The Mystery Woman (Ladies of Lantern Str - By Amanda Quick Page 0,89

was very close to his.

“You have my oath on it,” he said.

He kissed her once more to seal the promise.

—

TWENTY MINUTES LATER she watched him go out into the night and climb into the anonymous carriage that would take him deep into the dark streets of London. When the vehicle disappeared into the fog her intuition shrieked in silent warning. But there was nothing she could do.

Victor took her arm and gently guided her back into the house. He looked at her, his eyes filled with understanding.

“Don’t worry,” he said. “Josh was always my best agent. Even in his present condition, I’m certain that he can take care of himself.”

Forty-Three

This household must strike you as a very morbid place, Miss Lockwood.” Victor poured brandy into a glass. “Some of my old friends have hinted that I have been in deep mourning far too long. They feel it is time that I moved forward with my life.”

“I know that there are social rules when it comes to mourning,” Beatrice said gently. “But I am of the opinion that everyone grieves in his or her own way. Certainly there cannot be any loss more dreadful than that of a child.”

They were back in the library. The black-clad housekeeper had brought in a coffee service. Victor had graciously poured two cups and added a splash of brandy to each but Beatrice had not touched her cup.

She had been growing increasingly anxious ever since Joshua had left the mansion to seek a confrontation with the assassin. It was now after midnight. She was struggling to maintain control of her nerves. Periodically she gave herself a small lecture, reminding herself that Joshua knew what he was about. But the sense of dread continued to deepen.

“Emma was all I had after her mother died,” Victor explained. He draped one black-clad arm on the white marble mantel and looked up at the portrait. “Society expects a widower to remarry within a few months, especially when he does not have any male heirs.”

“Yes, I know,” Beatrice said.

“But I loved my Alice and could not find it in my heart to betray her memory by bringing another woman into this house. I had my brilliant, beautiful daughter, and that was more than enough for me.”

“I understand.”

The rules and rituals for mourning were complicated but the social burden fell most heavily on women. Everything from the black-bordered paper used to announce a death to the length of time prescribed for wearing black and, later, gray gowns was a matter of great concern for ladies. A woman in mourning was watched with close, critical scrutiny. But gentlemen usually confined themselves to a black hatband and, at most, a black armband for a couple of months. Widows were discouraged from marrying again. A second marriage implied a lack of sensitivity. Men, however, were encouraged to take another wife as soon as possible.

“I also had two young men in my life who were like sons to me,” Victor continued. “Indeed, my happiest hour came when Emma told me that she wished to marry one of them.”

“Clement Lancing,” Beatrice said.

“Yes. My daughter was quite beautiful. She could have had any man she chose. I knew that both Joshua and Clement loved her, but in the end I felt that Lancing was the right choice because he shared Emma’s fascination with Egyptology.” Victor’s jaw tightened. “It was one of the few times in my life that I have been wrong in my judgment of a man. The mistake cost me my Emma.”

“Were you aware of Lancing’s obsession with the formula for the Egyptian preservative fluid?”

“Of course,” Victor said. “Emma was equally fascinated. We discussed it on several occasions. They were excited by the possibility that the ancients had discovered a means of preserving the newly dead in a state of suspended animation. Lancing was convinced that in that deep sleep the formula would exert a healing effect on the organs. When the process was complete, the individual could be successfully revived.”

“As I told Mr. Gage, I am astonished that a scientist as brilliant as Clement Lancing would actually believe he could awaken the dead,” Beatrice said.

“The line between genius and madness can sometimes be difficult to find.” Victor’s hand tightened around the edge of the mantel. “Mind you, Lancing did not think the Egyptian Water would work on a long-dead corpse, but he was convinced that if the body of a recently deceased person was immersed in the fluid within a few hours after death,