"About nine months ago. I was eighteen." He shook his head, dismissing the topic. "Are you ready?"
So much for my investigative scheme. "Where are we going?"
He strode to the door. I pulled on my boots, quickly laced them and followed at a trot. "The house of someone I went to school with," he said, opening the door. "George Culvert. He lives in the Belgravia area with his mother."
"And why are we visiting this Mr. Culvert?"
He turned around and his gaze dropped to my waist and hips. His mouth fell open and a small, strangled sound escaped. "You're going to wear that?"
"Something wrong with it?"
"No," he said thickly. "But can you breathe?"
"Sometimes."
He laughed softly. "I like it. It's very...snug."
"So what were you saying about George Culvert?"
His gaze lifted to mine and a shiver rippled down my spine. His eyes blazed like blue flames but then he blinked rapidly and shifted his focus to something behind my left shoulder. He cleared his throat. "He's a demonologist."
"A what?"
"A demonologist. Someone who studies demons, fallen angels, that sort of thing." He waved a hand casually, as if 'that sort of thing' was like studying for a career in law. "We can't wait until tomorrow to start looking for this demon. We have to start today. Now." He ushered me through the door onto the landing without actually touching me.
"Before it hurts someone?" I asked.
His gaze met mine for a brief second but in that moment I saw genuine worry in his eyes. There was no need for him to answer me. We both knew the demon might have already killed overnight.
"Why didn't it attack us when it was released in Mrs. Wiggam's house?"
"Until it makes contact with the master who set the curse on the amulet and controls it, the demon is weak and relies on instinct. It would have seen it was outnumbered and felt too vulnerable to attack so it fled. Once it felt safe, it would begin to search for nourishment."
I swallowed. "How awful. So tell me more about this Culvert fellow."
"George's father was a demonologist before his death and George has an interest in the field too."
"Demonology," I said. "What an odd thing to study."
"Not really. You'd be surprised at how many people are interested in the paranormal. Although I doubt there's much money in it. Not sure how his father could have sent George to Eton. He must have had another source of income."
"You went to Eton?" The boy's school was the most exclusive in all of England. Money wasn't enough to get accepted into the school, it required wealth and privilege. It would seem Jacob's family had both. Another piece to the puzzle that was Jacob Beaufort fell into place.