Chapter Fifteen

The fat was in the fire. They were between a rock and a hard place. Their goose was cooked. Ridiculous idioms chased through Lily’s mind. She wished she’d worn a hat with a wide brim to shield her face so Albert Grayson wouldn’t recognize her as his one-time dinner companion. But she and Rohann could hardly pretend to be lost tourists since they’d told the butler Grayson had hired them.

The motorcar came to a stop, and the chauffeur jumped out and opened the door for Grayson. The man’s black greatcoat and homburg made him appear more imposing than the annoying braggart she’d met at the palace. A giant of a man with enormous shoulders and another man, tall and thin with a pencil-line moustache, also emerged from the motorcar.

Rohann and Lily remained frozen in the carriage as Grayson approached. He stared up at them and addressed Pierpont, who’d hurried to meet him. “Visitors?”

“The couple you hired in Allbridge to tutor Master Gerald, sir.”

Jig is up. Bacon’s cooked. Out on a limb. Back against the wall. Lily’s stomach flipped in slow, lazy rolls.

“The boy is only four years old. Why would I have hired tutors? I didn’t think I needed to warn you about allowing strangers on the property.”

“I’m sorry, sir.”

Grayson’s eyes narrowed. “But these aren’t strangers. You’re the princess’s lady-in-waiting, the one with the bird name. And you’re that traveling performer. What on earth are you doing here? Spying?”

Lily couldn’t speak, and even Rohann seemed to be at a loss for a response. “It’s a simple mistake, sir. We’ll be on our way now and not bother you any longer.” He slapped the reins.

“Stop! Kaspar, escort these people into the house,” Grayson bellowed, and the giant grabbed the horse’s bridle, halting the carriage.

“If I might explain—” Rohann began.

Grayson raised his hand. “We’ll go inside, and then you can tell me whatever story you’ve concocted.”

Rohann climbed from the seat and helped Lily down. She mentally cursed him for getting her into this mess, even though she’d willingly aided him. She could’ve been in Preston by now.

The big man, Kaspar, walked close behind them every step of the way to the parlor. Lily and Rohann sat side by side on the sofa with the bodyguard looming behind them.

Grayson sat in a chair across from them. “Don’t try to deny you’ve been sent to spy on me. It’s no coincidence you were seated beside me at dinner and you show up at my house a few days later. How much does the king know?”

“About what?” Lily felt as if she was treading marshy ground, not knowing which step might cause her to sink. The conversation had veered in a very unexpected direction. What secret was Grayson hiding?

“You may as well tell me. You won’t be leaving here, but if you’re truthful, I can at least make you a bit more comfortable.”

You won’t be leaving here? Dread turned into panic. Something was terribly wrong. They’d accidentally stumbled into a hornet’s nest.

“You can’t keep us here. We’re not spies,” Lily said.

“It’s true I came here to learn something,” Rohann said, “but it’s of a personal nature. I came here to learn about Rosalyn.” His jaw clenched, and Lily could see how much it cost him to tell the truth to this man. “I loved her long ago.”

Grayson’s eyebrows shot up. “You were that village lad who used to buzz around her, the one with the land the mayor wanted.”

“The one you sent to Scaraband. I knew Rosalyn died giving birth and believed the child had too. But recently I learned you had a son which I thought might be hers.”

In the silence that followed, Lily glanced at the door where the mustached man stood guard. He studied her like a vulture trying to decide if an animal by the side of the road was dead or likely to put up a fight.

“Ah. I see. You thought Gerald might be your son, so you came to find out. How pathetic.” Grayson didn’t sound as outraged as he should have to learn his first wife might have been carrying another man’s child. “Unfortunately, you’ve made a grave mistake in coming here, for now you know too much and can’t leave.”

“We know nothing. Please, we only want to go on our way.”

Grayson turned his gaze to Lily. “If you haven’t been sent by the king to spy, why in the world are you traveling with this man?”

“We were caught in a compromising position and banished from Allbridge,” Rohann answered. “So you see, we couldn’t go back and tell tales even if we wanted to.”

“Mr. Rohann, I well believe a man like you would turn a blind eye and carry on with your business, but Miss Nightingale is too loyal to the crown.” Grayson studied her thoughtfully. “I’m afraid both of you must stay for a while. Kaspar, lock Mr. Rohann in the cellar while I chat with the lady alone.”

Rohann leaped from the sofa and planted himself in front of Lily. “Don’t touch her!”

“Don’t be ridiculous. I won’t harm her. I’m merely going to question her.”

Kaspar lumbered over and grabbed Rohann by the arm. Rohann twisted away, and then they were fighting practically on top of Lily, who cringed into a corner of the sofa.

Rohann punched at the bodyguard, and Kaspar blocked the blow. The giant tried to pin Rohann in a bear hug, but Rohann kicked out, catching him in the knees. When Kaspar bent over, he jabbed an elbow into his face.

Kaspar cursed and clubbed Rohann in the side of the head with one huge fist, driving him to his knees. He hauled him from the floor and dragged him toward the door.

Desperate to help Rohann, Lily jumped up and beat her fists against the bodyguard’s back. It was like hitting a slab of stone.

The man with the thin moustache pushed her back onto the sofa. “Sit down. His Lordship isn’t through with you.”

“Don’t worry, your paramour won’t be harmed,” Grayson said. “Don’t make Sheffield have to restrain you. He might not appear as dangerous as Kaspar, but he’s even more lethal. Now, tell me again how you came to be here, Miss Nightingale. I find it an exceedingly odd coincidence that I was seated beside you at dinner and now you’re in my house. Maybe that idiot came to see Gerald as he claimed, but why are you with him?”

“To keep him from getting into trouble.” Lily softened her tone to something more obsequious. She hadn’t been a servant all her life without learning how to manage an autocrat. “Honestly, everything is exactly as he said. We were caught in a liaison and expelled from the palace. I happened to mention your son, and Rohann insisted on coming here to see him.”

“Why would you speak of me or my son?”

“We were discussing new inventions. Your flying machine had been the talk of the party. I mentioned what you’d said about buying a gift for your little boy, and Rohann leaped to conclusions.”

“So you fell in with his insane plan to infiltrate my home?”

“I believed I could temper any rash impulses he might have if the boy appeared to be his.” She paused, then added, “Love makes us do foolish things.”

“Perhaps you speak the truth and you’re not a spy, but I still can’t let you go.”

His words sounded like a death sentence, and he studied her as if she were a stain he was considering how to remove. An icy chill settled over her. “I swear to you we would say nothing about whatever it is you are keeping secret.”

“Since being expelled after a lifetime of service, you must bear no love for the king,” Grayson mused. “Perhaps we could be allies rather than enemies. You could tell me who at court is loyal and who might be happy to join the opposition. You might prove useful.”

He rose. “Come with me. I want to show you something. After you see it, I think you’ll understand that the world we know is about to change forever. Then maybe you’ll feel better about throwing your lot in with the new regime. If not…” He shrugged, signifying that her demise would be of no consequence to him.

Lily quaked inside, acutely aware of how expendable she and Rohann were. She was willing to convince Grayson of anything that would keep them alive. She stood on trembling legs and followed him from the room, with the guard close behind.

As they emerged from the house, Lily noticed that the clouds overhead had blown away and the day was sunny once more. She gazed longingly down the drive that led to freedom. If only she and Rohann had left a few minutes earlier, they would’ve escaped.

She followed Grayson along a well-trodden path through a stand of trees to the workshop. The earlier high-pitched whine had died, and no lights flickered from the windows. Grayson paused at the door, his expression betraying how eager he was to share his secret.

“Behind this door is a device unlike anything you’ve ever beheld. My heliocraft is a mere toy in comparison. Be prepared to be astonished, Miss Nightingale.” He threw open the door with a showman’s flourish that reminded her of Rohann.

The large room was so crowded with crates, boxes, and bins that she almost didn’t notice the man moving among them. Tools and mechanical gadgets crowded shelving units or hung on hooks on one wall. The center of the room was dominated by a large table. On top of it sat a machine made from an assortment of glass tubes, copper pipe, and metal chambers. The inventor bent over his creation, threading wires through a glass tube. He barely acknowledged them with a glance. If he was surprised by Lily’s presence, he didn’t show it.

Lily’s curiosity was almost as strong as her fear as her gaze traveled over the strange device. “What is it?”

“Have you ever read the treatise, A Unified World by Harvey Ketchum, Miss Nightingale? ‘The power of a government lies in its ability to appease the populace.’ People are happy when they feel secure, their finances safe, their crops abundant.”

Grayson caressed a line of rivets in the metal hull. “Whoever owns this device will control the one thing mankind has desired to have power over since the dawn of time. The weather. Imagine being able to summon the perfect amount of rain or sun to grow crops or to make winter less severe.”

“That sounds”—insane hovered on the tip of Lily’s tongue—“very useful.”

“A government which could bring down hail, blizzards, or drought upon its enemies would wield incredible power.” He smiled. “You’re skeptical. I’d give a demonstration, but this unit isn’t quite operational.”

“There are others?”

“Hidden in strategic locations throughout Winbarrow. We tested one in Gabberdon. Perhaps you noticed the results.”

Lily thought of the fields turned to swamps and the refugees driven from their homes.

“Soon we’ll make our move.”

“We?” she asked weakly.

“King Pieter of Scaraband is my confederate. The royal wedding is an excuse for soldiers from Scaraband to enter the palace and assume control. After the coup, I shall occupy Allbridge as Scaraband’s administrator. My son will one day rule this country.” Grayson positively glowed with ambition.

Lily realized that not only was she dealing with a treasonous conspirator, but Lord Albert was quite mad.