So the papers were here. Arianna eased the pistol out from her waistband.
"Perhaps I should simply use my stiletto," said Canaday in a low voice. "That Miss Kirtland rides in the park with Lady Saybrook must mean she is somehow involved in forcing our hand."
"She can"t hurt us now," mused Lady Urania. "However, you have a point. Like Icarus, she ought to suffer the consequences for trying to soar too close to the Sun."
"And the heavenly planets, my dear sister, the muse of the starry skies."
Good G.o.d, the two of them were sounding more and more unhinged.
"Your glow is all the brighter for being set against the midnight-black sky." His voice dropped to a dreamy whisper as he quickly recited some lines of poetry.
Descend from Heav"n Urania, by that name If rightly thou art call"d, whose Voice divine . . .
"Paradise Lost-Milton"s epic is an apt choice, as we find ourselves forced to leave our home by inferior beings," replied Lady Urania when her brother was done. "But this time, we shall be a grand part of helping n.o.ble Lucifer triumph in his rebellion against the Powers That Be."
One bullet, two villains. Arianna eased the hammer of her pistol to full c.o.c.k. But how many servants loyal to their nefarious scheme?
She had only an instant to make a decision.
"Go ahead," said Lady Urania. "But be quick about it."
Kicking the door open, Arianna took dead aim at Canaday"s chest. "Not so fast."
21.
From Lady Arianna"s Chocolate Notebooks Sparkling GingerChocolate Chip Cookies 1/2 cup turbinado sugar 6 ounces bittersweet chocolate 2 cups whole wheat or regular pastry flour 1 teaspoon baking soda 41/2 teaspoons ground ginger 1/2 teaspoon fine-grain sea salt 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted b.u.t.ter 1/4 cup unsulfured mola.s.ses 2/3 cup fine-grain natural cane sugar, sifted 11/2 tablespoons grated fresh ginger, peeled 1 large egg, well beaten 1. Preheat the oven to 350F with racks in the top and bottom third of the oven. Line a couple of baking sheets with unbleached parchment paper and place the turbinado sugar in a small bowl. Set aside.
2. Finely chop the chocolate into 1/8-inch pieces.
3. In a large bowl whisk together the flour, baking soda, ground ginger, and salt.
4. Heat the b.u.t.ter in a saucepan until it is just barely melted. Remove from the heat and stir in the mola.s.ses, sugar, and fresh ginger. The mixture should be warm but not hot at this point. If it is hot to the touch, let it cool a bit. Whisk in the egg. Pour over the flour mixture, and stir until just combined. Fold in the chocolate.
5. Form the cookie dough into small b.a.l.l.s (the size depends on how large you like your cookies!). For each one, add a sprinkling of the turbinado sugar you set aside earlier to your hand and roll each ball between your palms to heavily coat the outside of each dough ball. Place the cookies a few inches apart on the prepared baking sheets. Bake for 7 to 10 minutes, or until the cookies puff up, darken a bit, and get quite fragrant.
The viscount fell back a half step in surprise but quickly composed himself with a rumbled laugh. "A dashing disguise, a gleaming pistol-dear me, it appears that you have been reading too many horrid novels in the solitude of your fancy town house, Lady Saybrook."
Arianna smiled grimly in return. "I"m glad you find me amusing, sir. It will likely be your last laugh for quite some time."
Lady Urania stood as still as a statue, her face pale, devoid of expression. Like cold marble.
"Is it?" he jeered. "You have only one puny bullet and there are two of us. Apparently you aren"t very good at mathematics."
"I can add up the fact that a shot through your heart leaves me to go mano a mano with your sister. So, given her frail form, I"m willing to wager that the numbers favor me," she replied. "Lady Urania, you will be so good as to tell me where those papers are, else your brother is a dead man."
"She"s bluffing," said Canaday calmly. "Even if she has the nerve to pull the trigger, the shot will likely sail far wide of the mark."
"I"m quite experienced in handling both pistols and knives, as the unfortunate Lord Reginald would tell you. That is, were he still alive."
His face darkened, whether in anger or uncertainty was hard to tell.
Arianna adjusted her aim just a hair. "I won"t ask again, Lady Urania."
"They are in the cabinet to your left," said Canaday"s sister.
"I already looked in there," she countered. "It contains naught but books and vials of chemicals.
"Oh come, you don"t think I would be stupid enough to leave them lying in plain sight," said Lady Urania. "They are hidden in a false book at the back of the bottom shelf."
"Step away from your sister, Lord Canaday." A curt gesture indicated a spot out of arm"s reach of the desk and any implement that might serve as a weapon. "Call in Miss Kirtland, Lady Urania. And do it nicely, without raising any alarm. I am easily spooked when I"m nervous. You wouldn"t want my finger to twitch on the trigger and extinguish Prometheus"s flame."
"Oh, aren"t you the clever one," murmured Canaday while his sister shot her a venomous look.
Nonetheless, Lady Urania performed the request exactly as ordered.
"Now move clear of the door, if you please." Arianna was careful to ch.o.r.eograph every little movement. She did not underestimate their cunning or their quickness.
A moment later, Sophia stepped cautiously into the room, a dainty little cake fork grasped in her hand. "Oh, thank G.o.d. I feared things had gone awry."
"No." Arianna curled a quick grimace. "A good thing, seeing as that is not good for attacking anything other than spun sugar."
"I thought it a better choice than the b.u.t.ter knife," replied Sophia.
"Indeed. Now, please circle behind Lord Canaday and come stand by me. His sister is about to retrieve a cache of doc.u.ments from its hiding place and hand it over to us."
Lady Urania had not yet moved a muscle.
"What made you, two scions of pampered privilege, betray your homeland?" demanded Sophia.
Arianna bit back a cynical comment. She had long ago given up asking villains to justify their actions, for the self-serving answers were usually as worthless as horse dung. However, given the complex cleverness of the pair"s conniving, it might be possible to learn some practical information about how they gathered state secrets, if they could be goaded into a response.
"Oh, don"t bother asking, Sophia. In my experience, it"s not n.o.ble idealism but filthy greed that motivates most traitors." She shot the twins a contemptuous look. "How much are you being paid to sell out your country?"
"Our country?" The viscount"s voice quivered with emotion. "Britain be d.a.m.ned! My father hated the sn.o.bbery and arrogant self-importance of the English aristocracy. He renounced his family during his first year at Oxford and moved to Paris, where he embraced the radical republican ideals of France. As Citoyen Mortley, he joined the common people in rejoicing when they sent their king and queen to the guillotine."
"Keep your hands by your side, sir," warned Arianna. The pistol maintained its unwavering aim. "So, I take it your mother was French?"
Glowering, Canaday clenched and unclenched his fists.
It was his sister who answered. "Yes. The revolution empowered intelligent women. My mother served with Robespierre in creating a new France, a better France. One based on merit and equality-"
"One bathed in blood," said Arianna.
Lady Urania shrugged. "Change requires sacrifice."
"It"s easy to sound so cavalier," snapped Sophia, "when the head that is rolling is not yours."
The pale eyes remained opaque, emotionless. "You think I speak lightly of death and suffering?" Lady Urania glanced at her brother. "Theus and I were made orphans by my priggish uncle, who could not bear to think of his family tree blighted by a republican. He hired an English adventurer who was spiriting French aristos out of the country to kidnap my ailing father and us." The words were coming out as a monotone drawl-she might have been reciting a shopping list for the butcher and greengrocer. "My mother tried to stop the men who broke into her home. They shot her dead."
A muscle jumped on Canaday"s jaw. He started to reach for his sister, but Arianna"s order stopped him short.
"Don"t move, sir."
"It was all for our own good," went on Lady Urania, ignoring the brief interruption. "Or so our aunt a.s.sured us when she revealed the full the secret of our background on our sixteenth birthday. She expected grat.i.tude, I suppose."
"What she got was a draught of hydrogen cyanide," said Canaday with a chilling smile. "We both were already very skilled in chemistry. Our so-called father followed her to the grave soon after."
The foul odor from the cabinet was beginning to make Arianna"s stomach queasy. "A sad tale, but it"s no excuse for your actions. Because of you, many innocent people have already died." She flicked an impatient gesture at Lady Urania. "Get the papers."
A flutter of pale blue silk stirred, its soft hue looking deceptively innocent against the dark-grained wood.
At the same instant, Canaday slid a hand toward his boot.
"Stop!" cried Arianna.
Both of the twins froze.
"Unknot your neckcloth, sir and toss it over here." Her eyes had strayed for only a fraction of a second. "Now turn around and put your hands behind your back."
To Sophia she said, "Take the linen and bind his hands. Tightly and double the knots." Once the viscount was well and truly trussed, she would have Sophia search for the hidden knife. "Have a care that you stay to the side-"
Too late.
Sophia, in her haste to help, had moved directly into the line of fire. Sensing her position, Canaday reacted with a serpent"s slithering quickness. Spinning around, he whipped out his weapon with one hand while the other snaked out to catch Sophia and pull her close to shield his own body.
"Run, Rainnie."
A wild blur of movements, a sudden shattering of gla.s.s as liquid, hot and stinging, splashed against her cheek. Steeling her focus, Arianna drew a steadying breath and calmly pulled the trigger.
Canaday let out a bellow of pain as he fell back. Seeing that Sophia had scrambled out of reach, he clasped his bloodied hand to his breast and darted out into the corridor.
The door slammed shut, the snick of the key turning in the lock punctuating his m.u.f.fled shout.
"Froissart! Grimmaud!"
"That answers my earlier question about whether the servants are in league with their masters." Tossing aside the spent pistol, Arianna hurried to the ma.s.sive oak desk. "Quick, help me push this to block the entrance."
Between the two of them, they managed to maneuver the weighty piece of furniture into place. "That will hold them, but only for a bit." Arianna wedged in a few chairs and shoved the cabinet to reinforce the barricade. "Here, cut off your skirts at the knees." Taking the book knife from the blotter, she tossed it over to Sophia. "We"ll have to climb down from the window-"
"Wait!" Sophia grabbed for a vase of flowers.
"For G.o.d"s sake, we haven"t time to smell the roses," shouted Arianna.
Tossing the blooms on the carpet, Sophia splashed the water over Arianna"s face.
"Wh-what the Devil-" she sputtered.
"Acid-sulfuric by the smell," answered Sophia. "Lean back and let me rinse it off. It"s a diluted mixture, but it can burn your flesh badly. You"re lucky. If it had struck a scant inch higher, you would be blind in one eye."
Arianna huffed a grunt as the pounding of boot heels clattered on the stairs. Fending off further ministrations, she said, "Let us try to ensure that our luck holds. The window, without delay."
"Wh-what about the papers?" ventured Sophia.
"A ruse, seeing as she fled without taking anything from the cabinet," answered Arianna, throwing open the cas.e.m.e.nt. "I suspected as much, but I thought it worth the chance."
"Sorry," muttered Sophia.
"We all make mistakes. The key is to live and learn," she replied, inching out onto the ledge. "Give me your hand."
"Not necessary," said Sophia. "I spent my youth climbing in and out of my bedchamber windows so I could accompany my older cousins on their nocturnal escapades."
"Excellent." Heavy thuds were hammering against the door. "I suggest you put such skills into action."
Splinters flew up as one of the panels split with an ominous crack.
"Now!"
Hands sc.r.a.ping over the chiseled stone, Arianna scrambled down the carved facade. "Follow me," she called, hitting the ground and setting off at a run. She doubted that Canaday would risk attracting attention by firing a shot. Still, she kept low and wove a path in and out of the holly bushes, ignoring the jagged slap and tear of the sharp leaves at her clothing.
The tripping steps and ragged gasps told her that Sophia was keeping pace.
Banging a shoulder into the back gate, she popped it open.
"This way," called Arianna as the gate yielded to a hard shove. Cutting through the winding alleyways, she led them to the side street where their carriage stood waiting.
"To Horse Guards?" wheezed Sophia, fighting to catch her breath as she tumbled into the cab.
Slamming the door shut, Arianna rapped on the roof for the coachman to spring the horses. A moment of mental calculation led her to discard the idea. "By the time we talk our way into the minister"s inner sanctum and convince Grentham that we shouldn"t be whisked away to Bedlam, it will be too late."
"B-but we can"t hope to discover which way they have fled. From the drawing room window I saw Canaday"s curricle waiting right outside the town house. By now, they could be headed anywhere."
"No need to give chase." She patted at her coat to make sure the piece of paper was still safely tucked in her pocket. "I know exactly what route they are taking. And how."
As the carriage careened around a corner and raced along the Strand, Arianna thumped another signal-this one to halt. Taking pencil and paper from one of the side compartments, she scribbled a note and then called out the window to one of the street urchins sweeping horse droppings from the crossing.
"Can you carry this to Horse Guards without delay?" She held up a shilling.
"Oiy." The lad held out a grubby hand.
"Don"t let the guards stop you. There will be a gold guinea for you if you get it into Lord Grentham"s hands without delay." She saw his eyes widen to the size of tea saucers. "Tell him it"s from the Countess of Saybrook."