“No!” Bram’s cry of pain cuts through the cool night air. He clutches Lilith to him and rocks her in his arms, his tears falling unchecked now. He knows she is dead. Knows she has gone to another place. A place she has known of and understood all her life, but not a place he can fathom or ever conceive of going to. “Don’t,” he begs her. “Don’t leave me, my love.” He pulls back to look at her exquisite face and kiss her cold lips. She looks so pale, her skin is almost transparent, as if her body might fade away, too. “You are too young, too precious,” he tells her, shaking his head, refusing to accept what has happened. “And I love you too much.” He buries his face in her hair, breathing in her scent, the thought of releasing her unbearable.

And then it comes to him. The realization of what he must do strikes him with such clarity he cannot question it. Quickly, he picks Lilith up. He sees Terence’s lifeless body and knows he is beyond help. He carries Lilith to the observatory. Inside, the air is almost as cool as outside, but he is aware of a strange disturbance in the atmosphere, and he knows that he is not alone. He is able to detect the presence of many spirits. “Guard your mistress,” he tells them as he lays her down on the cushioned chaise. He kisses her one more time and then hurries away, back down the stairs. In the bedroom he pulls on his jacket and boots, before racing down to the foyer of the apartment block, where he hands the concierge a five-pound note.

“Send for Lord Harcourt, the earl of Winchester,” he tells him. “Say that Lady Lilith has urgent need of him. He must come at once. When he does, admit him, and send him up to the observatory where he must wait for me. Be sure and tell him: he must wait for me. Lady Lilith is unwell, do you understand?”

Satisfied that the man will carry out his instructions, Bram rushes out into the night. The hour is late, but he succeeds in finding a motor cab.

“St. Mary’s Convent, quick as you can,” he tells the driver. He knows what he must have, if Louis is to save Lilith, and he is certain he knows where Lilith would keep it.

A place of safety, she told me. A place of trust.