Page 43 of Claiming Liberty
Something’s happened at the manor?
Does that mean… Did our planwork?
I quickly step back into the shadows.
“What is it?” Peter asks.
Kingsley raises his shoulders and shakes his head in astonishment. “I-I don’t know exactly, but people are dropping. They think something was wrong with the liquor.”
“I need to go,” Angel mutters, striding to the door and slamming it shut behind him. Kingsley and Peter barely seem to notice his exit, but when Layan and I hurry into the living room, Peter glowers at me.
“It had to have been Chaffer,” Kingsley goes on, shaking his head like he can’t believe it.
“How many people died?” Peter asks.
Kingsley shrugs. “Dozens. My source says a big chunk of the playroom just started throwing up and dying.”
“Were any women hurt?” Layan asks. By the way she grimaces, she must know the answer. We all do. We stand in solemn silence for a few moments.
Elsie pops into my mind. She was never much of a drinker at home. She maybe had an occasional beer with friends, but never the hard stuff. She wouldn’t have drank at the manor…
But what if she did?
“Who’s your source?” I eagerly ask Kingsley.
He gives Layan an apologetic look before answering. “Eli Colley.”
“Can he find out if my niece is okay?”
Kingsley glances at Layan again. “Um, I don’t think it’s a good idea to ask. He was just calling to spread gossip.”
I sigh, exasperated. “But can you ask him? There’s no way—”
“He’s the last person whose attention you’d want to draw to your niece,” Layan interjects.
I turn to Layan, her expression grave as she lifts her hair to show her ear.
Oh…
Layan rakes her fingers through her hair, covering the deformity before she starts toward the stairs with so much intention in her step, my head stops spinning long enough to fully focus on her.
She looks back at me. “Are you coming?”
I raise a brow. “Coming where?”
“To get ready,” she says, her voice strong and even. “We’re going to the manor to make sure your niece is okay.”
My fingers twitch with excitement as I whip my head to Peter.
He stares at her like she’s insane. “We’re not—”
“Layan’s right,” Kingsley agrees, walking to the stairs. “If there was ever a time no one would notice us, it’s now. We need to move quickly.”
He bounds up the stairs, and I hurry after him.
Peter takes my arm when I go to pass, and I jerk to face him with a snarl. “Let go.”
“We arenotgoing to the manor,” Peter growls with steely determination.