"Sorry." I shook my head. "Just trying to figure out what Alice sees in you. I guess you aren't
too
malformed."
He threw back his head and laughed. I couldn't help but smile, this summer's good mood seemed to be infectious. "Careful, I could loosen the bolts on your ride."
He wouldn't dare. I stuck out my tongue and that earned another chuckle. "Seth's in the study, Warrens will show you." He gestured with his hand at a door. A brick propped it open, and the sunlight played along a short access way that led to the main entrance.
All credit to the butler, the stiff upper lip didn't so much as quiver as I appeared behind him in the hall, carrying a sword. Although I believed his weapon of choice was a 9-iron.
"This way, miss." He strode across the opulent hall to a set of double doors, cracked them open, and cleared his throat. "Miss Eleanor to see you, your grace."
Frank called it Seth's study, but to my untrained eye it was how I imagined a war room would be. The space had changed in just the few days since I was last here. A topographical map nearly covered one wall in its entirety, showing such detail that I could pick out individual houses and cottages. A table the size for billiards sat in the centre of the room; covered in books, papers and what appeared to be tin soldiers. Seth, with his shirtsleeves rolled up, sorted through the scattered papers.
He looked up with a warm smile on his face. "Ella."
Gosh, I wish he would stop saying my name like that. The way he breathed those two syllables made my legs turn to jellied eels. Which reminded me, before I looked like a right pike, I was here for a reason. Reaching into my vest, I pulled out the notebook.
"I have the lists you wanted. From the beginning, I have kept record of everyone." I kept it in my hands. I couldn't bring myself to hand it over, not yet. This was the weight pressing on my soul, and I was unsure what he would think of it.
'Thank you, it will be invaluable. The War Office wants to chart the incidences of the turned, and you are one of the few who has kept such information from the start."
"Do they think it is diminishing?" The newspapers said the vermin were rarely spotted in the cities now, but I saw more and more in our village that we couldn't recognise or place.
He ran a hand through his dark hair. "I don't think they really know. They are disappearing from London and the larger cities, but what if they are going elsewhere? Migrating like birds, perhaps."
"It is summer, maybe they're heading to Brighton?" At times you had to laugh, or else run the risk of losing your sanity. Although I doubted the vermin were heading to the beach to bask in the sunshine, my experiences said they were moving deeper into the countryside. But why?
The Duke of Leithfield smiled, but that didn't mean he found my joke humorous; perhaps he was just being polite. He swept a hand at his map. "Somerset is like many other regions. We are finding more turned who do not appear to have originated here."
"Why though? Do they think we are easier fodder out here? Are city folk too well guarded?" The first wave created the vermin, but it burned out fast. The original virus disappeared as fast as it appeared. The only way to spread their curse was to bite healthy people, and increase their numbers.
"That's what we're trying to determine. If we map where they are found, perhaps that will tell us if they are following a path." He held out his hand, and with a tiny hint of reluctance, I handed over our district's sad history. He flicked through the pages, but I couldn't watch. I moved to the wall and stared at the hills, plains, and blue ribbons that made up Somerset.
"Oh, Ella," he breathed from behind me. "So many names."
My back stiffened, and I closed my eyes. I knew exactly how many names. There were two hundred and eight one marks against my soul. His arms wrapped around me, and he pulled me against his chest.
"You don't fight alone anymore," he whispered against my hair. "They should never have expected you to carry this burden on your own."
I leaned into him. The contact grounded me and he was my anchor in a sea of desolation. Only his arms around me stopped the despair from sweeping me under.
"We had to find a way to cope. Your people find some salvation in knowing I am the condemned one."
Well, there's two of us going to hell now, since he lobbed off little Rose's head at the fete. At least I wouldn't ride the fiery highway on my own.
The thrum of his heart echoed through my torso, and his scent surrounded me. What I would give to stay here, to belong to him, to have a fairy tale ending.
A heavy sigh broke free of my chest. That's all it was – a fairy tale dream. I shall soak up every second while I am under the spell and treasure these moments, for when it is broken they would be all I have. Like a bell tolling midnight, I could hear a countdown echoing in my head, a harbinger of our end.
"What plans do you have for this fantastic map?" I peered up at him, reluctantly easing free.
"There are several things to overlay. Those who died in the initial pandemic and their burial place, first."
I nodded and ran my finger along roads to the cemetery. "Most went into a couple of mass graves at the edge, here." I tapped a spot. "Some of the more remote deceased were buried in familial plots on their land. Those ones are marked in my journal."
He kept one hand on my waist and gestured with the free hand. "Then we add in where you found the turned, and how far they have travelled."
I stared at the map that would soon show the path cut by my father's katana. "In the beginning, they were all locals who had clawed free of their graves. Over the last three months, I would say nearly all are from elsewhere. Rose was the first local in some time."
What happened at the child's home, and why haven't we found her mother and brothers? Did they lie unfound in a field, until death spat them back, and they rose to wander in a different direction?
He drew me to him for a brief kiss. "We will find the answers."
As I turned, movement past the window caught my eye. Thankfully, Seth's study looked out over the sweeping entrance way, and down to the river. A motorcar I knew well drove past.
Oh, hell.
"Bother," I said on an exhale. "I have to go."
Seth frowned. "Everything all right?"
"No. Yes." Oh blast, which was it? "I just remembered I have another appointment this afternoon, and it would be terribly rude to leave them waiting at the house." That would be the most pathetic lie I had strung together in a long time.
He arched an eyebrow. "If you must. When will I see you again?"
"I don't know, soon?" My feet itched to scram before Louise sauntered in and found me locked in the arms of her fiancé.
Before he could offer up a protest, I ran. Straight out his door, past the stoic butler, I dashed down the darkened hall. As the shadows embraced me, the front door opened and the butler cleared his throat. I had the mental image of him blocking the way until I was hidden.
"The Lady Jeffrey and her daughters, Louise and Charlotte," Warrens announced to Seth, left standing in the doorway after my hasty retreat.
I hid behind a coat of arms. I should have darted right out the side door to the stables, but part of me needed to know — would he greet her with a kiss? Did he harbour genuine affection for Louise? While I scoffed at Louise's claims that he doted on her, part of me craved confirmation. Was he playing me false? Silly to be jealous I know, but you cannot reason with the heart. Or was it unfair of me? Would I condemn him to an unhappy marriage like his father? Surely it would be better if the couple did share mutual affection. Rising up on my toes, I peered over the ancient knight's shoulder.
"Your grace," Elizabeth said, holding out her hand to offer a limp shake. Seth took the offered limb and pressed it once.
"Lady Jeffrey, how unexpected." He frowned at the shade cast by the dim hallway, before turning back to the interlopers.
"Seth," Louise breathed in a husky tone, as though she had come down with a sudden head cold. Or perhaps she had smoked a large number of cigarettes in order to deepen her voice and make it sound seductive.
"You all right, old girl? You sound like you're coming down with something." Seth asked.
A snort welled up in my throat. I had the impression her grand entrance was not going as planned. Louise blushed and coughed. Meanwhile, Charlotte took the opening and pushed herself forward.
"So lovely to see you, your grace." Charlotte held out her hand. "We were passing by and wanted to offer any assistance in organising the forthcoming ball."
Seth took her hand and placed a chaste kiss on the back, which made Louise's blush turn into an angry scowl.
"How kind." His gaze drifted around the entranceway, as though seeking an exit. Hopefully we wouldn't fix on mine, there was only room for one behind the armour.
The butler coughed into his hand and waited until Seth faced him. "Afternoon tea in the front parlour, your grace?"
A pained look flashed over his face and was quickly hidden. A tiny part of me rejoiced, for it appeared that he didn't want to spend time with her at all. Perhaps it would not always be like that? One would hope, over time, that Seth's calm character might bring some change to Louise's shallow one. Or one could hope it would happen for his sake, if they were to fashion any future together. Otherwise, he might be the one booking passage on the next unsinkable ocean liner.
"Oh, that would be fabulous." Louise recovered herself. Her voice returned to normal, and she pounced on Seth's arm, dragging him out of my line of sight.
Poor bugger. I waited until their footsteps had faded, and slipped along the corridor out the door.
Frank stood by my motorcycle. "Gave it a once over, she's in good nick."
"Thank you. Henry does what he can, but four legs are his speciality, not wheels." I swung my leg over the sparse seat. "You might want to rescue Seth shortly with urgent business, he has been captured by the enemy and had the look of a man wanting to pull the pin on his own grenade." I winked and kicked the starter. Better scramble home, before they return and discover my chores not finished.
Frank laughed and waved, as I roared out of the courtyard.
Chapter Sixteen
In the midst of death, life never stopped. Or rather, the jobs that needed doing never stopped. I wondered if Heaven employed domestics to keep everything running smoothly. Or was that Hell, where you found yourself a house maid for all of eternity to the toffs residing upstairs?
Today, at least, Alice and I had managed to escape outside, enjoying the sunshine and gentle breezes. With our skin protected by thick gauze and gloves, we tackled the beehives to scrap the honey free. I wielded the smoker and kept the bees dreaming, while Alice removed the frames and wielded a scraper.
Alice kept up a steady chatter about her intensifying romance with Frank. I could see the appeal. Tall and handsome like Seth, but Frank seemed quicker to laugh and more comfortable in his skin. From Alice's waffling, it seemed he was handy in all manner of things. There were even scandalously delicious details she needed to confess under cover of dark, once the rest of the house was asleep. I needed to know exactly what he was doing with his hands, because Alice always dropped whatever she was holding, and turned red like the motorcar whenever I asked.
I watched them together, and quite apart from the fact that they made a handsome couple, I approved of how he courted my friend. Although, I wondered if I should wave my sword at him and threaten to severe a limb if he ever hurts her.
A bee approached the slumbering hive on an erratic path. He circled several times before landing and starting his complicated dance routine. A few woozy workers looped around over his head and then, one by one, the little squadron flew away, off on some unseen task. Funny little creatures, controlled by their queen. Yet each and every insect had a role to play to ensure the survival of the hive. Their master plan was invisible to the casual observer who saw only each bee in isolation. Yet if you stepped back and saw the hive as a whole, one entity with a myriad of individual parts—
"Bees!" I yelled and dropped the smoker.
Alice yelped and jumped, assuming I had them under my veil. She stared at me, a frown just visible under her netting. "What is it? Did you get stung? Where?"
"No. No." I waved her away. "It's the bees. We keep thinking of them as vermin, but what if they aren't like rats at all? What if they're actually like
bees
?"
Ideas swooped and dived in my mind like elephant-sized insects. I pulled at the thick gloves on my hands as I walked back to the house. My skin itched as though what I held on the inside was too big to be contained, and I were in danger of exploding all over the countryside.
What I
needed
was to blurt the rampaging thoughts out to someone who would understand —Seth.
"You've completely lost me. What do
vermin
have in common with
bees
?" Alice tipped her hat back, following me away from the hives.
I tossed the protective layers to the ground as I walked, heedless that they would need to be retrieved. Excitement blasted through my body as I grasped at the idea. It all made sense. How could we have been so stupid to have missed it?