Snippet

I went back to my book feeling content. The piece I was inspecting was an ancient watch, at least a century old. European-made, gilt and ornate, it had clearly belonged to someone of importance. The curlicued hands were frozen at a quarter past three. I was sure the exact identity of the watch awaited me in my volume on timepieces, and the unravelling of the mystery held all of my attention.

Half an hour later, the clouds outside were boiling black, rain hammering against the window panes in howling gusts. The steam was floating up from the last sip of my chocolate and I knew the watch had been made in Vienna in 1723 by a well-known manufacturer. All that remained was to determine who it had been made for, and the family crest of wolf and olive branch was my final quest. I was reaching for the top-most shelf for the heraldry guide when another gust of freezing air slammed into my back and the roar of the storm entered the room again.

I whirled around, cursing myself for forgetting the latch, and froze.

In the doorway stood a small woman in black, dripping wet from head to toe, her shoulders heaving. My hand fluttered to my throat. “Madam? Can I help you?''

The wind swirled around us, swallowing my voice. She was utterly still. I took a step toward her. Dark eyes stared back at me from beneath straggled hair that hung to her waist.

“Ma'am? Are you all right?”

I almost told her the store was closed, but something stopped me. I clutched my shawl closer around my shoulders and went to move past her to close the door, but she held out one black gloved hand to stop me, and something sparkling and golden slithered to hang from her fingers.

“Please.” Her voice was a low growl, almost one with the storm. She glanced over her shoulder, and back. “Take it. Quickly. Keep it safe.”

The firelight glinted off something oval-shaped, trembling in time with her fingers. A locket. I reached out and wrapped my own fingers around the chain. It was warm, even in the freezing air. She let go of it as though the thing had burned her, and before I could even open my mouth she whipped around and made to flee.

She stopped just as suddenly in the doorway, staring up at the raging sky, and staggered back a step. In the next blinding flash of lightning, the black shape of a man filled the frame. I gasped.
The woman stumbled backwards until she fetched up against the counter, leaving wet footprints on the boards as she went. The man strode in after her, a black cape sweeping behind him. They stared at one another for some time without speaking a word, while all the while a current of dangerous electricity seemed to swirl through the room, snapping at our heels. I was nothing more than a spectator until he grasped her by the shoulders and began to shake her.

“Stop.” My voice welled up before I realised I’d spoken. “Stop it at once.”

When he turned to face me, my heart stilled.A smile broke across his gloomy expression. “Ah, Mrs. Griffin. It’s been a long time.”

All the while he continued to clutch the other woman by the shoulders. I could see her eyes, round and stunned, staring at me. “Benjamin Cole.” I reached toward the righted umbrella stand, seeking something to beat him off with if necessary. “I didn’t think you frequented town any longer.”

His dark eyes were not smiling. “You don’t believe all you hear, do you, Charlotte?”

Hearing my name from his lips quickened my pulse. “It depends, Ben. On how likely the story sounds. And on what behaviour one observes with one’s own eyes.” I nodded to his prisoner, who seemed to be shrinking by the minute. “Perhaps you should unhand the lady.”

He cast a glance back down at her, then back at me. “Do you plan to assault my person if I don’t?”
I didn’t hesitate. “Certainly.” The umbrella in my hand had a steel tip and a decent weight, suitable for stabbing him in the leg or beating him across the head, whichever was required. The thought alone brought me some level of satisfaction.