It didn’t matter how many times I saw this exact moment, it always chipped away at my soul just a little bit more. Ada and Veronique were imprisoned somewhere, and they needed my help. This scene had taken place months ago, and I’d seen it dozens of times since then. And what had I done for them in all those weeks? Nothing.
A shiver rolled down my back. I knew enough about magick to know why I was trapped in seeing this scene. Ada and Veronique could already be dead. That was how my magick worked. The energies of the past lingered in the present. The truth was, I may have spent months searching for people who were nothing more than bones.
The blue mist grew heavy around me once more, as it always did when I reached this part of the vision. Once the haze disappeared again, I had returned to my tavern room.
Another failure. I hadn’t seen anything new.
My thoughts went back to my conversation with Rowan. If things didn’t work out with Amelia, perhaps I would visit my farm. Harvest time was approaching. My fields would soon become a single sheet of shifting barley. After that, the first colors of autumn would reach the forest leaves.
Perhaps if I transport back for just a day…
I shook my head. As long as there was a chance of helping Ada and the others, I had no business taking breaks. Tonight, I needed to rest while I could. Tomorrow, I’d head back to Lady Amelia’s mansion. Anticipation skittered across my skin. I couldn’t allow doubt to make me feel hopeless. Success was still possible.
I couldn’t wait to see what lay hidden in that laboratory.
Chapter Four
Amelia began the next morning with a tour of her mansion. As we walked along, she cheerfully described the purpose of each chamber, such as the study, conservatory, and library. All the rooms looked the same to me. Each place was filled with huge furniture covered in dusty sheets. Growing up in a farmhouse, I never imagined having this much space, let alone not using every inch. I tried to stay silent about it, but after the tenth room, I couldn’t keep quiet any longer.
“This place is enormous.” My voice echoed in strange ways through the deserted chamber.
“We never come to these parts of the cottage.”
On reflex, I pulled my ear. I must not be hearing her correctly. “You call this place a cottage?”
“Only because it irks Daddy Dearest.” She disappeared behind what looked like a bureau covered in a tarp.
Daddy Dearest. That’s the Vicomte. Good to know that her hatred of him seems consistent. “Who helps you maintain this place?”
“It’s only Clothilde and me. She keeps up our two bedrooms and a small kitchen. I mind my garden. Daddy Dearest sends in groundkeepers for the rest. They never set foot inside the house. The rest of the place can go to hell, for all I care.” She waved her hand before her, shooing some cobwebs from her path. “The door to my old laboratory is this way.” She paused before a wall that was painted with the crest of a tall sword wreathed in roses. “Ah, here we are.”
I nodded to the image. “Is that your family coat of arms?”
“My mother’s, yes.” She pulled out a ring of keys from her pocket and began fiddling with the lock on the door. “Mother died right after I was born. My brother and I were promptly shipped off to an orphanage.” She glanced at me over her shoulder. “Our father was a Commoner and a swindler, you see. When Mother ran off with him, her family disowned her.”
My heart went out to Amelia. I knew what it was like to not have any family. My parents had passed away when I was only a baby. My guardian, Rosie, died when I was fifteen. “I’m sorry to hear that. Are you in touch with other members of the Masson family?”
“Not a one. The Massons still won’t acknowledge my brother or me. They loathe the Vicomte and he hates them right back. All this” —she waved around the mansion— “was a way for Daddy Dearest to tweak their noses. My Mother’s family doesn’t have any mansions that are nearly as fine.”
“And your father?”
“Died a year after he dropped off Philippe and me at the orphanage. I began building little toys for the children there… tiny mechanical dolls and the like. Someone told the Vicomte and he adopted me.” She shook her head. “The things I have built for that man. You won’t believe it when I show you.”
Clothilde appeared in a nearby doorway. She was always lurking about. “Excuse me, my Lady. Would you like to have luncheon now?”
“I just ate breakfast.” Amelia swung around to face her servant. “Why would you ask me about food?”
Clothilde straightened her stance. She looked stiff as a rail. “You seemed to be sharing so much with this stranger, I thought you might have become lightheaded for want of a meal. Surely, you’d rather have an early luncheon than share your secrets.”
My eyes widened. Something important was in the basement laboratory. I knew it. Perhaps it was the Vicomte’s machine. No wonder Clothilde worries for her mistress. My gaze flipped between Amelia and Clothilde. Would my new friend still show me what I needed to see? Or would I have to rely on darker ways to get the information?