I won’t let him risk himself, I promised silently. He wants only one life; then it shall be a long one.
And as I devised a way to keep him safe from Radcliffe’s army, even from his own crazed sense of morality, I kissed him harder. We stayed like that until time didn’t exist. As I broke the kiss, resting my head against his shoulder and breathing in his scent, I heard a muffled voice on the other side of the wall. It was calling my name.
“Do you hear that?” I asked.
“It sounds like Lucy.”
We hurried to find an exit to the passageways back into the house, and when we finally crawled out of the walls, covered in cobwebs, I heard Lucy frantically calling my name.
She rounded the corner, stopping short when she saw us.
“Juliet!” she cried. “There are lights on the road, coming fast.”
I looked at Montgomery in confusion. “But the road is still flooded. The rain hasn’t stopped.”
She swallowed. “They’ve found some way around the flooding. They’re nearly here.”
THIRTY-SEVEN
WE RACED OUTSIDE to the courtyard, where Jack and his troupe were gathered with Balthazar. Lights were just visible through the trees.
Balthazar cocked his head, calculating the distance with his superior hearing. “They are two miles off. On horses and riding fast. Twenty riders.”
McKenna must have heard the commotion, because she eased open the kitchen door. A few little girls peeked out from behind her skirt. “I couldn’t help but overhear, mistress. Should we take the girls to the barn?”
The little girls squealed with fear. My heart started pounding harder, imagining Radcliffe’s horses pawing the ground. Twenty men. Even with Jack and his troupe, could a handful of servants defend this place?
McKenna cleared her throat. “What will you have us do, mistress?”
The word cut into me. Mistress. That was Elizabeth’s title, not mine. That was the title for a leader, for someone who understood strategy and risk and had a grasp on reason. Ever since Montgomery had told me Moreau wasn’t my father, I didn’t even have a grasp on myself.
Jack Serra took a step forward. “You’ve proven yourself to me, pretty girl. Now prove yourself to them.”
I gave him an unsteady look, but his gaze didn’t waver. Maybe I wasn’t a monster like Father, but did that make me a leader?
“Lucy, take the little girls to the barn,” I said, stumbling over commands that felt foreign on my tongue. “Hide in the underground cellar, and no matter what happens or what you hear, stay there until morning.”
Lucy nodded and gathered the girls.
“Wait.” Edward took a step toward Lucy. They wouldn’t see each other again until the battle was over, I realized. Edward was needed here with us to defend the house, and Lucy was needed in the barn. He brushed her hair back gently, sweeping the line of her cheek with his thumb. “Be safe,” he said, then leaned in and whispered a few words I couldn’t make out. They weren’t meant for my ears, anyway.
Lucy covered her mouth with a hand, stifling emotion, and nodded to whatever he’d whispered. She placed a quick kiss on his cheek, aware of the little girls watching, then herded them through the rain toward the barn.
Lightning flashed in the distance.
I closed my eyes to reaffirm my resolve. “I want everyone safely inside, except for Balthazar and Montgomery. You two will be posted on either side of the gate. Keep hidden and don’t show yourselves unless we need to surround them. McKenna, lead Lily and Moira to the upper windows and take up arms with Carlyle, but don’t shoot until I give the signal. I want to hear Radcliffe out first. If I can keep this attack from turning violent, I will.”
The servants nodded and hurried upstairs. The rain was coming harder now.
“Jack, I don’t want to put your men in any more danger than necessary, but I could use your help. We need people who are physically skilled to climb onto the roof and tear down the wire rigging. Edward knows the full plan—he can explain.”
Jack nodded solemnly. “We’ve performed acrobatics at times. We shall be honored to do so again.”
Thunder crackled, strangely long and sustained. I frowned, turning toward the sound, and realized it wasn’t thunder at all, but hoofbeats. I made out the light of a half dozen lanterns shining through the trees.
I squeezed Montgomery’s hand, hard. “Everyone, get to your posts. They’re coming!”