Rebel Mechanics (28 page)

At last, it was our turn to stop under the porte cochere and leave the carriage. Here, as at the Lyndon house, Henry escorted Flora, with me following. A footman announced the arrival of Lord Henry Lyndon and Lady Flora Lyndon as we entered the ballroom down a short flight of stairs.

I'd read plenty of books in which the characters attended grand balls, but the words on the pages hadn't prepared me for the splendor of the ballroom. Elinor had referred to it as an impromptu gathering, but if this was something just thrown together, I couldn't imagine what a true grand ball would be like. Even if the room had been bare, the profusion of elaborate gowns in bright colors, along with the brilliant red of the military uniforms and the gleaming brass of buttons and medals, would have been overwhelming.

But the room wasn't bare. Its walls were mirrored, the mirrors reflecting light from half a dozen magical chandeliers dripping with crystals. The effect was like sunlight striking water on a windy day. Nearly every surface in the room held densely packed arrangements of roses. The air was heady with the scent.

An orchestra played music that made me want to dance, but nobody was dancing yet. Lord Henry led us to a grouping of chairs where we could see the floor but were out of the way of most of the people milling about the room. Once seated, Flora snapped open her fan and used it to shield her face while she studied the attendees.

“The officers aren't very handsome,” she commented.

“Don't be rude, Flora,” Henry said absently, as though it was an automatic response that came up even when his mind was elsewhere.

“They can't hear me, it's so noisy in here. And I don't care if they know what I think of them.”

“That's still no call to be rude.”

“What do you think, Miss Newton?” she asked, turning to me. “Do you see any who are particularly handsome?”

I had to agree with Flora. There was a hardness about these men that made them unappealing, even if their faces and forms were pleasant. The ones who weren't hard seemed far too soft to be military men. I guessed that these were noblemen who got their rank through their positions. I pitied Flora if those were the only magisters in the group. “These men aren't to my taste,” I said. But that didn't mean I would have minded dancing with some of them. It would be a valuable intelligence-gathering opportunity. Not to mention, it would be a pity not to dance at my first ball.

The orchestra played a fanfare, and the guests applauded as a small group of people went to the center of the floor. I recognized the governor and General Montgomery among a few other men in uniform with their ladies. “It's the quadrille,” Flora explained. “The host and the top guests do this to start the dancing.”

When the quadrille was over, the orchestra struck up a waltz, and the mass of red uniforms fanned out around the room in search of partners. Flora was easily one of the prettiest girls in attendance, so she was much in demand, and in spite of her earlier dismissal of the men, she accepted them all politely. None of them acknowledged my presence. Henry didn't go in search of a partner, instead staying near me with his eyes on the dance floor. I wished I'd had a better look at the sketch I'd seen in his book so I could recognize whichever lady had caught his eye.

When Flora took a break from dancing and returned to us, the governor came over to greet his granddaughter and Henry. “You are enjoying yourself, my dear?” he asked Flora.

“The officers are good dancers,” she said, fanning herself, “but I don't much care for their company.”

The governor roared with laughter at that. “You have your mother's sense,” he said. “Good girl, you stay just like that, and you'll keep out of trouble.” He wished us a curt good evening, then turned and moved away. He was only a few feet from us when a footman approached him with a note on a silver tray. The governor read it and reacted with shock, then signaled across the room to General Montgomery. They met to the side and spoke for a moment, their heads close together, then the general signaled to a couple of the other officers, and all of them left the room.

“I wonder what that's about,” Henry said under his breath. He moved away into the crowd, disappeared for a moment, and then returned to us. A few minutes later, he barely suppressed a smile as another footman approached us with a message for Henry. He merely glanced at it before saying, “Matthews is here, says he has an urgent message to deliver. I'll be back in a moment, ladies.”

Soon after Henry left, the governor, the general, and the officers returned. The officers worked their way around the room, stopping other officers and speaking briefly. The officers then began departing. “All the dancing partners are leaving,” Flora grumbled. Dancing wasn't my concern. If they had withdrawn the officers, it had to mean something was happening elsewhere.

Elinor's maid came up to me with a curtsy. “Miss Newton, Lady Elinor has asked to see you.”

“I'm afraid I can't,” I said. “Lord Henry has stepped out, and I must chaperone Lady Flora.”

“Oh, go on, Miss Newton,” Flora said with a flick of her fan. “There's no one left to dance with, and I'm in my grandfather's house. I'm the safest girl here. I promise to stay right where I am.”

Although I'd been there before, the maid gave me a brief tour of the house on our way to Lady Elinor's room. She pointed out the library, the parlor where we'd gone the first time I was there, and the closed door to the governor's study. The latter caught my eye as we passed it. Whatever information had been brought to the governor might be in there.

Lady Elinor was sitting up in bed when I reached her room. “I hope you don't mind me pulling you away from the ball, but I had to see your gown,” she said. She gestured for me to turn around so she could see it from all angles. “I approve. You look lovely. Are you having a good time?”

“It's a very nice ball,” I replied.

She laughed. “You haven't danced a bit, have you?”

“I'm afraid not, and most of the officers have already left.”

“So soon? But this is early! I wonder what happened. I shall have to ask Father later. Now, run along back to the ball. I don't want to keep you. Promise me that you'll dance at least once. Make Henry waltz with you. You wouldn't think it from the way he bumps into walls, but he's rather good if he keeps his mind on it.”

“I will try,” I said, not meaning it. My awareness of Henry was unsettling enough without knowing the feeling of dancing with him.

“Do you think you can find your own way back, or should I ring for my maid?”

“I'm sure I can find my own way.”

When I passed the governor's study, I paused. There was no one in the hallway to see me, and I thought I had a few minutes before my absence would be noticed in the ballroom. I sidled closer to the door and pressed my ear against it. There was no sound from inside. If someone was in the study, he was being very quiet.

I put a cautious hand on the doorknob and found that the door was locked. I could probably have unlocked it magically, but with so many magisters about, I was afraid to risk them noticing the magic. With another glance up and down the hallway, I pulled a pin from my hair and inserted it in the lock. I'd become an expert on unlocking doors that way when I had a young pupil who had a habit of locking himself in his room to avoid lessons. With a satisfying click, the door opened for me, and I returned the pin to my hair, hoping I hadn't ruined the elaborate arrangement of curls.

The room was dark, but moonlight and lanterns in the garden shone through the window, casting a silvery glow that enabled me to find my way. This study was far neater than Henry's. The giant mahogany desk was clear, except for a large blotter pad. A single sheet of paper, creased as though it had been folded, lay on top of the blotter. I moved over to the desk and bent to read the message on the page, but then a noise from behind startled me. I whirled to see a masked man climbing through the window—the masked bandit I'd encountered on the train.

He froze when he saw me and blurted, “Verity? What on earth are you doing in here?”

 

IN WHICH WE ENTER THE LIONS' DEN

It was Henry's voice, but that only confirmed what I'd suspected from the start and had known for a while. “I'm doing the same thing you are, helping the rebels,” I snapped. “Now, Henry, get in here before someone sees you.”

He climbed the rest of the way through the window and pulled the mask off, revealing a sheepish expression. “You knew?”

“I figured it out long ago. But this isn't the time to discuss it. I think the message the governor received is there on his desk.”

Henry conjured a small light in his hand and moved to the desk. Even as close as I was, I could barely sense his magic, and I admired his control. We bent over the piece of paper together and saw that the message was from a downtown garrison. The rebels had struck that night while the officers were at the ball and many of the soldiers were attending the theater, and the situation had become desperate.

“That would explain the rapidly disappearing officers,” Henry whispered.

I ran my fingers lightly over the blotter, feeling the indentations from a pen. “It looks like he's written something here recently—his orders in response?”

“Let's find out.” He waved his hand over the blotter, and letters became visible, glowing against the paper. “Forget about fighting the people,” the words said. “Seize the machines. I don't care if they're technically legal. Tear up every building in that area to find them. It's the only way to end the rebellion.”

Henry and I looked up from the page to each other. “Oh, no,” I breathed. “He's right, though. The machines are what give us a chance against magic. If they take the machines, it's over. We have to warn them.”

“I'm assuming you know how to get to them, and that they'd trust you?”

“Yes, I know them, and I think they trust me. We just have to get to them in time.”

“And then find a way to hide the machines or get them away. How many do they have?”

“I don't think I've seen them all, and I don't know where they all are. But there are a number, and they're not the sort of thing one could slip under one's coat and walk off with. They're large and noisy.”

“We'll get away from this ball as soon as possible, and then we'll go warn the rebels.” He pulled out a pocketknife and carefully slit the top page off the blotter, folding it and tucking it away in his pocket before returning the message to its original position.

He tied his mask back on, speaking as he did so. “Get back to the ballroom. I'll join you soon, and when we can leave without looking suspicious, we will.” With a wry smile, he added, “When all this is over, you and I have much to discuss.”

He headed for the window, and I followed him. “Are you going to dismiss me for being a rebel spy?” I asked.

He paused with one leg over the sill. “Heavens, no. I think it's excellent.” Then he disappeared over the side.

I listened at the door, determined that it was safe to leave, relocked the door with my hairpin, and hurried back to the ballroom, hoping I didn't look as flushed and anxious as I felt. Flora was where I left her, looking more bored than she did when reading a book. “Did Aunt Elinor approve of your gown?” she asked.

So much had happened since I saw Elinor that it took me a moment to remember why I'd left the ballroom. “She did. And she took me to task for not dancing.”

“Chaperones seldom dance. Only at very small balls where there are few ladies.” She frowned at the dance floor, then added, “Though this was one of them. I'm surprised none of the officers asked you to dance. Henry probably scared them all away.”

“Where
is
your uncle?” I asked, trying to sound only mildly curious, even as my heart pounded madly against my stays. “Hasn't he returned yet?”

“No, he hasn't. If I know Henry, after he talked to Matthews he wandered into the library and forgot he was attending a ball. We'll have to send servants to find him so we can go home.”

Henry entered the room then, looking mostly the way he had when he left, though his hair was more rumpled. He stopped and spoke briefly with a few young men as he made his way to us. “My apologies for leaving you ladies alone,” he said when he reached us.

“I hope there's nothing the matter,” I said. I couldn't bring myself to meet his eyes because I knew I wouldn't be able to keep a straight face if I did.

“Only a minor situation that required my immediate attention.”

“And you were eternally grateful to have an excuse to leave,” Flora teased. “I know what you think about balls.”

“I'm surprised to see you sitting,” he replied.

“I've decided soldiers are even worse than scientists when it comes to conversation.”

“I suppose soldiers aren't very good at talking about gowns.”

I wished I had Flora's fan as I tried to hold back a smile. They sounded just like Rollo and Olive.

After bickering a little more with Flora, Henry turned to me. “Miss Newton, have you danced at all this evening?”

“I am here as a chaperone,” I demurred, but he stood in front of me and held out his hand.

“Please do me the honor, Miss Newton.”

“Oh, I couldn't.”

“I insist.”

Flora glared daggers at me, and I knew it would be wisest to refuse, but I did want to dance. It was, after all, my first ball. I tried to tell myself it had nothing to do with Henry, but I didn't believe it.

The orchestra finished a song, and there was polite applause from the guests. “Come now, they're about to start another song,” Henry said, taking my hand, so I felt I had no choice. He led me to the dance floor, then bowed to me before taking my right hand in his left and resting his right hand against my back. I placed my hand on his shoulder as the music began.