Crystal Gardens by Amanda Quick Page A

empty room,” Evangeline said. Her voice was unnaturally even and far too steady. “He put his arm around my throat. The knife was in his other hand. He said he was going to punish me for what I had done. He said that if I did not cooperate in my own rape, he would kill me. I knew that he intended to kill me regardless so I concluded I had little to lose. We struggled. He lost his footing and tumbled down the stairs. He broke his neck. I fled the scene.”
    Without a word Clarissa touched Evangeline’s arm in a small gesture of comfort. Beatrice moved closer to both of them.
    Lucas stood very still. The darkness roared and thrashed within him. There was nothing he could do, he reminded himself. Mason was dead. But the black energy howled silently at the loss of prey. He concentrated on controlling his talent.
    It took him a few seconds to realize that Evangeline, Clarissa and Beatrice were all watching him warily. He sensed their tension and knew that he was the source. He worked harder to restrain the prowling hunger.
    “You are quite certain that Mason is dead?” he asked.
    The question broke the unnatural stillness of the atmosphere. Evangeline relaxed first. Clarissa and Beatrice took deep breaths.
    Now I’ve done it,
Lucas thought.
I’ve terrified all three of them
.
    But Evangeline, at least, did not seem fearful, just cautious.
    “I’m absolutely positive that Douglas Mason died that day,” she said. “There can be no doubt.”
    “Yet someone has gone to the trouble of hiring a man to kill you,” Lucas concluded. “The only logical assumption is that there is a connection between the two incidents. But even if I am wrong, it is obvious that someone has some extremely unpleasant intentions toward you.”
    Clarissa’s mouth tightened. “Mr. Sebastian is correct, Evie. Hobson came from the streets but we must assume this crime has its roots in the Rutherford affair. That is a world Flint and Marsh knows well. Beatrice and I will return to London tomorrow morning and inform our employers of what has happened.”
    “We shall commence an investigation immediately,” Beatrice said. “Between Mr. Sebastian’s efforts in the criminal underworld and our own knowledge of society, we will discover who is behind this.”
    “I will return to London with you,” Evangeline said. She unfolded her arms and made to go back into the house. “We must return to the Cottage and start packing at once.”
    “I do not think that would be wise,” Lucas said.
    Evangeline and the others looked at him.
    “Why not?” Evangeline said. “This is my affair. I know more of the particulars than anyone else. I can assist in the inquiries.”
    “Consider this from the point of view of whoever is after you,” Lucas said patiently. “In the city you will be far more vulnerable than you are here in the country.”
    “Why do you say that?” she asked. “I am at home in the city. I know it well.”
    “Perhaps, but it appears that the villain is equally at home there. Otherwise he would not have known how to do business with the likes of a criminal such as Sharpy Hobson. What is more, he will find it easier to get close to you in an urban environment. Here in the country strangers wandering around the neighborhood are noticed.”
    “I would remind you, sir, that I was attacked here, not in London,” Evangeline said.
    “At night,” Lucas pointed out. “When you were certain to be alone in the cottage. Sharpy Hobson did not try to kill you during the daytime because there was far too much risk that someone would have noticed him either coming to or going from the scene.”
    “Are you suggesting that Evangeline continue to stay alone in the cottage?” Clarissa asked. “Given what has occurred, I hardly think that is a sound idea.”
    “I agree,” Lucas said. “Therefore, I suggest that she move here to Crystal Gardens.”
    There was a moment of dumbfounded astonishment. Then all three women started to speak at