Quicksilver by Amanda Quick Read Free Book Online Page B

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. But last night I was unable to give Lady Hollister what she wanted and needed. Instead, I suspect that I drove her deeper into madness.”
    “What happened?”
    “Lady Hollister told me that her daughter had died at the age of eleven. Officially it was declared an accident. The girl’s body was found at the foot of the staircase. When I was shown into the bedroom, it was clear that nothing had been changed in the room since the poor child’s death.”
    “Where was the mirror?”
    “On a small dressing table,” Virginia said. “It faced the bed. I knew that I did not want to look into it, but I felt I owed the truth to Lady Hollister.”
    “What did you see?”
    Virginia closed her eyes. “The girl was assaulted by someone she knew well. Someone who terrified her. She cried. That is probably why he strangled her. He wanted to silence her and used too much force. Afterward I suspect that he tossed her body down the stairs in an effort to feign an accident. But I know where she died.”
    “In the bed.”
    Virginia crushed the green velvet drapery in her tightly clenched fist. “Yes.”
    “Hollister. She was raped and murdered by her own father.”
    “I think so, yes.”
    The familiar ice-and-fire energy of the hunt splashed through Owen’s veins. He suppressed it with an act of will. That particular monster was dead, he reminded himself. He needed to concentrate on the new prey.
    “Did you tell Lady Hollister the