He leaned into my palm before kissing it smoothly. “Oh, Ella, I’ve already told you how I feel.”
“You did?” I pulled back from him, suddenly terrified I had insulted him.
“I did.” He kissed me again. “And there, I just did it again.”
I giggled. “You can hardly expect me to answer your kisses with words. Besides, you seem content with my kisses in return.”
“I would be a fool to be anything other than content with the time I have been given with you.” Ferdy loosened his grip on me and sighed. “Which means I’d better get you back inside. I’d hate for your brother to be upset with me already.”
“Ben would be upset. But I don’t think he would hurt you, if that is what you are concerned about. At least, he wouldn’t hurt you too badly.”
“I’d suffer any trouble in the world for another taste of you,” Ferdy said, as he leaned in and kissed me once more. “But it is early yet. I’ll take the pleasure of testing your brother’s limits over time, rather than pushing him past the point of no return right in the beginning.”
“Maybe I should have let you kiss me before, back at the Hohenwart Ball,” I said, sad to see our time together end already. The hesitation I felt earlier had transformed; No longer was I unsure of meeting Ferdy—now I was unwilling to leave him.
Even if he was right about Ben.
“It won’t be long before I do it again,” Ferdy assured me with his characteristic aplomb as he led me back up toward the Cabal door. “Now that I know what I’m missing, I can promise you it’s taking a good deal of self-preservation to take you back inside.”
“Just how many other hearts have you looked at like that?” I asked, realizing he never denied coming outside the Cabal with other girls.
“Plenty,” he admitted with his guileless grin. “But yours is the only one I have been searching for, and it is the only one that has proven irresistible.”
I felt like a fool for smiling, but Ferdy had a way of making me feel incredibly happy. I barely noticed as the door opened before us.
It was only when I saw Ben in the doorway, glaring at us with an irritated look on his face, that I snapped back to attention.
“There you are, Nora,” Ben said, clearly aggravated. “I’ve been wondering where you were.”
“We just took a little walk,” I said, blushing again.
“It’s getting late,” Ben said. “We need to head back now.”
Somewhere in the distance, I heard the Pražskỳ orloj chime. It was midnight. Somehow, the long hours of the evening in the Royal Summerhouse had shortened once we arrived at the Cabal.
I glanced back at Ferdy ruefully. “Thank you for the lovely stroll.” I reached for him once more.
Ferdy nodded and took my hand. He kissed it gallantly, keeping his usual respectful distance from me as Ben watched him. Despite all the confusion and strangeness, I missed his closeness; but in seeing the scowl on my brother’s face, I understood Ferdy’s reservations.
“Will you come back again soon?” Ferdy asked, as Ben steered me away from the Cabal.
Quickly, I looked at Ben, who gave me careless shrug. It was a small, silent movement, but I knew Ferdy had earned Ben’s initial approval.
“Absolument.” I smiled as we said our last goodbyes.
“C’est parfait, ma chérie.” Ferdy leaned back against the wall of the Cabal before blowing me a kiss. “I will wait for you.”
“Not too long, I hope.”
Ben groaned. “Please stop, before you make me change my mind.”
*19*
◊
“Are you angry with me?” I asked Ben as we walked across the bridge, heading out over the Vltava.
“I feel better knowing that Lady POW will likely scold you enough for the two of us,” Ben admitted.
“Does this mean that you like Ferdy?”
“You like him enough for both of us.”
“I still want your approval,” I said, unable to stop the heat from rising to my cheeks.
“If you like him enough, my approval shouldn’t matter.”
“If your ambivalence is punishment me for walking with him for a few moments, you have made your point.”
Ben stopped. “I didn’t mean it like that, Nora,” he said. He gave me a small smile. “Maybe I should start calling you ‘Ella,’ too, huh?”
I took his arm. “Ben—”
“Don’t worry about it,” he said. “I know you are growing up, and things have changed. Things will always change, but I will always be here for you. And if you like Ferdy, you really should not let me get in your way. I know you well enough to know that’s not going to happen anyway. But you don’t need my permission to love someone else.”
I stood there, quietly amazed. My brother was right, and I knew he was telling me the truth. But I did not expect the sudden sadness that came with it.
“Besides,” Ben said, tweaking my nose. “I know you’ll punish him enough for loving you.”
“Hey!”
Ben laughed and took off running. I heard the click of his brace as he hopped over the bridge cobblestones, and I hurried to keep up after him. It was a game we had played more than a million times, it seemed; by the time I came close to catching him, we were both laughing.
We reached the end of the bridge, and then he stopped.
“Ah-ha!” I cried, nearly tackling him, before I realized there was a familiar coach.
The door opened swiftly, as though it had been kicked open, and I found myself looking at the flaring nostrils of Lady POW.
Briefly, I wondered if that was the same sort of thing Amir saw when I was angry, too.
“I should have known you would be doing something inappropriate.” Lady Penelope stared down at me.
Ben stepped in front of me. “It was my—”
“None of that, Benedict. I know Eleanora is responsible for this. Get in, both of you, before anyone sees you.”
Despite his earlier teasing, Ben gave me a sympathetic look as we complied. We both knew Lady POW was anything but happy. And just in case we did not realize this on our own, she said so as soon as the coach began moving again.
“I am not happy about this, Eleanora,” Lady Penelope fumed. “I cannot believe you thought it would be good for you to sneak away from the Summerhouse Ball. I felt like a fool, trying to find you and introduce you to Count Potocki.”
“My apologies, Madame.” I did not like that I had disappointed her, but I refused to regret stealing away. Besides having fun at the Cabal, Mr. Clavan had given me enough hope to believe that my instincts were correct.
“I had enough of a struggle in talking with him,” she said, ignoring my apologies. “He asked about you, but was interested in little else.”
“Karl is the son of King Ferdinand,” I blurted out, angry she was not listening to me. When I managed to shock her into silence, I continued. “If Count Potocki knows the truth about Karl, that might be why he was concerned about me.”
Lady POW just stared at me, blinking.
“Karl likes me,” I said. “He is upset that Lord Maximillian is willing to sponsor his bid for Potocki’s position only in exchange for Lady Teresa Marie’s hand in marriage. I heard Lady Cecilia complaining that the Duke of Moravia was happy to end his daughter’s engagement to Alex because he had found the heir to the Bohemian throne.”
There was another long moment of silence, before Lady POW cleared her throat.
“Amir?” Lady Penelope turned to Amir, who was sitting beside her in silence. “What do you say to this?”
“We can easily get proof, Madame,” he said. “But Eleanora’s logic is sound. And it would not be unheard of to keep an heir a secret.”
“Karl was born just after the Revolution of 1848,” I said. “My mother would have known.”
“Tulia.” Lady POW nearly spit out her name in disgust.
“That is one way to know for sure,” I said, grateful Amir would not have to reveal my mother’s j
ournal. As much as I knew Lady POW loved my mother, I wanted to keep that a secret; for once, it was nice to share a secret with someone, and in many ways, I felt like I owed Amir for the trouble I had caused him earlier.
“Tulia is also the one who Father Novak alerted,” Ben said. “She might be able to tell us more about what happened to Dr. Artha.”
“I think it is time we made a stop at her cottage, then,” Lady Penelope said through pursed lips. She tapped on the roof of the coach, calling for the driver. “She cannot avoid me forever. Amir, you might have to restrain me. I suggest you prepare yourself.”
“I am always prepared, Madame.” He gave me a smile, and I felt a sense of relief as we headed for Tulia’s house.
Several moments passed while Lady POW settled into deep thought, a disgusted look on her face. Amir and Ben were also silent. Both of them were content to stare out into the darkness.
It appeared only I was restless. I tapped my foot on the floor, agitated, until Amir looked over at me. He raised his brow at my foot, and I did not know whether to be insulted or delighted I was reminding him of my mother.
“Why don’t you like Tulia?” I finally asked Lady POW.
Her answer came at once, much more quickly than I would have expected.
“Do I have to remind you that she kept you and Ben from me for over a decade?” Lady Penelope scowled. “She could have stopped Cecilia’s reign of terror in your lives. If anyone should be angry, it should be you, Eleanora.”
I thought of Tulia’s silliness and her silent kindness, and how she had stayed close to watch over us for the past years. It was hard to imagine that she had refrained from contacting Lady POW for so many years out of malice.
“Maybe she had her own reasons for failing to do so,” I said. I could not think of anything else to defend her, but I was determined to do as much as I could.
Beside me, Ben crossed his arms over his chest. “I’d like to know what they were, if that is true.”
“Maybe Máma did not want her to say anything,” I said.
“But after your mother died, there was nothing stopping her from doing just that, was there?” Lady Penelope bristled in her seat. “Of course, there are likely other reasons for her silence on the matter.”
“If you’re talking about how she is a mute,” I snapped, “let me be the one to assure you I will be the one to give you an answer myself.”
“I did not mean silence literally. Goodness, Eleanora, calm down—”
Outside, there was a large popping sound.
The coach rumbled to a quick stop, but not before we were all jumbled together. I grabbed onto the cushions for support, while Ben slipped onto the floor between the seats.
Lady Penelope groaned. “What is it, John?” she called, pushing open the coach window.
“There’s been an explosion, Madame.” I heard the muffled reply of the coachman as I moved closer to Lady POW. “Straight ahead.”
The instant I heard the news, I pushed past Lady POW and opened the door. I hopped out of the coach, struggling with my skirts to keep from falling on my knees.
“That’s Tulia’s house.” Ben came down after me, landing hard on his feet. In the dark of the night, with the small moon in the sky, I saw he was right. Tulia’s small cottage, perched on the horizon, was alight with fire.
“Get back inside,” Lady Penelope called.
“We have to go help,” I argued.
“It will be easier to get there and help if you are inside the carriage!”
“Come on, Nora.” Ben helped me up, and I was grateful all over again that I had changed back into my maidservant’s outfit as the driver clicked on the reins and hurried toward Tulia’s house.
I was already moving when the carriage came to a stop several yards from Tulia’s house.
“Tulia!” I called, hurrying toward the cottage. I saw the roof flickering with flames and felt fear momentarily choke me as much as the soot in the air.
“Stay back,” Amir said, reaching in front of me.
“We have to make sure she’s safe.” Before I could argue more, Amir pushed me down on the ground as a shadow jumped out of a window. There was a weapon held high in his hand.
My eyes adjusted to the inconsistent light, watching as a gleaming blade appeared before Amir, who had already unsheathed his curved dagger.
There was a small clash of the metal on metal. The noise of the battle faded into the crackling fire, as flames consumed Tulia’s cottage.
I struggled to move out of the muddy grass, watching as the attacker met Amir in battle. In the firelight, I could see Amir’s adversary was no taller than Ben, and he was wearing a footman’s uniform, along with a black mask that hid the bottom half of his face. Seeing it, I was reminded of the mask on my own stealth habit.
Behind me, Lady POW jumped down from the carriage, and her drivers pulled out a pair of pistols.
Ben grabbed me from behind and lifted me up. “We have to help,” he said. “We’ve got to see if Tulia is inside.”
I did not hesitate at his words.
“When we get in, watch your skirts,” Ben ordered, as he slammed his shoulder into the front door. It shuddered against his force but did not budge. I could feel the heat behind it as we pushed together, bashing our bodies against it in hurried desperation.
It did not move.
“Tulia!” I cried again, hoping for any sign that she was alive.
Ben tapped my shoulder, nodding at my hair. “Give me two of your pins. I can pick the lock.”
I hurriedly plucked two longer pins from my hair. My curls bobbed free and added to the heat on my cheeks. “Here. Hurry.”
Never had I ever been more grateful for Ben as he fiddled with the lock. He had learned to do some smithing work in order to build his leg brace, and I felt like all of his pain was suddenly worth it in that moment as I watched him, amazed at his calmness as much as his skill. Just as he turned the knob, Amir cried out behind us.
“Watch out!”
I whirled around, just in time to see Amir ram the attacker into the house beside us. The attacker’s head smashed into the cottage hard, and Amir used the chance to drive his dagger deep into the man’s shoulder.
I screamed, covering my eyes. “Did you kill him?”
“It’s fine, Nora,” Ben said. “Amir just got his coat. The man is fine.”
“Really?” I peeked out from behind my fingers, only to see Ben was right. Amir’s blade had snagged the man’s jacket.
As I watched, the attacker narrowed his glazed eyes at Amir. He launched out a kick, and Amir responded by punching his face.
A dark wet spot began forming at the side of the man’s mask. Behind the cloth, I could hear him sputter and squeak with pain.
“Nora,” Ben called. “I got the door.”
“Stop!”
I whirled around as Amir hollered. His opponent had slipped free from his jacket, renewing the battle between them once more.
He lunged toward me.
My instincts kicked in, and I was already stepping back as another dagger came rushing through the air between us. I heard the attacker cry out in anguish as Lady Penelope’s dagger slit through his shoulder. I watched as the purple-tinted blade splashed with crimson blood.
The dagger of the Order.
I hurried forward and kicked him, tearing Lady POW’s dagger free from him. He yelled again, lashing out at me.
Hurriedly, I stepped back; From the momentum of my movements, I fell; the attacker brushed past my skirts, before slipping around me. We were both caught off balance long enough that Amir and Lady Penelope both came forward, shielding me from him.
“Here,” I said to Lady POW. “Here’s your dagger.”
She took it from me quickly. As it passed from my hand to hers, I already missed the comfort its legacy of strength and protection offered.
“Go and get Tulia.” Lady Penelope held up the blade again, looking deadly as she aimed for the attacker once more.<
br />
Before I could object, Ben tugged on my sleeve
“Come on,” Ben yelled at me. “You’ve got to focus now!”
“Sorry.” I knew he was right. We had to save Tulia.
I allowed him to pull me after him as we hurried into the burning cottage with nothing to protect me but a prayer.
Immediately, I was flooded with the burning shadows of the fire. I coughed, breathing in the sooty air, and put my hand over my mouth to stop my tongue from tasting the ash.
“Tulia!” Ben called, as he made his way around the small house.
“Do you see her?” I asked, my mouth suddenly very dry. The wooden beams around me cracked, and I jumped closer to Ben at the sound.
“Ouch.” He grimaced, grasping at his leg briefly. “My brace might need some adjustments after this.” His latest model had metal springs, and I wondered if he would be able to manage in the heat.
“Can you move?” I asked.
“I’m fine. You check over that way,” Ben said. “I’ll look over here.”
I was proud to see Ben was taking his role seriously. I held my hand over my mouth as I headed deeper into the house, heading toward heart of the flames.
Outside, I heard a gunshot go off, and I gasped.
“Keep looking,” Ben called. “Don’t stop unless you’re hurt. And even then you keep going if you can.”
I hurried through the house, carefully sidestepping flames and broken boards. I frowned. The house was a mess. As I jumped over a toppled table in her parlor, I realized that the house had been ransacked.
That man must have attacked her and then lit the house on fire to cover his tracks. He must have been looking for something. We would not know whether or not he found it unless we caught him.
I desperately hoped we would catch him.
As I was heading out of the room once more, circling back to the front of the house, I caught sight of Tulia’s hand.
Kingdom of Ash and Soot Page 24