“I did not kill anyone, let alone your beloved.”
I went silent at his words, taking the moment to glance around to make sure we were alone. “How did you know?”
“Lumi is a friend of his, too,” Amir said. “They met each other while Ferdinand—or Ferdy, if you prefer—was at school in Paris. Lumi met Karl at Oxford for his education, too.”
Breathing seemed abnormally difficult all of a sudden. I felt my hand cover my mouth in shock, as my mind raced with the implications.
Ferdy? Friends with Lumiere?
Ferdy had told me before he knew of the Order and the League, and it looked like he had plenty of personal connections to the two of them.
“Your beloved has been keeping secrets, hasn’t he?” Amir took a cautious step toward me. “And he has asked you to keep them, too.”
“Not entirely.” I sighed. “His servant did. Empress Maria Anna seems to remember Máma, and I did not want to disappoint her, either.”
“That’s why you haven’t said anything, and that was what you were keeping from Lady Penelope, wasn’t it? You knew Karl had a younger brother.”
Frustration ate at me. “I haven’t known for that long. I found out the night of the Advent Ball. Keeping silent seemed to be the most prudent thing to do. I didn’t want him to get into trouble.”
“It seems as though he has a talent for it, living on the streets.” Amir suddenly let out a small laugh. “I’ll commend him on his disguise, though now that I think of it, I should have seen it from the beginning.”
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“No ordinary street urchin would just happen to know formal Arabic.”
“Well, that doesn’t matter now, does it? I heard about what happened. I know he’s dead.” I turned away. I did not want to face Amir. “And it’s all your fault, isn’t it?”
There was a long, uncomfortable moment of silence between us that told me everything I needed to hear.
“You said you heard the story about what happened,” Amir said quietly. “It is true those men are dead.”
The lump in my throat suffocated me. I ducked my head into my hands and slumped down against the wall. My gown fluttered out around me as my dagger leaned into my hip.
Amir telling me that Ferdy was gone was like losing him all over again.
“Please, believe me when I tell you I am not the true villain; I had to go to the castle and find a way to track down the coach, and then I had to catch up with it. I was warned that there was another henchman following, to ensure that everything happened according to plan. Lumi was right about that; a man attacked about half a day’s journey from Prague, killing everyone in the coach. I had only managed to catch up when he attacked. Once he was finished, I saw him light the coach on fire, and a piece of luggage exploded.”
“You were too late.” My voice was scratchy as I looked over at him. “Did you go over to help? Is that why the story was changed where you were the one who was ...”
I couldn’t bring myself to finish the sentence.
Amir seemed to understand what I refused to say. “I changed the message before it was sent out.”
“You criminalized yourself?”
“I had to,” Amir said. “Once a nearby village saw the fire, others came to help, including a vicar. Some people noticed me, and they assumed I was the villain anyway. There is a reason I do not join you and Lady Penelope in Society, and that I am an honorary member of the League instead of a full one. My skin color cannot be changed, and others know of my heritage just by looking at me. I know the assumptions that come with it very well.”
I went silent at his sadness. I knew the prejudice that existed in the world, and given that Amir was armed, he would have been arrested on the spot.
“People would have contradicted the story if they heard I was actually trying to rescue them, and there was no proof I was not the villain. You know no one would have believed it then,” Amir said. “So I adopted the villain’s role as I headed home. I had to watch out for those who heard and avoid the gossip. That is the reason for my delay in returning.”
I said nothing again, as I attempted to right myself. I did not want Amir to think I was weak, but I was. I was devastated.
I could see Ferdy dressed up in his princely attire, waltzing around Prague Castle’s ballroom, confessing his love for me in a way that infuriated me as much as it captivated me. The first time I saw him, arguing over my mother’s journal with Amir. All the times I had seen him in costume—so many costumes any regular person would have wondered which was the real Ferdy, or if he existed at all.
But I knew him. I could see him again in my mind, dressed in proper breeches and a formal shirt. He wore boots but no cravat, and his copper hair was tousled in the wind.
And then there was a blaze of fire, and he was gone.
“Their bodies have been salvaged as much as possible,” Amir said. “The Royals have been informed of their son’s passing. And it is likely, since he was the king’s son, they will have a funeral for him, although a private one. The king never announced his birth to the kingdom, so he was not a prince of the nation.”
“I don’t want to hear anything else,” I said, struggling to stand up. I had to force myself to focus. There was a reason I was here, and it was not to worry about Ferdy. I could no longer worry about him. I had to let him go for now.
“I’m so sorry, Eleanora. I know it does not mean much, or even anything to hear, but if I could do anything to save him for you, I would.”
Amir’s apology hung in the air between us as I waited for myself to accept it.
I did not want to accept it.
It seemed like a long time later when I breathed in deeply, wiped my eyes clear of any tears, and stood up tall. “It’s too late to do anything else. We’re here to save Lady Penelope, and Karl’s expecting me.”
“Please, listen. Lumi sent me to stop Ferdy’s assassination from happening,” Amir said. “He also told me that Karl cornered Lady POW after the rededication ceremony and forced her to leave with him.”
“So?”
“So Lumi is on our side.”
I wiped my running nose unceremoniously against my shoulder. “I do not believe it.”
“The information he has given me is correct.”
“It is also possible he’s lying, and you’re too close to him to see it.” I crossed my arms. “Is he a weakness of yours, Amir?”
Amir grimaced. “This is getting us nowhere. Right now, we have to find your grandmother.”
“That’s the only reason I am here. Although I would not say no to killing someone right now.”
Amir ignored my anger. “Lumi told me Karl wanted to offer a future to the nation, especially given his age, so that is why you—as the daughter of Adolf Svoboda, the former king’s most loyal servant, with your charming innocence and the wealth from your dowager Duchess grandmother who is a close friend of Queen Victoria—play such a key role in his plans.”
“Good to know I’m worth something to someone.” I huffed.
“Considering who we are dealing with, I would not feel bad for being a pawn if I were you.” Amir’s expression softened. “It does nothing, but I can tell he does genuinely like you. He could have had Lady Teresa Marie as his bride if he did not think you were the better gamble.”
“Well,” I said, “Karl’s about to find out that sometimes when you gamble, you lose. Once I find Lady POW, I will make sure he pays for his duplicity and treachery.”
Not to mention his heavy-handedness. I gripped my dagger again, remembering his warning to me back at the museum.
“That brings us back the problem we now face. Lady Penelope is not here. I have been watching for you for the last hour, trying to intercept you. You will gain nothing if you confront Karl tonight without her here.”
“Where else would she be?” I asked, perplexed. Amir was right. Even with as little I did know about Society, I knew if Lady POW was not here to protect me, K
arl would have an easier time getting me to agree to his terms.
“Lumi told me that she was with Karl earlier,” Amir said, “but that’s clearly changed. She could be anywhere. If we are going to stop Karl, we will have to find her quickly. If you do not show up here, he is in a position to use her life as leverage.”
I still had trouble imagining Karl as one who would take an old lady hostage, but I had no trouble considering that Lumiere had men who would do it for him.
The whole plan we had conceived earlier was for naught. If I was going to save my grandmother, I would have to find her before Karl was able to get away from his own party.
“Do you have any thoughts on where he might have taken her?”
“Karl is staying at the castle,” I said. “Is it possible she is in the dungeons there? It seems like if he was going to coerce her, he would likely find a way to make sure she stayed where he put her.”
Amir nodded. “It is a logical guess.”
“Where do you think he would hold her?” I glanced around. “Are you sure he’s not keeping her here, in some locked room, far away from the crowds?”
“I have been here for hours,” Amir said. “I have examined the servants and walked through the majority of the house.”
“Harshad and Xiana are also here, looking for Lady POW,” I said. “Should we try to help them before we leave?”
“You need to leave right now.” Amir took my hand again and started walking down the hall. “There is a servant’s entrance here. You’ll be able to wait for a lull in their movements and sneak out. Once you’re out, find a way to get a ride on a departing coach and head for the castle.”
“If I get there, I will be able to see the former empress,” I said, suddenly dreading the encounter. Empress Maria Anna had entrusted her younger son’s protection to me, and I had failed her. “She will recognize me and be able to tell me if Lady Penelope is there.”
“It’s the best bet we have right now,” Amir said.
“What if she is not there?”
He shrugged.
“If you stay here, Harshad and Xiana might be able to help you capture Karl as he is leaving still,” I suggested.
“I’ll go and find them, and we will work out a plan. Either way, we will meet you at the castle.”
“Are you sure they will believe you?” I asked. Was I able to believe him, too, then?
In the end, I decided that I could trust him for now. It was true that Amir had kept Ferdy a secret before, and he had apologized for failing to save him. And it was nice, I had to admit, that he wanted me to leave the ball. As majestic as Count Potocki’s manor was, I eagerly embraced the chance to escape.
“Give me a moment.” I stopped in my tracks and pulled out my dagger.
Amir looked at me curiously, unmoving, and I wondered if he thought I was going to attack him. It might have been tempting if I did not believe him, but instead, I ran the sharp and ancient edge through the side of my gown’s bodice, cutting the outer layer of my fancy clothes. When I was done, I shed the outer layers and stood ready in only my stealth habit. The dark fabrics, overlapping each other across my chest and down my legs, allowed me to sink into the shadows like an agent of the devil himself.
Amir raised his brow.
“There’s no use for me to wear the gown now,” I explained. I tugged my hood over my hair and pulled my mask to the bridge of my nose.
“I see your argument,” Amir said, “but you should still wear your cloak on the way out. There’s no need to freeze, even if you will be able to maneuver through the streets with much less notice.”
It was an easy choice for me to grant his wish. I pulled on my cloak, letting the fine fabric conceal my costume.
Amir squeezed my hand before we departed. “I know we have little time, Eleanora, but I have one last question for you.”
“What is it?”
He looked down at me intently. “Did you tell Lady Penelope about anything that I said to you?”
“She thought you told me more, but I only admitted you told me about your family and your scar.” I looked down at his hand, where in the dim lighting, I could still see the heavy outline of the noon above his knuckles. “That was it.”
“Did she ask about Nassara?”
At the tone of his voice, so hollow and detached, I frowned. “I did not tell her about the journal, if that’s what you mean.”
Amir patted my hand and stepped back from me. “Thank you, Eleanora. I appreciate your silence on the matter. Allah yusallmak, and I will see you later.”
At the sound of the foreign words, I suddenly had a new question for him. “Amir? What did Ferdy say to you the day we met in that alleyway?”
“After he understood the problem between us, he offered to trade your life for his,” Amir told me. “He said he wanted to keep you for himself.”
I did not know what to say to that. Amir had always known I had a beloved. I never thought it was strange how well he seemed to know until now.
“Thank you,” I mumbled, before I turned and walked away. I held my dagger tightly as I left, grateful that, even if Lady POW was nowhere to be found, I would find a way to end everything soon.
*19*
◊
I was halfway to the castle when I realized I had forgotten something very important.
“Merde,” I hissed at myself, stopping short as I passed by Old Town Square. “I forgot about Ben.”
I glanced at the castle in the distance. The towers and walls of the ancient structure gleamed ghoulishly in the moonlight, backdropped against the dark pleasures of the city nightlife. I turned back toward the bridge, looking down the Vltava to see if I could estimate how far away the Josefkà was.
Should I alert Ben to the change in plans?
He was meeting with Zipporah tonight, getting herbs, including the silver thallis herb that the Order required for our special elixir. He was supposed to go over to Count Potocki’s when he was finished.
It was uncertain if he was even still there, I thought. But surely it wasn’t that unlikely? After all, I had left Karl’s party much earlier than anticipated, and he had gotten off the coach several blocks away.
Ben would be upset with me if I did not include him, I reasoned. I remembered Lady POW telling me that she was not sure if she should allow him to continue helping out, and I made my choice.
No, I thought. I cannot leave him out of this.
Besides, if Lady Penelope was not at the castle, Ben and I would have a better chance at fending off Karl, in the event he came after us.
I slivered in and out of the shadows, heading toward the Cabal.
As I made my way through the cluttered streets and the alleys, I wondered if it really only had been less than a day since I had seen my friends at the Cabal. But, I figured, if the last weeks felt like a lifetime, it made sense that my temporal facilities were considerably off.
Keeping my cloak firmly against my skin, I slipped up beside the entrance to the Cabal. The wind blew my hood down, but I let it go. Without it, I could watch through the window as Ben talked with a comely woman near the bar.
At first look, I knew it was Zipporah. Eliezer’s wife was nearly exactly the way I had imagined her to be. She had hair that was dark and curly like my own, though hers seemed thicker. She was considerably shorter than me, and she wore the proper clothes of a mother and caretaker. I saw her apron strings sticking out from underneath her coat and almost smiled at the gentle, delicate picture she made. Everything about her suggested that she was a perfect match for her short but commanding husband.
I watched as Zipporah handed Ben a small drawstring bag, one that was puffed out and full. He offered her coins, and I was surprised at the amount, before I thought about Amir. He had managed to work his way into Count Potocki’s manor, and it was likely he had bought the silence of the staff in the process.
Bribery is a trick Ben has no doubt learned from Amir. I tried not to laugh at the thought of what Lady POW
would have taught him to do. She would have told him it was acceptable to rob Zipporah at gunpoint or use a weapon to inspire fear. Xiana would have used her stealth to steal it, and Harshad.
I paused, stumped at the question. I do not actually know how he would go about getting the herbs if Zipporah was not a friend.
After a few moments of consideration, I could see where Harshad would pay her, too, but I did not think he would retrieve the herbs himself. As a foreigner from the East Indies, he would want to send someone with more anonymity to retrieve them—someone just like my brother, as a matter of fact.
“Miss Svobodová? Is that you?”
Hearing my name nearly made me jump. I grappled my cloak’s ties, hoping against all hope the newcomer would fail to notice I was not wearing a gown.
I turned to see Madame Balthazar, one of the merchants I used to trade and do business with before Lady Penelope freed me from Cecilia’s grasp.
“Madame.” I greeted her as politely as I could, given that a small curtesy was all I manage without exposing my legs.
“I thought that was you,” she said. Her mouth curled into a slight pout of disapproval. “What are you doing here? This is no place for a lady such as you to be.”
“I am not here by myself. I was actually looking for my brother. I had only just lost him when you called to me,” I lied.
“Oh, that makes sense.” She looked relieved. “For a moment there, I thought you were in trouble. This is not a pleasant part of town, what with the Jews all around.”
I pursed my lips and said nothing. I did not trust myself to respond in a way that did not end with me attacking her in some way, but thankfully, she kept talking.
“I wouldn’t be here myself if it weren’t for the fact I am desperate,” she said. “I’ve been told that there is a midwife around here, and I need to speak with her at once. My daughter just had a baby a few weeks ago, and he has developed a terrible cough.”
I was about to tell her Zipporah was inside the Cabal, but she kept fretting.
“I wish I had been able to find someone to send instead,” she said. “It’s so cold out tonight and I haven’t had a bit of luck in finding her. Aren’t you freezing, Miss?”
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