have told someone.”

It was a moment before Alice responded. “And is this someone trustworthy?”

Billy was a policeman, and he had only wanted to contact his dead mother. Where was the harm in that? But what if he told others about her?

His silence must have been all the answer she needed, and Alice sighed. “I see.”

In the din of the pub, a plan began to crystalize in Caleb’s mind. He had managed to make the beginnings of a life here in Edinburgh for himself, but he could not enjoy it with the yoke of guilt on his shoulders. Clerking for Hugh in the firm wasn’t the most fulfilling work, but it certainly was better than prison and a death sentence hanging over his head.

He had wasted his chance of love with Rose, and he wouldn’t do the same with Tabby. And so long as he was considered a suspect in Rose’s murder, there would be no justice. Rose deserved justice.

He studied the woman across the table, a vision of her sister, and knew what had to be done.

“What if we go back together?”

24

IN WHICH A LIBRARY YIELDS AN OPPORTUNITY.

THE LIBRARY WELCOMED Tabby with the warm smell of books and leather. The door had been unlocked, just as Mr. Dwight had said, and then it was up two flights of stairs from the basement to the library. A small plaque informed her that the medical theater was next door. God willing, Tabby would not have to look there.

There was a hushed reverence about the great wood-paneled hall. A handful of students sat at desks with thick volumes spread before them, glancing up at her as she passed. If any of them were concerned with a young woman in their midst, they didn’t say anything. She was used to being invisible, and nothing was more invisible than a lone woman in a shabby dress.

Tabby wandered the shelves of books. So much knowledge kept locked away for the privileged few, out of reach to those who were not born a man with white skin. She ached to pull the volumes down and learn all their secrets, but there was no time. She had learned her lesson the hard way at Mr. Whitby’s house.

The floorboards creaked under her feet as she studied the shelves, the only other noise the soft rustle of pages as students read. She fidgeted with a loose button on her bodice, her skin starting to feel hot and prickly the longer she aimlessly wandered about. What was she looking for, exactly? There had