The Anatomist's Wife Read Online Free PDF

echoed off the old stone, the only sound other than the
     creak of the swinging lantern. The silence unsettled me, but I somehow felt speaking
     would only make it worse. As if making conversation somehow demeaned the seriousness
     of our undertaking. Besides, what would we talk about? The weather? The party? It
     all just seemed foolish.
    I wrapped my shawl tighter around me. I didn’t even really know Lady Godwin. In the
     week she spent at Gairloch, I had discovered she was a flirt and many of the men seemed
     to fancy her. After all, she was beautiful, but in the superficial way that wealthy
     ladies often are. I believe I’d only spoken two words to her during her stay, an “excuse
     me” as she nearly bumped into me in the hall one evening. And now I was about to view
     more of her than any of her gentlemen admirers had ever seen.
    The wooden chapel door appeared out of the darkness at the end of the hall, just steps
     before we would have crashed into it. Mr. Gage lifted the latch and pushed it open
     with a mighty shove. It groaned in protest, sending a shiver down my spine.
    I stepped past him, just to the edge of the light, and studied the shadowy interior
     of the church. Moonlight poured through the tall, arched windows, casting a hallowed
     glow across the pews. Two candelabras flanked the altar where a single golden cross
     stood in the center next to a stand propping up the Bible. The air smelled of damp
     and beeswax and the musty scent of a chamber that has been too long sealed. Philip
     and Alana attended Sunday services in the village, so the castle chapel was rarely
     used. I imagined the housekeeper, Mrs. MacLean, found it pointless to clean it weekly
     when it was used but once a year at Christmastime.
    Mr. Gage shut the door and dropped the wooden crossbar into place, locking us inside.
     He caught me watching him and shrugged. “Just taking precautions.”
    My veins ran icy at the thought of someone with nefarious purposes following us here.
     Our desire for secrecy and privacy had been another advantage to conducting our examination
     of the body at night. But if the killer had been watching us, waiting to see what
     we would do . . .
    Something of the fear I felt must have shown on my face, for Mr. Gage lifted aside
     his coat to reveal a pistol tucked into the waistband of his trousers. It did not
     make me relax, but it did take away some of the breath-stealing panic. Perhaps I had
     underestimated Mr. Gage. If he had contemplated the danger we might be in and thought
     to bring a gun, maybe he wasn’t so inexperienced.
    I followed him down the side of the chapel and into a small room to the right of the
     altar. Stacks of hymnals and extra candles covered a table, and a wardrobe, containing
     vestments, no doubt, stood in the corner. He passed these items without a glance and
     walked straight to a door in the back left corner. I watched over his shoulder as
     he jiggled the key, which Philip had given us, inside the lock. The door opened to
     reveal a stairway along the back wall of the chapel, leading downward. Rather than
     stumble along with the light at my back, I gestured for Mr. Gage to precede me. He
     took the stairs slowly, allowing me to easily keep up.
    I nearly turned around and fled back up the stairs when the stench of dried blood
     and perforated bowel rose up to fill my nostrils. As it was, I had to grip the banister
     tightly to keep from pitching forward. I had left the door open behind me, and I was
     acutely grateful for it. This place needed some fresh air; the impulse to retch was
     so strong. I wondered how Mr. Gage was holding up and wished I had thought to bring
     a cloth of some kind to wrap around my nose.
    The wooden stairs creaked loudly as we reached the bottom. I hoped they had been inspected
     recently. The thought of being trapped down here with Lady Godwin’s corpse made me
     unsteady. I reached out blindly and clung to the support of the bottom