Ben and I exchanged glances, and we both looked to Amir as Lady POW stomped away.
“What’s her problem?” Ben asked. From the expression on his face, I could tell he was as concerned for Tulia as I was.
“You must forgive Madame,” Amir said. “She has been somewhat disconcerted by the fact you both have managed to be hidden from her for so long. Your mother’s companion would have known about you, so Lady Penelope is distraught over her deception. Now we have this concern to look into as well.”
“Everyone lies, and everyone has secrets,” I said.
“It is wonderful to hear you are taking our lessons seriously, Eleanora.” Lady Penelope made her way over to us once more. She appeared much more calm, even if her tone was bitter.
“But just as there are secrets and lies, there are those who will strive to find the truth. I will summon Tulia in the morning,” she said.
“Are you going to punish her somehow?” I asked, more curious than worried in that moment. Tulia was tough. She would not submit to Lady POW without a fight.
Lady POW smirked. “Somehow,” she replied. “But for now, you need to make another round of appearances, Eleanora. There is still plenty of time to drop in on one or two balls tonight.”
“But we’ll be out until dawn.”
“That is the point of Society.”
“Can’t we just go and see Tulia ourselves?” I asked. “If we can figure out who murdered Dr. Artha and now Father Novak, and the others as well, we might be able stop them.”
“It is not just about stopping the murders,” Lady Penelope said. “This is a matter of kingdom security. If these same people poisoned your father, whoever they are, there is a long-awaited coup d’état underway. Taking down one man is not enough. This is a coordinated effort against the Empire.”
“Ideologues do not usually murder people,” Amir said.
“But their adherents might,” Ben said. “Just look at the Revolution of 1848. The protestors were willing to kill King Ferdinand. He abdicated rather than face their wrath, and my father was poisoned by someone who would undo his work.”
“I thought you hated Otec,” I said.
Ben glared at me. “I hated him, but I would not allow the little good he did in his life be disregarded, especially by someone who thinks killing politicians and priests is some kind of worthy game, like four-dimensional chess.”
“That’s enough for now,” Lady Penelope said. “We must return to the social scene, Eleanora. I will discuss things with Tulia tomorrow.”
“Good,” I said. “I want to hear what she has to say myself.”
“You will be busy.” Lady Penelope brushed me aside with the wave of her hand. “I will take care of it.”
“What do I possibly have to do that is more important than talking with Tulia?”
“You’ll have plenty to do,” Lady Penelope insisted. “You’ll see.”
*13*
◊
Much to my chagrin, Lady POW was right; I was busy the next day. But it was not until later I realized that being busy did not mean I would be doing something important.
By the time Ben came to my room with the lunch tray, I was desperate for relief from my assigned task.
“Oh, thank God you are here,” I said, as Ben sat down and I reached for a new cup of tea.
“Are you talking about me, or the tea?” Ben asked,
“Give me a few moments and I’ll let you know.” I saw him smile before he sat down and relaxed into a chair. For the next several moments, the two of us indulged in our grand lunches, allowing me to reconsider the annoyance I felt at Lady POW.
Even if I was not good enough to be trusted to help more in her assignments, I was grateful for what I did have; I had good food and I was free to read anything I wished, and Ben and I still had the comfort of each other’s company.
He sat with me, sighing happily as he poured more tea for himself. “Sundays are the best. No training today.”
“Not for you.” I wrinkled my nose. “Lady Penelope accompanied me to church today, and it was a miracle God did not strike me naked for all the attention I was stealing away from him.”
“I’m sure if he did that, he would have lost a lot more attention.”
I laughed. “True. I’d be crowned a saint on the spot.”
“Or condemned as a witch, since you would have been showing your unholy flesh in church. The Pope would have had a fit of apoplexy reading that letter from the bishop.”
“That is also true.”
“So that was Lady POW’s big assignment for you?” Ben asked. “Going to church today?”
“No. These are.” I gestured toward my desk and the area surrounding it. Several arrangements of flowers, including a large bouquet of roses from Karl, cluttered the desktop and mixed with various calling cards and other notes from admirers. “I have to send thank you missives to everyone who sent one. And I can’t just say something vague or polite. I have to be specific and elusive. She says that will increase my popularity.”
“And help with her cover.”
I huffed indignantly. “Our cover, you mean.”
“So you’ve just been writing letters all morning?” Ben arched his brow. “Why didn’t you just go and see if Betsy and Mavis would be able to help you?”
Irritation and inspiration struck me at the same time. “That would have been a good idea. It would have given them a chance to practice their Czech. I wonder if Lady POW would let them come over here? Or would Cecilia’s wrath be too great?”
“I guess I don’t know if it would actually work,” Ben said with a shrug. “They are Cecilia’s servants, after all. Lady POW has no claim on them.”
“I hope they are doing well.” I thought of Betsy’s frailty and Mavis’ hesitancy. “Alex will be a handful for them if he is not watched carefully.”
“Amir told me Alex and Priscilla are both under watch from Lady POW, in addition to Cecilia herself.”
“That’s a wise move.”
Ben nodded. “I suppose it is better she is wise. If she’s dangerous, I mean.”
I agreed with him, and I would have cheerfully commiserated over that topic until nightfall. But there was something I wanted from Ben, and I finally had the chance for the perfect opening. “Speaking of dangerous, Ben ... I have a favor to ask.”
“Why do I get the feeling that this is something you’d rather not discuss with Lady POW?”
“Because you know me so well, obviously.”
Ben crossed his arms. “Well, now I know I should be worried. What do you want, Nora?”
I bit my lip, before forcing myself to follow through. “I wanted to see if you could meet me in the city tomorrow night and take me somewhere.”
“Without Lady POW?”
I nodded. “Yes. Lady POW told me Count Potocki is throwing a ball at Queen Anne’s Royal Summerhouse tomorrow night. It is supposed to be packed with the aristocrats and nobles. I’m sure I can slip away before she realizes it.”
“I don’t know about this. You really don’t have a lot of practice at reconnaissance, Nora,” Ben said. “Maybe you should practice some this week and try some other day.”
“What about all those years dodging work from Cecilia and bullying from Alex?” I objected. “I know how to sneak around.”
“That’s not quite the same thing.”
“But I don’t want to wait,” I said. Ferdy told me the Cabal held its meetings on Monday and Thursday, and I wanted to go and see him again sooner. The thought of waiting was worse than even the thought of Lady POW’s wrath. “Come on, Ben, help me. Please.”
“Why do you want to go so badly?”
Quickly, I turned my gaze away from Ben. “It is ... mostly for a private reason.”
It was true, even if it was a reason I did not even fully understand. I liked Ferdy. I envied him, even. He was free to be himself and do what he liked, and I was touched and even excited that he wanted to spend time with me. And despite all
his joking and his lying, I could tell he was a good man. He was poor and homeless maybe, but he was someone who could understand me in ways that no one, especially men like Karl Marcelin, ever could.
“Now I know this is not a good idea,” Ben said. “How can a reason be ‘mostly private,’ Nora?”
“Well ... ” My fingers curled into fists, tightening around my skirt. “You remember that boy who helped me sell Táta’s book?”
“Now I especially don’t like where this is going.” Ben shifted forward in his seat.
Despite his vacillation, I told Ben about Ferdy—specifically, about how he worked with Mr. Clavan and the newspaper, and how he had been investigating Dr. Artha’s murder when we first met.
I did not mention how I felt about Ferdy, or about how he felt about me.
Ben was quiet as I told him about Clavan and the Cabal, and Ferdy’s other friends. When I mentioned their meetings on Mondays and Thursdays could possibly help us, giving us clues as to who was behind the recent string of murders in Prague, Ben finally interrupted me.
“So this is for the mission?” he asked. “How is that a private reason, Nora?”
“Just think about it.” I ignored his question. Misdirection could work in my favor, just as it could for others. “We could find more information on our own, and Lady POW would see that we were serious about being part of the Order.”
“When you put it that way, it sounds like you want to prove her wrong.”
“Can you blame me?” I asked. “Harshad has yet to teach me anything. And as much as you like Amir, I don’t want to go begging him for anything.”
“I don’t think you would have to beg him,” Ben said, his voice hardened and sad at the same time.
“Either way, I’d rather ignore him. Besides,” I said, nodding toward the wardrobe, which was overflowing with dresses and hats and accessories of all sorts. I reached under a nearby pillow and pulled out the gentleman’s clothes Lady POW had given to me in the carriage the night before. “I’d much rather get another chance to go around the city wearing these instead.”
“I can’t fault you for that,” Ben said with a small chuckle. “Some of those contraptions look like a nightmare. I’m glad I don’t have to worry about such matters.”
“Another reason you’d rather not get married?” I teased, hoping the small amount of levity would further distract him from asking about my feelings for Ferdy.
Ben snorted. When he said nothing else, I decided to risk his wrath with my prodding. “Don’t you want a wife of your own, now that Lady POW can provide an inheritance for you?”
“Please, Nora. No woman would want me,” Ben said. “I am not fit to provide for her. As much as I hate to say it, Cecilia was right—”
“No! Never say that! She is wrong on every account when it comes to you.”
“Be fair, Nora. You and I know the truth. A beautiful woman would never look my way, except out of pity or amusement.”
“That’s not true,” I insisted. “You deserve someone to love you. You watch, the most beautiful woman in the world will find you and beg you to marry her. I will pray for just that to happen. If for no other reason than to make you recant your awful words.” I wrinkled my nose. “Imagine, Cecilia being right. Ha!”
“Well, if you believe that God will hear your prayers,” Ben said, “I’d rather not have a beautiful wife.”
“Why not?”
“Beauty fades and often hides the hollowness behind it. Give me a wife who is unique. As the years go by and the beautiful fade into the background, my wife will only grow more vibrant.”
I stuck my tongue out at him. “You’d better hope she isn’t mad then.”
“I’ve had plenty of experience with that, between our stepmother and Prissy and Alex.”
“True enough,” I agreed. In that moment, it was hard not to wonder if my father had lived—if he had not been poisoned—how he and Cecilia would have gotten along.
Would things still be this bad? Would I still be this desperate for my own independence, my own freedom?
I could never know the answer to that. But I was grateful, despite all her thoughtless comments and insistent prodding, that Lady POW had come into our lives. Even if Táta had lived, I would have wanted something more of Máma.
As Ben shifted his leg restlessly, I shrugged. “I’m glad we haven’t had to worry much about marriage until now.”
“But you are, indeed, thinking about it now?” Ben asked.
It crushed me to see the somber look on his face, and even more when I realized I was blushing. “Not really, Ben, but Lady POW has mentioned it as a ploy enough to make me worried.”
“It’s fine, you know, if you want to get married, Nora,” Ben said. “I’m glad that you are thinking about it, at least. I don’t want you to end up alone and hating me for it.”
“I won’t end up alone if you are with me. And if I do end up hating you, it will be for other reasons. You have my word on that, brácha.”
“You won’t hate me if I decline to participate in your desired venture, will you?”
I gave Ben a rueful smirk. I had to admit, he was good at catching me at my own game. He had distracted me enough that I did not see his counterargument coming. “I never thought you would decline, so we will have to see. Would you risk that fate?”
“I’ve never been much of a gambler.” Ben sighed. “So it appears to be in my better interest to take you. If for no other reason than if I do not accompany you, I have a feeling you would try to do it yourself.”
“Yes!” I bounced over and gave him a hug. “Thank you.”
“But when we get there, I want to meet your new friends,” Ben warned. “Especially the one you’re pining for.”
Before I could vehemently deny that, there was a knock at the door. We both turned and watched as Amir appeared.
I groaned to myself. His mustache twitched, and I had to wonder how much of our conversation he might have heard.
Amir looked much the same as he had when I first saw him, with a formal shirt and pressed pants. His shoes gleamed, and the dagger at his side was tucked behind the folds of his coat. “Ben. Mademoiselle,” he said, greeting each of us with a polite nod.
I gave a cool, polite curtsey. “Mr. Qureshi.”
He caught my tone and straightened. “Lady Penelope has requested mademoiselle’s presence in the west parlor. She sent me to find you.”
“Why?” I asked.
“She said after the Hohenwart Ball, she needs you to practice the waltz.”
I did not know why, but the way Amir said it made me feel even more foolish. I had been hoping Harshad was ready to teach me, or that I would begin to learn more about surveillance or reconnaissance.
No, instead I would be dancing. Dancing, when murders were happening all over the city and Bohemia’s political situation grew more precarious.
“No,” I grumbled, “I meant, why did she send you?”
Amir’s patience never faltered, even as Ben gave me a blunt kick in the shin.
“Because it was efficient, no doubt,” Amir replied. “But one does not question Lady Penelope’s decisions too often, of course.”
His response was perfectly polite. But I was certain he knew of my reluctance to follow orders without asking questions. If he really was Lady POW’s trusted confidant, there was no telling how many hours she had complained about me to him.
Ben nudged me with his leg, this time more gently. “Go, Nora,” he said, with a teasing smirk. “We’ll talk later. I have some relaxation to tend to.”
I nearly whimpered at Ben’s good fortune, but I settled for pouting as Amir escorted me to the west parlor. I gave my brother one last angry look, and then I brushed past Amir.
Leaving the room when I was with Ben was already hard enough, but I was appalled when Amir followed me. He caught up to me quickly, his long steps shortening into an easy rhythm as we headed for the library. He started to offer me his arm but backed down when I
glared at him.
A few moments passed in silence, save for our footsteps, before Amir spoke. “I have heard Lady Penelope is pleased with your performance so far,” Amir said, as we walked through the hallways of the castle.
“So far? Does that mean you think I’ll fail at some point?”
Amir pursed his lips. “No,” he said. “Although it is a possibility, and one that should be considered in its proper context.”
“How about we consider the context of other things?” I purposefully provoked him. “Such as when you attacked me and stole my father’s book?”
Finally, I saw a quick flash of emotion on his face. He said nothing and silently turned away from me.
“Lady Penelope is waiting for you, mademoiselle. We do not have the proper time to spend on such ... an enlightening tale.”
“Well, when are you going to tell me about that day? Are you going to go back on your promise?” I asked, as a cloud of thick tension increasingly surrounded us. “Or are you hoping I will just forget about it entirely?”
“We have other things to concern ourselves with, mademoiselle.”
“Such as?”
“Miss Tulia has refused to answer Lady Penelope’s summons. She is not in good humor today,” Amir said quietly, and I had to wonder if he thought he was being slightly treasonous in saying so.
“Tulia’s smart enough to know not to come here if Lady POW is upset at her.”
Amir cleared his throat, as if he was holding back a laugh. “Lady POW? Oh. I see Ben’s endearing nickname for Lady Penelope is catching.”
“It is an appropriate one,” I argued. “And it is much easier to say her name that way. I don’t care if she hates it.”
“I don’t know if she does. She’s never said anything about it to me. But it would not surprise me to find out she enjoys it. She has a fondness for pet names.”
“I still wish she would stop calling me Eleanor.” I wrinkled my nose in irritation.
Amir went quiet. I saw he was staring straight ahead with a faraway look in his eyes. His expression seemed to suggest he was suddenly no longer there.
Kingdom of Ash and Soot Page 17
