Ghost Girl

Chapter 6

"You didn't tell us you knew Miss Moreau," Myer said to Nathaniel.

"I wasn't aware you knew her." Nathaniel bowed smoothly, and when he straightened, his eyes danced over my face and figure. His smile broadened. "My humblest apologies, Miss Moreau. It's a pleasure to see you again. How long has it been now?"

"A matter of months," I said. "We came over on the S.S. Bombay together," I told the others. "Since neither of us suffered from seasickness, we often went out strolling the decks."

"The fresh sea air was very healthful."

My initial shock at finding him with the Myers was replaced by irritation at his snubbing of me at the station. "Why didn't you stop when you saw me at King's Cross yesterday?"

He frowned. "I didn't see you there."

"You must have. You looked directly at me."

"I'm so very sorry. You know me. I can be a little vague when my mind is on other things, as it was yesterday. Again, I am deeply sorry and didn't mean to cause offence." He bowed again and when he rose, his gray eyes were more silver than slate. He took my hand and pressed it between his own. "I hope you can forgive my poor manners. I shall have to make it up to you."

I couldn't help smiling at his effusive apology. "You're forgiven."

Quin stepped forward and glared at Nathaniel until he let go of my hand.

"It's good to see you again, Mr. Gladstone," Myer said to Samuel. "And who is your new friend?"

"Quintin St. Clair," Samuel said. "A friend of Cara's from Melbourne."

"From the other side of the world! I thought the colonies were hot places, yet you don't seem perturbed by our cooler climate, Mr. St. Clair." He indicated Quin's shirt with a flip of his hand.

"My luggage was lost on the voyage," Quin said, using the story we'd laid out on the journey to Mayfair.

"He has to make do until his new suit arrives," I said.

Quin extended his hand and Myer shook it. "I'm pleased to meet you, Mr. Myer. Cara has told me much about you." He said it exactly as we'd coached him, yet I could still detect a hint of distrust in his tone.

Myer, apparently, did not. He puffed out his chest and gave his wife a triumphant smile. "Has she now? I assure you, only the good bits are true." He laughed and rocked back on his heels.

"Good lord," Edith Myer muttered with a roll of her eyes. "If you're going to stay then you might as well sit. Adamson, bring refreshments," she ordered the butler.

"We won't stay long," I assured her. Indeed, I had hoped not to see her at all. She might look innocuous, with her drab clothing and severe hairstyle that only widened already broad features, but she made me anxious nevertheless. Where Myer had all the power with his hypnosis, her tongue was dipped in vitriol and she wasn't afraid to wield it. Fortunately, she reserved her verbal lashings for her husband and had never directed her harsh words at anyone else. "We've come to ask permission to look through the society's library," I said. "Mr. St. Clair has an interest in the paranormal and has heard of the society. When I told him we were acquainted with its grand master, he became keen to meet you."

Myer threw his arms wide as he sat. He was as tall as his wife, but half her girth, with a face that would have looked too thin if it weren't for the abundance of sideburns. "Well, here I am in the flesh. Ask me anything you want, Mr. St. Clair. It's always a pleasure to meet a fellow scholar of the paranormal. Don't you agree, Faraday?"

"Of course, but, forgive me, you don't look like a scholar," Nathaniel said to Quin.

Quin merely shrugged.