Strange Star Read Online Free

she wasn’t wearing a bonnet and her frock had seen better days. She lay on her side, knees drawn up. Felix dropped beside her, his hand hovering at her shoulder.
    Should I move her? he wondered. Should I call Lord Byron?
    He wanted to handle things properly, like the bestservant of a fine gentleman. And not make a fuss, because there’d already been plenty of that tonight.
    Behind in the hallway, someone was approaching. He scrambled to his feet.
    ‘What is it, Felix?’ It was Mrs Shelley. ‘Is everything all right?’
    Stepping aside, he gestured to the girl’s body. They both stared in shocked silence.
    ‘Let’s bring her inside. We might be able to do something for her,’ Mrs Shelley said, eventually.
    ‘But she’s dead.’
    Mrs Shelley shot him a withering look.
    ‘Very good,’ he muttered.
    As Mrs Shelley put her hands under the girl’s arms, Felix took hold of the feet. Together, on the count of three, they lugged her down the hall, a line of filthy water trailing after them.
    Inside the parlour, Mr Shelley, Lord Byron and Miss Clairmont waited in a nervous huddle.
    ‘Is she dead?’ Miss Clairmont cried, as they carried the girl in.
    ‘Yes,’ Felix said.
    ‘We don’t yet know,’ said Mrs Shelley, speaking over him.
    They laid the girl down on the hearthrug. Gentlethough they were, the movement made her head loll to the side, revealing a strange mark on her neck. It resembled a birthmark or a visible knot of veins.
    ‘Poor mite,’ Mr Shelley remarked, seeing it too. ‘What an awful-looking scar.’
    It was certainly unlike any scar Felix had ever seen. This one was not the work of a whip or a branding iron – and back in America he’d had experience of both. The thought made him tug at his jacket sleeve to make sure the S-shaped mark on his arm was covered. Then, unsteadily, he got to his feet.
    So much for ghost stories.
    There’d been no need for tales to freeze the blood. Not when real life had brought death to the front doorstep. As if, thought Felix wearily, he needed reminding that the dearest people, the simplest things could be snatched away in a moment, and only darkness left in their place.
    ‘Our resident doctor should examine her,’ Lord Byron said. ‘Fetch him from the kitchens, Felix. He must’ve finished with that servant girl by now.’
    Felix straightened his shoulders.
    ‘Very good,’ he said.
    *
    On his return to the parlour where a corpse now lay, Dr Polidori barely flinched. He was used to death, Felix supposed, though he didn’t know how anyone could reach a point where the sight of a person dead didn’t make them feel sad or sick or … something, at least.
    ‘Don’t stand there frowning, boy. Out of my way!’ Dr Polidori said. ‘Now, the rest of you, kindly step back.’
    The doctor knelt beside the girl. Taking her skinny wrist between his forefingers, he watched the mantel clock. Everyone else watched him. Felix had never known a minute pass so slowly.
    Eventually, Dr Polidori moved aside, rather awkwardly because of his bandaged foot. ‘I cannot feel a pulse,’ he said.
    ‘What about her scar?’ Mr Shelley asked, gesturing to the girl’s neck. ‘It looks almost familiar, though I don’t know how.’
    The mark was now clear to see. It looked dark red and spidery in the firelight. Dr Polidori leant forward to examine it.
    ‘A disfigurement from birth, most probably,’ he said. ‘I can’t imagine it’s the cause of death.’ Which, to Felix’s mind, meant he didn’t know.
    ‘Oh, right. I see,’ Mr Shelley said, moving back.
    With a sudden movement, Mrs Shelley twisted free of her husband’s arms, falling to her knees on the hearthrug. The girl looked more lifeless than ever. Yet tucking up her skirts, Mrs Shelley sat directly behind her, wrapping her arms around the girl’s waist and heaving her into a sitting position.
    ‘Mary, the girl is dead,’ Mr Shelley said, taking hold of his wife’s shoulders.
    Mrs Shelley shrugged him off.
    ‘I