She sat down beside Griffin, and placed her hand on his arm. His shirt hung open, revealing his healing chest. She fastened the buttons to keep him warm. It wasn’t much, but it made her feel helpful. “How do you feel?”

“Better.” He looked at her father. “I owe you a debt, sir.”

Thomas waved a long hand. “You owe me nothing. You’ve been good to my daughter, and that’s worth a fortune to me.”

What was she supposed to say to that? The man obviously loved her, and she knew that on some level she loved him, as well, but they didn’t know each other, not at all. And she wasn’t certain how much they could trust him. Thus far, everything and everyone she’d encountered in the Aether had been malevolent.

“Why are we still here?” she asked. “We got you away from Garibaldi.”

“Getting away from him isn’t enough,” Griffin explained. “If I leave now, he’ll only come for me again, and he’d come for you, too.”

She stared at him. “Don’t tell me you plan to stay here?”

He wasn’t the least bit intimidated by her, blast him. “I do intend to stay here, until I’ve destroyed Garibaldi once and for all. I could use your help, Mr. Sheppard.”

“Of course, Your Grace. As soon as Finley returns to the living world I would be more than happy to assist in any way I can. Garibaldi is a monster that must be stopped. He thinks he’s God now.”

“He’s more powerful that he ought to be,” Griffin remarked. “Obviously he’s been working toward this for some time.”

“I’m not returning anywhere,” Finley informed them both. “I’m staying right here and I’m helping in any way I can.”

Griffin turned to her. She hated how tired he looked. How defeated. “Having you somewhere safe while all this is going on would give me peace of mind, Fin.”

“But I’m not safe—you said that yourself. So long as Garibaldi exists in any plane, he’ll hunt for us. I’m not going to sit around and wait for him to come for me. I’m fighting him—with you.” She looked at her father. “With you, as well. Shame on you for thinking you could just show up and dismiss me.”

Thomas shook his head, but there was a smile on his face. “I suppose I’d hoped you were more like your mother than me in regards to this sort of thing.”

“Garibaldi took you from me.” Her voice shook with anger. “He’s trying to take Griffin. I take both of those things very seriously. Personally.” Not to mention that all the fantasies she’d ever had about what she’d say if she somehow met her father had played out completely differently than this. She couldn’t even enjoy it. Couldn’t ask him all the things she wanted to know, because of bloody Garibaldi. God, she didn’t even completely believe he was good! Part of her wanting to stay was so she could protect Griffin from him if necessary.

“All right,” her father capitulated. “You have as much right to take part in this as we do.”

“But not him,” she pointed at Ipsley, who had been quiet all along. “You need to tell Sam and Emily not to bring me out unless it’s absolutely necessary. And then you need to stay out of Garibaldi’s way. This isn’t your fight.”

“Perhaps not,” the medium agreed, “but I’m in it, regardless.”

Finley’s opinion of the young man rose several notches.

“Silverus, do you think you could organize a séance at my house?” Griffin asked. “Use our friends and a couple of yours who are the most sensitive to the Aether?”

“I’m sure I could, even on short notice. What do you have in mind?”

“If you could summon Garibaldi to a séance, he would be less of this realm and perhaps easier to defeat.”

“But we also run the risk of him possessing one of those summoning him.”

Griffin made a face. “He has too much power in this realm. He won’t give that up for a human suit, but he can’t resist the urge to brag.”

“It could work,” Thomas agreed. “Weaken him just enough to give us a power advantage.”

“You’ve been here longer than him,” Finley said. “Why aren’t you as strong?” It wasn’t an insult, just curiosity.

Her father smiled. “Most of my strength has gone into anchoring myself to this realm rather than moving on as Edward and Helena have done.”

She turned sharply to Griffin. “Your parents aren’t here anymore?”

He shook his head, old sadness reflected in his eyes. “After the last time Garibaldi tried to use them, we agreed it would be better if they passed over.” He turned away and Finley’s eyes narrowed. What wasn’t he telling her? He was usually honest to a fault, so the fact that he was keeping secrets irked her.

“Why are you still here if your friends are gone?” Finley asked of her father. “Why not go to heaven or, wherever?” She certainly hoped he wasn’t bound for hell!

The three men looked at her as though she should know the answer.

“To watch over you, Fin,” Griffin said, voice strangely gentle.

“Oh.” She didn’t know what else to say. Fourteen years was a long time to drift around in limbo—purgatory—especially for a man who was insatiably curious about the secrets of the universe and how everything worked. “Thank you.”

“You don’t thank a father for doing his job, my dear,” her father informed her with a smile. “Now, we have work to do. Griffin, I’m going to get started on rebuilding your strength. Mr. Ipsley, you have a séance to plan, and Finley—you and I have something that needs to be taken care of before we can engage Garibaldi.”

Finley frowned. “What’s that?”

Her father’s face took on a darkly grim expression. “Felix August-Raynes.”

Chapter Ten

Mila met the rest of Mrs. Rhodes’s boarders the following morning. All of the girls were Pick-a-dilly performers, some of whom she had actually seen perform when she attended the circus with Jack. There was Sasha, the tightrope walker, Marissa and Gina, who flew high above the audience on the trapeze, Lizzie, who did dangerous and amazing things with fire, and Millie and Henrietta—the twins.

The twins were perhaps the most amazing to Mila. They were pretty girls, both with dark hair and eyes, but they were literally joined at the hip. The circus called them the Gemini Sisters and they did things like juggling and playing instruments where the entire act depended on their cooperation and timing.

“Our entire lives have been about learning to work together,” Henrietta told her as she helped herself to another scone, and took one for her sister, as well. “It’s not really all that difficult to do what we do.”

“We know each other so well, it’s fairly simple to predict our behavior and actions,” Millie added as she slathered strawberry jam on the scones she sliced into halves. She set two halves on her sister’s plate.

“I think it’s wonderful,” Mila replied, and she meant it. She smiled at the table full of girls. “I’m so envious of each of you for having such exciting employment.”

Gina, a gorgeous girl with large blue eyes and tanned skin, made a scoffing noise as she poured herself a cup of coffee from the silver pot on the table. “Yes, it’s so exciting to risk our lives for the enjoyment of others.”

Helping herself to some eggs, Mila looked at her. “Is there something else you’d rather do?”

The girl seemed surprised by the question. “Of course not.”

That drew laughter from the rest of the table. Mila smiled, not quite certain she understood the joke.

“What do you do, Mila?” Lizzie asked as she slathered a thick coating of soft butter on a piece of toast.

“I don’t know,” she replied honestly. “I suppose that’s why I’m here. To find out what I’m good at.”

Marissa, a short but strong blonde, raised a brow. “But how do you pay the rent?”

Gina elbowed her. “That’s none of your business.”

“I have a little money,” Mila replied. She didn’t know exactly why, but she knew it was important not to say how much she actually had. It had been given to her for nothing, and these girls worked hard for every penny. Plus, then she’d have to explain about Jack, and she didn’t want to talk about him. Didn’t even want to think about him. It was bad enough that she’d dreamed of him the entire night.

“Excuse Sissy, Mila,” Lizzie said. “She likes to know everything about every person she meets.”

Marissa looked chagrined. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to pry.”

Mila smiled at the girl and accepted Henrietta’s offer of more coffee. She tried not to stare as Henrietta managed the coffee pot while her attached sister added cream and sugar. They managed to avoid collision despite how close their hands and arms often came. They were more impressively graceful and exact than many machines, a fact she found utterly fascinating.

“His Lordship came for Gracie last night,” Gina informed them all in a dramatically low voice. This announcement seemed to mean something to the other girls. Something important.

“She’ll be set for a while, won’t she?” Marissa asked no one in particular. “And it’s not as though he’s ugly.”

“He’s old!” That was from Sasha—tall and willowy and very pale with sable hair. She didn’t say much, but then she wasn’t given much of an opportunity.

“He’s handsome,” Henrietta allowed with a shrug, “but it could have been worse.”

“How?” Gina demanded. “She doesn’t love him.”

Henrietta looked around the table, her gaze settling on her sister’s face. “He could have chosen one of us.”

“Chosen you for what?” Mila inquired, glancing around. “And who is he?” She took a drink of her coffee.

“Lord Blackhurst,” Marissa told her when no one else spoke. Her expression was stoic—tight. “He likes circus girls.”

“So?” Mila liked pie, but she’d never been as grave about it as these girls were.

Henrietta reached over and patted her on the leg. “He likes to set them up as his mistresses, sweetie. Buys their clothes, pays their rent and in return expects them to share their bed with him.”

“Oh.” And then her brain caught up. “Oh.” He made the girl his doxies. Only Jack never paid anyone’s rent—not that she knew of. In fact, she hadn’t seen him pay any of the girls anything. His girls seemed to like him well enough. Perhaps they shared his bed for free.

She disliked them even more now. And she wasn’t quite certain how the idea made her feel about Jack.

“Such things are hardly suitable breakfast conversation,” came Mrs. Rhodes’s voice from the doorway.

The girls jumped. “Yes, missus,” Sasha said, and they all went back to eating rather than gossiping. Though a meaningful glance went around the table, and Mila understood it loud and clear—they would continue the conversation as soon as they could.

Later, as the other girls were getting ready to leave for the circus to practice their acts for the evening performance, Gina suggested that Mila come by and watch the show.

“I would like that,” Mila agreed with a grin. She had learned about friendship from Emily, and delighted in feeling the sort of warmth that came along with making a connection with another person. Plus, it would be boring hanging about the house all day. She could go out, but Jack was out there, and he just might follow her. If he was watching, she wanted him to see her with the girls, as part of the group and not by herself. She wanted him to believe that she was fine without him.

The girls all smiled at her as they filed out of the house. As the door closed there was a sudden and violent crash from the street. Shouts rose up and people screamed.

Mila pulled the door open. The girls were still on the steps and front walk, staring in horror at the sight just across the cobblestones. It looked as though a giant hand had reached down, grabbed up a couple of vehicles and gave them a good crumple before tossing them on the ground.

“He swerved to avoid a cart and the carriage went over,” Sasha informed her, eyes wide and face pale.

A steam carriage had indeed tipped and crashed, trapping its driver beneath it.

“The exhaust will burn him alive!” Gina exclaimed in horror, pressing her hand to the front of her corset.

The man was terribly close to the brass pipe that expelled the hot vapors from the engine. He cried out in pain as a puff of steam rolled out, burning and dampening his flesh.

Mila didn’t think, she simply reacted. People cried out, but no one moved. A bell clanged, summoning help, but the man would be horribly burned before anyone arrived. She jumped from the top step to the sidewalk and sprinted across the street. People jumped back when they saw her coming. Too fast. She knew she moved faster than a regular person and she didn’t care. She ran to the wreck, crouched beside the man and grasped the edge of the carriage with both hands—avoiding the discharging steam.