“We don’t know if there are others like you in the world, India,” Matt said.
“There is no other as powerful as her,” Fabian told him. “I am almost sure of it.”
“Almost?” Matt bit off.
“Matt does have a point,” I said quickly. “There might be another strong magician who could make it work. If Lord Coyle, or someone else, thinks there is another, he might have stolen the spell to give to them.”
“Or sell it,” Matt added.
Fabian, seated opposite, glanced first at Matt then me. “Or they might force you to use it, India.”
My blood ran cold. He was right. I hadn’t thought of that.
Neither had Matt, going by the way his face lost all color. He took my hand in his and caressed it with his thumb.
The first thing we did upon arriving at Fabian’s townhouse was inspect the sitting room window. The lock had been snapped clean off.
“Someone used a lot of force,” I said.
“Not necessarily.” Matt ran his finger over the windowsill. “This wood should be splintered, but there are only scratches. Was the lock loose, Charbonneau?”
“I do not know,” Fabian said.
“You didn’t hear anyone moving through the house?” I asked.
“It must have happened in the dead of night. The servants’ rooms are on the top level and I am a heavy sleeper.”
“It wasn’t like this when you returned home from the collector’s club meeting?”
He shook his head then suddenly stopped. He wagged a finger at me. “The toymaker magician, Mr. Trentham, was very interested in our work. He asked me about spells we created together. I told him we are not doing that anymore, but…” He muttered something in French. “I do not think he believed me. Perhaps he suspected we created a spell before giving up, although I did not imply as much to him, I assure you.”
“You think he decided to break in on the off-chance that you did have a spell?” Matt shook his head. “It seems unlikely.”
“What would he do with the spell anyway?” I asked. “His magic isn’t all that strong.”
Fabian opened his mouth to say something but closed it again. He frowned at the window frame where the window’s lock had been affixed.
Matt approached the butler, standing by the door.
I took the opportunity to have a quiet word with Fabian. He looked somewhat ill. “I know you feel violated. It’s awful that someone got into your house while you were asleep under the very same roof.”
“It is not that.” He screwed his eyes shut. “Mon dieu, I cannot believe it is gone. All that hard work, for nothing.”
“You made a copy, didn’t you?”
He opened his eyes. They looked sadder than when I’d told him I wasn’t going to work with him anymore. “No.”
“Oh.” I leaned against the window frame. The spell really was lost if we couldn’t retrieve it. I felt somewhat bereft at the notion, as if a little piece of me had been torn off and thrown away.
Fabian suddenly grasped my hand. His eyes were bright, his cheeks flushed with color. “We must create it again, India. Do you remember the words? I think I do, but I need your help.”
“No, Fabian. I told you I don’t want to cast new spells.”
“But it is the same spell, not a new one.”
I withdrew my hand.
His face fell, but his lips pursed. “You would let the thief be the only one with the spell? That is not fair.”
“We’ll catch whoever it is. You’ll get the spell back.”
Matt strode across the room and rejoined us. “The butler will assemble the staff in here for questioning.” He frowned at me. “Is everything all right?”
I folded my arms and nodded.
He studied Fabian from beneath hooded lids, only looking away when the footman entered.
Fabian joined him and the other servants filtering into the drawing room. They stood in a line, hands clasped in front of them. All bowed their heads except for a tall, pretty maid who gazed adoringly at Fabian. He didn’t seem to notice as he asked each of them to tell him if they’d seen or heard anything suspicious the night before.
The housekeeper and cook lived off-premises, but the butler, maid and footman all had rooms in the attic and none heard a thing.
“Except for someone coughing,” the maid said. “Real loud, he was. He coughed twice. No, three times.”
“Someone outside the house?” Matt asked.
“Oh yes, not inside. I’d wager they were on the pavement near this room, in fact.”
“And where is your bedchamber?”
“Pardon me?”
“Where is your bedchamber positioned in the house? Is it on this side or the other?”
“The other.”
“So why do you think the coughing was outside here? I doubt you could have heard it from your room.”
She bit her lip and seemed to shrink into herself. When Matt turned off his charm, he could be rather daunting when he wanted to be.
“I heard it too,” Fabian said quickly. “I did not think it might be connected, but Jane is right. It did come from somewhere near here. My room is on this side.” He pointed to the ceiling. “Do you think the thief coughed to cover the sound of the lock breaking?”
“It’s highly likely,” Matt said. “Thank you, Jane. It’s fortunate both you and Mr. Charbonneau heard it. Do you recall the time?”
“No, sir. It would have been after midnight but before six, when I get up to start my chores. The coughing woke me, but I was too sleepy to check the time and it was dark anyway.”
“May we have a look at the office now?” he asked Fabian.
In the office, Matt immediately crouched at the desk to inspect the top drawer. “The thief either used a key or a slender tool to open the lock. It’s not a complicated mechanism.” He eyed Fabian. “Please tell me you didn’t leave the key lying about.”
“No! It is kept on my person.” He patted his waistcoat pocket.
Matt stood. “The thief knows how to pick a simple lock.” He checked inside the drawer and removed some coins. The drawer was otherwise empty. “What else was in here?”
“Letters from my man of business in France, private correspondence with my brother, investment information. Nothing of value to a thief.”
“Could the thief have simply taken everything in the drawer because they couldn’t see the contents in the dark?” I asked. “That might mean they weren’t after the spell in particular.”
“It’s possible,” Matt conceded, looking around the office. “Are there any other locked drawers, boxes or cabinets in here, Charbonneau?”
“There is a safe behind that painting.” Fabian indicated a framed landscape on the wall. “Only this drawer was broken into, and nothing but its contents were stolen. I think they wanted the spell and suspected it was in there. Perhaps hoped it was in there, and not the safe.”
“How fortunate for them that it wasn’t,” Matt said pointedly.
Fabian swallowed and lowered his gaze.
Matt peered into the other drawers, checked the door, windows, and inspected the carpeted floor. Fabian watched him with an ever darkening frown.