“An earl?”
“Yes! He’s one of the baron’s friends, and he was the one who asked to meet with me. Of course, there are details to be worked out, but this is proof that it’s not just the dream of some crazy kids. If we do form a congress, I want to make sure everyone’s represented. I wonder if there’s anyone among the Mechanics who might be statesman material. Are they all students?”
“I don’t really know. I’ll have to ask next time I see them.”
“Of course, that’s if they’re willing to throw in with us. They might still be leery of us and of any enterprise with an earl in charge.” For a moment, his grin faded, but it was soon back again. “We did it, Verity! That article did exactly what we hoped it would. Now we can start taking definite steps. This may really happen!”
“So it was worth that hole in your shoulder?”
“What’s a revolution without a little bloodshed?”
Only then did he appear to realize how closely he was still holding me, pressed against the door frame. He stepped away, sliding his hands off my waist, but he caught my left hand and held it a moment longer. Our eyes met, and he opened his mouth as though to say something, paused, shook his head slightly, and said, “I should let you get back to work.”
“Yes, I should go check on the children.” I moved to go, but he hadn’t released my hand. I glanced down at it, then up at him.
“Oh, yes, right. Sorry.” He blushed and let go, taking a step away.
I forced myself not to look back at him as I headed toward the stairs, but I could hear him whistling softly. I knew I had to be grinning like an idiot, but as there was no one to see me, I made no effort to school my features.
I was halfway down the stairs when the doorbell rang. Mr. Chastain opened the door and several police officers came rushing through the doorway.
“May I help you gentlemen?” Mr. Chastain boomed in his deep voice.
“We’re here for Lord Henry Lyndon,” one of the policemen said. “Where is he?”
Chapter Eighteen
In Which
I Must Carry On
Ever the consummate butler, Mr. Chastain said, “If you gentlemen would care to wait in the parlor, I will announce you.”
They paid him no mind. Two of them rushed up the stairs, while the other two stood at the front door. I stood frozen to the spot on the stairs, even as they ran past me. I couldn’t have moved if my life had depended on it. Not that I had anywhere to go. I couldn’t escape past the men at the door, and I had no chance of warning Henry. One of the policemen at the door looked right at me. Our eyes met, and I thought his expression softened in something like sympathy, but if he felt sorry for me because I was about to be arrested, he made no move to take me into custody.
“Are you looking for me?” a surprisingly calm voice said from above me, and I turned to see Henry standing on the upper landing. The policemen ran toward him.
By this time, everyone else in the household had come to see what all the commotion was about. Mrs. Talbot and several of the servants came into the hallway on the lower floor, and the children appeared from the upstairs parlor.
One of the policemen grabbed Henry by the arm. It was his injured one, and he gasped in pain as his arm was jerked backwards. “Lord Henry Lyndon, you are under arrest for conspiracy to commit treason,” the policeman said. The other officer shackled Henry’s hands behind his back. Henry remained surprisingly calm, but I could see the fear on his face. He looked so young and vulnerable.
“No! You can’t take my uncle!” Olive screamed. She rushed toward him as they hustled him down the stairs, but Rollo caught her and held her back, even as she flailed at him with her little fists and tried to kick his shins to make him release her.
Henry met my eye as he passed me. I wanted to reach out to him, but I restrained myself. I felt so helpless when all I could do was watch him be taken out through the front door.
As soon as the door slammed shut, the household burst into chaos. Olive broke free of Rollo and ran to me. I rushed to meet her and caught her in my arms. “Miss Newton, what are they doing to Uncle?” she sobbed against me.
“I don’t know, darling,” I said, patting her back.
“I wonder what Uncle Henry did,” Rollo said as he came toward us.
“It probably has something to do with his school friends,” Flora said, also coming toward Olive and me. “He ran with a radical set. Someone must have said the wrong thing to the wrong person.”
Rollo reached us and caught both Olive and me in a hug. He gave the appearance of trying to comfort us, but I got the impression from the way he clung to me that he was seeking comfort, himself. “What can we do?” he asked plaintively. “We should help him. And what will become of us?”
Those were very good questions, and I didn’t have the answers at the moment. My first instinct was to run to my rebel friends to tell them and ask for help, but the more I thought about it, the more I knew that would be the wrong course of action. Getting in contact with known rebels at this time would only draw the wrong kind of attention, and it was likely that they would know soon, anyhow. That was what my network of informants was all about. We had scullery maids and laundresses in the barracks and prison, clerks at the police stations. One of these invisible people would surely learn about Henry’s plight and alert the rebels.
Mrs. Talbot was the first to come up with a concrete action. “Mr. Chastain, you should contact Lord Henry’s attorney,” she said.
“Yes, very good idea,” he replied, and he headed down to his office.
That gave me an idea. “Flora, perhaps you should send a message to your grandfather. If anyone can help Lord Henry, he can.” That was, if it hadn’t been the governor who’d had him arrested in the first place.
“I will do so right away.” She flounced off, her shoulders squared and her head held high.
I thought for a moment about suggesting that Flora pay calls on her friends so I could check on Henry’s group, but I realized that paying social calls at a time like this would look decidedly odd. That meant that all I could do was wait and do my job of looking after the children. They’d had a terrible shock, and at the moment they needed a governess more than anyone needed a revolutionary.
Echoing my thoughts, Mrs. Talbot said, “I think we could all do with a cup of tea right now. I’ll have some brought up to the parlor.”
“Thank you,” I said. I managed to herd Olive, who still clung to me, and Rollo into the family parlor. Shock seemed to have settled in on Rollo. He was stunned silent, none of his usual spirit in evidence. Olive wasn’t sobbing quite so hard anymore, but she refused to let go of me. I had a feeling I’d be sleeping in her room that night—that was, if the governor didn’t send for the children right away. He’d always wanted guardianship of them, and I doubted Henry would get them back, regardless of how this came out.
“He isn’t in serious trouble, is he?” Rollo asked at last.
I couldn’t answer that honestly and sound at all reassuring. The problem was that Henry was guilty of so very many things. “I don’t know what the charges are or what evidence they have against him,” I said, which was true enough. Which treasonous act had led to his arrest?
Flora swept into the room. “I sent a message to Grandfather, and I waited for a reply, but I got none. He may not be at his office.” She sank onto a chair. “It’s an outrage when someone from such a high-ranking family can be hauled out of his home, just like that. Did they even have a warrant? Henry should have asked for specifics of the charges rather than going meekly along with them.”
I turned to stare at her. “My, you have been doing your reading.”
“Of course I have. The fact that I don’t like talking about boring things doesn’t mean I don’t know anything.”
One of the footmen entered with a tea tray, Mrs. Talbot in his wake. “Mr. Chastain has reached Lord Henry’s attorney, and he’s looking into the situation,” she reported. “I think in the mea
ntime we should go about business as usual, as though Lord Henry is merely away on a trip. I’m sure arrangements for the guardianship of the children will be made, and we can adjust accordingly once we have those details. For tonight, we’ll serve dinner at the usual time.”
The sweet tea and cakes were wonderfully restorative. I was still shaken and afraid, but I was developing a mental plan. I knew I needed to stay at home the rest of the evening, but I could attempt to make contact with some members of my network the next day and see if anyone knew where Henry was.
It was encouraging that the police hadn’t even tried to search the house when they arrested Henry. That suggested to me that the arrest didn’t have anything to do with the stolen letter and might just be about Henry’s talk of revolution. That still wasn’t good for Henry, but I thought it would go better for him if all they could convict him of was talk. He was doomed if the authorities knew about the banditry. I might be in danger, as well, if they learned about the letter and how its contents had become public. I took some comfort in the fact that I’d been right there and the policemen had paid me no notice. If they were going to arrest me, surely they’d have done so at that time.
All of us whirled when Mr. Chastain appeared in the doorway. “Miss Newton, there is someone who wishes to speak with you privately,” he said, then hurried to add when he must have noticed the dismay on my face, “It is a friend of Lord Henry’s.”
I put down my teacup and told Olive, “I’ll be back in just a moment.” I knew how dire the situation was for the children when Rollo moved to sit by his little sister so she could cling to him in my absence.
I found Geoffrey waiting in the downstairs parlor. “I’m sorry if I put you in an awkward position by asking to meet with you alone,” he said. “But I didn’t think you’d want to discuss this in front of the children. Someone passing by saw Henry being hauled out of the house by police. What happened?”
“He was arrested for conspiracy to commit treason. I’m assuming they don’t know much if you’re still free.”
“They didn’t get you, either. I wonder what they know, or how they know it. Obviously, there’s a traitor in our midst. Whoever it is, we’ll find him and deal with him.” His eyes were hard and his jaw set.
“I don’t know that it will help. The damage has been done.”
“It will keep the traitor from reporting on more of us. And I’d feel a lot better. Do you have a way to get word to the Mechanics?”
“I’m fairly certain they’ll know soon enough, if they don’t already. They may be the ones giving me information.”
“Can you keep me posted? As well as you’re able. Though I don’t know how you’ll manage that. There’s not a good reason for a governess to send me messages.”
“I may be able to persuade Flora to call on your sister.”
“That might suffice. Otherwise, I believe I’m considered a close enough friend that it wouldn’t seem amiss for me to check on Henry’s family.”
“The rest of you must be careful now until you know who the traitor is.”
I went back upstairs, feeling somewhat better. At least Henry’s magister friends would be sure to get the warning. Just outside the parlor, I noticed a bit of blue on the floor. I bent to find a key on a blue ribbon. Henry must have managed to drop it as he was being hauled away so the symbol would remain a secret. I picked it up and put it in my pocket, vowing to myself that I’d find a way to give it back to him.
I was rather surprised that we hadn’t yet heard from the governor. I would have expected him to rush in to take control of the children as soon as he heard what had happened. He had to have heard by now. Even if he hadn’t been informed through official channels, he would have received Flora’s message. If he hadn’t responded, did that mean he really was behind it? Was he even now interrogating Henry?
The governor finally arrived when we were at dinner. Mr. Chastain ushered him into the dining room and ordered a footman to set another place. “There’s no need,” the governor said brusquely. “I won’t be staying to eat. But I thought I ought to see to the children.”
Olive jumped out of her chair to go greet him. “Oh, Grandfather, please, won’t you help Uncle Henry?”
“I’m afraid I can’t show favoritism. He has to be treated just the same as anyone else.”
Flora surprised me—and probably everyone else present—by giving an unladylike snort. “Come now, Grandfather,” she said. “You can’t pretend that to be the case. People are treated differently based on their rank all the time. I’m sure he’s not being given the same treatment as one of the Rebel Mechanics might be.”
“He is being treated with all fairness, but I can’t use my power to free him. The charges against him are very serious.”
“What did he do?” Rollo asked eagerly.
“That’s nothing to be discussed here. Now, I suppose it would be too much trouble to expect all of you to come to my house tonight, but Miss Newton, perhaps you could supervise the packing tomorrow.”
“Packing for what?” Rollo asked.
“With your guardian in jail, you should come live with me.”
Flora surprised us again. “No, we won’t,” she said firmly. “I think it best for Olive and Rollo that their lives are disrupted as little as possible. They need to be in their own home, with their own belongings, following their usual routine. The staff here can look after us, and Miss Newton can supervise the children. It will be no different than if Henry were away on business.”
“This may not be resolved quickly. Your uncle may never come home.”
“When it is resolved, we can make decisions.”
I thought for a moment that the governor would argue with her, but he nodded and said, “You have a very good point. Miss Newton, I will leave them in your capable hands, but I will check in on the children frequently.”
When he was gone, Olive said, “I don’t want to go live with Grandfather. I want to live here, with Uncle.” Tears trickled down her cheeks.
“We’re not going anywhere,” Flora assured her. “This home belongs to Rollo, and he has every right to stay here. The management of the estate may go to someone else if Henry is convicted, but there’s no reason we should have to move. I won’t go.”
As I’d anticipated, Olive didn’t want to sleep alone that night, so I stayed in her room with her. It was a sleepless night for me. The presence of that letter in my desk drawer seemed to call out, like a telltale heart beating its presence from its hiding place. I also found myself imagining Henry’s plight, in varying degrees of horror. As relieved as I was not to have been arrested, I felt guilty for being free while he suffered when I’d committed nearly as many crimes as he had. Morning came as a great relief, for I no longer had to pretend to be asleep. I could get up and do something.
“Do you think we could visit Uncle in jail?” Olive asked as I helped her dress.
“I don’t know. We’ll have to see if his attorney has any news. I’m not sure Lord Henry would want you in the jail.”
“But I want to see him.”
“I do, too. But a jail isn’t the sort of place little girls or young ladies should visit.”
I tried to go about my normal routine, eating breakfast, getting Rollo to school. The news about Henry hadn’t been in the newspaper, so I noticed no scandalized glances at our appearance there. Olive had no enthusiasm for her schoolwork, and I didn’t push her. Flora joined us at lunch, though none of us were very hungry. We merely pushed food around on our plates. “I believe we could all use a turn in the park,” Flora said as the plates were cleared. “It’s a pleasant enough day, if we dress warmly.”
I wanted to ask who this imposter was who was impersonating Lady Flora, but I’d always known that she was merely playing at being a brainless flibbertigibbet. That was why her uncle despaired of her. She was capable of being so much more than she allowed herself to be. Now she was rising to the occasion.
We put on coats, hats, and gloves
and set out into the park. It was a crisp, cold day, and the wind was relatively gentle. Olive clung desperately to my hand, like she was afraid someone would take her away from me. Flora appeared to be on high alert, and I wondered if she was wary of the authorities or possibly hoping to encounter Colin. She hadn’t said anything about him since we’d returned from our trip, but I didn’t know if that meant she’d given up or if she was strategizing and hoping to lower my guard. All three of us flinched when we passed a policeman, but he merely nodded in passing.
A voice called out, “Why, it’s Miss Newton!” and I turned to see a man and a woman sitting on a nearby bench. It was Lizzie and Colin, but their clothing was much more respectable than their usual Mechanics attire. No one would have thought twice about their presence in this part of town. Colin smiled at the sight of Flora, but his eyes were more serious than I’d ever seen them, and Lizzie’s face was unusually grave. I got the distinct impression that they knew what had happened and had come looking for me.
Colin rose from the bench, doffed his hat, and bowed. “Lady Flora, Miss Newton. And who is this delightful young lady?”
“This is my sister, Lady Olive,” Flora said. Seeing Colin must have done her a world of good, for the color had returned to her cheeks, and she had a sparkle in her eye. “Olive, this is Mr. Flynn. He’s a friend of Miss Newton’s.”
“And of yours, I would hope,” he said. “May I present my sister, Lizzie?” Lizzie gave a slight curtsy.
Colin gestured to his left. “We just passed a cart selling roasted nuts that smelled absolutely delightful. Might I escort you two ladies over there to purchase some for you?”
“May we, Miss Newton?” Olive asked.
“Of course you may,” I said. Under other circumstances, I wouldn’t have left Flora alone with Colin, but I suspected he was arranging the situation so I could talk with Lizzie, and Olive probably made a better chaperone than anyone because she wouldn’t hesitate to tell everything that happened. Olive released my hand and took Flora’s, and Colin held his arm out gallantly to Flora.
Rebel Magisters Page 21