She stabbed at the ruined corset again. "Not yet."

I sighed. "Fitzroy won't allow it under his roof anyway. He'll make sure the men treat me with respect."

Stab, stab, stab.

"And I won't tempt them." I laughed. It sounded ridiculous. "As if I could, anyway."

She stopped and placed the fire iron in the stand. "You underestimate yourself, Charlie. And I think you underestimate men, too." She lifted a finger when I opened my mouth to protest. "Men, not boys. They are not the same. Well, some are, but many are not. Now, tell me something."

"What?" I mumbled, unsure if I'd been chastised or advised.

"How did Fitzroy convince you to stay and help us?"

"He didn't tell you?"

She smiled sweetly and hooked her arm through mine. "I thought I'd ask you."

"Perhaps you ought to ask him." I extricated myself, but not before I felt her fingers tense on my arm.

I headed for the door and opened it. Fitzroy wasn't there, and nor were any of the men. It took me a moment to remember that I was no longer a prisoner. I walked down the stairs with Lady Harcourt. We found Fitzroy in the library, propped against the windowsill, a book in hand.

He looked up as we came in and closed the book. "We need to talk."

I wasn't sure if he spoke to me or Lady Harcourt and whether his announcement meant the other should leave. Lady Harcourt, however, seemed to know. She gave him her hand and he bowed over it.

"I look forward to your report," she said.

"I'll be in touch with the committee soon."

He walked her out, leaving me alone in the library. I picked up the book he'd been reading—A Guide To The Spirit World. How curious. I flipped it open and began to read, but didn't get very far before he returned. Outside, Lady Harcourt's carriage rolled away.

"Tea and cake?" he asked. "Cook has been baking."

"I'm not hungry."

"You need to eat."

"Breakfast wasn't that long ago."

He tugged on the bell pull in the corner of the library. The house was so vast that I couldn't hear the corresponding bell ringing in the service area.

He stood by the table while we waited, hands behind his back, and nodded at the book. "You should read that. It might help you understand your necromancy."

Seth entered. "Can I get you anything, Charlie?" His smile made him even more handsome, and not for the first time I wondered why he was working for Fitzroy alongside a ruffian like Gus.

"Tea and cake." Fitzroy's gruff manner wiped Seth's smile from his face.

Once he was gone, Fitzroy indicated I should sit at the table. I did, and a moment later, as though it were an afterthought, he did too.

"Now that you've agreed to help, I want to keep you informed," he said.

"You do? Oh. Thank you. Is there more to what you've already told me?"