Possession by C. J. Archer Page A

Both men swore.
    "Jacob,
stop him! He's getting away!"
    He shook his
head. "You're bleeding. Take off your cloak."
    "But Jacob!"
    "I'm
staying here with you. Tell the driver to chase him."
    I gave the order
and the driver took off in the direction of Mortlock, but the villain had
already been swallowed up by the crowd of passengers outside Victoria Station
and I doubted the driver would have any luck.
    "Your cloak,"
Jacob prompted without taking his gaze off the bloodied slash.
    With my skirts
still bunched up, I was revealing a lot of thigh as well as the wound. The heat
of his gaze warmed me all over and I should have felt ashamed, but I didn't. Perhaps
it was because he was a ghost, or perhaps it was simply because he was Jacob, my Jacob, I didn't mind the way he looked at me—as if he wanted to kiss me there. I wanted him to kiss my thigh.
    I removed my cloak
and handed it to him. He put the knife on the floor beside his knee and dabbed
the wound near the garter. It stung a little and I sucked air between my teeth.
    He eased back. "Emily?"
The quaver in his voice concerned me more than the cut.
    "It's all
right," I said. "It's just a scratch."
    He inspected the
wound. "It's more than a scratch." His free hand cupped my thigh and
his thumb caressed my skin through the torn stocking. I sighed and relaxed. He
dabbed at the blood with the cloak some more. It had stopped bleeding and we
could now inspect the damage.
    "My
stocking is ruined," I said, trying to be light.
    He said nothing.
His thumb continued to stroke my thigh. I couldn't see his face, intent as he
was on the wound.
    "I'd better
hide it from my sister," I went on.
    Still he said
nothing. He bent his head forward and I thought he would kiss my knee, but
instead he rested his forehead there. He heaved a deep, body-shuddering sigh
and gently grasped my calf.
    I stroked his
hair until he composed himself.
    "Tend to
this when you get home," he said, voice shaky. He drew my skirts down over
my legs but remained kneeling at my feet.
    "I'll
try."
    "Try?"
He looked up. His face was blanched. Not white, as there was no blood in him to
drain away, but pinched and drawn. He looked older.
    "I don't
want to alarm Celia," I said. "Asking for salves and bandages might
alert her to something being amiss."
    "I'll get
anything you need." He sat on the seat opposite me and leaned forward,
resting his elbows on his knees. He looked exhausted, although not even that
was possible for a ghost.
    The driver
returned. "Slippery as an eel, that one," he said with a shake of his
head. "Sorry, miss. I alerted a constable but..." He shrugged.
    "It's all
right. We'd better return to Victoria Dock and retrieve the others."
    He tugged his
forelock, having lost his hat, and climbed up to the box. The coach rolled on.
    "They are
still at the dock, aren't they?" I asked.
    Jacob nodded. "We
were at The Three Knots when I heard your summoning." I wasn't sure if
calling out his name once could count as a summoning, but I said nothing. "George
and Theo were asking around about Arbuthnot when the footmen came in and told
us you'd been..." His eyelids lowered and remained closed for a few long
seconds. "I darted around looking for you, but...there are a lot of black coaches
in the area." He rubbed his hand over his eyes and when he removed it, a
light that hadn't been there before shone in them. "Why didn't you call me
earlier? You know I can't locate you until you do."
    "I wanted
to get some answers from him first."
    "Jesus,
Emily!" His outburst startled me and my nerves, already frayed, jumped. He
sat back, folded his arms over his chest, unfolded them and re-folded them. "My
apologies," he muttered. "But having a conversation with mad spirits
is a very stupid thing to do."
    "I got some
useful information," I said, indignant.
    The look he
focused on me was sharper than the blade still lying on the cabin floor. "You
should have called me immediately."
    I sighed. "You
would have alerted him to your