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Blood drained from Miranda’s face She kne it must look and hated that she had put Archer in a position of vulnerability in his own home He stopped, frae hands curled into tight fists as his broad chest heaved

"Ah, and thepeek" Mckinnon’s sh the silence, and she winced at the realization that Archer had left off his outer mask, a further huain caused her heart to flip, then she noticed his expression Rage, rage like nothing she’d ever seen colored his flesh, made his eyes blaze The tip of his nose and lips stood out bone white

"Archer…" She trailed off as his eyes flicked to her And the rage yielded to such unht

"Get out"

His words were a knife in her heart But his eyes looked past her

"Get out of athered his gloves and top hat from the side table "I shall takeMiranda wonder if irritating Archer had been Mckinnon’s true purpose all along

Mckinnon caught her hand before she could ht of Archer’s eyes bore into her as the devil leaned over her hand and kissed it It snapped her out of her shock, and she wrenched her hand free "Oh, do get out!"

He laughed lightly as he sauntered by Archer, who stood like granite in the doorway Mckinnon paused before hi moment, while her blood rushed like wildfire Archer’s eyes trailed over Mckinnon, pausing at his hands as though he would like nothing better than to rip Mckinnon’s gloves froleamed in Archer’s eyes for a aze returned to Mckinnon’s face A dead calm went over theArcher fro to act, but Mckinnon put on his hat and slipped past

"Good evening then," he called lightly in the hall

The door sla crack, and then there was silence

"Archer" It calike stars, then he turned and quietly walked away

Archer had disappeared as ifempty rooms, Miranda headed toward the stairs when Eula’s voice stopped her

"The Prince of Darkness is in the greenhouse"

Miranda paused, her hand upon the newel post Greenhouse? In all her wanderings, she’d never happened upon a greenhouse The housekeeper saw her confusion and snorted "Take the back stairs to the top You’ll find it"

"Eula," Miranda fought a sMiranda away as if she were an insect "It’s either that or have you run a up my house"

The narrow back stairs wound up four stories, the air growing more dense and heated as she ascended At the top, a black door stood closed against her Slowly, she turned the knob and pushed into a world of green and the warht was stayed by sheets of glass held together by a grid of white-painted iron The greenhouse itself ran the length of the house, a cavernous jungle of languid ferns, fragrant orange and lemon trees, and clusters of velvety roses Roses everywhere, a kaleidoscope of color

Gaslights hissed in the quiet, reflected off the panes of glass Humid air enveloped her in a rose-scented kiss as she moved forward, past an iron chaise and into the thick quiet A scuff of a shoe brought her round a corner

He stood before aa large pot with soil Just under the graceful sweep of his jaw, his pulse beat visibly That sign of life, the colu her skin

The way he breathed, the singular angle of his head when he bent it--they were as familiar to her now as her own reflection More so because she could not grow tired of watching him Was this an immortal man who stood before her? It could not be It was the stuff of legend A cold shudder took her And if by so it were true, he would leave her behind Because she was most assuredly mortal

She took a step toward hiht of the potted rose on the counter "Oh ht It was utterly lovely, so white that it was lu laced its petals, caressing its edges The enoreous," she said

Archer inclined his head slightly "You’d think differently were you a rose Should I pot it with the others, it would take all of their nutrients Within hours, they would wither on the vine Wasted to give the silver rose its strength"

Miranda moved to touch it but a sudden wariness stayed her hand "If it is so deadly to the others, why do you keep it?"

Braver than she, Archer reached out and gently touched the glinting silver edge of a petal "Senti in his voice reen leaves sheltered the single flower like a mantle

"It cannot produce ht and only the strongest remains"

He said no more, but ripped open a sack of rich black soil "What did he want?" The quietness of his query did not fool her The trowel in his hand shook under his tight grip as he filled the bottoer pot with soil A soft snort came from his lips "Never , and she flinched, the stays at her waist cinching tight as she waited for the imminent explosion

It did not coh trying totilted her insides, watching hiht Shame washed over her Mckinnon and his blasted horror stories She was no better than a calf-eyed fool for listening to hiht immortality Perhaps not But Archer was her husband The man who protected her with his life He did not deserve wild speculations

"He told me about--"

"West Moon Club?" Archer’s mouth curled in a bitter smile when she started in surprise "You have my coin You are a busybody of the first order It doesn’t take a mystic to know that you’d have discovered all you could about West Moon Club" He stabbed at a pile of soil with his trowel "You ht have asked ey and evasive at best Am I now to believe you would have answered?"

A sh escaped him "Ask me now and see"

Heart in her throat, she forced herself to speak "Mckinnon believes you were looking for the secret to immortality" It sounded ridiculous to her ears, yet he did not start in surprise Instead, he