Simon and Kate stood across Lombard Street from St. Mary Woolnoth, studying the crowd for any sign of Rowan Barnes. A slow stream of coats and bonnets and walking sticks entered the church, which was aglow with lamplight.
Simon’s vision swam so he took another swallow of elixir vitae. Pain still knifed in his chest so he sent a surge of aether through his body, which drowned out the fire for a short time.
“Do you think Barnes would attempt something during a service?” Kate shifted the leather bandolier draped over her shoulder under her coat. She also adjusted the short sword she had strapped tight along her thigh.
“There’s something stirring the aether. Something large.”
Suddenly she stiffened and seized Simon’s arm. “That man just by the front column on our side.”
Simon stared into the black morass of churchgoers. As shapes shifted, he caught a glimpse of a face beneath the wide brim of a hat. It was a slight profile, but the cut of the chin and the line of the nose suggested the figure of Rowan Barnes.
“You’re right.” They angled for him but the man disappeared among the crowd. Simon pressed his hands together, which sparked a quick flash of aether. “That should bring everyone. Come, the north gallery will give us a better view of the church.”
Simon began to push as they passed the doors and went up the stairs. They filed out onto the gallery overlooking the main floor. They found two places on the front row. The sanctuary was dim despite the many glowing candles and the massive chandeliers. The proper occupants filed into the box pews, greeting those around them.
St. Mary Woolnoth was a cube, without much of the traditional cross shape of most churches. It was larger than it seemed from the outside, but still not a huge church by any stretch. The corners of the space were dominated by groups of white Corinthian columns. The altar at the eastern end was covered in a purple cloth, with its candles still unlit. On the wall behind it was the noticeable reredos, a huge replica of the Ten Commandment tablets. The central ceiling was raised into another cube, with windows on all four sides.
They sat together, viewing the crowd below them. The church filled with parishioners and hushed chatter reverberated around their ears. Simon checked his watch as time passed with agonizing slowness.
Kate pointed across the church at Hogarth and Charlotte, who filed into the opposite gallery. Charlotte was smiling with excitement. Hogarth watched her carefully. He sat on the front row and Charlotte went to the rail and leaned over, staring down into the crowd. They were both dressed in somewhat proper fashion, but they had obviously come hurriedly from the rooms Simon had let nearby, where they had intended to stage their shifts watching St. Mary Woolnoth.
Kate waved her arm to the disdain of two maiden aunts sitting nearby. Charlotte’s face lit up and she waved back eagerly. Hogarth noticed too and a look of relief washed over him at the sight of Kate and Simon.
Hogarth pulled Charlotte back to the pew. They whispered to one another. Simon and Kate continued to scan the congregation, searching for a sign of Barnes or any of his women. It was difficult to see faces in the gloom below.
“I hope Malcolm and Penny can get here,” Kate said.
Simon grunted quietly. “They’re a long distance away.”
The organ roared to life and a procession emerged from a door beside the altar and began to circle the church. A curate with a smoking censer led the way, followed by young robed boys with massive candles. A churchman carried a tall silver cross and another a large Bible. And finally the rector came in his white cassock with purple surplice. His hands were clasped before him. They made their way around the church, then moved back up the center aisle. The incense wafted up and filled the air. The boys lit the candles on the altar. Then the rector kissed the Bible and placed it open on the purple frontal. The other churchmen withdrew as the reverend stood with his back to the congregation, arms outstretched, robe draping like wings.
“You, Christ, are the king of glory, the eternal son of the Father. When you took our flesh to set us free, you humbly chose the virgin’s womb. You overcame the sting of death and opened the kingdom of Heaven to all believers. You are seated at God’s right hand in glory. Let us pray.”
All heads bowed.
Simon’s line of sight was invaded by a small figure on the floor beneath him. A tall woman in a long cloak with a prim bonnet emerged from underneath the gallery where he sat. She walked quickly toward the altar and shrugged off her mantle to reveal her nude body. She tossed her bonnet to one side, revealing long red hair cascading down her back. In her right hand was a glinting serrated dagger.