P. Elrod - The Hanged Man

Brook grimaced. “It’s hard to explain. I just knew I had to not be there. It was important that I be someplace else; I was overwhelmed by the feeling.”

She paused. “Your precognitive ability?”

“It’s never taken me like that before. Other times I’ve not been aware, only after the fact, but this was so strong I hardly knew what I was doing. The next thing I knew I was outside that meeting room. It occurred to me that someone in a mask might emerge sooner or later. I could cosh him and take his place with no one the wiser. Which I did. I was mistaken about the meeting being boring. I learned a great deal of interesting information while standing in the background.”

“You couldn’t have left me a note?”

“The feeling was overwhelming, as I said. If I’m unable to control the ability, I’m not fit for duty in the field.”

“Lieutenant, you avoided capture and saved me no end of bother and danger by being in the right place at the right time, however awkward things were initially. Have you any idea whether James and Dr. Hamish got out?”

“No. But they would be hampered by those crowds and all the stairs.”

“Unless they were captured, too. We must get back. Fingate and Benedict are prisoners.”

He finished the last knot. Their captives were trussed hand and foot in mauve silk, blind, gagged, and unable to move. Little was left of Alex’s skirt but the lining, which was rather shredded due to her haste with the scissors. The petticoat beneath showed through in spots. She felt extraordinarily proud of the damage.

When a policeman arrived he was not overawed by Brook’s Service credentials, and looked ready to arrest everyone and let a judge sort things in the morning. Sebbings vouched for Lady Pendlebury, and Alex dropped the names of several detectives she’d worked with on cases, including Inspector Lennon.

“You know ’im?” asked the representative of the law, fixing her with a suspicious glare. “So do I. Peaky lad with a moustache.”

“No, he’s a great bear of a man with a voice and temper like the wrath of God. He’d as soon throw you through a wall as buy you a pint.”

“Huh. You do know ’im,” he stated with certainty, then began considering the removal of the prisoners.

“Does your station have a telegraph with a line to Psychic Service headquarters?” she inquired.

“You know we do.”

“I should say, have you an operator on duty?”

“Always.”

“Then I’ve an urgent message about these three that must be sent immediately-”

“That will wait, Alex.”

She whipped around.

Lord Hollifield stood before the open bookcase door. He had a pistol in hand, not one of the air gun models, but no less deadly.

“Lord ’ollifield,” said the policeman, straightening to attention, goggling along with the servants at the trick door.

“Yes. These intruders have taken liberties with my hospitality. I must ask you to place them under arrest for trespassing.”

“But those two are with the Psychic Service, your lordship.”

“They are imposters with forged identification. You need not be troubled; they took me in, as well.”

Sebbings, startled at this unexpected appearance of his master along with the untrue statements, opened his mouth but snapped it shut again. Contradicting a peer as well as his employer was not the done thing. He glanced at Alex, but her attention was on Hollifield.

“You’re mistaken, Lord Daniel,” she said steadily. “If you look closely, you’ll see the man who was so unforgivably boorish toward you and Lady Lindsey has been dealt with. He poses no further menace to you-or to her.”

Hollifield looked closely. “I see,” he said at length. “I stand corrected, but this is a … complicated situation.”

“Not at all. It’s as simple as the divide between black and white and which side you choose to stand upon.”

“You oversimplify.”

“As have you. You are in place to make history, sir. What kind remains to be determined. You can induce a change, but you know in your heart it’s not right, else you would have acted sooner. This evening your control was usurped by a lesser man. There will always more where he came from.”

“It’s begun. It’s too late to stop.”

“I do not believe that. Inform your order of the threat held over your head. If they truly are honorable men, they will understand.”

“You’re a witch with words, girl, but it’s out of my hands. They’ve left to do what must be done. You removed a viper from our midst, and I am deeply grateful, but things must and will proceed.”

“What does her ladyship think of this? Does she approve? Does she know people have died and that more will follow? That families will be torn from their homes and cast into the cold to starve? That’s what happens in revolutions.”

He shook his head. “It’s the price that must be paid.”

“She will pay, too. Your name is her name. It is not you alone. This is also Lady Lindsey and your children. They share in all you do. The blame and shame will haunt them and their children down through history.”

“There is no shame in this!” he bellowed.

“Sir…” she answered firmly, “you know better. I saw your face when Teddy threatened her. You are her protector, first and foremost. You are the center of her world. Will you rip that from her? Is this what a loving husband and father does to his family?”

“It will turn out all right in the end.”

“Not for you. Not for her. She’s a woman of honor, too. Will she ever look on your face again with loving eyes? With eyes that see her husband rather than a traitor to all she holds dear? She will see the man who betrayed and shamed her children and grandchildren. This will kill her and you know it.”

He dropped his gaze, shaking his head, but kept the pistol aimed toward Alex and Brook. “You don’t understand.”

“But I do. Most clearly. One of your order murdered my father without a second’s thought. It was not a necessity of war, but a foul and vicious act. Those are the people you are aligned with: murderers and traitors. If Lady Lindsey got in their way, they’d serve her the same.”

“That won’t happen.”

“You can’t know that. You are an honest man, sir. You expect people to be as honest as you are. That makes it hard to determine when they lie to you. As a Reader I always know when someone lies. I always know their true feelings. You should know what I learned from just a few minutes in that room. There was fear, envy, and greed for more power. They claim loyalty to England, but the rot is just under the surface. No mask can hide that from me.”

“They can be controlled.”

“That is exactly what they believe about you .” Alex held her breath. Popular myth held that Readers could pick up thoughts. She would have given much to have that ability right now.

He raised his head, eyes kindling with anger. “They wouldn’t dare.”

“You know they would. England won’t be defended by the British lion, but torn apart by carrion crows. It is the way of such men. England deserves better. So does your wife, your family.”

“I do this for them!”

“They won’t thank you for it. Given a choice between you and England, they will always pick you first. What is your choice, sir?”

He kept the internal agony from his features, but she felt it cutting him like sharp knife. “I have no choice. It’s over. It’s done.”

“Would you undo it if you could?”

“Yes.” His voice cracked. “A thousand times yes.” He lowered the pistol.

Sebbings and the policeman, though they couldn’t have much of an idea of what was going on, each relaxed and breathed again as did Alex and Brook. On the floor, Teddy gave a disgusted groan.