Free Beyond the Grave by C. J. Archer Page B

least disdain was better than sounding confused and wistful, which was how I felt.
    He stopped sponging. "You mock me."
    "No, I… I don't know what to say or do or think." It helped to hear his stance on marriage in general. It was one thing to not be able to keep him to myself, but it would be worse to see him wed another woman, even if it were a marriage of convenience to a spineless twit like Miss Overton.
    "Is it ready for the powder now?" he asked.
    It took me a moment to realize what he was talking about. "Yes."
    He popped the lid off the canister and sprinkled the baking powder over it until I told him there was enough. He watched as I rubbed in the powder with the clean, damp cloth. With the task complete, he stood then held out his hand to me. I took it and rose. A small jolt passed between us and his fingers tightened.
    Then he extricated himself quickly and strode out of the parlor without another word or glance back. With a sigh, I picked up the cleaning materials and limped to the kitchen.
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    " S he's dead ," Lincoln informed us when he returned from the General Registry Office the following afternoon. "Estelle Pearson died five months ago at Queen Charlotte's Hospital For Lying-In."
    "In childbirth?" I asked, picking up another pea pod.
    "In an accident. The records don't mention how it happened. She worked there as a midwife."
    "Damn," Gus muttered. He'd been snoozing in the armchair in the corner but had jumped to his feet when Lincoln entered the kitchen and pretended to look busy rearranging things on the sideboard. Lincoln had hardly spared him a glance, but I doubt he was fooled. "Dead end, eh?" He snorted at his lame joke.
    I tossed the empty pea pod into the pail. "I could raise her spirit."
    Lincoln considered it for a moment then shook his head. "It's too dangerous."
    "How is it dangerous? I can control her spirit and will do so from the outset. As long as nobody alive sees, my secret will remain just that."
    "We know nothing about her." Lincoln accepted a cup of tea that Seth handed him. "She could be dangerous."
    "But if I control her—"
    "No."
    "But, sir—"
    "No, Charlie, and that's the end of it." He removed himself from the kitchen with his tea.
    "You're being unreasonable!" I called after him.
    He didn't answer; nor had I expected him to.
    "Careful, Charlie," Seth warned. "Push him too far and he's likely to snap back like a rubber band."
    Gus snorted and returned to the chair. "More like the kick from a canon."
    I sliced open another pea pod and spilled its innards onto the mountain of peas in the bowl. "He is being unreasonable. I have the means with which to help his investigation, and he's refusing it. I don't understand why. Have I not proven myself useful in the past?"
    "Have you not been kidnapped and nearly killed?"
    I threw an empty pod at Gus. It bounced off his forehead and landed in his lap. He lobbed it and whooped when it landed in the pail.
    Seth joined me at the table and pulled the bowl of peas between us. "He allowed you to go to The Alhambra."
    "Only because he thought it would be harmless, not to mention somewhat irrelevant to the investigation. He admitted he was simply trying to appease me."
    "I agree wiv Charlie," Cook said with a shrug. "Ain't no reason that I can see for her not to use the gift God gave her."
    I wasn't entirely sure my necromancy could be called a gift, let alone a God-given one. It seemed rather more devilish than divine and more of a curse than a skill. But it was what it was, and it was as much a part of me as my blue eyes and short stature.
    Neither Seth nor Gus spoke again, which was as good as saying that they agreed with Cook but didn't want to say so out loud. They were more afraid of Lincoln, perhaps because they'd seen him kill whereas Cook had only heard about the killings second-hand. Their silent approval was all I needed to make up my mind. I would raise the spirit of Estelle Pearson tonight.
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    R aising spirits that had passed over