by John Booth
Alice told the other girls what little she knew about the reactatron engine and it had become their best guess as to what was going to explode. All of them remembered stories of steam engines exploding and killing people.
They were forbidden to leave their dormitory once night descended, but the door was not locked, so all that was stopping them was the fear of being caught.
They pretended to go to bed at nine. Madam Hulot came around just after nine to check they were safely tucked up in bed, as was her habit. Alice managed a loud and convincing snore as Madam Hulot poked her head around the door.
The girls dressed at ten o’clock and were nerving themselves up to creep through the castle’s corridors to the factory. They were under no illusions about the level of punishment they would face if they were caught, and Lucy in particular, was shaking from a mixture of excitement and fear.
“Come on then,” Gwendolyn ordered the others impatiently. She was terrified of going out as well, not in fear of punishment, but in fear of what she might see if she touched the wrong wall, table, or tapestry. The manifestations that plagued her were always at their strongest in the night.
There were only a few Readers in the world compared with the other branches of magic and there were even fewer of Gwendolyn’s ability. The number of Readers born into the world was low, and many of those killed themselves young, unable to face the sights that greeted them everywhere they went.
The girls trickled out of the door like droplets of water sliding down a windowpane, slipping into the corridor. They hugged tight to the wall, with the exception of Gwendolyn, who managed to avoid touching the wall though still staying as close as she possibly could.
Madam Hulot walked the corridors of the castle that night for a very different reason. The day had left her tense and dissatisfied. She had not satisfied her need for emotional release by hitting the children enough. The nails on the soles of her shoes clacked on the stone floors as she walked through the castle at a quickening pace. She carried a long walking stick with a wide brass tip that sounded a counterpoint to her shoes. It hit the floor once for every two sets of clacks from her shoes.
It was her habit to walk the corridors until sufficiently exhausted to allow her to return to her room and obtain a fitful sleep. This usually took at least half an hour, but on this particular night she had already been walking for over an hour and still felt agitated.
The castle in Glen Russell was a large building and it should have been possible for the girls and Madam Hulot to walk along its many corridors for days without ever seeing each other. However, fate can be cruel, and the girls found themselves face to face with their tutor when Madam Hulot turned a corner and came perilously close to tripping over them.
Alice reacted first and turned to run away, Madam Hulot instinctively hit her over the head with her walking stick. Alice fell to the floor clutching at her head and screaming in pain. The other girls knew defeat when they saw it and stayed where they were.
“How dare you leave your dormitory?” Madam Hulot shouted. “Walking the corridors of the castle like women of the night soliciting men.”
Alice tried to strike Madam Hulot down with a telepathic message, but her head hurt so much from the blow that she couldn’t concentrate. She vomited as waves of nausea rushed over her.
“We are truly sorry, Madam Hulot,” Edith said as calmly as she could. There was a cold feeling in her belly and she was having trouble breathing.
“You do not know the meaning of the word sorry… yet. But I swear that you will. Come with me and pick up your disgusting companion from the floor.”
Madam Hulot hurried the girls along a corridor and down a long spiral stone staircase. Deep beneath the ground, the staircase ended in a bleak corridor with a single oil lamp flickering on the wall. She took a large iron key from a hook on the wall and opened a small door recessed deep into the stone.
“We shall see how spending a night in this dark and ice cold cellar helps you understand how naughty you have been. Tomorrow morning I shall return with a martinet and teach you the errors of your ways. If you think my little cane hurts, wait until you discover the sting of the martinet.”
“Please, Madam Hulot,” Lucy pleaded and received a blow to her thigh with the walking stick that made her scream in agony. Her hands rubbed at her thigh in a vain attempt to ease the pain.
“Get in there now. Say not another word,” Madam Hulot commanded.
The girls, half carrying a still dazed Alice, entered the small stone cell. It was bitterly cold inside and there were neither windows nor lamps. In the dim light from the corridor, Gwendolyn noticed a large iron candleholder high up on the cell wall. There were no candles in it.
Madam Hulot became a dark shape looming in the doorway like a character from a shadow theatre.
“I think after a night in here you will welcome my return with gratitude, until your chastisement begins, at the least.”
With those final frightening words, Madam Hulot closed the door on them and the girls heard the sound of the key grinding in the lock. They stood in almost total darkness with only a dim glow from the corridor beyond outlining the edges of the door.
“Are you all right,” Edith asked Alice a few moments later.
“Me head’s split open and I can see stars, but I ‘pect I shall recover,” Alice replied phlegmatically.
“You are lucky to see only stars,” Lucy said weakly from the floor. “I have just seen our flesh boil from our bones in the second before this castle collapses on top of us. If we don’t get out of here before morning, we will certainly die in this place.”
“There’s nothing like a bit of cheery talk to comfort us when we’re trapped in a cold dark cellar,” Alice mused.
Tom paced the bedroom impatiently. A quick glance at the grandfather clock in the corner told him it was already five past ten and they were late for their rendezvous. He glanced over to the bathroom door, which was closed.
“Laura we have to go. Cam and the others will be waiting for us,” he called. He wanted to scream and rant, but that might that give them away and he knew it would only encourage Laura to take even longer.
“Thomas,” Laura’s voice drifted through the door sounding completely unconcerned about the time, “They cannot start without us, and I am not at my best when I feel dirty. We do have all night to save London, you know.”
Tom put his forehead against the nearest wall and felt the cold hardness of the granite. He would have banged his head against it like a frustrated child except that he knew it would hurt a lot.
“See, I am ready,” Laura said as she stepped grandly out of the bathroom. She raised her arms in the air and turned in a circle for Tom to admire her. From Tom’s point of view, she looked exactly the same as when she had entered the bathroom over two hours before.
“I can see we shall have to work on your level of attentiveness,” Laura said wryly as she took in his confused look. “A gentleman always compliments a lady when she has gone to some effort to please him with her attire.”
“Err, you look lovely…, as always,” Tom said quickly.
“And would you care to itemize the many changes I have effected upon myself since I entered the bathroom?”
“Laura…, we are late,” Tom said with some urgency. “You look as wonderful as ever….”
“That is my whole problem,” Laura said in exasperation. “What is the point in spending two hours on my appearance when you don’t even notice unless I am stark naked? And even then you turn your back on me as if my form offends you in some manner.”
Tom tried to think of a logical answer to Laura’s question, but none came to his mind.
“We are late,” he said again, and somewhat desperately.
Laura resisted the urge to stamp her foot in frustration and instead moved over to Tom, taking his arm in hers.
“Then we had better get a move on,” she said briskly and dragged him towards the door.
“Stop!” a
demanding voice shouted at Tom and Laura as they approached the stairs. They turned to see an annoyed looking Rhona behind them. “And just where do you think you two are going?”
“I thought you told us we were guests in this castle and not prisoners,” Laura pointed out. “We are going for a late night stroll around the castle.”
“I have had orders from Mr. Campbell that you two are not to roam at night. He is concerned for your safety, I expect. The stone floors and stairs can be slippery if you are not use to them,” Rhona said, sounding somewhat embarrassed.
“And how many other guests are forbidden to leave their rooms?” Tom enquired.
“Only the young girls in Madam Hulot’s care,” Rhona admitted. “And I suspect that is more because she likes to have an excuse to beat them, than that they might hurt themselves.”
“Rhona, listen to us please. The Laird is about to do something terrible and it is up to all of us to put a stop to it,” Laura explained gently.
“I shall scream for Mr. Campbell and the other servants if you do not return to your room this minute.”
Tom took a step towards her and she took a deep breath preparing to scream. Laura pulled Tom back and Rhona relaxed and breathed out slowly.
“You say the only reason we cannot wander the castle is for our own safety?” Laura asked.
“That is correct, ma’am,” Rhona confirmed and gave a little curtsy, glad to be back in her normal maid role, if only for the moment.
“And you can walk all around the castle because you know it so well?”
“My mother and father are both in service here in the castle and I have walked its rooms and corridors since I was a wee bairn,” Rhona said proudly.
“Then you can guide us through the castle safely and we can have our walk. And Mr. Campbell will be satisfied that you have carried out your orders?”
“I suppose that might be true,” Rhona conceded uncertainly.
“I suggest you take us down to the laboratory and back. That will be a fine walk and Tom and I want to learn the route, as the layout of the castle is proving to be quite confusing.”
“Aye, I suppose so,” Rhona said doubtfully. “But what about all this nonsense you keep spouting about the Laird?”
“It is just our English sense of humor,” Tom offered.
“Follow me then, and stay close,” Rhona ordered reluctantly.
The girls sat in the centre of the room. Alice’s bottom was already aching from the cold stone beneath it. Lucy moaned, as she saw the vision of their imminent deaths replayed over and over again in her mind.
“Anybody got any ideas how to get out of here?” Alice asked hopefully
“For a least the hundredth time, no we don’t,” Edith said wearily. “I can see soldiers boarding a train if that is any help. There is also an elderly gentleman and his secretary ordering people about and telling the soldiers to get a move on. He seems to think that they have to hurry. I can see that all that is happening right now, but I can’t see a way out of this dismal trap.”
“We are going to die. I can see our flesh burning off our bodies, the heat is so strong,” Lucy wept.
“It might be worth it, if it warms up me bum when it ‘appens,” Alice commented wryly. “I guess it’s all goin’ to be up to me then.”
“What can you do?” Gwendolyn asked. She had worked hard at keeping her skin from touching any of the room’s surfaces. She was convinced that a room like this would be filled with horrors, should she make that simple mistake.
“I shall call Tricky in me ‘ead an’ I expect ‘e’ll come and save us. It’s worth a try in any case. Perhaps one of his fancy adult friends might come as well.”
“Why didn’t you do that earlier?” Edith complained.
“I ‘ad to wait till me ‘ead stopped ‘urting, didn’t I? Keep quiet like an’ I’ll give it a go right now.”
48. Complications
Daisy and Dougal walked into the laboratory and stopped in surprise at what they did not find there. The laboratory appeared to be empty of people.
“Perhaps your friends have met up and moved on,” Dougal suggested. “I know where Hans Clerkes keeps his devices in the factory, should we go there?”
Daisy called out to the empty room. “It is all right, Cam. Dougal has agreed to accompany us until we can prove to him that his father is planning to attack London.”
Four heads, with suspicion written over their faces poked up from behind storage boxes and benches.
“Are you sure we can trust him?” Cam asked warily as she stepped towards them.
Daisy nodded. “Dougal gave me his word, and I have a feeling we will need him later on.”
“I swear I shall never work with a Precog again,” Cam muttered darkly. “You do things without consulting me and expect us to live with the consequences.”
“But because you are such a brilliant spy it always works out perfectly,” Daisy said, smiling at her friend’s grim visage.
“We expected you to have met your two young friends by now,” Dougal said, trying his best not to sound too skeptical. “It passed ten o’clock a while ago.”
“Laura has a tendency to be late and something may have delayed them. Perhaps your father has inveigled them in conversation?” Arnold suggested.
Dougal hesitated and then nodded. “It is possible. He never seems to sleep at night, at least, not recently. So what do we do? Wait here all night in the hope they turn up?”
Everyone looked to Cam to provide an answer. “We wait until it is reasonable to suppose that Tom and Laura are not able to get here. They may be imprisoned. We shall wait until one o’clock in the morning. Then we will go to the factory and find a way to stop this bomb without them. Without Laura’s Spellbinding power it will be impossible to steal the bomb, but I am sure we can come up with a method of disabling it.”
“I’m a dab hand with a sledgehammer,” Arnold said brightly.
“I take it you are not the newly graduated engineer you claim to be?” Dougal asked wryly.
“I’m afraid not, Dougal, but I have been proven deadly with a cricket ball,” Arnold admitted cheerfully.
“It is good to know that Her Majesty’s secret agents are so skilled in sports.”
Daisy looked rueful. “We would still be at school in Hobsgate learning our trade, if Sir Ernest Trelawney had not decided we were the only ones he could trust with this mission.”
“As you pointed out yourself, we found the trail of Tom and Laura in London and tracked them here, arriving only a day behind them,” Cam said proudly. “I doubt that experienced spies could have done better.”
Dougal sighed. “It is clear to me now that you all believe this delusion. And it is entirely possible that my father may have used illegal means to get Miss Young and Carter here. The Laird does not always play by the rules to get what he wants. But I cannot believe in this bomb and the plot you claim. You are surely mistaken.”
“I heard Lord McBride and the man called Blane discussing using the bomb at the dance,” Arnold said as he stared Dougal straight in the eyes. “I was hiding behind one of the tapestries at the time and they were unaware I was listening.”
Dougal turned away from Arnold without replying. He was not yet ready to believe that his father was a traitor and murderer.
Ebb eyes bulged in shock and he stepped behind Tricky. A few seconds later Tricky screamed and fell into Ebb’s waiting arms. Ebb gently lowered his friend to the floor.
Cam and Arnold rushed to the doors and listened in case anyone came to investigate the noise. Dougal stared at Ebb in surprise, a surprise that quickly turned to dismay as understanding came.
“You are the boy that sees five seconds ahead. I was present at a meeting where my father told Glyn Thomas that you and another boy would be joining the girls in Madam Hulot’s care. However, that cannot be, because you came here with Daisy and how could my father know about you?”
“Tricky can Farsee any time he wants, but only a
few feet from where he is standing. Did your father mention that?” Daisy asked.
“No, but he said he had located a girl that could project telepathically into anyone else’s mind, though only over a short range.”
“And it bleedin’ ‘urts when she does it, silly cow,” Tricky said weakly from the floor. “‘elp me up Ebb, me ‘ead feels like someone’s ‘it it with a mallet.”
Ebb was lifting Tricky before he spoke, but Tricky was used to that kind of thing and spoke anyway.
“I take it that Alice has joined the conversation?” Cam enquired.
“More like joined the shouting match if you ask me,” Tricky agreed. “She says as ‘ow she and the other little tarts ‘ave got themselves locked in a cellar by the Black Widow, whoever she is. The Precog girl seems to think the end of the world is comin’ soon an’ Alice was wonderin’ if I could give ‘er a ‘and to get out.”
“Madam Hulot is referred to as the Black Widow by a number of her acquaintances. It suits her well, I must admit,” Dougal added.
“We gotta go, Tricky,” Ebb urged, pulling at the other boy’s sleeve.
Tricky pushed his friend’s hands away. “Just cos you fancy the Welsh tart, don’t mean I’m at Alice’s beck and call.”
“Did she say where they were being held, or describe the corridors around the room?” Dougal asked. “I could give you directions to find her if she did.”
Tricky stood in front of Dougal with his legs slightly apart and his hands on his hips and gave a short lecture.
“Mister, if you knew Alice at all, you’d know she never ever sends me anything useful. Expects me to know all that and never sends it.”
“She’s a girl,” Ebb said sagely from behind his friend. Cam gave him a glare and Ebb moved to put Tricky between them.