I was about to remark at the horrible inhumanity of chaining someone to a chair, but remembered that the creatures weren't entirely human. "Were they…alive?"

"I'm not certain. They sat very still and their eyes were closed."

I shivered. "Thank God." I remembered how horrid it had been looking into the dead eyes of the bodies inhabited by the spirits of my mother and my savior from the holding cell. I wouldn't want to see the eyes of Frankenstein's creations open.

"Did you see anything else?" Gus asked in a hushed voice.

Fitzroy shook his head. "He closed the door, and all the windows were covered. I returned here."

"That might have been the best chance to capture him," Seth muttered, half to himself. "While his monsters were strapped to their chairs."

Fitzroy just looked at him.

"He's injured!" I said on his behalf. "Indeed, he ought to be resting and regaining his strength."

"Right. Yes." Seth jerked his head at Gus. "We should go. Is there anything you need, sir?"

"No."

"Come on, Charlie," Gus said, escorting me out with a hand at my back.

I stopped in the doorway. I found it difficult to meet Fitzroy's gaze, but I managed it. What I had to say had nothing to do with our earlier conversation, and I shouldn't let that stop me. "There's something you ought to know. Frankenstein claims to be my father. Having seen him face to face now, I admit there's a strong resemblance."

His lips parted and for several long heartbeats, he didn't speak.

"The news has shocked you as much as it did me," I said with a wry twist of my mouth.

"That's his shocked face?" Gus grunted. "Looks like his normal face, to me." He quieted when Seth elbowed him in the ribs.

"Why didn't you say before?" Fitzroy said.

I shrugged. "I was going to. Stitching you up was more important."

"But I—" He shook his head. "You should have told me. I wouldn't have spoken so harshly to you."

"What does the news about my real father have to do with…anything else?"

"The day has been ordeal enough for you. I might have been kinder. Or left our conversation for another day."

"That would only delay the inevitable. Besides, you were simply being honest, in that uniquely cool way of yours."

"I'm—"

"Don't trouble your conscience over it. A kinder delivery probably wouldn't have achieved the same result anyway. I'm grateful that you chose to enlighten me on your thoughts today rather than a point in the future. It allows me to plan ahead." I turned away quickly so that I couldn't see the impact my words had. I expected he would be relieved, since he'd managed to achieve precisely what he wanted—my willingness to leave Lichfield when this was over.

"What was that about?" Gus asked as he caught up to me in the corridor.

Seth drew alongside too. "What were you two discussing before we returned?"

"The future," I told them, pausing outside my bedroom door.