She swallowed. "The baby known as Phineas was adopted by the Seafords." She spoke quickly, as if she wanted to get the words out before changing her mind. "They named him Gabriel. They can be found at number six Glebe Place although he no longer lives with them."
I threw my arms around her and hugged her. She laughed softly and patted my back. "Thank you," I said, drawing away. "Thank you."
Sister Bernadette picked up her toolbox and straightened. "If that young man can save one worthy life then it means I have saved two. Perhaps God will take that into account when it comes time for me to be judged."
"I'm sure he will." Matt thanked her and took my hand.
He led me outside where the bright light of day stung my eyes. I felt raw from emotion but full of hope. I overflowed with it. A cure was so close I could taste it.
Matt suddenly put his arm around my shoulders and pressed his lips to my forehead, nudging my hat askew. His breaths sounded heavy, labored, and I drew back to study him.
"Are you all right?" I asked. He looked terrible. His skin glistened and his lips were as pale as his face. I removed my glove and touched his cheek. He felt cold. "Matt?" Panic pitched my voice high.
"I'm fine. But let's not delay."
We wordlessly made our way through the convent grounds and back to the carriage. Matt held his hand out to assist me inside then ordered the coachman to the Seafords' house. He tumbled into the cabin and collapsed onto the seat beside me.
"Do you still have the spell with you?" he asked.
"In my reticule." I'd copied the medical spell from Dr. Millroy's diary and kept it with me ever since. It had been the same one Dr. Parsons had used on Matt's watch in Broken Creek five years ago. It had worked for him but not Dr. Millroy. We did not know why the complicated spell had worked for one and not the other, but we would experiment with Gabriel Seaford.
I went to close the curtains as he fumbled with his jacket buttons but paused. We passed another parked conveyance where the passenger suddenly sat up straight, as if he'd been half-asleep and something caught his attention. He looked out the window and straight at me.
Sheriff Payne.
He must have been there for some time, waiting for us, and his driver alerted him to our departure. I looked through the back window as his coach pulled away from the curb and followed us. Hell.
I resumed my seat and watched the faint glow of the magic as it spread through Matt's body. All the hope I'd felt upon leaving the convent's coach house was smashed to pieces. The glow should be brighter.
"Better?" I asked him.
He gave me a small smile and nodded, but I knew it was a lie. Even so I took the watch from him and spoke the extending spell into it. He used the watch again, but the glow was just as faint.
He tucked the watch away, and his hand lingered beneath his jacket at his chest.
I didn't dare ask if his heart pained him again. Instead, I pulled down the window and ordered the driver to go faster. A quick glance behind us proved that Payne still followed. I did not inform Matt. If he knew Payne was on our path, he would bypass the Seafords' house altogether. I wouldn't risk further delay.
Glebe Place wasn't far and we reached number six within minutes. Matt pulled himself up from the corner where he'd slumped, but I gently pushed him back. "Wait here," I said. "I'll find out where their son lives."
"No. They should see me. It'll convince them of my need to see a doctor." It may very well do. He looked like a cadaver. His red-rimmed eyelids drooped, as if too heavy to keep fully open, and the hair at the back of his neck was damp with sweat.
I checked through the windows for Payne's carriage but didn't see it. I didn't doubt that he'd followed us, however. He would be waiting around a corner, watching our every move. I felt sure of that now. He was trying to work out what we were doing so he could use the information against Matt. He had not tried to shoot Matt lately, so that was something at least.
Even so, I kept vigilant and climbed out of the carriage first. Matt sucked in a breath as he alighted and needed a moment to steady himself. Despite wanting to offer a shoulder for him to hold onto, I kept my distance as I knocked on the door of the narrow townhouse. A woman's face appeared at the elegant bay window but it was a different woman who opened the door.
"Are Mr. or Mrs. Seaford in?" I asked the housekeeper. "My name is India Steele and this is Mr. Glass."
She gave Matt an uncertain glance before asking us to wait on the porch.
"Do I look that bad?" Matt asked me as we waited.
"You look fine."
"Fine?" He grunted. "The last time someone told me I looked fine was Willie after Cyclops gave me a black eye."
"Why did Cyclops give you a black eye?"
"I can't recall, which means I probably deserved it."
The elderly woman who'd peered through the window greeted us with as much caution as her housekeeper. I reintroduced ourselves and added, "Sister Bernadette from the Convent of the Sisters of the Sacred Heart sent us. Please may we come in? We have something delicate to discuss with you."
"Sister Bernadette?" she asked in a thin voice. "I…I'm not sure…"
"My friend Mr. Glass is ill from a gunshot wound and requires your son's assistance."
"Gunshot!" She put on the pair of spectacles hanging from a thin chain around her neck and gave Matt a thorough scan. "Oh dear. How awful. But my son cannot offer the assistance you need, Mr. Glass. He cannot perform miracles."
"Yes, ma'am, he can," Matt said quietly.
She chewed on her lower lip but did not try to shut the door in our faces. I took it as an invitation to continue pleading.
"Sister Bernadette assured us your son could help. Please, we need to find him. Mr. Glass will die if we don't, and I think you'll agree he's too young to die, particularly from a gunshot fired by a murderous villain."
Matt pressed a hand to his chest, perhaps in a plea or perhaps because his heart pained him again. Whatever his reason, it seemed to work. Mrs. Seaford didn't immediately send us on our way.
"Sister Bernadette would not have told us about Gabriel if she didn't think Mr. Glass deserved the special treatment your son can give him."
She leaned forward. "I'm afraid you'll be disappointed. It's only temporary, you know."
I grasped Matt's hand as hope surged. His fingers curled around mine. "I'll take every extra day with him that I can."
She gave me a sad smile. "You will find Gabriel either at the rooms he rents in Pimlico or at the nearby Belgrave Hospital for Children. He works odd hours there so you may catch him at home now." She gave us the address and wished us well, but it was clear she thought Matt's predicament fatal.
I passed the address on to our coachman and added, "Take the shortest route possible."