Tea, Lycanthropy and Other Virtues

Chapter Twenty-Three

"I'm sorry about my mother," Constance said once she, Simon, and Hannah were in the barouche, the late afternoon sun warm on their heads.

Gran had kept Beatrice at home, much to Constance's relief.

Simon was watching the horses wide eyed. They tossed their manes happily, the sound of their hooves echoing on the cobbled streets. This was his and Constance's first time in this kind of fashionable buggy, and while it held Simon's attention, Constance couldn't shake her sour mood.

"My friend, you have nothing to apologize for. Your mother's beliefs are her own."

Constance chewed on her lip.

"I still think we can show her a better way." She patted Constance's gloved hand. "You never told me my brother saved you out of a river."

"Yes, well, he seemed rather put out by it," Constance said, remembering the way he'd looked at her, water dripping out of his hair. Her heart thumped hard.

"She went in for this," Simon said, pulling out his watch. "I dropped it by accident." He unhooked the watch and handed it carefully to Hannah.

Constance blinked hard. He'd never offered his watch to anyone, was even peevish when she or Gran moved it to clean.

"Clearly my brother didn't understand how important this watch is," Hannah said, studying it carefully.

"My father gave it to me," Simon said, taking it back and hooking it carefully to his waistcoat.

"I'm glad Constance was able to retrieve it, and I'm very glad my brother was there to retrieve Constance."

Simon smiled at her.

They rode through the sunny London streets, passing stores and homes stacked against each other. The further they got from Hannah's neighborhood, the more crowded it became. There were people everywhere, some in rags, others dripping in jewels. A low throb pulsed behind her right eye. Constance glanced at her brother to see if he was okay. He had his nose buried in his journal, oblivious to the noise around him as he sketched the horses. Every once in a while she could see the Thames winking from between buildings, but always people in every space.

"There's room to breathe in Scotland," Hannah said, looking at the crowds.

"What would Lord Connor do if you just went home?" Constance said.

"I'm not sure," Hannah said with a smile. "But I've considered it."

"I think I'll go with you," Constance said, forcing herself to take in even measured breaths. Why strangers should weigh so heavily on her, she couldn't say, but she definitely felt stifled here in a way she hadn't in the country.

The carriage pulled to a stop outside a beautiful stone church.

"The garden here at Westminster Abbey is over seven hundred years old," Hannah said. "I don't know if there will be any mushrooms, but it seemed like a good place to try."

Looking at the church, Constance had the strangest sense that the distant past was touching this present moment. She shivered as the driver helped her down.

As soon as her foot touched the ground, a wave of dread rolled over her so strong it pushed her off balance.

"Miss, are you alright?" The driver asked as she stumbled into him.

"I don't know," Constance said, looking around, confused.

Across the street, Westminster palace stretched along the banks of the Thames. The hall reached up into the sky like a medieval beast at odds with the newer construction tacked on to the ends of the old building.