Penny said in a strangled voice, “I’ll go with you.”
“You need not.”
The cadaver shuffled to the top of the stairs and reached for the railing with a faltering hand. Penny didn’t cringe; she instinctively took hold of the crumbling arm as the dead woman put an unsteady foot onto the first step.
“Careful, Mama,” Penny whispered, taking the old woman’s weight. The cadaver stopped and turned slightly toward her daughter. A grey hand lifted and the palm cupped Penny’s cheek. The young woman didn’t flinch and actually pressed her face tighter against the dead hand with closed eyes of comfort.
Simon smiled at the daughter who helped her mother slowly down the stairs. Kate put her hand to her mouth, her eyes glistening. When they all reached the bottom, a shocked gurgle came from Charles followed by racking sobs. Simon went to the man hunched in his chair with his eyes covered. “Charles, try not to think of her as you see her now. This is merely her earthly form reanimated by sorcery.”
Charles groaned and pressed his forehead to his knees.
Penny said from her mother’s side, “I’ll be back shortly, Charles. Please don’t worry. It’s all right now.”
Simon rejoined Kate a few steps behind Penny, who had an arm around her mother’s waist. Penny opened the door and cold air washed in.
“Wait!” called Charles.
They turned to see the man sitting straight, his face locked in despair. But he lifted a trembling hand and pointed to the corner.
“It’s so chilly out,” Charles said. “Please give her a cloak.”
“Good man.” Simon nodded. Kate retrieved the heavy woolen cloak from a rack. She draped it over the frail shoulders of the corpse. Penny carefully adjusted the collar as she would when her elderly mother was alive.
With that, they were off into the night toward an empty grave.
Chapter 9
Spitalfields was a decaying section of London. Crowded and ill-used, with no funds for repairs or upkeep. It had once been home to families of wealth and position, but few remained. Much of east London was just like that now. Hawksmoor’s Christ Church was still a notable bastion of the parish though. The church rose up with white columns and a pyramidal steeple that nearly overwhelmed the fa?ade beneath it.
Simon and Kate exited the carriage. They moved into the church, through the antechamber, and into the main sanctuary. It was a towering space full of straight lines and even angles. Columns and arches marked time along the sides to the altar at the far end. Galleries between the columns overlooked the floor and box pews.
The aging sexton, who was extinguishing candles at the altar, looked up at the sound of visitors. He started down the aisle. “There are no services this evening, if you please.”
“Oh yes, we know,” Simon said with easy charm. “My fiancée and I are planning on being married here in the fall.”
“The fall? You have ample time, sir. You should come back tomorrow and speak to the vicar.”
“Yes, well, tomorrow I leave for Portsmouth, where my ship is bound for West Africa.” Simon took Kate’s hand and pressed it affectionately to his chest.
Kate had been staring at Simon in surprise but now fell into character and slumped a dreamy head against his shoulder. He patted her cheek, and she said to the sexton, “Would you mind terribly if we walked around for a moment and dreamed of that day when we will be wed?”
The old man looked annoyed but then relented to true romance. “Fine. I’ll go tidy up somewhere. Please be as brief as you can. It is quite late and I’ve supper waiting and a wife of my own to get home to.”
Simon slipped the man a few shillings as he passed them in the aisle. As soon as he trudged out of the sanctuary, Simon and Kate split up and headed for the east and west aisles. There were not true naves in this single massive gallery of a church.
Kate called, “What sort of flowers do you prefer for the ceremony?”
“I leave it to you. But I think hyacinth?”
She popped up from beside a pew. “How did you know I like hyacinth?”
“You mentioned it once. Here! Found it. It’s partially hidden by a plaque that was added later, but one of the names is clearly here.” Simon started for the altar.