by M. K. Hobson
“Mr. Dreadnought Stanton,” the young man said after pausing a moment and looking at Miss Jesczenka’s face for reassurance. She smiled at him as if he’d done something extremely clever.
“Make sure you tell it to that pack of hoodlums out there whenever they ask.” Miss Jesczenka tilted her head toward the shadowy milling reporters. “You know how easily they get their facts mixed up.”
“Yes, ma’am!” the young man agreed as he hastened to swing open the gate for their carriage. It didn’t open easily; it seemed to not be sitting quite right on its hinges. He had to put his shoulder into it to get it to move, but finally he managed. As they rode up the driveway, Emily saw the look of concern on her companion’s face.
“He wasn’t sure how he should answer,” Miss Jesczenka noted. “And that gate has never given anyone a whit of trouble before. I am afraid Mr. Stanton has not made the progress I had hoped.”
“It’s only been a day!” Emily said. Miss Jesczenka raised an eyebrow.
“An empire cannot be built in a day,” she said. “But it can topple in one. Mr. Stanton must work quickly if he is to succeed. I only hope …” She trailed off, then gave Emily a bright smile. “Never mind. I’m sure everything will be fine.”
Inside the Institute, the air was dead-still and strangely foreboding. Even though it was past midnight, there was an air of desolation and abandonment that went beyond the late hour. The glittering luster of the interior seemed to have been rubbed off by grimy, unseen hands. The polished marble walls looked flat and dull, like old sugar crusted on a plate. The red orchids, once so fat and fragrant, were withered and shrunken. Festive swags still hung, dispirited and dispiriting, drooping down in places. Miss Jesczenka planted her hands on her hips, regarding the scene with distaste.
“As many credomancers and would-be credomancers as there are in this place, and none of them think to clear away the remnants of failure and defeat?” She reached up and began pulling down bunting and wadding it up, looking for an ash can to stuff it in. The next words she spoke were under her breath, as if meant for herself alone: “Or is it that more people find it convenient to remember than to forget?”
She jerked down another swag of bunting. But this time, instead of paper and fabric fluttering gently to the floor, a huge chunk of decorative molding came crashing down. Emily leapt backward with a small cry as the hall exploded with plaster dust. She looked up with astonishment at the lathwork peeping from behind the gaping hole in the ceiling. Miss Jesczenka waved her hand before her face to clear the air.
“What is happening?” Emily blurted.
“The integrity of the Institute is a direct reflection of the strength of its leadership,” Miss Jesczenka quoted in a weary textbook voice. “The Institute is falling to pieces. Literally.”
“Miss Jesczenka!” The voice came from the end of the hall. Rose stood before the doorway to the office of the Sophos. Standing with Rose, peering down the hall through the settling dust, were three girls of similar attentiveness and intensity. Standing somewhat apart from this group of women was a well-fed man in a very nice suit. He looked annoyed.
“Rose?” Emily looked at Miss Jesczenka with puzzlement, as they moved toward the door of the office. “And her Admiration League friends? What are they doing here?”
“Emeritus Zeno’s secretary resigned his position with the Institute on the night of Zeno’s kidnapping,” Miss Jesczenka said. “He was made an attractive offer by Mr. Fortissimus’ Agency. It was necessary to find someone to serve as Mr. Stanton’s secretary until a suitable replacement can be hired. Miss Hibble came to mind.”
Emily lifted an eyebrow.
“I am satisfied that Miss Hibble’s qualifications are adequate for the position. She does have an advanced secretarial degree from a … college,” Miss Jesczenka said, obviously considering, then discarding, the adjective “well-respected.” Then she bent closer, putting her lips next to Emily’s ear. “Most importantly, she can be trusted. At this moment, that is an extremely rare commodity.”
When Emily and Miss Jesczenka reached the door of the office, Rose stopped issuing orders to her female charges and clasped Emily’s hand.
“Miss Emily! Oh, how good that you’ve made it back!” Rose’s face was flushed and her eyes sparkled. It was clear that she was thriving within her new position. “Mr. Stanton has been simply tormented by your absence. I can’t believe you went gallivanting off in his hour of need.”
The three girls behind Rose nodded solemnly, regarding Emily with an odd mix of resentment and awe. Emily opened her mouth to say something, but Miss Jesczenka cut in quickly, gesturing around at the bunting and decorations.
“Miss Hibble, will you see that all this rubbish is pulled down … carefully … and that mess down there is cleaned up. Immediately, please.” Rose nodded efficiently, lifting a finger at one of the girls who stood behind her. The girl sprang to action, lifting a notebook and jotting down another item on a list that stretched down very far on the page.
“Mr. Stanton will be so glad you’re back,” Rose said to Miss Jesczenka under her breath. She gestured with her eyes to the well-fed man in the very nice suit who hung back from the group. He was tapping his foot and frowning, and kept consulting a pocket watch at increasingly frequent intervals. “There’s trouble. New trouble, I mean.”
“I’ll speak with him,” Miss Jesczenka said.
“Is Mr. Stanton in his office?” Emily asked, her hand going for the doorknob. Rose nodded seriously, subtly interposing herself between Emily and the object of her reach.
“But Miss Emily, he’s ever so busy! He’s in a meeting and mustn’t be disturbed.” Then, reverently, she opened the door herself and gestured Emily into the office’s book-lined vestibule. She gestured to an uncomfortable wooden chair. “If you have a seat, I’ll show you in when he’s finished.”
There was a steely quality in Rose’s hushed voice that surprised Emily. She sat down. Rose beamed, nodding approval, then went to introduce Miss Jesczenka to the well-dressed man. Emily did not catch his name, but she could hear a quality of heavy formality in his voice. Rose and Miss Jesczenka and the man spoke for a moment, then moved away from the door of the office, and then Emily could hear no more.
Emily sat alone, in the silence. From somewhere behind the walls of books came a creaking sound. It was like being on a rigged sailboat. She fancied she could see the walls bowing inward, books tilting floorward. Gripping the arm of the chair tightly with her good hand, she heard a loud crack and watched as a half dozen particularly thick volumes tumbled from a high shelf down to the floor. She jumped to her feet, hurrying toward the door of Stanton’s inner sanctum. She’d be damned if she was going to be smothered in an avalanche of books.
Quickly she opened the two large ebony doors that led to the inner office of the Sophos, and went in.
The last time she’d entered the office, she’d seen Zeno standing behind the desk, and Perun, the leader of the Sini Mira, sitting before it. This time, the scene was similar; a man stood behind the desk, and one in front of it. Only the characters in the tableau had shifted.
Stanton was standing behind the desk. His face was pale and drawn—with anger or exhaustion, she wasn’t sure which. It made her catch her breath; she had never seen him look so discomposed.
Before the desk stood one of Rose’s Admiration Leaguers, the sallow young man with anarchist eyes and an overbite. Emily remembered him; he’d been with Rose in the entry hall when Emily had been waiting for the carriage to take her to Central Park. Now he was staring at Stanton with adoring fervor, his hat held tightly between his fingers. He was speaking as Emily entered the room.
“… we don’t have to stop at taking these off the street, sir! We could teach the vendors who sell them a lesson. Make them think twice about—”
Emily caught a glimpse of something bright red on Stanton’s desk. When he looked up and saw her, he grabbed it and shoved it into a drawer with annoyed haste. The young man
whirled, his hand going to something at his waist. Something dark. A gun, Emily realized.
“Emily,” Stanton said, with surprising calm. He gave the young man a look that made him duck his head and step back respectfully.
“I have to speak with you.” Emily looked between him and the young man. “It’s important.”
“I believe we’re finished,” Stanton said.
“But what is my direction, sir?” The young man leaned forward, his knuckles resting on the desk. His eyes seemed to burn. “May I do as I see fit?”
Stanton looked at the young man for a moment. His jaw tensed, and rippled. Finally he said, “No, Gormley. It’s out of the question.”
“But, Mr. Stanton—”
“I don’t want to hear about it again!” Stanton blazed, his voice resonating off the walls. There was a pause. A strange mean smile crept over Gormley’s face.
“Of course not, sir. I understand. You won’t hear about it again.” The young man gave Stanton a little bow. As he passed Emily on his way out, he touched the brim of his hat.
When he was gone, Emily crossed the room with short quick steps and threw herself into Stanton’s arms, burying her face in his chest. She felt Stanton’s shoulders relax as he drew her in closer, his lips finding the top of her head. Neither said anything. For that silent moment it was enough to share warmth, to appreciate the fact that both of their hearts still beat strongly.
“What’s happened?” Stanton said finally. “What’s wrong?”
Emily looked around the room, aware of a budding suspiciousness that was alien to her trusting nature. She did not trust this office, did not trust this place. Everything around her seemed suddenly menacing, malignant.
“Are we safe here?” she asked. The question made Stanton tense and look around the office.
“Safe from prying ears, you mean?” Stanton asked. “That is one thing I can vouch for.” He paused. “For the time being.” He paused again. “If nothing else.”
Emily did not like the descending string of clauses, but she pressed forward urgently. “It’s about my trip to Boston. My family—”
At that moment, the door to the office opened and Rose’s blond head poked through the door. When she saw Emily, her face became reproachful.
“Oh, there you are, Miss Emily! You were supposed to wait outside.” She looked at Stanton nervously, as if terrified she’d made a horrible gaffe. “I’m so sorry, Mr. Stanton, I told her you were busy—”
“Not now, Rose,” Stanton said curtly.
“It can’t wait, I’m afraid.” The words were brisk; Miss Jesczenka stepped past Rose into the office. She closed the door behind herself softly. The older woman had a very worried look on her face.
“It’s about the Institute’s public Haälbeck doors.” Miss Jesczenka’s tone made it clear that whatever business the well-dressed man had brought was urgent, pressing, and unpleasant.
Stanton let out a breath, unfolded Emily from his arms. He sank wearily into his leather desk chair.
“What about the Institute’s public Haälbeck doors?” Stanton said, pressing his fingers to the bridge of his nose.
“They’ve been malfunctioning. Misdirecting travelers. There is a lawyer outside, representing a half dozen highly placed business interests who are claiming a loss of income resulting from the Institute’s negligence. He intends to file suit in the New York County Courthouse first thing in the morning, unless the Institute wishes to discuss a settlement. He’s waiting in the vestibule.”
Stanton pounded a fist on the heavy polished wood of the desk.
“Settlement?” he roared. He threw himself back into his chair, raked his fingers through his hair. “You must be joking.”
Miss Jesczenka gave him a look that indicated that she wasn’t. Stanton exhaled exasperation through clenched teeth.
“Fine. I’ll speak with him. Meanwhile, is anyone looking into this matter of the malfunctioning doors? Anyone?” Stanton looked from Miss Jesczenka to Emily; the look on his face was a bit too demanding for Emily’s taste.
“Well, don’t look at me,” she snapped.
“Rose!” Stanton bellowed. The door from the vestibule opened quickly; the blond girl had obviously been leaning on the doorknob.
“Mr. Stanton?” Rose breathed.
“I want Professor Eames and Professor Leigh to look into this matter of the Haälbeck doors—”
Stanton paused at a small shake of the head from Miss Jesczenka.
“Not Eames,” Miss Jesczenka murmured. Stanton’s eyes held a moment’s silent conference with hers. He sighed.
“Fine. Not Eames. McAllister, then. I want to see them first thing in the morning.”
“First thing in the morning,” Rose repeated to herself as she wrote down the instructions in her notebook. Emily almost expected the girl to salute.
Then, like the blast of a cannon, there was a loud crash from the antechamber, accompanied by the sound of a suddenly muffled masculine shout. At the same moment, Stanton doubled over, grunting with pain and nearly falling off the chair.
“Mr. Stanton!” Rose hurried to his side. She was kneeling beside him and patting his cheek before Emily even knew what had happened. Miss Jesczenka jerked open the office door; stray pages fluttered into the room from the vestibule. She hurried out of the office, and Emily could hear her speaking with someone. There was a moan, and then a sharp cry of agony. Emily remembered suddenly that the lawyer had been waiting for Stanton in the vestibule. Miss Jesczenka reappeared at the door.
“The bookshelves collapsed,” Miss Jesczenka said. “And it seems that our visitor now has a broken leg.” She looked over at Stanton, who was climbing slowly to his feet. “Sophos, are you all right?”
“I’m fine,” Stanton grumbled, pushing Rose away as she tried to help him stand. He brushed himself off, straightened his coat. His face, lined with pain, seemed immeasurably weary. “I didn’t expect the office to start going so soon.”
“Rose, please go and fetch a doctor,” Miss Jesczenka said.
“I can help,” Emily said quickly. She’d healed broken bones before; it had been one of the services she offered in Lost Pine. She looked at Stanton. “I still need to speak with you.”
“As you like.” Stanton was leaning heavily on the desk, his face pale. His voice sounded uncertain. Miss Jesczenka shook her head sharply.
“No, Miss Edwards. It’s better that you go. It’s late, and you can speak with Mr. Stanton in the morning.”
For the first time in her acquaintance with Miss Jesczenka, Emily felt truly furious at the woman.
“No, I’m going to stay,” she blazed. “I am going to stay, and I am going to help!”
“Miss Edwards!” Miss Jesczenka barked. Anger kindled in her eyes, but was quickly hidden. The woman made an exasperated gesture. “All right, come on.”
The vestibule was a wreck of papers, books, and bindings. The lawyer lay buried under a pile of leather-cased tomes, moaning. His left leg was twisted at an agonizing angle. Emily bent over him, her fingers finding the broken place through the fabric of his trousers. It wasn’t good; the bone was shattered like a summer-dry stick.
“This place … this place is a shambles! It’s unsafe! I’ll have the buildings division here in the morning! Just see if I don’t!” The lawyer’s voice was high and hysterical; his eyes glinted miserably. He looked up at Miss Jesczenka, who was picking her way carefully through the wreckage. “If you think you had problems before, madam, you can’t imagine the problems you have now—”
“Oh, hush,” Miss Jesczenka snarled, laying a soft hand on his forehead. In an instant the man fell into unconsciousness, his head lolling back on his shoulders.
Emily looked up at her. “It’s badly broken,” she said.
Miss Jesczenka came to kneel next to her, sighing heavily. “Of course it is.” Her voice was leaden with resignation as she looked sidelong at Emily. “You just can’t take a hint, can you?”
“I want
to help,” Emily said fiercely. She could take a hint just fine. She knew what the woman was going to say. That she was a distraction, a nuisance. But if Rose could stand at Stanton’s side, why couldn’t she? There were things she could do, legs she could heal, bunting she could pull down …
“You can’t help him now,” Miss Jesczenka said softly. “Watching him suffer will make you suffer, and watching you suffer will make him suffer more.”
Emily looked away, looked at her hand lying on the dark fabric of the lawyer’s leg.
“You wanted to tell him something,” Miss Jesczenka said. “Can it help him regain control of the Institute?”
Emily thought about it. Some new memories, the whiff of old secrets, and Witch-hating grandparents?
“No,” Emily said.
“Then it can wait. You need to go away and stay away for a while,” Miss Jesczenka said. Her words were even and measured. “If you truly want to help, that’s what you must do.”
“And where am I supposed to go?” Emily tasted the bitterness of the words.
“There’s only one safe place.” Stanton’s voice came from the doorway of the office. Emily looked up and saw him leaning against the doorjamb, surveying the wreckage with red-rimmed eyes. “Rose can take you.”
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Red Hand,
Gold-Colored Eye
It was almost 2 a.m. by the time the carriage conveying Emily and Rose arrived at the safe location of Stanton’s promising. When Emily saw where she was being sent, she felt like climbing out of the carriage, turning tail, and taking her chances on a bench in Central Park.
“Oh, how elegant!” Rose breathed as the carriage came to a stop before the Stanton family brownstone on Thirty-fourth Street. “How sophisticated! Of course Mr. Stanton would have grown up in a place like this. Like a prince in a castle!”
Emily let out a long breath through clenched teeth. A prince with frogs for parents. That certainly was a new twist on the old stories.
At least the Senator actively ignored her. But Stanton’s mother … Oh, she was going to just love having her son’s malingering fiancée turn up on her doorstep, unannounced, at two in the morning. This was going to be a night to remember, though Emily doubted that she’d wish to.