Mrs. Greene’s eyes widened, and Violet glared at him over her shoulder. “Shh! Let me speak.” She smiled reassuringly at Mrs. Greene. “What he means is—”
“I know exactly what he means,” Mrs. Greene said. “Come here, boy.”
King almost looked over his shoulder. He hadn’t been calledboysince he was eight years old. But he moved closer to the table, and when the old woman held out her hand and beckoned him, he offered his own. He thought she might pretend to read his palm, but instead, she stared at his face. With those hazel eyes of hers, it was rather unnerving. “It’s a powerful curse. I sensed it even before you came inside. You made a powerful witch very unhappy.”
“Yes, well, I was young and foolish. Her sister brought this.” He was happy to have the excuse to withdraw his hand from her bony grip. He placed the torn paper with the spell on the table.
Mrs. Greene moved her candle closer and peered at the words. She looked up at him. “Where is the rest of it?”
“That’s all she gave me,” Violet said.
Mrs. Greene looked at the paper again then sat back. “This is a counter-spell, and a powerful one, but the witch who made it does not want it enacted yet. Else she would have given you the rest.”
“But I need the rest.”
“You will have it in time.”
“I don’t have time. I’ve lost my name, my fortune, my friends. I need the rest of that spell.”
“It sounds to me as though you have nothing but time. But,” she added after she caught a glimpse of his expression, “you could appeal to the witch to give you the rest. Perhaps there is some quest or boon she requires.”
“And how am I supposed to find her? She could be anywhere in London. She might be on her way back to Scotland.”
“You should seek her in the place where you were cursed. That is where the counter-spell will be strongest.”
King closed his eyes. Now he was supposed to go to Scotland? He couldn’t even afford to travel to Richmond. He grasped his paper and shoved it back in his pocket. “I’ll wait outside,” he told Violet, and thought it a victory when he only hit his head once on the way out.
Violet joined him a moment later. She gave him a rueful look. “It’s no wonder you have a curse, if this is the way you treat all conjuring women.”
“This was a waste of time,” he said, and started down the stairs, careful to negotiate the broken sections.
“Not at all. She told us you will receive the rest of the spell in time. If you’re so impatient, you could go to Scotland.”
“Even if I had the means to travel to Scotland, why would I want to return to the scene of the crime? I’ll probably be cursed again. That is if the old hag is even still alive.”
The fog had lifted slightly, and he could see four to five feet in front of him now. He still had no idea where he might be or where he was going, though, so he paused and waited for Violet to catch up. Maybe he could hold her hand again on the way back.
“There’s no need to be short-tempered with me,” she said. “Ididn’t curse you…yet.”
King took a breath. “I apologize. You can’t understand what it is to have your entire life changed in an instant.”
Immediately, he realized he’d misspoken. Of course she understood. Her father was dead, and she had charge of two young boys and a tavern.
“Violet, I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be,” she said, pushing past him. “You are so self-centered, you can’t see anyone but yourself and your hardships. You think no one else has ever suffered loss, or if they have, it couldn’t possibly compare to yours.”
“Violet.”
She held a hand up and walked on, disappearing into the fog. King hurried after her, having no desire to be lost in Seven Dials and wandering for several hours. He plunged into the fog ahead and almost ran into her.
She’d stopped and stood still as a statue as a man with a ruby jewel in his neckcloth smiled down at her.
Chapter Thirteen
Violet inhaled sharplyat the predatory look on Ferryman’s face. “Miss Baker,” he said. “How convenient.” He looked over her shoulder and cocked his head. “And this must be Mr. King.”
“Just King,” King said. Violet elbowed him in the stomach, and he let out a quietoof.
