“Agreed,” he said, stroking the monkey’s head absently. The little creature gave a squeak of pleasure.
“We ought naturally to be on hand to prevent any harm coming toWilfred, but someone ought to accompany him to the cemetery for his own protection—after all, Eliza has already demonstrated a propensity for violence.”
“Also agreed.”
“Operating on the principle that one can never underestimate the advantage of surprise, the casket seems the most logical place to hide. Now, you might offer yourself, but I think I bear a slightly stronger resemblance to a dead woman than you, beloved.”
Stoker continued to scratch the monkey’s head. “You might alert Wilfred to your scheme.”
“He is untested in such intrigues,” I pointed out. “His heart is in the right place, but there is every possibility he would trip on a spade or fall over a gravestone.”
A fleeting smile touched Stoker’s lips. “He does give the impression of a colt not quite acquainted with his limbs.”
“Indeed. I think it very brave of you to offer to teach him the rudiments of brawling. You will no doubt be concussed for your pains.”
“No doubt,” he said.
I went on. “If I am in the casket, I will be in a position to help, should Wilfred have need of assistance. And should the worst happen and Eliza Elyot is successful in breaching the casket, she will not have achieved her aims. She will find a living woman instead of her Beauty. After all, one of our purposes in undertaking this investigation was to spare the Beauty any further despoliation. I cannot imagine you like the idea of dangling her as bait in front of Eliza.”
“Indeed,” he said again. “I notice you did not mention this part of your plan in front of the others.”
“Because I expected you would object, and we had guests. There are few activities more fatiguing than watching other people’s quarrels.”
“Indeed,” he answered.
“Stoker, that is your third ‘indeed.’ Two too many,” I said. His handstilled on the monkey’s head and the little beast climbed up, perching atop Stoker’s head to return the favour, rubbing its paws through his hair. Stoker remained silent and after a moment, I began to chafe under the weight of the stillness.
“Do you not mean to dissuade me? Point out the flaws in my plan? Express your objections with vehemence and eloquence?”
He tipped his head. “Actually, no.”
I blinked in astonishment. “Are you entirely well? Have you a fever? Should I palpate something?”
He shrugged, causing the tamarin to scold him lightly. “Not in the slightest. I have never felt better.”
“Then why, pray tell, are you so accommodating of the idea of my exposing myself to potential harm?” I demanded.
He put a fingertip to the monkey’s ruffled hair and smoothed it gently. “Veronica, our relationship has been on an intimate footing for some time now. We have enjoyed many adventures together—hazards and perils I could never have imagined before I met you, and I say that as a person who has actually participated in naval bombardments and expeditions to Amazonia. Time and again, I have counselled patience or caution or at least a basic and sensible care for your bodily safety. And time and again, I have been ignored. You have done exactly as you pleased in the face of my objections. They have won me precisely nothing. Not an inch of ground have you given. So, I concede.”
“You what?”
He fished in his pocket for one of his enormous handkerchiefs and waved it. “I know it is scarlet rather than the traditional white, but you may consider this a flag of surrender. I know when I am conquered.”
I moved to snatch the handkerchief from him, but the tamarin anticipated me and reached out a greedy paw, taking the crimson cotton for itself. Within a moment, it had wrapped the fabric around its body, making a sort of drapery over its head. It looked alarmingly like theoracle at Delphi, and I stared at it a moment in fascination before turning my attention back to Stoker.
“What do you mean that you surrender?” I asked, keeping my voice level and calm. I was rather proud of the effort. There was nothing to betray the sudden churning of my insides at the idea he might have come to the end of his tether. I had pushed him, of that there could be no question. But I had always relied upon his strength, his resourcefulness, his devotion. Was it possible these were not infinite? Had I finally exhausted his affections?
I waited, breath abated, until he spoke again. He leant forward once more, taking my hands in his as the tamarin dropped to his shoulder, regarding me with eyes like ebony beads.
“Veronica, I mean that I have, at last, come to understand my role. It is not to discourage your exuberance or your audacity. How could I want to when those are the very qualities I admire most? If I have lectured or harangued in the past, it is because I am afraid. Every moment of every day, I am afraid.”
“Afraid of what?” I demanded.
“Of losing that which I have come to realise I cannot live without. But I do not want a small and stifled version of you. I want you—in all your intrepid and audacious glory. I want you just as you are, the entirety of your chaos and your wildness. You are the whirlwind I did not know I needed, but now that you are here, I will not be the one to ask you to be anything different than exactly as you are. More than anyone, I ought to understand that nature cannot be denied. And your nature is tumult.”
I swallowed hard against the sudden tightness in my throat. “I am not that bad,” I managed hoarsely.
“No,” he said with a slow smile. “You are not bad at all. If I could have created—as Eliza Elyot attempted to—a perfect woman, I could never have imagined you. But that is my failure. Not yours.”