Yes, that will be a most satisfactory moment. If only I weren't so very tired.
Dusk has settled over London along with a bit of sleet. It's a raw evening, and I shall be glad to sit at my fire. I wonder what has happened to Miss Moore, if there is anything I can do to save her from her terrible fate. I wonder if I shall ever see Kartik again or if he has been absorbed into the shadows of the Rakshana.
Jackson's waiting patiently at the curb. That can only mean they've discovered me gone and come to the logical conclusion. I'm in for as much trouble as Felicity and Ann now. Most likely, Tom sits inside the carriage fuming.
"Evenin', miss. Your grandmother was very worried about you," Jackson says, opening the carriage door for me. He takes my hand to help me up and in.
"Thank you, Jack--" I freeze. It is not Tom or Grandmama waiting for me. Sitting in my carriage is Miss McCleethy. She is joined by Fowlson from the Rakshana.
"Get in, if you please, miss," Jackson says, exerting pressure on my back.
I open my mouth to scream. His hand presses hard against me, trapping the sound in my throat. "Oi know where your family lives. Fink on your poor dad, lyin' in the sickroom, all vulnerable like."
"Jackson," Miss McCleethy calls."That will be enough."
Reluctantly, Jackson lets go. He closes the door behind me and swings up behind the horses. The lights of Mayfair fade away as the carriage lurches into the traffic heading for Bond Street.
"Where are you taking me?" I demand.
"Somewhere we can talk," Miss McCleethy says. "You are a very slippery girl to catch, Miss Doyle." "What have you done to Nell Hawkins?" I ask.
"Miss Hawkins is the least of my concerns at the moment. We must discuss the Temple."
Fowlson douses a handkerchief with liquid from a small bottle.
"What are you doing?" I ask, the terror rising in my throat.
"We can't very well have you knowing how to find our hideaway," Fowlson says.
He looms over me. I fight back, turning my head left and right to avoid him, but he is too strong. The white of the handkerchief is all I can see as it floats lower, covering my nose and mouth at last. There is the inescapable, suffocating odor of ether. The last thing I see before succumbing to the darkness is Miss McCleethy popping a toffee into her mouth without a care in the world.
I come to by degrees. First, there is the taste in my mouth, a foul, sulfurous thing that sits on my tongue and makes me gag. Then there is the blurred vision. I have to raise my arm to block the wobbly, dancing light. I'm in a dark room. Candles burn. Is there no one else? I can't see anyone, but I'm aware of others. I can feel them in the room. There's a rustling sound coming from the darkness above.
Two masked men enter the room, escorting someone in a blindfold. They remove the blindfold. It's Kartik! The other men back away, leaving us alone together.
"Gemma," he says.
"Kartik," I croak. My throat is dry. My voice cracks. "What are you doing here? Did they take you, too?"
"Are you all right? Here, have some water," he answers.
I take a sip. "I'm so very sorry about what I said that day. I didn't mean anything by it."
He shakes his head. "It is forgotten. Are you certain you're all right?" "You must help me. Fowlson and Miss McCleethy kidnapped me and brought me here. If she has his loyalty, then we cannot trust the Rakshana."
"Shhh, Gemma. No one brought me here against my will. Miss McCleethy is part of the Order. She's working with the Rakshana to find the Temple and restore the Order to its full power. She's come to help you."
I lower my voice to a whisper. "Kartik, you know that Miss McCleethy is Circe."
"Fowlson says she is not."
"How does he know? And how do you know that he has not been corrupted as well? How do you know that you can trust him?"
"Miss McCleethy isn't who you think she is. Her name is Sahirah Foster. She's been on the hunt for Circe. She took the name McCleethy as a decoy, in hopes of calling the attention of the real Circe, as that was the name she took whilst she was at Saint Victoria's."
"And you believe this story?" I say with a sneer.
"Fowlson believes it."
"I'm certain Nell Hawkins could tell you differently. Don't you see?" I beg."She is Circe! She murdered those girls, Kartik. She murdered my mother and your brother! I won't let her do the same to me."
"Gemma, you are mistaken."
He's been taken in by her. I can no longer trust him.