The Convent's Secret: Glass and Steele, #5 Read online

  I could see the moment my reasoning got through to her. Her eyes cleared, the color returned to her cheeks, and she almost smiled. It seemed as if agreeing with me came as a relief.

  "Magic has been given to us by God," she said.

  "And murder is not God's will," I added.

  She swallowed. "The baby known as Phineas was adopted by the Seafords." She spoke quickly, as if she wanted to get the words out before changing her mind. "They named him Gabriel. They can be found at number six Glebe Place although he no longer lives with them."

  I threw my arms around her and hugged her. She laughed softly and patted my back. "Thank you," I said, drawing away. "Thank you."

  Sister Bernadette picked up her toolbox and straightened. "If that young man can save one worthy life then it means I have saved two. Perhaps God will take that into account when it comes time for me to be judged."

  "I'm sure he will." Matt thanked her and took my hand.

  He led me outside where the bright light of day stung my eyes. I felt raw from emotion but full of hope. I overflowed with it. A cure was so close I could taste it.

  Matt suddenly put his arm around my shoulders and pressed his lips to my forehead, nudging my hat askew. His breaths sounded heavy, labored, and I drew back to study him.

  "Are you all right?" I asked. He looked terrible. His skin glistened and his lips were as pale as his face. I removed my glove and touched his cheek. He felt cold. "Matt?" Panic pitched my voice high.

  "I'm fine. But let's not delay."

  We wordlessly made our way through the convent grounds and back to the carriage. Matt held his hand out to assist me inside then ordered the coachman to the Seafords' house. He tumbled into the cabin and collapsed onto the seat beside me.

  "Do you still have the spell with you?" he asked.

  "In my reticule." I'd copied the medical spell from Dr. Millroy's diary and kept it with me ever since. It had been the same one Dr. Parsons had used on Matt's watch in Broken Creek five years ago. It had worked for him but not Dr. Millroy. We did not know why the complicated spell had worked for one and not the other, but we would experiment with Gabriel Seaford.

  I went to close the curtains as he fumbled with his jacket buttons but paused. We passed another parked conveyance where the passenger suddenly sat up straight, as if he'd been half-asleep and something caught his attention. He looked out the window and straight at me.

  Sheriff Payne.

  He must have been there for some time, waiting for us, and his driver alerted him to our departure. I looked through the back window as his coach pulled away from the curb and followed us. Hell.

  I resumed my seat and watched the faint glow of the magic as it spread through Matt's body. All the hope I'd felt upon leaving the convent's coach house was smashed to pieces. The glow should be brighter.

  "Better?" I asked him.

  He gave me a small smile and nodded, but I knew it was a lie. Even so I took the watch from him and spoke the extending spell into it. He used the watch again, but the glow was just as faint.

  He tucked the watch away, and his hand lingered beneath his jacket at his chest.

  I didn't dare ask if his heart pained him again. Instead, I pulled down the window and ordered the driver to go faster. A quick glance behind us proved that Payne still followed. I did not inform Matt. If he knew Payne was on our path, he would bypass the Seafords' house altogether. I wouldn't risk further delay.

  Glebe Place wasn't far and we reached number six within minutes. Matt pulled himself up from the corner where he'd slumped, but I gently pushed him back. "Wait here," I said. "I'll find out where their son lives."

  "No. They should see me. It'll convince them of my need to see a doctor." It may very well do. He looked like a cadaver. His red-rimmed eyelids drooped, as if too heavy to keep fully open, and the hair at the back of his neck was damp with sweat.

  I checked through the windows for Payne's carriage but didn't see it. I didn't doubt that he'd followed us, however. He would be waiting around a corner, watching our every move. I felt sure of that now. He was trying to work out what we were doing so he could use the information against Matt. He had not tried to shoot Matt lately, so that was something at least.

  Even so, I kept vigilant and climbed out of the carriage first. Matt sucked in a breath as he alighted and needed a moment to steady himself. Despite wanting to offer a shoulder for him to hold onto, I kept my distance as I knocked on the door of the narrow townhouse. A woman's face appeared at the elegant bay window but it was a different woman who opened the door.

  "Are Mr. or Mrs. Seaford in?" I asked the housekeeper. "My name is India Steele and this is Mr. Glass."

  She gave Matt an uncertain glance before asking us to wait on the porch.

  "Do I look that bad?" Matt asked me as we waited.

  "You look fine."

  "Fine?" He grunted. "The last time someone told me I looked fine was Willie after Cyclops gave me a black eye."

  "Why did Cyclops give you a black eye?"

  "I can't recall, which means I probably deserved it."

  The elderly woman who'd peered through the window greeted us with as much caution as her housekeeper. I reintroduced ourselves and added, "Sister Bernadette from the Convent of the Sisters of the Sacred Heart sent us. Please may we come in? We have something delicate to discuss with you."

  "Sister Bernadette?" she asked in a thin voice. "I…I'm not sure…"

  "My friend Mr. Glass is ill from a gunshot wound and requires your son's assistance."

  "Gunshot!" She put on the pair of spectacles hanging from a thin chain around her neck and gave Matt a thorough scan. "Oh dear. How awful. But my son cannot offer the assistance you need, Mr. Glass. He cannot perform miracles."

  "Yes, ma'am, he can," Matt said quietly.

  She chewed on her lower lip but did not try to shut the door in our faces. I took it as an invitation to continue pleading.

  "Sister Bernadette assured us your son could help. Please, we need to find him. Mr. Glass will die if we don't, and I think you'll agree he's too young to die, particularly from a gunshot fired by a murderous villain."

  Matt pressed a hand to his chest, perhaps in a plea or perhaps because his heart pained him again. Whatever his reason, it seemed to work. Mrs. Seaford didn't immediately send us on our way.

  "Sister Bernadette would not have told us about Gabriel if she didn't think Mr. Glass deserved the special treatment your son can give him."

  She leaned forward. "I'm afraid you'll be disappointed. It's only temporary, you know."

  I grasped Matt's hand as hope surged. His fingers curled around mine. "I'll take every extra day with him that I can."

  She gave me a sad smile. "You will find Gabriel either at the rooms he rents in Pimlico or at the nearby Belgrave Hospital for Children. He works odd hours there so you may catch him at home now." She gave us the address and wished us well, but it was clear she thought Matt's predicament fatal.

  I passed the address on to our coachman and added, "Take the shortest route possible."

  Matt settled in the cabin with a heavy sigh. He closed his eyes and tipped his head back. It was a few hours since he'd woken and he badly needed a proper rest.

  I sat on the edge of the seat and calculated how quickly I could unbutton his jacket and waistcoat and remove his magic watch if his condition worsened. Even if I managed it in mere seconds, I doubted it would be enough. The watch's magic had weakened considerably. What if it stopped working altogether? It didn't bear thinking about.

  The passing of a speeding carriage caught my eye. It stopped outside the Seafords' house and Sheriff Payne got out. We turned a corner so I did not see what he did next, but I didn't have to. I knew he would question Mrs. Seaford about our visit and demand she tell him what she'd told us. If he learned that Gabriel Seaford was a doctor, he would know what we intended to do.

  I studied Matt, his eyes closed, his breathing shallow. We could not return to the Seafords'
house to confront Payne. There wasn't time. As worried as I was about the sheriff coming after us, I took comfort in Mrs. Seaford's reluctance to give us information about her son. She would not give Payne his address. We'd only convinced her by using Sister Bernadette's name and the evidence of Matt's poor health.

  While the distance from Chelsea to Pimlico wasn't much, it felt like it took an age to get there. I breathed a sigh of relief when we turned into Sutherland Row, a short street with few houses and no pedestrians or carriages aside from ours.

  And then, through the rear window, I spotted Payne's carriage, taking the corner very fast. How had he got the address from Mrs. Seaford so quickly?

  My stomach rolled. I felt sick. Oh God. Please let her be all right.

  Our coach slowed but Payne's did not. It came directly for us. Was the driver mad? He was going to get himself killed! It kept coming and coming, much too fast.

  I changed seats to sit beside Matt and put my arms around him. I didn't know why, only that I wanted to protect him in his weakened state if we crashed.

  "Matt!" I shouted. "Wake up! Brace yourself!"

  He stirred. "What—?" He spotted the carriage and threw his arms around me, tucking my head beneath his chin.

  Several things happened at once. Our coachman shouted and swerved, sending us slamming against the side of the cabin. My watch chimed, over and over again in warning. I removed it from my reticule and clutched it in my hand. It pulsed with every chime, like a racing heartbeat.

  We came to an abrupt stop, half up on the footpath. Matt pushed open the door and went to jump out.

  "Don't!" I cried, grasping his arm. "He'll have a gun!"

  "That I do." Payne stood on the footpath, his gun pointed at Matt, and a cold smile stretching his mouth.

  Chapter 13

  Matt stiffened. He glared at Payne with icy, calculating ferocity. Payne was too far away for Matt to leap out and knock the gun out of his hand. When Eddie had shot him, Matt had been close enough to stop Eddie firing again, and I'd been able to place his watch in his hand as he lay dying. But Payne was no fool. He stayed at a distance. I doubted Matt's watch had enough magic left to save him now anyway, and I was certain Matt didn't have the strength to survive a gunshot long enough for the magic to try.

  "Hands where I can see them, Glass." Payne adjusted his jacket over his gun to hide it from onlookers who might be peering from windows. "You try and play the hero and I'll shoot you. You too," he said to our coachman. "Matter of fact, I should shoot you anyway, Glass. I don't need you."

  He cocked the gun and aimed at Matt.

  I shouldered Matt out of the way, using my entire weight in the confined space, and angled myself in front of him.

  "India," he growled.

  "This is madness!" I said to Payne. "It's the middle of the day. There will be witnesses. You'll risk your own life for revenge? Don't you see the folly?"

  "Not revenge. Once, yes, when I first came to England. But the more I watched you, Glass, the more I realized you had something of extraordinary value. Something I can sell to the highest bidder. And believe me, the bids will be extraordinarily high for your device. Now hand over your watch."

  "An ordinary timepiece?" I scoffed. "Very well."

  "Don't play me for a fool, Miss Steele," Payne drawled in his American accent. "You know the watch I mean. I want the magic one. The one that keeps him alive. The one that's going to make me a fortune."

  "You don't understand what you're talking about. The watch is useless to anyone but Matt."

  His jaw worked and his gaze flicked between us. So he didn't know. It was a point in our favor, but I wasn't yet sure if it would be useful in saving us.

  "She's right." Matt's voice sounded strained, his breaths ragged. "My watch's magic only works on me. So we're back to revenge. I'll come quietly with you if you let India go."

  "No!" I cried.

  "Nice try, Glass," Payne said. "But I can't believe a word either of you say. I'll just have Miss Steele and Dr. Seaford combine their magic into your watch and see, won't I?"

  "Don't touch her." Matt circled his arm around my waist, ready to push me out of the way.

  "Your watch isn't working very well, isn't it, Glass? That's why you're here. To get the magical doctor to combine his magic with Miss Steele's and fix the damned thing. Don't try to pretend I'm wrong," he said when I opened my mouth to protest. "I know I'm right. I've asked all the same questions you have, of all the same people, and I've read Mr. Barratt's articles in fine detail. I know what your grandfather tried to do many years ago, Miss Steele, and I know the doctor who lives here is a magical doctor."

  "Then you'll also know my grandfather failed," I said. "Nobody alive knows the correct spell."

  His thin mouth stretched into a gruesome slash. "You wouldn't be here if you believed that." He nodded at Matt. "He's dying, Miss Steele. From the look of him, he'll be dead before the day is out if he can't use his watch."

  "You underestimate me, Payne," Matt said. "You always have."

  The door to number ten opened and a sleepy eyed man blinked at us. "What's all this then?" He swept his dark brown hair from his forehead and stifled a yawn. "My landlady's in a right state. She thinks someone has a gun."

  "Come here, Dr. Seaford," Payne said without turning around, "or I shoot Mr. Glass."

  The doctor went very still, and his eyes sharpened. "What the devil is going on here?"

  "You threatened his poor mother to find out where he lived and what we wanted with him, didn't you?" I hissed at Payne.

  "She wouldn't give up her son so I threatened the housekeeper. She knew everything I needed. Come here slowly," he said to Dr. Seaford behind him. "And nobody will get hurt."

  Dr. Seaford took a step down then stopped. "Does he have a gun?"

  "Yes," I said. "And he will shoot. We're so sorry."

  He looked as if he would ask why I was sorry but Payne's barked order had him closing his mouth and coming to stand near the coach.

  "You two, get out and stand with Seaford."

  Matt and I did as ordered. I hazarded a glance at our coachman, only to realize he wasn't even there. He'd run off, thank God, hopefully to get help.

  "Will someone tell me what's going on?" Dr. Seaford asked.

  "I'll explain soon," Payne said. "But first, hand over your watch, Glass."

  Matt put up his hands. "Come and get it."

  Payne smirked. "Seaford, retrieve every watch you find on Mr. Glass's person. If you do not, I shoot him."

  "But it's useless to you," I wailed. "It only works for Matt. Let him keep it, please."

  Payne simply smiled that ratty smile of his. "Check every pocket, every seam, Seaford. He'll have more than one watch."

  "All this for a robbery?" Dr. Seaford shook his head.

  "Just do it!"

  Dr. Seaford turned to Matt and apologized. He found Matt's first watch, the one we recently bought from the Masons', and held it up for Payne to see.

  "Where was it made?" Payne asked.

  Dr. Seaford opened the case and read the inscription. "Here in London."

  "That's not the one. Keep checking."

  Dr. Seaford returned the watch to Matt and Matt pocketed it. It didn't take Dr. Seaford long to find Matt's second watch in his hidden pocket.

  My stomach dropped. My blood turned to ice in my veins.

  "Where was it made?" Payne asked.

  Again, Dr. Seaford opened the case and read the inscription. "New York."

  "I believe that's the one. Throw it here."

  "No!" I cried. "Dr. Seaford, that watch is keeping Matt alive. If you give it to him, he'll destroy it and Matt will slowly die."

  "Keeping him alive?" Dr. Seaford asked in wonder. "Are you suggesting what I think you're suggesting?"

  "Magic," Payne told him. "You are a magician, she is a magician…and that watch is mine, now. Throw it here or I'll shoot Glass and he'll die immediately. It's your choice. A slow death or a quick one? O
ne gives hope that Glass can overpower me and retrieve the watch. The other…well." He cocked the gun.

  "It's all right," Matt told the doctor. "Give him the watch. It doesn't matter."

  "Of course it matters!" I shouted.

  Dr. Seaford drew in a breath. "I don't quite understand what this is all about." He held up Matt's watch. "But I do know that he has a gun and that it's pointed at Mr. Glass, here. I can't let him shoot you over a watch, sir."

  "I understand," Matt said.

  Dr. Seaford threw the watch.

  "No!" I cried.

  Matt grabbed my arm, stopping me from charging forward. But he could not stop me from throwing my own watch. It sailed through the air and I willed it to wrap itself around Payne's wrist and shock him as it had done on more than one occasion to save me.

  But it hit him in the shoulder and fell to the pavement where it lay unmoving and silent. It only worked when my life was in danger and it hadn't chimed since Payne stopped pointing the gun at me.

  Payne lifted his foot to crush it.

  "Don't!" Matt barked. "It was given to her by her parents."

  "You know I'm not one for sentimentality, Glass." Payne brought down his boot heel and twisted and twisted and twisted.

  The metal case splintered, the glass inside cracked. My watch gave a single, plaintive chime before falling silent. Payne removed his boot to reveal a pile of pieces so broken they could never be fixed.

  Tears burned my eyes. My father had made that watch and I had pulled it apart hundreds of times. I knew the inner workings by heart and could put it back together with my eyes closed. It had saved my life. It was beyond repair now.

  Matt's hand found mine and grasped tightly. It was an attempt to comfort me, but the tremble wracking him did nothing to ease the ache in my chest. I met his gaze and saw his heart swimming in his eyes, and his pain. So much pain.