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He esture "I fear it is not ed thee platters of food

"It is far more than they had before"

"Perhaps" The vicar waited until Jocelyn returned her gaze to his thin countenance "I only wish it were possible to take the families"

"We can do only what is in our power"

"That is true, h "Still, I worry for their safety It is said another "

Jocelyn felt the blood drain fro Not another poor, wretched maiden

"Oh, no," she whispered

"Terrible, is it not?" Vicar Fallow htly "A beast walks the streets of London It is said he hunts so away from his distasteful touch, Jocelyn lifted a hand to the a?

And why?

"I"

"Jocelyn" Abruptly appearing at her side, Lucien wrapped a coer The children are fed this night"

Shaken by the revelation of yet another murder, Jocelyn readily allowed Lucien to lend her support The familiar scent of his

"Yes"

The gaunt countenance of Vicar Fallow hardened at the arrival of Lucien, but the thin sarded the shaken Jocelyn

"Miss Kingly, do not forget that I stand ready to be of assistance if ever you should need hten about her shoulder as she gave a vague nod of her head Clearly the two gentlemen had taken a swift dislike of each other

"Thank you, Vicar"

"Co her from the warehouse

Jocelyn made no demur She wanted to be away froerous streets of St Giles

A beast did, indeed, see the streets of London, and she veryher

Lucien cursed himself for a fool as he carefully bundled Jocelyn in the waiting hack and then settled himself close to her side

He should have insisted that she not enter the warehouse He had sensed before they had even arrived that A But he had assured hi to harm the maiden And that it was i

Besides, he had been touched by her plea to face her life without the walls of a prison, he ruefully acknowledged

Although life behind the Veil offered eternal peace and prosperity for va confined over the past two centuries He did not want a tidy existence that provided for his every need He longed for the unpredictable, for confronting a day with no notion of what hts, pains, and passions life had to offer in the fullest

And so he had ignored his good sense and allowed Jocelyn to accompany him into the dark streets Now he could only wonder if he hadhis arainst her satin hair

"You are very quiet," he murmured

"Vicar Fallow said that anotherif he should confess that it was Vicar Fallow himself who had committed the atrocity It would certainly ensure that she never trusted the renegade But it would also raise endless questions that Lucien was not yet prepared to answer

How could he confess that A himself?

And how could he possibly protect Jocelyn if she feared hiently

"What does this have to do with me?"

Lost in the sweet scent and heat of her, Lucien discovered hiuard by her sudden question