Quicksilver by Amanda Quick Read Free Book Online Page A

get any sleep at all?”
    “Very little.”
    “Neither did I.” Virginia sighed. “I spent most of the night trying to make some sense of events. I am absolutely baffled.”
    “There is a great mystery here. The one thing I am certain of is that although we succeeded in destroying someone’s carefully laid trap, you are still in danger.”
    “But why?”
    “Because you are a very powerful glasslight-talent, Miss Dean. Your psychical ability is the key to this affair. Tell me what you remember of last night.”
    “I have gone over each moment again and again.” She rose and went to stand at the window. She gripped the edge of the green velvet drapery and looked out into the garden. “Mr. Welch, the gentleman who manages the consultation appointments at the Institute, booked a reading for me at the request of Lady Hollister. I arrived at the Hollister mansion at the specified time, eight o’clock in the evening.”
    “Did Lady Hollister send a carriage for you?”
    Virginia’s mouth curved into a faint, wry smile. “No, of course not. People like Lady Hollister only extend that courtesy to those they perceive to be their social equals. As far as my clients are concerned, I rank a rung or two lower on the social ladder than a governess or a paid companion, because unlike women in those two respectable careers, I go out into the world to make my living.”
    “But judging by the fact that you have your own house, employ a housekeeper and dress rather fashionably, I would hazard a guess that you make considerably more money than women in either of those two professions.”
    She laughed a little and turned her head to look at him. “Your guess would be correct, Mr. Sweetwater. The house is rented, Mrs. Crofton kindly agreed to take wages that she assures me are considerably lower than those she received from her last employer, and my dressmaker does not even pretend to be French, as the most exclusive ones do. But yes, I do manage nicely. What is more, my business has flourished now that I am affiliated with the Leybrook Institute. Mr. Leybrook is very skilled at attracting high-quality clients.”
    “Such as Lady Hollister?” he asked without inflection.
    Virginia winced. “In retrospect, it would appear that she was not the best of clients.”
    “Go on with your recollection of events.”
    Virginia returned to the view from the study window. “Let me think. I recall being shown into the library. The room seemed cold and dark, although there was a fire on the hearth and the lamps were lit. Something about the energy in that house, I suppose. Very depressing. Lady Hollister was waiting for me together with her companion. Tea was served. I asked Lady Hollister to tell me why she had requested the reading.”
    “Did she explain?”
    “It was obvious almost immediately that Lady Hollister was not entirely sane. Her conversation was disjointed, and she became easily agitated. Her companion had to calm her at several points. But Lady Hollister was very clear about why she had summoned me.”
    “What mirror did she want you to read?”
    “The looking glass in her dead daughter’s bedroom.” A slight but unmistakable shudder shivered through Virginia. “I dread those sorts of readings. The children . . .”
    “I understand.”
    She glanced at him again. “Do you?”
    “I have seen the taint of the monsters who prey on children. If you dread those readings, why do you do them?”
    “I feel somehow compelled.” Virginia returned her attention to the window. “Sometimes, not always, I am able to provide a sense of finality to the bereaved parents. It is as if the reading closes a gate into the past and frees them to move forward into the future. And on rare occasions, I have been able to perceive clues that have led the police to the killer.”
    “You take satisfaction from those readings? The ones that lead to justice for the victim?”
    “Yes,” she said. “They comfort me in some way I cannot explain.