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She put her arm around Mary’s fragile shoulders.
“See, that is my point exactly.” Constance held a handkerchief
to her nose as though the entire scene offended her every sensibil-
ity, including smell. “You have demonstrated an inability to choose
wisely when it comes to your pets. The girl never should have been
involved. She’s a local; she’ll be missed. This is neither the time nor
the place for games you have never played well.”
“Hear, hear,” a tall, exotic-looking man said, nodding toward
Constance. “We should be deciding how best to expand our
influence.”
Alden sneered. “Is that wise? I should think we’d want to be
quiet for the next few years, given our elements in play in Europe.
Am I the only one who thinks long-term?”
“And that’s why you’ve kidnapped another girl? Long-term
thinking?” Constance’s tone was biting, and it made Cora’s blood
run cold.
An enraged shriek shot through the air and echoed along the
stone walls until it surrounded them.
“Minnie,” Cora whispered in despair and frustration.
A percussive bang left her ears ringing.
“Nobody move!” Thomas shouted.
“Charles!” Cora whispered, clutching him tighter.
“They’re here!”
Constance’s smile shifted from biting to delighted. “By all
means, come in!” she said, waving coquettishly and moving to the
side in a swish of her skirts. “Do join us.”
His face a mixture of fear and determination, Thomas walked
into the chamber, his eyes immediately alighting on Cora and
then Charles. With a cry, he ran to them, dropping to his knees
and feeling for Charles’s pulse.
