Read Online Possession by C. J. Archer - Free Book Online

the affection I'd developed for him. As was often the case
lately, her overprotectiveness had turned overbearing. I was glad to be alone
with Jacob, even if we only discussed matters supernatural and not personal.
    "I found
Arbuthnot." He stood in the doorway, one broad shoulder resting against
the frame. He looked relaxed and comfortable, until I noticed the tap of one
finger on his thigh. It was a new habit he seemed to have formed.
    "Thank
goodness. Where?"
    "Everywhere."
    I slid my plate
of coddled eggs away, no longer hungry. "What do you mean?"
    "I mean the
spirit inside Arbuthnot has taken him into gaming hells of the most
disreputable kind, ratpits, pubs...think of the worst places in the meanest
parts of the city and there I found him."
    I stifled a
gasp. "Poor Mr. Arbuthnot. If he knew what was happening to him, he would
be utterly ashamed. He doesn't know, does he? Can he?"
    Jacob shrugged. "My
sister seemed to be partly aware when she was possessed, although dazed."
    I nodded. "She
was sometimes herself, but when the spirit had her fully in his grip, she
seemed completely...gone. As if he'd overruled her mind somehow." I could
think of no other way to explain it. It was as if Adelaide's will did not exist
during the possession except for those brief moments when her mother's voice
brought her back.
    "Wallace is
not as strong as Adelaide." That busy finger tapped his temple but then
returned once more to drumming against his thigh. "It's possible he
doesn't know what the spirit is doing."
    "It's best
that way."
    "True."
    I waited, but he
did not continue. "So what are we to do now?" I asked.
    He didn't
immediately answer. I thought he would correct my usage of "we" to
exclude me, but he didn't. Intriguing.
    "You must
tell me, Jacob. I need to know what to wear."
    He burst out
laughing and pushed off from the doorway. "Only a female would think of
clothing at a time like this."
    I gave him a
withering look. "Would it be a good idea to enter a ratpit dressed in my good
day dress?"
    "You are
not entering any ratpits."
    "But you
have found him, otherwise you wouldn't be here. You need my help, Jacob
Beaufort. Admit it."
    He clamped his
jaw so hard I could hear his back teeth grinding. "I have found him, yes,
but George will lure him to a place where you are waiting. A safe, respectable
place."
    It made perfect
sense. Almost. "So I assume you will tell me where to find Mr. Arbuthnot
and I will inform George. George will then go to that place and convince the
spirit to follow him."
    "Ye-es."
From the cautious way he said it, I could tell he knew I had doubts and was
waiting to hear them.
    "I can see
two flaws in the plan. No, three. Firstly, what if Arbuthnot has gone? Even if
you manage to find him again, how will you communicate that to George without
me there? It would involve George returning to wherever I am tucked away,
waiting for you, you telling me—"
    "All
right." He held up his hands. "Point taken. Let's worry about him
moving when and if he does. The other two concerns?"
    I humphed at his dismissal. "Secondly, how will meek-mannered, gentlemanly George
coerce a thug like that spirit into going with him?"
    "Bribery."
    "Which
brings me to my third point."
    "I had a
feeling you would think of everything." Most men would have made that
sentence sound derisive. Few would like having the holes in their plan pointed
out by a young woman. Not Jacob. There was a smile in his voice, if not on his
lips, and something else too. Pride?
    "How do you
bribe a ghost? He won't want financial gain."
    He picked up my
plate. "Eggs?"
    "Very
amusing."
    "Truth is,
I don't know. Fear? Curiosity? We'll think of something when we confront
him." He set down the plate, his face suddenly dark and serious. "I should
go. Arbuthnot stayed overnight at a pub at Victoria Dock. I'll go and see if
he's still there. You fetch Culvert and meet me at The Three Knots. Do you know
it?"
    "I've seen
it before."
    "I'll allow
you to come with us, but you