“Elizabeth! She’s alive?”
“All of them are. The Beast locked them in the cellar.” I paused. “He’s different, Montgomery. He melded with Edward. He’s more human than he was before.”
In the shadows, I couldn’t make out Montgomery’s face. “Does that change anything?”
I balled my fists. There were times for mercy, but this wasn’t one of them. “No. He took Lucy. If I don’t stop him, there’s no telling what he’ll do to her. Besides, it isn’t just Lucy I’m worried about. We need to get everyone out of the house, so that you and I can face the Beast on our own. Balthazar came up with an idea. If one of us could lure him out of the house, the other could lead the servant girls to safety using the passageways.” I frowned down at his wounds. “I’m afraid you can’t do either, though.”
“It’s my shoulder that was hit, not my legs,” he said. “I can walk. I’ll stitch the wound myself and then sneak out of the house and set the goats loose. The Beast will smell them and come outside to investigate. That should give you time.”
I nodded, thinking. “We’ll need a signal for you to know everyone is safe and it’s time to lure the Beast back into the house.” I tapped my fingers anxiously against the wall. “The windmill. I’ll stain the sheets a different color for the signal.”
“That will work. Once you’ve gotten everyone to safety, promise me you’ll stay near Balthazar. He’ll keep you safe.” He took my hand.
I intertwined my fingers with his. Who would keep him safe, I wondered?
“Go on,” he said softly. “They need you. But Juliet . . .” He pulled me closer. “Be careful.” He pressed his lips to mine, and I longed to hold on to him forever. Neither of us was blameless. We both had sins to atone for. And yet my love for him didn’t diminish.
He broke the kiss. “Go.”
I crawled between the walls, up ancient stone foundations, past another alcove where I found a narrow ladder. It led to a trapdoor that opened into a dark room smelling of animals: fur and feces and straw. It was the secret room where Elizabeth kept the rats. I dusted off my hands as the rats squeaked softly, most likely thinking I was Elizabeth with their daily meal.
“Shh,” I whispered to them. “You’ll give me away.”
I took a deep breath. I had only to run through Hensley’s room and climb the spiral staircase and I’d be in the laboratory. I closed my eyes to listen for footsteps. There was nothing save the usual creaking of the house and my own ragged breathing.
It was now or never.
I darted through his room and up the stairs as quickly as I could, clutching Elizabeth’s key, afraid the Beast was right behind me. I threw myself at the laboratory door, unlocking it and then slamming it behind me. My breath came shallow. Had I closed it too loudly? I went to the window. The sun was high now. These winter days were far too short. There was no sign of Montgomery or the Beast, but the goats were loose in the front yard. Montgomery must have succeeded in his half of the plan.
I turned to the laboratory cabinets. Bone saws, surgical knives, scalpels. I snatched up a wicker basket and filled it with anything sharp. My hands wrapped around the instruments like old friends. Any of them, used properly, could yield a deadly blow. In a drawer, I even found a small silver pistol. That went into the basket as well.
I felt far more confident as I left the laboratory. I retraced my footsteps through the passageways, avoiding Lord Ballentyne’s ancient traps, and peeked through the spy holes until I found the kitchen. There was Lucy, standing alone by the oven with one of McKenna’s recipe books, looking completely lost.
“Lucy,” I whispered through the spy hole. “Over here.”
The panel opened wide enough for me to reach my hand out. She shrieked at the sight of a disembodied hand reaching through the wall, but then raced over.
“Juliet,” she whispered. “You gave me a fright!”
“The Beast hasn’t come back, has he?”
“I heard the front door slam about twenty minutes ago—I think he went outside. He left me here to make a feast but took away all the knives and anything sharp. How am I to peel the potatoes? I barely know what a raw potato looks like!”
“I have a plan. I found weapons in the laboratory, so I’ll arm everyone in the cellar for their safety, and then set them free while the Beast is distracted. Once I give the signal, Montgomery will lure him back to the house. Balthazar and I will be waiting for him. As soon as you hear any commotion, you must hide. There’s a trapdoor to the passageways in the pickling room. Hide just behind the trapdoor and wait for me to come get you—don’t venture deeper into the passageways unless you want to stumble down one of mad Lord Ballentyne’s traps. And take this.” I passed her one of the surgical knives through the spy hole.