Saving Persephone (The Haberdashers Book 4) by Sue London Page B

privacy.
    George crossed her arms and leaned back. “Some poison and a blowgun would work wonders right now.”
    “Noted,” Sabre said, “you have your knives, though?”
    “Of course,” the blonde said.
    Sabre nodded with satisfaction. “Now we must decide what to do in our present situation.”
    George smiled sadly at the countess. “If only Jack weren’t pregnant we might have a fighting chance.”
    “Three against one aren’t good odds,” Jack argued, “even if I were in fighting shape.”
    “Yes,” George said, “but we’re women, so we can each take our first one out of complete surprise. That makes it more like two or two and a half to one.”
    Imogen couldn’t believe that they were still considering fighting. Then she realized the duchess was staring at her. “Yes, your grace?”
    “Tell me why you believe they would kill everyone.”
    Imogen could feel suspicion radiating off the girl, not unlike her brother. “I’m not an agent , if that’s what you’re wondering. I just, I can sense things about people.”
    The duchess tipped her head to the side. “And what, precisely, are you sensing about me right now?”
    “Not much, your grace, but you have an uncommon control, like your brother.”
    “You realize I have little reason to trust you.”
    Imogen sighed. “Very well. May I hold your hand?”
    Sabre narrowed her eyes again, but tugged off her glove as Imogen pulled off her own. “I thought it was the Rom who claimed to reveal destinies, not Americans.”
    Taking the duchess’s hand in her own, Imogen focused on the younger woman. Her first impression was of a violent fury simmering just below that control. Images of fighting and bloodshed. She tried to focus, to parse through the immediate emotions and find something striking, something personal. She had mostly used her talents to push others away, not to gain their trust. “You are confident in your ability to prevail.”
    Sabre snorted. “Yes, and now you will tell me about the children I will have—”
    Imogen tightened her grip. ”Give me a moment.” She closed her eyes and breathed deeply. It was hard to concentrate with the noise and motion of the carriage, and Sabre herself was a challenge. “What you are proudest of is… a necklace? With a charm that looks like— like a lizard?”
    The only reaction from the duchess was an emotional withdrawal, followed by yanking her hand from Imogen’s grasp. She heard the other girls shift in their seats, and then Jack said, “That’s quite remarkable.”
    Imogen opened her eyes to see the three younger women staring at her. The duchess was the first to speak. “Tell me everything you can divine about these men.”
    “It isn’t easy to do, your grace, but it is clear this man is used to battle and bloodshed. I could sense that he was intensely determined to capture you. It is difficult to explain.”
    “Where is he taking us?”
    “I don’t know. It doesn’t work like that, you see. I can sense emotions, and certain images that have deep emotions connected to them.”
    “That must be terrible,” the countess said sympathetically.
    “Horrifying,” George agreed, leaning away like someone afraid of catching a disease.
    “I’ve learned to ignore it, for the most part.”
    “Like closing one’s eyes?” Jack asked.
    “Yes, something like that.”
    The duchess turned to her pregnant friend. “The odds are not in our favor currently, and are likely to be less so once we are delivered wherever he is taking us.”
    “Agreed,” Jack said, nodding.
    “However, we are not in a position to make even a desperate fight for our freedom because the risks are too high. Only George and I are in capital shape to fight, and that would leave us defending you, John, and Miss Grant, none of whom I am willing to risk losing.”
    “Yes,” the countess said sadly.
    Sabre took Jack’s hand. “Lord help us, but we may be in need of rescue.”
    George looked from one of her