“He did? He’s never mentioned any of this to me.”
“He came into my room and saw I was in the throes of a miscarriage. He said he would summon the doctor immediately and left the room, never to return again.”
Pip stared at her in horror. Sweat rolled off his brow. He moved his lips, but remained mute.
Words continued to flow from Nellie’s mouth. “I rang the bell but no-one came. I think—I think Thaddeus must have cut the wires outside my room.”
“But—but why?” Pip’s eyes bulged out with terror. “Why would he do such a monstrous thing?”
“Because he despised me. He always did. He married me for my wealth, but he despised my family, my humble origins, my gauche manners, and as time marched on he found it harder and harder to hide his disgust. For years he wanted another son from me. You weren’t enough; he needed to secure the Ormond lineage. That was the only reason he tolerated me, and he was genuinely pleased when at long last I became with child again. But that night when he saw I was about to lose the baby, he couldn’t bear my presence any longer. He saw his chance to be rid of me, and so he left me to die.”
A hoarse gibber fluttered out of Pip as he staggered to his feet. He lifted his forearm to shield himself from Nellie as if she were too ghastly to look at.
“No, no…” he muttered. “It cannot be true…” He backed away from the table, bumped into a chest, turned and fled from the apartment.
As his footsteps clattered down the narrow staircase, Julian burst into the room, flinging the dusty curtain aside. “For God’s sakes, Nellie. What was all that blather about?”
Nellie tried to turn her head towards Julian, but the force which had invaded her body held her captive. Julian darted forward, his expression darkening as he sensed something was deeply amiss. “Nellie, talk to me, in heaven’s name.” He shook her shoulder urgently.
At his touch the light rushed out of her body, leaving her coughing and gasping for air but mercifully back in command of her faculties. As she tore off her veil, she heard Julian’s concerned voice, but it was some minutes before she had the power to speak.
“I’m fine,” she choked out, wheezing with every breath she took.
Julian disappeared into the other room and reappeared with a glass of wine. Her hands shook as she took a cautious sip. The sour wine almost peeled the roof off her mouth, but she was grateful for its bracing roughness and glad she was still in one piece.
Julian drew up a chair near to her. “My dear, what got into you there? Why on earth did you pretend to be possessed by the spirit of Pip’s dead mother? It gave me quite a turn hearing you speak in such a strange voice.”
She shook her head and kneaded her aching temples. A deep exhaustion gripped her, and she could barely see straight. “I don’t know what came over me.” She lifted her head to glance at him cautiously. “Julian, this will sound like utter nonsense, but I think I was genuinely possessed by his mother’s spirit.”
His face grew rigid under the clenching of his jaw. “You know that is not possible, Nellie, because there is no such thing as communicating with the dead. Spiritualism is nothing but a fraud. You know that.”
“I know, but…I have no other explanation. It was not me who spoke to Pip. Some alien force took control of my body, my mouth, and uttered those words.”
“Impossible!” A deep furrow marred his brow. “As a man of science I cannot accept that. You must have suffered some sort of seizure. Let me examine you.” Tired, she submitted to his examination, docilely allowing him to lift her eyelids, take her pulse, and breathing in and out as instructed. He did not appear to be satisfied with his findings. “Well, I can find nothing physically wrong with you.”
“I’m sorry, Julian. It seems I have wasted the entire evening. After all our efforts I didn’t get any proof either way of Pip’s involvement in my death.”
“Your attempted death,” he retorted grimly. “Don’t speak as if you’re dead.” He rubbed the back of his neck before expelling a long breath. “By Jove I’ve had a gutful of spirits tonight. We should go home so I can conduct a more thorough examination of you. Perhaps you suffered a hallucination of some sort.”
Would hallucinations be preferable to being a channel for the spirit world? Before tonight she’d scoffed at the idea of contacting the dead, but she didn’t know what to believe anymore. Shivering, she wrapped her arms around herself, and as she did so, she became aware of the skirts chafing at her limbs.
“Before we go, I would like to get rid of some of these skirts. They’re most uncomfortable.”
“Of course. Um, do you need some assistance?”
The thought of Julian helping her undress sent a frisson down her back, but this was neither the time nor the place for tomfoolery. “I can manage,” she said.
While Julian turned his back on her, Nellie swiftly removed several layers of skirts and shawls and bundled them into a holdall. Without the extra weight, her body felt cold and weak. The thought of the long journey home ahead of them brought a sigh to her lips. She’d give anything to be in bed right now.
Julian swivelled back. “Ready?” he asked.
Just as they moved towards the door, footsteps pounded on the staircase outside. They glanced at each other, but there was no time to do anything as the door crashed open. A familiar figure stood in the doorway, blocking their escape.
“You!” Thaddeus Ormond exclaimed as he gaped at Nellie. “You’re supposed to be dead.” He transferred his stare to Julian. Ormond’s eyes bulged, as hard and black as the onyx pin stabbed in his cravat. “Well. Now this is a nasty surprise. I never would have guessed. All my bothersome fish in the same basket. That will save me a lot of trouble, I suppose.”
Chapter Eleven
Julian shouldered his way past Nellie and stood in front of Sir Thaddeus. “What an unexpected displeasure,
Sir Thaddeus sucked in his cheeks. “Insolent pup. I’m no uncle of yours and never will be.” To emphasise his words, he thunked his ebony cane on the floor.
Julian lowered his head as a slow-burning anger built up inside him. In the past few weeks his obsession with discovering his parentage had abated somewhat, swept aside as he focussed his energies on Nellie’s behalf, but now, confronted by his tormentor, his resentment blasted back to the fore.
“It gives me no joy to acknowledge our blood tie,” he snapped. “Given the man you are, I’m ashamed to be related to such scum. But tonight I’ve received even further proof of our dismal connection. Your unfortunate son revealed he was born with a vestigial toe, a characteristic I too bear. A rather telling fact, don’t you think?”
Above his high-necked frock coat, Sir Thaddeus’s face swelled up. The tips of his waxed moustache quivered in outrage. “That fool son of mine. The sooner I get him settled the better.” He turned his inimical glare on Nellie. “And you. Why am I not surprised to see you still so unpleasantly alive? I knew something was fishy about your death.” Twisting his neck, he hollered over his shoulder, “Kray! Get up here now.”
Heavy feet clumped up the stairs. Julian tensed in anticipation. His fears were confirmed as the familiar burly figure of Thaddeus’s hired thug appeared in the doorway, the distinctive pockmarks around his deep-set eyes affirming his identity.
“Aye, guv’nor,” he muttered, his gaze darting towards Nellie.
“Well, then? You’re not taken aback by the sight of a ghost?” Thaddeus jabbed his finger at Nellie. “Despite the mess on her face, doesn’t she look remarkably like the woman you were supposed to dispatch?”
Beside Julian, Nellie was breathing hard, her fists clenched at her sides. “You filthy mongrel,” she burst out at Sir Thaddeus. “You lying, despicable monster.”
“P’shaw.” He sneered at her down the length of his bony nose. “You refused to go quietly, so you got what you deserved.”
“And what of Pip? Did he know what you were up to? Did he want me dead too?” Two spots of colour stained her white cheeks.
Sir Thaddeus merely sniffed and turned to his henchman. “What happened that night? How in hellfire did a slip of a thing like her get away from you?”
