Surrender (6 page)

the center of the darkness, casting the

group of people gathered into a small

circle inside the room into stark relief

for one flaring instant. The small crowd

gasped in amazement.

A second later the giant spark vanished

and a resounding cheer went up.

Victoria smiled toward the open door

where Rathbone and the footman stood.

 
Nothing to worry about tonight," she

assured them.
 
The members of the society

are merely playing with Lord Potbury's

new electricity machine."

 
Vastly reassuring. Miss Huntington."

Rathbone answered dryly.

 
Oh, Vicky, dear, you're home," a voice

sang out of the gloom.
 
Did you enjoy

yourself at the Athertons" rout? Do come

in. We're right in the middle of the most

fascinating series of demonstrations."

 
So it would seem. I regret I missed

some of them. You know how much I

enjoy electricity experiments."

 
Yes, I know, dear." The shaft of light

from the open door revealed Victoria's

aunt Cleo as she came forward to greet her

niece. Lady Nettleship was almost as tall

as Victoria. She was in her early fifties and

her tawny hair was elegantly streaked with

silver. She had lively eyes and the same

vivid, animated quality in her features

which had historically characterized the

women in Victoria's family.

That quality lent an impression of

beauty, even to a woman of Aunt Cleo's

years, where an objective eye could discover

little true perfection. Cleo was dressed in

the height of fashion, as always. Her gown

of ripe peach was styled to reveal her still

slender figure.

 
Rathbone, do close the door," Lady

Nettleship said briskly.
 
The effect of

the machine is far more impressive in

darkness."

 
With pleasure, madam." Rathbone

nodded to the footman, who shut the

door in obvious relief, and the library was

once more plunged into thick darkness.

 
Come in, come in," Cleo said, taking

her niece's arm and guiding her through

the gloom to where the small group still

clustered around the electricity machine.

 
You know everyone, here, do you not?"

 
I believe so," Victoria said, relying on

her memory of the brief glimpse of faces

she'd had a moment earlier. A murmur

of greetings rumbled from the shadows.

Visitors to Lady Nettleship's house were

accustomed to such inconveniences as

being introduced in the middle of a

Stygian darkness.

 
Evening, Miss Huntington."

 
Your servant, Miss Huntington. Looking

 
lovely tonight. Quite lovely."

 
Pleasure, Miss Huntington. You're just

in time for the next experiment."

Victoria recognized these three masculine

voices at once. Lords Potbury, Grimshaw,

and Tottingham comprised her aunt's

faithful circle of admirers. They varied

in age from fifty in Lord Potbury's case

to Lord Tottingham's nearly seventy years.

Grimshaw, Victoria knew, was somewhere

in his early sixties.

The three had danced attendance on

her aunt for longer than Victoria could

remember. She did not know if they had

initially been as interested in scientific

explorations as their lady was, but over

the years they had certainly developed a

similar passion for experimentation and

collection.

 
Please, do carry on with your demonstrations,"

Victoria urged.
 
I can only stay

for one or two and then I must be off to

bed. Lady Atherton's rout was really quite

exhausting."

 
Of course, of course," Cleo said, patting

her arm.
 
Potbury, why don't you let

Grimshaw work the crank this time?"

 
Don't mind if I do," Potbury said.
 
Bit

tiring, I must say. Here you go, Grimshaw.

Put some push into it."

Grimshaw muttered a response and a

moment later the sound of the hand crank

rumbled forth once more. Cloth rubbed

rapidly against a long glass cylinder until

a sizable charge built up. Everyone waited

expectantly, and in due course another

searing flash of light crackled and danced

in the shadows. Gasps of satisfaction and

delight again filled the room.

 
Heard there's been some efforts to

reanimate a couple of corpses with electricity,"

Potbury announced to the small group.

 
How fascinating," Cleo said, clearly

enchanted with the notion.
 
What was

the outcome?"

 
Got a few twitches and such from the

arms and legs but nothing permanent.

Tried it myself with a frog. Easy enough

to get a few jerks out of the limbs but still

stone dead when all was said and done.

Don't think there'll be much gained from

that line of inquiry."

 
Where did the experimenters obtain the

corpses?" Victoria asked, unable to stifle

her morbid curiosity.

 
From the hangman's noose," Grimshaw

said.
 
Where else? A respectable experimenter

can't exactly go about robbing

graves, y'know."

 
If the corpses were those of villains,

then it's just as well they stayed dead,

I suppose," Lady Nettleship stated.
 
No

point spending all that time and energy

hanging thieves and cutthroats only to have

them spring up again good as new a day

or two later because someone wanted to

experiment with electricity."

 
No." Victoria felt a little queasy at the

thought of such a possibility. Such things

were disturbingly close to the contents

of her dreams lately.
 
I quite agree with

you, Aunt Cleo. No point getting rid

of villains if one cannot count on them

staying dead."

Speaking of the difficulty of obtaining

corpses for experimentation, I must say

some people are certainly making a nice

livelihood robbing graves." The darkened

room did not conceal the shudder in Lady

Finch's words.
 
I heard the resurrectionists

struck again the other night at a little

churchyard on the outskirts of town. Took

two bodies that had just been buried that

morning."

 
Well? What do you expect?" Potbury

asked in prosaic tones.
 
Doctors at Edin

burgh and Glasgow Schools of Surgery

have got to have something to cut up.

Can't expect to train good surgeons

without something to practice on. The

resurrectionists may be illegal but they are

filling a need."

 
Excuse me," Victoria whispered to her

aunt as the conversation about the traffic in

dead bodies threatened to grab everyone's

attention.
 
I believe I will go on to bed."

 
Sleep well, my dear." Cleo patted her

hand affectionately.
 
Remind me in the

morning to show you the wonderful

collection of beetles Lady Woodbury

brought by. Found them all on her last

trip to Sussex. She's very kindly agreed to

let us study them for a few days."

 
I shall look forward to seeing them,"

Victoria said, not without genuine enthusiasm.

An interesting collection of insects was

almost as intriguing as a new exotic

plant from China or America.
 
But now,

I really must be off to bed."

 
Good night, dear. Mustn't exhaust

yourself, you know. Perhaps you've been

going it a bit strong lately. Just as well

you're in before dawn for once."

 
Yes. Perhaps it is." Victoria let herself

out of the darkened library, blinking a

few times in the glare of the brightly lit

hall before she started up the red-carpeted

stairs. As she reached the landing, her

gathering sense of excitement was almost

overpowering.

 
You may go, Nan," she informed her

young maid as she entered her airy, yellow,

gold, and white bedroom.

 
But your lovely gown, ma'am. You'll

need help getting it off."

Victoria smiled in resignation, knowing

she would only create questions where

 
there were none if she refused assistance.

But she dismissed the abigail as soon as

possible and then turned back to the

depths of her wardrobe.

From beneath a pile of shawls she pulled

a pair of men's breeches and from under a

stack of blankets she removed some boots.

She found the jacket where she had stored

it inside her large, wooden chest and set

to work.

Within
   
a
   
short
  
while
  
Victoria
  
was

standing in front of her dressing glass

examining her appearance with a critical

eye. She had been quietly gathering the

masculine clothing for weeks, and this was

the first time she had tried on the entire

outfit.

The breeches fit a bit too snugly, tending

to outline the flare of her hips and the

feminine shape of her calves, but there

was no help for it. With any luck the

tails of her dark blue coat and the night

itself would hide the most obvious hints of

femininity. At least her breasts, being rather

on the small side, were easily concealed

beneath the finely pleated shirt and yellow

waistcoat.

When Victoria set the beaver hat at

a rakish angle on her short hair, she

was pleased with the overall effect. She

was certain that, at least at night, she

could safely pass as a young dandy. After

all, people saw only what they expected

to see.

Anticipation welled up deep inside her

and she realized she wasn't as excited about

the fortheoming expedition to the fair as

she was anxious about seeing stone vale