the Violas would come after us.”
“I have a very powerful friend who would protect you. They wouldn’t find you.”
“No. I couldn’t possibly. I used to be brave, a long time ago. Not now. There has to be another solution!”
Cathy understood her reluctance. Being so dependent on a stranger wasn’t exactly a great solution either. “Okay. How much do you care about being successful in Society?”
“Not a jot,” Charlotte said. “I would be happy to retire to the country and so would Emmeline. She’s too intellectual for this world and I find it hollow.”
“Maybe we could kill two birds with one stone,” Cathy said. “What if I told an Arbiter that Bertrand stole you from Mundanus? He’d be booted out of Society and Nathaniel would break the contract if the father of his bride were dishonoured.”
“I’ve heard that in those circumstances,” Charlotte said, “the entire family is expelled. Or taken by the Arbiters and put to work. I couldn’t bear it. If only he’d committed some other crime, something unrelated to me, then Lady Violet would probably pension me off. I’ve borne children and she’s too fond of me to just abandon me. But Bertrand’s spotless and he has the Duke’s favour, too.”
Cathy sighed. “You’re right. We can’t risk you being kicked out, you can’t say anything to your family elders, and you have no leverage. So the only option is to approach this from the Iris side.”
“But Dame Iris hates you.”
“She’s dead,” Cathy said, and Charlotte blanched. “Lord Iris killed her because she…didn’t meet his expectations.”
Charlotte shuddered. “This is hell. A very beautiful hell.”
“Sure you want to stay? Mundanus can be quite wonderful.”
“Better the hell I know,” Charlotte replied.
Cathy stood, draining her cup in a couple of loud gulps, fearing that if she dwelt upon Dame Iris and this gilded hell too much, she’d break down. “I’ll think of something. I promise. Hang in there. And eat something. You’re going to need your strength, okay?”
They embraced. “Sisterhood,” Charlotte whispered in her ear. “Sisterhood is our strength.”
Cathy said goodbye and left the house. She climbed into the carriage, Carter getting in behind her, and waved to the ghost-like woman watching from the window. As soon as they were away, Cathy slumped, exhausted. The brave band was disintegrating; Margritte unresponsive, Charlotte fading away, and Natasha elsewhere, admittedly working for the cause, but still absent. Where was that feeling of strength and invincibility she had felt that night when the four of them were united? Where was the sense of hope, of potential for change?
Was she doing enough? Will would say she was doing far too much, but they were still getting nowhere. She thought back to her lessons as a girl, how the suffragists had argued peacefully and calmly for the vote for fifty years or so to no avail. She could understand why they had shifted their tactics. Faced with the wall of silence and oppression, what else was there to do but escalate?
Deeds not words. Was it time for her to take more radical action? But what could she do in her world, where women could be Dolled, cursed, and Charmed into obedience?
“Some days,” she said to Carter, “do you just want to burn everything down to the ground and start again?”
He blinked at her. “I can’t say I’ve ever felt that, your Grace.”
“You’re lucky,” she sighed. “But what if—”
There was a flash of light outside the carriage, casting the darkest shadows she’d ever seen in the Nether, and the horses whinnied in alarm. The carriage lurched to a stop so fast that Cathy was thrown into the opposite wall, only stopped from banging her head by Carter’s quick reflexes, catching her with one of his huge arms.
She sat back and was about to call out to the driver to ask what had happened when she noticed the most awful silence.
Carter sprang into action, locking the carriage doors.
“What’s happening?”
“Please stay calm and still, your Grace,” he said, starting to lift the seat cushion he’d been sitting on. “I believe we’re about to be attacked.”
18
Bennet looked very different from how Will remembered him. His suit had been cleaned and mended, as had he, but Will was certain he used to be taller. Perhaps it was something to do with the slump of his shoulders or the way that he looked like he was trying to take up as little space as possible.
“Mr Bennet,” Will said, nodding to the guard to leave him in his study. “I trust your spell in the