Chapter 14

We called on Brockwell at Scotland Yard before heading home to apprise him of the situation. We also wanted to know if he'd suffered any consequences for confronting Sir Charles.

He was in a meeting when we arrived, however. We waited in the foyer and watched as policemen came and went, some in uniform, others in plain clothes. Perpetrators weren't brought in through the front door, but persons of dubious character passed us by as we sat on the chairs. Some were clearly prostitutes while others looked as though they'd yet to shake off the effects of the previous night's imbibing. They would be witnesses and victims, and friends of the arrested.

A woman who fell into all three categories made quite a scene as she tried to explain her predicament to the sergeant on the front desk. "Tell them!" she cried. "Tell them they arrested the wrong man!" She stabbed her finger into the counter surface, her face red with the effort of explaining. "He must be freed now!"

The sergeant put up his hands. "Look here, calm down!"

"I will not calm down! Not until my husband is freed. He was simply trying to defend our property from the rioters. We are the victims in this situation! To be quite frank, that man deserved the beating he got after he broke our front window."

"This is a matter for your local constabulary, not Scotland Yard."

"They told me to come here! Are you telling me my husband isn't here? Then where is he?"

I rose to offer my assistance to a woman who must be a magician or magician's wife, but Matt placed a hand on my arm.

Brockwell chose that moment to appear in the doorway leading to the corridor. He signaled for us to join him in his office. "I have just come from a meeting with the commissioner," he said as he closed the door behind us.

"Have you been stood down?" Matt asked.

"Not yet. I've been given a warning. If I interfere in Home Office business again, I will be dismissed."

"But you didn't interfere," I pointed out. "You simply asked Sir Charles for clarification."

"While the confrontation with Whittaker was mentioned, it wasn't the commissioner's main issue. He was not pleased that I destroyed the carpet without his authority. In fact, he was livid. I tried to explain why I did it, but he refused to let me finish. Apparently my opinion doesn't matter," he bit off. "Only the opinion of his superiors count."

"They wanted that carpet," Matt agreed with a mutter.

"They will give up on the idea of flying it now," I assured Brockwell. "We have just come from the office of the home secretary, as it happens. I told Mr. Matthews and Mr. Le Grand that nobody could fly the carpet with any weight on it."

"And they believed you?"

"I think so."

Matt remained quiet.

"Will you dine with us tonight, Inspector?" I asked. "You deserve some of Mrs. Potter's cooking after the morning you've had."

"It's probably best if I stay away."

"I suppose so. You don't want to be seen associating with us too much or the commissioner might think you're under our influence."

Brockwell cleared his throat. "It's not that." He picked up a stack of papers and shuffled them before slowly turning them over, perusing each one. "It's Willie."

"I'm sure she'd be happy to see you," I said carefully. "Perhaps you can even resolve the problem between you."

He picked up all the papers again and reshuffled them into a neat stack. "Did she tell you about it?"

"No."

"Then she's not ready to see me." He gave me a flat smile. "Thank you for the invitation, India, but it's best that I don't see her for a while."

I felt a little deflated as we headed home. The morning had been a disappointing one. The opportunity to advise policy makers had been within my grasp, only to have it snatched away. Indeed, it wasn't even an option, as it happened. They wanted me to do their dirty work, and dangled the carrot of advisory role in front of me as a lure. Matt had instantly seen through it, and I was glad he'd been with me.

Chronos arrived shortly after we arrived home and stayed for a light luncheon. He ate little, however, and looked somewhat uncomfortable afterward. He shifted in the chair, stretching his torso as he pressed a hand to his upper stomach

"Is everything all right?" I asked.

"It's just my indigestion again. So what happened this morning at your meeting with the home secretary?"

"How do you know about that?" Matt asked.

"Willie told me."

Willie suddenly stood and collected our plates. "No need to summon Peter. I can take these to the kitchen."

Matt narrowed his gaze at her but she pretended not to notice, whistling as she left the dining room. Aunt Letitia followed her out.

I told Chronos how the meeting had unfolded. I prepared to defend my refusal to work with Mr. Matthews and Mr. Le Grand, but Chronos agreed with my decision.

"You can't trust these government types, India. Not where magic is concerned. They want to control magic—and therefore us—by dictating how it's used. If we let that happen, we are no longer a free nation of free citizens, we are pawns in their political games."

I blinked at him in surprise. "I always knew you were somewhat radical, but that is strong language, even for you."

"I'm proud of you, India. Proud of you for standing up for your rights and freedoms."

"That's not why I refused to work for them. I simply don't want to see my spells used to harm others. My magic is not a weapon. Nor am I."

He leaned forward and touched my cheek. His eyes shone as he smiled wistfully. "You are something of a radical too. You and I are not so different, after all."

My heart swelled and my eyes filled with tears. "I'm not radical. Just sensible."

His smile became lopsided. "Do you always have to have the last word?"

Willie returned before I could answer, brandishing a letter for Matt. "There ain't no return address on it."

He opened it and read. "It's from Mr. Matthews. He wants to meet me at White's for an informal conversation."

"Why you and not me?" I asked.

"He probably thinks Matt influences you," Chronos said. "He hopes to get Matt on side to convince you to change your mind. Little does he know."

"Idiot," Willie agreed.

Matt tossed the letter on the table. "I won't go. There's no point."

I wasn't so sure. "I'd like to know what he wants. On the other hand, you have been coming and going from the house a lot lately. I'd prefer it if you stayed home."

"I'll escort him to the club," Duke said. "Willie too. We'll make sure he's not exposed."

Willie slapped Matt on the shoulder. "I can come inside with you, if you want. They know me at White's now."

Chronos shook his head sadly. "Women at gentlemen's clubs? What is the world coming to?"

Matt agreed to meet Mr. Matthews, and I decided to call on Catherine at her shop for something to do. Woodall could deliver Matt to the club, take me to the St Martin's Street shop then drive Chronos home. Not wanting to disturb Bristow or Peter after our lunch finished, as they would be sitting down to their own luncheon in the servants' dining room, Matt was going to deliver the message to the coach house himself, but I insisted on doing it. Even in the mews, he was too exposed for my liking.

I rode in the carriage as Woodall drove to the front of the house. Matt and the others must have been watching for our arrival, because the front door opened before we'd come to a complete stop. Chronos joined me in the carriage first, while Duke and Willie escorted Matt down the steps.

A gunshot rang out.

Before the scream had left my lips, the flash of metal in the sunlight caught my eye. It was a knife, thrown by an unseen hand.

The movement spell sprang to mind, complete with the image of metal and the word Fabian used for it. Actual words failed me. My voice wouldn't work. I could not speak the entire spell in time to stop the blade from striking Matt. I could only think it.

The blade clattered onto the pavement before it struck him and stayed there.

My body trembled as I stared at it. I did that, not by speaking the spell but simply by thinking about it. The thrill of my magical power was not what had me shaking all over, however. Something dreadful had occurred to me.

I now knew who was trying to kill Matt.

My heart shattered.

Matt had dropped to the ground the moment the gunshot rang out. He signaled that he was unhurt, but Duke pressed a hand and knee to his back, not letting him rise as he scanned the vicinity.

"Can you see who it was?" Chronos asked, squinting into the distance.

"There!" Willie pointed toward a figure sprinting away down the street. "After him, Woodall!"

She jumped onto the running board. Her hat flew off as the horses leapt forward but she did not try to catch it. She hung on with one hand and held her gun in the other.

I opened the window. "Don't kill him!"

"He deserves to be shot, India!" She aimed the gun.

"Put it down!"

She lowered the gun, but not because of my order. The figure had run into a lane too narrow for our carriage to turn into at speed. By the time Woodall managed it, the shooter was nowhere in sight.

Willie swore at the top of her lungs. "We'll never catch him!"

The sense of sickening dread that had filled me since my magic stopped the blade from striking Matt now threatened to overwhelm me. I gripped Willie's arm tighter as tears sprang to my eyes.

"Yes, we will. I know who it is. I know where he lives."

She turned to me, frowning. "Who?" both she and Chronos asked.

"Fabian."