“Oh, I—thank you. Good morning,” I replied, overwhelmed with the food.
Catherine waited for Mrs. Tuffins to return to the kitchen before she pulled out a newspaper and set it on the table in front of me. “I’m so sorry. I went to take a walk and … everyone is talking about it. Mr. Braddock turned himself in to the police.”
My entire body tensed as my vision went a little fuzzy.
“How … no … no, Sebastian’s here. I stopped him from doing that last night.” I glanced down and tried to make sense of the flagrantly inaccurate news story.
“There isn’t much information there since it happened early this morning,” Catherine said. “All that we know is there’s going to be a trial at noon at Lincoln’s Inn Fields.”
My mind went blank, and I stopped understanding what words were. I came to a few moments later, at the door to Sebastian’s room. I looked down to see my hand on the door handle, not knowing how I had gotten here. But Catherine’s arm was around my waist, and she seemed to be holding me up. She was talking at me, but I still wasn’t able to make out the words. Just her concerned eyes and slightly confused expression.
“Evelyn. Are you listening? Rose, I think…” Her words faded in and out as my body drifted into Sebastian’s room. It was extremely tidy, which was unsurprising. Everything was in order, except a sheet of paper folded on the pillow. I found I had been expecting that, without knowing it. My given name was on the front in small, neat script. Inside were two words.
Trust me.
That was it.
That was all he had to say for himself.
The lying, impossible, infuriating, selfishly self-sacrificing fool.
I sat down heavily on the bedspread, and Rose’s face swam in front of me, her mouth set severely.
“Ev. Pay attention to me.”
“I am,” I said as the sound rushed away from my ears and I focused on the present.
“He could very well have some plan,” my sister said. “I think we need to assume he has this under control.”
I leaped up. “He turned himself in! After he promised me, promised he would do no such thing!”
“Maybe there’s something he couldn’t risk telling you,” Catherine argued. “Your desire to kill Captain Goode would compromise it.”
“Well, I only plan on murdering Sebastian now, how about that?” I was snapping, and I knew I was snapping; I could not reconcile any of this. How could Sebastian make such a terrible, foolhardy choice?
A door slammed downstairs and hurried footsteps headed up. Mr. Adeoti and Miss Chen appeared in the doorway. She looked between us, saw the note lying limply in my lap. “The fool.”
I threw my hands into the air. “Finally, someone agrees!”
“He left early this morning,” Mr. Adeoti said, sounding as mournful as if Sebastian were already dead.
“You tracked him?” Rose asked.
“Only a little. I saw he left and was planning to turn himself in to the police. Perhaps that will help him get a fair trial,” Mr. Adeoti said, stretching his optimism to its limits.
“I should wake Mr. Kent,” Catherine said, heading out of the room. “He will want to know.”
“He wasn’t there when I woke up,” Mr. Adeoti called after her. “I don’t know if he’s had a very late night or an early morning.”
“Impossible to tell with him,” Catherine grumbled.
The others stared around the room helplessly. My heart was beating dully beneath my wrapper, the thumping sounding a little off, as if it had lost its natural rhythm.
“I need my boots,” I murmured, heading to my room.
Rose sighed, sending me a doubtful look, but followed me to change into our day dresses.
“I truly believe he will be all right,” she said.
“I wish I had your confidence,” I said, shrugging on my traveling coat.
I strode downstairs, finding Miss Rao glaring up at me. She was wrapped in a cloak as if she couldn’t stand to spend another minute in the house with us. I could feel another chastisement coming. That I was unable to control myself. That I was going to get all my friends killed. When all I wanted to do was to see Sebastian once more and help him in any way I could.
“You are going to this trial?” she asked.
“I am,” I said firmly. “You don’t have to stay if you’re worried I’m going to get us all killed.”
She cocked her head at me, her long braid slipping over her shoulder. “You won’t. I’ll be making certain you do nothing foolish.”
“Oh,” I said, finding myself prepared for everything but that. “You … you’re helping us, then?”
“I’m finding you useful, healer,” she said. “That’s all.”
That was a start, at least.
I turned around to find everyone ready in the cramped vestibule. Rose and Catherine following down the stairs, Miss Chen and Mr. Adeoti watching from the top, Laura and Emily putting their coats on, and Mrs. Tuffins making them promise to be careful.
“Do take care, dears. The streets are quite lively today,” she fussed.
I opened the door and found that to be rather an understatement.
Outside was chaos. Groups of neighbors congregated outside of market stalls, storefronts, and homes, gossiping about the news. Vendors with their stocked wagons clogged the road, all headed in the same direction. Newspaper boys ran through the streets, shouting the news too fresh to be in their papers.
“The trial starts at noon! Lincoln’s Inn Fields! The Cap’n seeks justice for Braddock’s crimes!”
I stepped outside, across the threshold where I thought I’d convinced Sebastian to keep fighting. My lips burned as I pressed my hand to the door, wishing I had Mr. Adeoti’s power so I could sink back into that moment mere hours ago, when Sebastian’s kiss seemed to be a promise to stay.
Before it became a kiss good-bye.
Chapter Eighteen
FROM THE MOMENT we entered Lincoln’s Inn Fields, one thing was apparent: This wasn’t a trial. This was a blasted festival.
All of London seemed to have descended upon the square, and where there was money to be made, there were vendors to make it. Their stalls lined the footpaths, displaying every sort of Sebastian Braddock–related souvenir one could imagine. Veils and gloves to protect oneself from his deadly powers. Captain Goode charms that warded Sebastian off. Even Braddock Be Gone was for sale, a restorative tonic to counteract any prolonged exposure.
Our group managed to resist such temptations and make our way to the center, where crowds converged on the latest addition to the square: an amphitheater, carved into the ground, resembling an ancient Greek excavation site. The trees and plants had been cleared out to fit the thousands of spectators, tiers had been sculpted out of rock to give everyone a view of the stage, and a metal shell had been formed around the stage to ensure everyone heard the proceedings. Captain Goode had used all the powers at the Society’s disposal to make this as public as possible.
“A bit of a change from the Old Bailey.…” Catherine said.
She and Miss Rao were on both sides of me, one propping me up and the other keeping me from rushing down to the stage. Rose, Emily, Laura, Miss Chen, and Mr. Adeoti followed us as we slipped into a row near the back. I could feel their worried eyes on me. I didn’t know if that was better or worse than the delighted exclaims and gleeful grins surrounding us, waiting for the main attraction. There hadn’t been a public hanging in London since I was a child, but I had the sinking feeling that if you added a noose and an executioner, this would feel rather like one.