Agent of the Crown (37 page)

Telaine’s gorge rose. She swallowed twice,
and said, “That seems like proof to me.”

“Circumstantial proof, without bodies,” Zara
said. “And I wasn’t sure he was the only one involved. He and the
Baron live in each other’s pockets. I didn’t want to accuse Morgan
to the Baron and have him dismiss my accusations while Morgan got
rid of the evidence. I had a feeling the Baron was more involved
than it looked. He…you know how he acts like all of Longbourne is
beneath his notice whenever he comes here?”

“Yes.”

“The only things he ever looks at are the
children. The ones nearly adolescents. And the way he looks at them
screams a warning at me every time. So after I looked in Morgan’s
room, I went and searched the Baron’s. Only two doors are locked in
the manor. One of ‘em’s the Baron’s office. The other is in his
bedroom. But he keeps the key to that one in his bedside
table.”

“You’re more reckless than I imagined!”

“You want to hear this story, or not?”

“Sorry. What was in the room?”

Zara’s lips thinned in anger. “Things I wish
I’d never seen. Knives. A table stained with old blood. More things
I’m glad I can’t put a name to.” She curled her hand into a fist.
“I think Morgan takes the children for the Baron, and the Baron
lets him finish them off.”

Telaine realized she was holding her breath.
“That’s impossible. Who would do something like that?”

“Someone who sees other people as things,”
Zara said. “Young Jeffrey said he suspected him of having…unnatural
pleasures, but I imagine this isn’t what he meant, or he’d have
taken Harstow in charge years ago. It’s not the sort of thing you
think anyone’s capable of.”

“You’ll need more evidence if you want a
court to listen, especially if you’re accusing a provincial lord.
They won’t come search his house on your say-so.”

“That’s what I was looking for today.
Something I could take to prove the Baron’s involved. But I didn’t
get far before one of the servants noticed me and I had to leave.
Sorry I escorted you away so quickly, but I didn’t want you
blurting anything out that would let them know I wasn’t there
legitimately.”

Telaine remembered the manacles and her
stomach churned again. “I can look around,” she said, “but there
might not be any evidence a court would admit.”

“I know.” Zara clenched her fists together.
“I want that man to hang for what he’s done. This is my home and I
will not tolerate anyone meddling with it.”

She looked so much like her portrait at that
moment Telaine couldn’t help thinking
She’s never left off being
Queen; she’s just got a smaller kingdom
. “Does it have to be
for this crime? Because he’s guilty of something even worse.”

“Can’t think of anything worse than torturing
and murdering children,” Zara said.

“I mean in the eyes of the law.” She’d given
Telaine her secret; maybe it was time Telaine returned the favor.
“He’s a traitor. He’s going to open the fort to the Ruskalder and
help them invade Tremontane.”

Zara’s eyes went wide. “You have proof?”

“I do. And my word counts as evidence in
court.”

“It does. Sweet heaven. He’ll hang for that
for sure.”

“It’s why I was so upset about being trapped
here for the winter. Uncle needs to know.”

“And that earth mover is how Harstow plans to
bring the Ruskalder here before anyone below has time to
prepare.”

“You’re quick.” Telaine grinned at her
great-aunt. “I know. It’s not a time for levity.”

“Yes, but it’s either that or run mad.”

They both fell silent. Finally, Telaine said,
“I’ll investigate the next time the Baron’s away.”

“No,” Zara said. “If you’re caught—”

“I’m not going to get caught.”

“You’re not perfect, Telaine,” Zara said, and
Telaine experienced a moment of dissociation at hearing her full
name for the first time in months. “If you’re caught, it could mean
your life. At the very least it would mean ruining your mission
here. It’s not a chance we should take.”

“You’re right.” Telaine banged her fist on
the table, then rubbed the pain away. “We have to wait for the pass
to clear, and I have to make sure that earth mover can’t go
anywhere.”

“Can you manage that?”

Telaine nodded. “I certainly hope so.”

It was full dark, and Zara stood, shaking out
her fingers. “Knitting circle tonight,” she said, her voice falling
into her familiar accent. “Happen you’d like to come along?”

“How can you bear to do something so prosaic
after all this?”

Aunt Weaver shrugged. “Sometimes you need the
company of friends when the worst is bearing down on you. With that
Morgan gone, happen there won’t be any more children gone missing,
and we can stop the Baron ‘fore he does anything else he ought hang
for.”

“I swear those children will have
justice.”

“Too late for them. Better hope for justice
for the ones he ain’t snatched yet,” Aunt Weaver said.

After two months, Telaine was running out of
ways to stall construction of the earth mover. She had a brief
moment of hope when she thought the Device might be too wide to fit
through the inner wall gate that led to the pass, but careful
measurement said it could pass with scant inches’ clearance on each
side. Its treads moved smoothly. It had, or would have, plenty of
fuel. Aunt Weaver said she probably had less than two months before
the last snowfall, plus another month to clear the main pass. She
didn’t think she could stretch the construction out that long.

She found that the two cylinders’ cases were
hinged so they could open like a ladybug’s shell, giving easy
access to their complicated innards after they were connected to
the nose, preventing her from sabotaging them in a way that would
be impossible to detect. Wonderful.

She was torn, all the time now, between her
anxieties about completing the earth mover and her Deviser’s joy at
completing the earth mover. It was a beautiful piece of Devisery,
not only in its exquisite construction but in the beauty of its
parts. Someone had cared a great deal about this Device to make it
so elegant as well as powerful. It was a shame she couldn’t let it
be operational.

She decided to run some of the wires through
the motive force cluster backwards and weave others in a tight loop
before connecting them. The earth mover would work—for a while.
Then it would overheat and burn out the motive force. She hated the
Baron getting even that much use out of it, but he’d made comments
about wanting to see it run before the time came to clear the pass,
and she was afraid to make herself look incompetent. It was
possible, since he knew her to be excellent at her trade, he might
figure out she was making mistakes on purpose.

She didn’t think her alterations were
terribly obvious, but she was still happy the Baron didn’t hover
around these days. From what she’d overheard from Jackson, he was
making the rounds of the smaller villages throughout the valley.
The idea that he might be looking for new victims made her sick.
Still, Morgan was gone—she had to cling to that small hope that his
absence would make a difference.

Twelve weeks gone. Seven (or more) weeks to
go. Telaine took the bulbous “tail” of the earth mover and went out
looking for a source. Until studying the earth mover, she hadn’t
ever tried to contain, or even move, a source, and despite her
anxiety she was eager to master this new challenge.

The day was overcast, and the snow was cold
and slushy, but she felt wonderful: wonderful because the overcast
skies promised another big storm, wonderful because she could spin
out finding a source indefinitely. She decided to stay close to
home, this time, because of the storm, but there was no reason she
couldn’t cover the valley as thoroughly as the Baron did, “looking”
for a source. She slogged through the mush, wishing her boots were
waterproof.

She heard the sounds of a horse approaching,
and turned fast to see the Baron bearing down on her, glowering.
“Miss Bricker,” he said, “what are you doing away from the fort?
I’m beginning to question your dedication to your work.”

She held up the bulbous tail, grateful to
have it with her. “I’m looking for a source,” she said. “You know
how hard they are to find.”

“I believe I have found one,” he said. “If
you would follow me?” He didn’t take her up behind him, but he did
keep his horse to a slow enough gait that she could keep up. How
could he possibly sense source? He’d said he couldn’t! Hadn’t he?
She couldn’t remember anymore. She felt ill. It was too much to
hope for that he was only imagining things.

He led her back into town. The sinking
feeling was now joined by nausea. He couldn’t be going where she
thought he was going. He just couldn’t.

He was.

He dismounted and led her around the back of
the forge; Ben cast a wary eye on them, but kept on working. The
high-pitched
tink
of hammer hitting metal followed them
through the storm-tinged air.

He waved his hand over the source,
her
source. “I am only able to sense strong sources,” he said. “This
should be sufficient.”

She took a breath. “Milord, this is the
source I use to imbue your Devices,” she said. “It’s the closest
coherent source to your manor. I can use it, yes, but it would
certainly disadvantage you.”

She waited for the Baron to erupt into a
rage. Instead, he looked thoughtful. “You might return here for it
when the snows have stopped falling, and the earth mover may be
used,” he said, “and make other use of the source until then.”

“That’s a good idea, milord, and I think
everyone will be grateful you are willing to sacrifice your own
comfort—”

The Baron grabbed Telaine’s arm and squeezed
hard. She let out a pained gasp. The hammer noise stopped. “I grow
tired of your constant toadying,” he said through clenched teeth.
“I admired you because you weren’t afraid of me. I feel my
admiration dwindling.”

Without thinking, Telaine pulled her arm
away. “I told you what I thought you wanted to hear,” she said
sharply. “I thought a man who would sabotage his own Devices so he
could have my company was a man who didn’t respect me enough to
want my true opinions.”

The Baron threw back his head and roared his
laughter. “Now
that
is the Miss Bricker I have come to
admire,” he said. The hammer noise started again, quietly now. “You
knew all along.”

“Yes, milord.”

“And you said nothing.”

“I didn’t understand your motives, milord.
Happen you wanted me to play along, happen not. So I kept my
tongue.”

“Miss Bricker, if I could find a woman of
rank with half your personality, I would marry her without another
thought. Leave that source. I would hate to deprive you of such a
valuable resource. And join me for supper this evening. Leave the
tools behind. I simply wish to enjoy your company.”

The hammer blows stopped again. “I’m…honored,
milord.”

“And change your clothes. This supper is a
social event.” The Baron walked back around the forge house and
stood, slapping his gloves into his palm in a slow rhythm. Telaine
followed him, trying not to meet Ben’s eye, knowing he would
explode if she did. “Until this evening, Miss Bricker.” He mounted
his horse and rode off down the street.

“This evening?” Ben said, laying down his
hammer. “Social event?”

“What do you suggest I do?”

“I—wish the snows were over. Wish you were
safely down the mountain.”

“It’s unnerving how I draw the attention of
so many crazy men.”

“Not going to take that personally.”

Telaine laughed. “Other than you.”

He leaned over the rail, and said, “Wonder if
he realizes he asked you to go up the mountain, through the snow,
at night, in a dress?”

Telaine threw her head back and looked at the
sky. “Please, heaven, snow before suppertime!”

It did.

Fourteen weeks gone. The earth mover was
assembled. The Baron insisted on going out with her every day to
search for a source. Telaine judged the season was almost over and
he was getting worried about having his Device ready in time. She’d
run out of ways to delay him. Once they’d found a source, and she’d
imbued the motive forces, the only things standing in the way of
the Ruskalder invasion force were the changes she’d made to
sabotage the Device.

Fifteen weeks gone. The Baron, curse him, had
come up with the idea to collect weak sources and allow them to
combine in the chamber. It worked. At the Baron’s insistence,
Telaine imbued one of the motive forces and showed the Baron how to
start the Device. His eyes lit with that frightening passion that
could so easily turn ugly. She pretended the Device needed all her
attention so she wouldn’t have to look into those eyes.

Telaine began the process of charging the
motive forces, getting rid of the Baron by claiming to need
solitude for the task. She worked as slowly as she could, her mind
frantically trying to come up with a way to delay two weeks, a
single week longer. The season of storms was nearly over, Aunt
Weaver said, but days had passed clear and crisp without a single
cloud in the sky, storm or no, heralding that last snowfall.

She left the fort early, weary from the
effort of spinning source into the walnut-sized orbs that were the
Device’s motive forces. She hadn’t ever realized how draining the
process was, but then she’d never spent so many consecutive hours
charging anything, let alone the finicky spheres. Clouds had
finally begun gathering that morning, casting a pall over the snowy
ground, but she was too tired to be cheered by the oncoming bad
weather.

She passed the tavern, passed Eleanor’s,
passed the forge with no more than a wave for Ben, and went into
Aunt Weaver’s place through the front door because walking all the
way around back was too exhausting.