A Little Knowledge (34 page)

She moved forwards again, Elizabeth stepping back until she nudged against a vase on a pedestal. It teetered but didn’t fall.

“My father said, ‘Go to this distant Albion and tell me how our people fare there. Tell me if I have been too harsh in my judgement.’
Our people.
Our. People.”

Elizabeth slipped away to the side, desperate to put some air between them, to give herself a moment to think. “I…I have no idea who you are talking about!”

“Exactly!” the Princess said, so loud the crystals tinkled in the chandeliers. “I have visited every court in Albion, attended balls and dinner parties and recitals, and not one of our people was there. Where are the two emissaries from Marwar? Where are the three wives who returned with their white husbands after they fell in love in our Court? Where are the children we were told were born to them? Where are the twin princes of the Zambian court who came to make their home here, mentioned in letters home over a hundred years ago?”

“I have no idea!”

“Precisely! They’ve been hidden away, pushed out of your courts and denied permission to return home by their Patroons! My father will learn that this place is everything we feared and worse. He is a kinder, more merciful ruler than any of yours have ever been. I can only hope that those exiles who crawl back to Albion in disgrace are welcomed by their own here. But I doubt it.”

Princess Rani swept towards the door, pausing to turn and face Elizabeth. “You know nothing, closeted away in your ivory towers, seeing nothing but
white
faces. There is a whole world of beauty that you are denied by your ignorant, immoral Patroons. Gujarat is the first of the former Princely States to break free, but it will not be the last. Our neighbours will follow our example. Our friends in America—the
colonies
, as you so offensively call them still—are in agreement with us. Your ancient, backwards men cannot keep the influence of Mundanus a secret forever.” She looked Elizabeth up and down and then her face softened. “I pity you. Duchess or not, you have as much power as that umbrella stand.”

She flicked a finger towards the carriages and her man hurried out before her. Elizabeth just stood there, trembling, as the hem of the Princess’s sari disappeared.

Morgan closed the door and Elizabeth’s face burned under the stare of all of the servants. “Don’t look at me like that!” she cried. “I didn’t do anything wrong! She obviously hated us!”

“I shall put this somewhere safe until the Duke returns,” Morgan said, picking up the box. “Don’t just stand there!” he said to the staff, and they all hurried off, leaving Elizabeth alone in the hallway.

Elizabeth sniffled, feeling shamed and upset, even though she was sure she hadn’t done anything wrong. Was this what politics was like? It was awful. Being Duchess had suddenly lost its appeal.

“Chief constable now?” Amesbury said, staring at the screen of Kay’s computer. “Well, he’s done all right.”

“The crooked ones usually do, right?” Kay said, and he nodded.

“If you need to know anything about him, just ask Kay,” the gargoyle said from the other side of her desk. “She’s a genius on that computer.”

She winked at the gargoyle. Max was sure that if it had been possible, the stone cheeks would have blushed.

“All we need to know is how to get a message to him that he won’t be able to ignore,” Max said.

“I can help you with that,” Amesbury said. “And I know how to get it to him.”

“So is this a sting operation?” Kay asked, and both Max and the gargoyle nodded.

“I’m going to set up a meeting with him, saying I have critical information on the disappearances featured in the newspaper, and that I can help him find the one behind it all.”

“But that won’t make any sense to him,” Kay said. “The disappearances go back too far. The same person can’t be responsible for them. I mean, that’s what he’ll think, being a mundane.”

“I prefer the term ‘innocent’,” Max said.

“He’s far from that,” Amesbury muttered. “He’s as crooked as they come.”

“But he’s also probably unaware of what exactly is going on,” Max said. “It’s a grey area. Either way, if I say as much in the letter, he’ll know it’s something his contact will want to know about. Once he tells the Fae-touched, they’ll know they have to be there to contain a potential breach.”

“And that’s when you’ll bust them like a total badass.”

The gargoyle grinned at Kay. “Yup.”

“I don’t want to arrest the puppet in Mundanus,” Max said. “I’ll watch the meeting point at a distance—with your help, Robert—and then once the puppet is identified, I can make the arrest in the Nether.”

Amesbury nodded. “And then what happens to my old boss?”

“I’ll have to investigate the extent of the corruption and how much they’ve tampered with him,” Max replied.

Even though Amesbury didn’t look satisfied, he accepted it. Max found him easy to work with. He was calm and methodical. He’d only needed two cups of tea and a bit of a sit-down after meeting the gargoyle for the first time. His own experience made it easier for him to accept the “weird shit,” as Kay called it, and the chance that he could stop it from happening to anyone else made him highly motivated. He still wasn’t an Arbiter, though, so he had to be kept away from the puppets as much as possible. In the long term, Rupert was going to have to make more. The gargoyle scowled at him when he thought that.

They’d had two puppets under surveillance since the tip-off from the Peonia boy about the Second Sons, and he couldn’t have done it without Amesbury’s help. At least it had been a good reason to get the gargoyle to leave the office. Max had tried to convince it to stay in the Nether as he came back and coordinated the next move, but the gargoyle had insisted. With Rupert’s high-tech sensors planted all around the two family houses, there wasn’t any way they could leave the Nether without them knowing.

“I’ll leave it to you to set up the sting,” he said to Amesbury, who nodded. “Tell him I’ll go to his office at eight o’clock this evening. At least most of the staff will have gone home. Let’s get back to the Nether,” he said to the gargoyle.

“But the sensor thingies are—” the gargoyle began, but Max wasn’t having any of it.

“Nothing beats eyes on the job,” he said. “Those sensors don’t cover everywhere. Come on.”

• • •

Cathy shut herself in her bedroom, needing some space away from all the fussing. At least Will hadn’t been home when they’d finally got back—if he’d seen the huge hole she’d blasted in the side of the carriage he never would have wanted her to leave the house again.

Carter had a concussion. They’d ended up sitting on the Nether road for a while waiting for him to be well enough to travel again. Carter had mostly held his head, looking like he was going to be sick any moment, trying to give her his resignation. Cathy spent the entire journey back telling him she wouldn’t accept it. She could only hope that it had sunk in.

Once she’d explained what happened, Morgan told her about the Princess’s visit and how disastrous it had been. She felt terrible. She should have checked the day’s itinerary with Morgan before she left. The panicked message from Charlotte and then the attack had pushed all other thoughts from her mind. Morgan was only too happy to deliver the box containing the voided contracts to her study, leaving it to her to break it to Will.

She lay on the bed and shook for a while, knowing it was a delayed reaction to the stress of it all, then fell asleep. A hand on her shoulder woke her.

“Cathy?”

She looked up into Will’s eyes. In those moments of drowsiness all she could think of was how handsome he was. Those big brown eyes, so kind, focused on her. Those lips, so soft, ready to be kissed.

“Morgan said you were attacked. Are you all right?”

“I’m fine. It’s all fine. They ran away. Carter was brilliant.”

“Tom is looking into it,” Will said, smoothing her hair away from her face. “We’ll find out who it was. I’m putting extra footmen on your carriage from now on, with the same protections as Carter.”

“But those Charms cost a fortune; how will you—”

“Shh, don’t worry about that.” He kissed her forehead. “I’ll do anything to keep you safe.”

“You’re not going to say some bobbins about me not being able to go out again, are you?”

Will frowned. “No, of course not. I pledged to make those roads safe. If you changed your behaviour and news of that attack got out, it would look very poor indeed.”

Cathy nodded. At least Will’s political ambition and her desire to be as independent as possible aligned for once.

“There’s someone who wants to speak to you downstairs. Are you up to it?”

“Give me a few minutes to freshen up. I’ll be right down.” They kissed and she did her best to ignore the way her traitorous body wanted more. He slid his hand down behind her neck and lifted her to him for a deeper, more passionate kiss.

“Tonight,” he whispered, kissing her neck. “There are a few things I need to attend to first, then we’ll have the rest of the evening together.”

She kissed him back and it was only when he left that she remembered what she’d learned about the marriages he was arranging. “Shit.” She pressed her fists into her forehead. When he kissed her like that it was hard to remember anything.

She got up, washed her face, and tried not to think about how those kisses had felt. She had more important things to do than become some simpering thing pining for her husband to return and ravish her. She had to check in on Wilhelmina, whom she’d neglected terribly over the day. She also needed to work out the best way to prevent pregnancy without Lord Iris—or Will, for that matter—finding out. She should have done that already but there were never enough hours in the day and sneaking to a mundane pharmacy was so hard.

She went down the stairs and Morgan guided her towards the drawing room. “Who’s waiting to see me?” she asked.

“Dame Iris, your Grace.”

Cathy missed a step. “What?”

“She doesn’t look like the one who…the one who used to visit,” Morgan said in a whisper. “I think she’s new.”

Cathy readied herself as best as she could and went in. A lady stood waiting for her near the window, her presence somehow filling the entire room. Cathy found herself bobbing a curtsy when she turned from gazing over the gardens to look at her.

“Cathy,” she smiled. “A pleasure to see you again.”

Cathy took in the glossy black hair, the porcelain skin, the large, dark blue eyes. Something about her face was familiar. “…Eleanor?”

“The very same,” Eleanor said with a dazzling smile. “You’re the first person to recognise me other than my husband.”

“Holy shit,” Cathy gasped.

Eleanor raised an eyebrow. “I know it’s rather a shock, but really, must one resort to such language?”

“I…” Cathy went over to her. “How?”

“A combination of your husband’s swift thinking and the kindness of our patron.”

Cathy snorted. “There’s no kindness in him.”

“There is if one has earned it,” Eleanor replied sternly.

A sinking dread settled in Cathy’s stomach. After everything she’d been through, Eleanor seemed incredibly pro-Iris. But then, what did she expect? Lord Iris wasn’t going to restore a woman’s youth unless she was of use to him.

“I’m not very good at earning his kindness,” Cathy said. “And you know I’m not…you know I don’t fit in.”

Eleanor nodded and smiled, coming over and taking her hands. “My dear girl, I know how this life chafes at you. I’m not going to try and force you into being the opposite of what you are. We’ve both seen how unsuccessful that is. Don’t look so fearful, my dear. You have a handsome, clever husband, a bright mind, and a passionate heart. I am certain that together we will find a way to align your happiness with the goals of our family.”

Cathy managed a smile and pulled away as Morgan brought in the afternoon tea. “There’s something I want to talk to you about. As Dame but also, I hope, as my friend.”

Dame Iris sat down and gestured for Cathy to do the same. “Tell me what concerns you so.”

Cathy poured the tea, buying some time to think of a way to put it. By the time both cups were full, she was no closer. She sighed at the ceiling. “Look, there’s no way I can dress this up. Bertrand Viola is planning to marry his daughter off to Nathaniel Iris.”

“I know,” Eleanor replied, stirring her tea.

“Oh.” Eleanor looked at her expectantly. “Well, the thing is…he’s just a…well, Charlotte and I…”

“Just say it, Cathy.”

“He’s a total arsehole and Emmeline is so sweet and he’ll just be the most awful husband and we can’t let it go ahead.”

Eleanor’s eyes were impressively large. “You do have a peculiar eloquence, Cathy. We simply need to find a way to make it more palatable for Society. As for your opinion on your brother-in-law, I suggest you keep that to yourself in future.”

“But Eleanor, he’s a thug!”

“Nathaniel is a passionate young man. He’ll calm down as he matures. As for this marriage, I see no reason to oppose it. The Viola girl is sweet, by all accounts, and comes from a respected and wealthy family. A family that will have political ambitions now that that idiot Frederick Viola is no longer with us. Those ambitions need to be kept in check and that’s exactly what this match achieves, along with the one between your sister and Bertie’s cousin. The Violas will be kept close where we can keep an eye on them and Bertie will need to keep Will happy to keep his daughter happy and safe. It’s all very neat and tidy. Just the way Lord Iris likes things to be.”

Cathy’s heart fell when she heard her call him “Bertie.” Of course, they probably knew each other before Eleanor was spirited away. “But it will be such an unhappy marriage. And Emmeline’s mother—” She stopped herself just in time. “Her mother is a dear friend and I know what Nathaniel is really like, and I can’t in all conscience tell her that her daughter will be happy.”

Eleanor finished her tea and placed the cup and saucer back on the table. “Cathy, dear, I am very fond of you. And it’s clear that you’ve never had a woman help you navigate life in Society. You have such potential and I’d hate to see it wasted. I have no intention of forcing you to be anything other than yourself, but you have to let go of some childish notions. Marriage is not arranged for happiness; it’s arranged for the mutual benefit of the families involved. If the couple discovers happiness, then it is their good fortune. I suggest you reassure your friend as best you can and leave matters to take their course.”