Boneseeker Read Online Free PDF Page A

the comfort of her beloved bones.
    My head whips toward a tumult on the staircase.
    Montgomery is taking the stairs two at a time in a gangly whirl of arms and legs. A man-sized spider.
    “Arabella, a stillborn call has arrived.” He shoves a piece of paper into her hand. “Stygian says to make it a priority, and that only you should go. Sorry.”
    Arabella stiffens, holding the paper in the tips of her fingers as if he’s handed her a serpent.
    She presses her lips white and nods.
    Montgomery hurries back up the steps, shooting me a salute. “See you at dinner, Henry.”
    Arabella’s frozen, staring at the paper. It begins to rattle in her hand.
    I hurry to her side and gently touch her arm. “What is it?”
    She whirls, her mouth contorting with dread. “ He knows I do not wish to acquire the stillborns. It’s the singular request I’ve placed in the year since I’ve been here. I stay later than the others and I’m more precise and I work harder. It’s never enough.”
    Her eyes widen and fly to the case. Her shoulders shake as if stricken with palsy, her fingers splay against the glass.
    “They—they affect me, Henry. Stygian does it to grind in the point. That I am a woman and do not belong here. That my feminine constitution is not compatible with science.”
    I take her hand and fight the haze induced with touching her and extract the paper.
    “I’ll do it, Bella.”
    “No one ever called me that but you.” She squeezes her eyes tight, fidgeting with a baby-blue ribbon around her neck. She gives it a compulsive tug, and I glimpse a small silver key. She drops it and stares me full on.
    “He will be cross.” She shrugs, “Like any other day. Henry… thank you. I will come, however. Stygian is perpetually searching for a cause to dismiss me. How might I repay you?”
    I move across the room, shrugging on my coat. “Come to the phrenology lecture.”
    She sighs. “Fine.”
     
    ###
     
    Henry
     
    The carriage rattles through the night. I glance at my pocket watch.
    Bella is as silent as Laura Dewey-Brigman. She hasn’t uttered a word since we departed the Mutter.
    I have seen this… stillness before, in Holmes. When in pursuit, his body could remain immobile for hours; a sure sign his mind performed mental acrobatics.
    It was disturbing. One without knowledge of the Holmes family might’ve thought him, or her, catatonic.
    Bella’s hands suddenly jerk to life, and absently stroke the black and white dog between us. He cocks his head to stare and whines.
    Words fail me, too. What might I say to calm her? This horrendous deed must be done.
    We arrive at the address, 22 Riddle Run Road.
    Jameson, the museum coachman, opens the door, extending his hand to Arabella. His concerned, ancient eyes sweep across the sprawling brick home and then back to Bella’s face.
    I suspect he’s accompanied her to past acquisitions.
    Arabella steps out to stare at the building as resignation blackens her features.
    She squares her shoulders. “Henry. I will do it. Just…wait in the carriage.”
    I open my mouth to protest, but she’s halfway up the walk.
    Newton, her dog, follows, his tail tucked between his legs. She traverses the walk, backlit against the yellow light. The dog halts, sitting to wait, without a word from her.
    Fear for her closes my throat. A primal need to protect her.
    “Blast. I cannot sit in this infernal carriage.”
    I scramble out to wait beside the dog.
    She hesitates, fingers tracing the knocker; a horrible gargoyle. Her shaking fist raps on the door.
    The tremors intensify; up her arm, through her shoulders, till her whole body quivers.
    I hurry to her side and glance down, expecting her fury.
    She meets my eyes, and I don’t see anger but instead, a gratefulness.
    I raise my fist and knock hard on the wood. Mid-rap, the door opens and a squat, red-faced man appears, dabbing his forehead with a handkerchief.
    The man extends a fat hand, pumping mine unconsciously. A large round