A School for Unusual Girls

by Kathleen Baldwin

  “Thank you for the use of your coach, my lord.” I gripped Jane’s satchel beside me as we went over a rut in the road. “Did you tell your coachman to hurry? Did you explain that lives depend upon it?”

  He nodded and cast a sidelong look at Tess.

  I needn’t have worried about speed. We traveled at a breakneck pace. The carriage practically flew down the rutted road, bounding over bumps and potholes and veering sharply around curves. I held the ink cradled in my lap and with my other hand clutched the ceiling strap to keep from bouncing off the seat.

  For nearly an hour, no one said a single solitary word. The atmosphere inside grew more and more tense with every mile. The seats were of the fine leather, soft, luxuriously padded, and the carriage well-sprung, but given the hostility crackling between Tess and Ravencross, riding on horseback may have been more comfortable, after all.

  By the time we hit the outskirts of London, the night turned black and deep with fog. Our coachman slowed the horses to accommodate for limited visibility and increased traffic as hundreds of carriages converged onto the too-narrow streets. Our speed reduced to a crawl. Too slow. I tapped my foot. If only it didn’t take forever to get across London. Bouncing my leg impatiently, I considered getting out and running ahead to clear the path. But of course that would only succeed in getting me trampled or lost in the fog.

  Desperate for a distraction, lest I go mad with anxiety, I grabbed the food sack and slung it onto my lap. “Sera packed food for our journey. Meat, bread, and cheese.”

  I held it open to Tess. No reply.

  “She finessed it out of Cook. No mean feat, as I’m sure you must realize.” I had no stomach for any of it, but perhaps she did. I continued to hold out the bag to Tess. “We do have a long night ahead of us.”

  She shrugged and said nothing.

  “Are you hungry, my lord?” I fished out an apple and offered it to him.

  He shook his head in curt refusal.

  “Very well.” Tess smacked her hand against the leather seat and snatched the apple out of my hand. “I’ll have one of those.”

  The way she held the apple made me think she planned to heave it at Lord Ravencross. But she didn’t. She held on to the apple and threw words at him instead. “For your information, My Lord High-and-Mighty, I was only going to borrow Zeus. You know perfectly well I would have brought him back in the morning.”

  Lord Ravencross turned, and despite the dim light, his eyes seemed to blaze as he narrowed them solely on her. “You are aware, are you not, that it is customary to hang horse thieves?”

  “Then hang me.” With a haughty toss of her head, Tess chomped into the apple.

  It was my duty to intercede. “My lord, this entire situation is my fault. Tess would never have tried to borrow your horse if I hadn’t begged her to do it. Which I would not have done if this weren’t a matter of grave importance. Extremely urgent—”

  He turned an almost desperate expression on me. “Do you think I would be carting the two of you off to London for any other reason?”

  I shook my head and regretted breaking the silence.

  He glanced sideways at Tess. To my surprise, a splash of yearning and boyish tenderness weakened his features, betraying him. “She wouldn’t tell me anything, other than Lord Wyatt’s life depended upon me and it was my duty to King and country.” Clearly, his reasons for escorting us had more to do with Tess than King or country. An instant later, his face hardened into his customary mask of anger. “I owe Lord Wyatt a debt of some consequence”—he glowered at his lame leg—“so I could hardly refuse.”

  Tess munched on the apple and didn’t say another word until we rumbled across the cobblestones on Queen Street. As if Ravencross had never said a cross word to her, Tess chirped as gaily as a lark in summer, “Thank you for your escort, my lord. You may set us down at the corner of St. James’s Square.”

  He bristled at her request. “I think not. What do you intend to do, beg admittance at Lady Castlereagh’s door? The servants will toss you out on your ear.”

  “I have no intention of begging,” Tess said, lingering on the last word.

  He shifted uncomfortably, frowning at the haughty tilt of her chin.

  “Well, I don’t mind begging,” I said, collecting the satchel into my lap. “We need to hurry. I will plead for the both of us.”

  “No need.” Tess hefted a small carrying case at her feet and announced with pride. “I brought a rope.”

  “A rope?” Lord Ravencross and I exclaimed simultaneously.

  My stomach cinched into a tight knot. This did not bode well. “What do you intend to do with a rope?”

  Tess jabbed me with her elbow. “I’ll thank you to show a little confidence. I’ve gotten you this far, haven’t I?”

  Actually Lord Ravencross had gotten us this far, but I had no desire to argue. “How—”

  “It’s simple.” She smiled, looking quite pleased with herself. “All we need to do is slip around back and find a dark section of the building. Then I’ll scale the wall to the third-floor balcony.”

  Ravencross snorted. “Brilliant.”

  “I’ll have you know, My Lord Grouchy-Bear, I happen to be particularly adept at scaling walls. I have done it before.”

  “Oh, of that I have no doubt, Miss Horse-thief.”

  She shrugged. “I’ll climb the wall and then hoist you up, Georgie. We’ll change into our ball gowns in the dark of the balcony and enter through the deserted bedroom.”

  Unable to hold back any longer, I said, “Climbing the wall does not seem a practical plan. What if you fall? And hoisting me up with a rope…” I shook my head. “What makes you think the bedroom will be deserted?”

  “Bound to be,” she said with utter confidence. “Because everyone will be attending the festivities in the ballroom. And there you have it.” She snapped her fingers. “Easy as peas on a knife. We’ll slip in and blend with the other guests, locate Lord Wyatt, and proceed with the business at hand.”

  Ravencross closed his eyes tight for a moment, and to his credit he composed himself before speaking. “Outstanding plan.” He clapped—two dull pats of his gloved hands. “And if you get caught? You do realize that breaking into the minister of foreign affairs’ home would be considered treason.”

  The leather seat squeaked as Tess squirmed beside me.

  He leaned forward and stared directly at her. “In which case, when I caught you in the stable with Zeus, I may as well have strung you up myself and saved King and country the expense of a hangman.” He stared at her neck, as if distracted by the ghostly specter of an imaginary rope.

  Tess’s hand fluttered to her throat, but she quickly withdrew it and crossed her arms defiantly. “I suppose you have a better idea?”

  I earnestly hoped he did, because hers was a disaster, and the best I could come up with was slipping in through the servants’ entrance.

  “Yes.” He sat back and crossed his arms, too. “Next year I’ll be twenty-one, old enough to take my seat in the House of Lords. Lord Castlereagh needs all the supporters he can get. I think my title should be enough to gain us admittance.”

  “Marvelous,” I practically shouted. “No dangling at the end of a rope.”

  “I can’t guarantee that much,” he said. “Leave it to her to have your necks in a noose before the night is out.”

  “At least we don’t have to scale the foreign minister’s wall,” I murmured.

  Tess shrugged. “I’d been rather looking forward to that part.”

  Lord Ravencross opened the driver’s trap. “Take us to my town house.”

  “Why?” Tess demanded.

  “So you can change into your gowns in privacy. What else?”

  “No!” I blurted. “There isn’t time.” At this very moment, Sebastian might be handing out the wrong ink.

  “I see,” he said. “And yet, you thought there was time for you to sneak around the house and scramble up a rain gutter?”

  “D
on’t be absurd. I wouldn’t have used a rain gutter,” Tess huffed. “Much too noisy. I would have climbed the brick—”

  “No more arguments.” It was my turn to smack the seat. “To save time we can change in the carriage.”

  He shook his head. “There isn’t enough room in here. Aside from that, what do you expect me to do, close my eyes?”

  Tess held her hand over her breast and feigned surprise. “Heavens no, my lord. We would never expect you to be so gentlemanly.”

  “What then?” he growled.

  “My dear Lord Ogre, if you would be so kind as to step outside and stand guard I’m certain there’s ample room for Miss Fitzwilliam and I to manage a change of wardrobe.”

  He snorted in disbelief. “Reduce me to keeper of the door, will you? Very well, Your Royal Bossiness, I shall comply.” He pulled on his forelock, as if he was the lowliest of servants.

  Tess inclined her head in a queenly fashion.

  Lord Ravencross flicked open the coachman’s transom and ordered, “Pull onto a side street, a quiet one, and stop.” He slammed it shut and scowled.

  The coach turned and rolled to a stop. Ravencross climbed out and cast a warning over his shoulder. “Be quick about it. I can’t skulk out here all night like a ruddy brigand.”

  We dressed hurriedly, helping each other ease the gowns over our heads and tying tapes that were difficult to negotiate in the cramped space. I pulled on a luxurious pair of white elbow length gloves. Tess fastened around my neck a string of pearls that Jane had generously packed in the satchel. She’d also lent me a small beaded reticule into which I carefully stowed the vials of invisible ink. We were ready.

  “Oh, my,” I said when I took stock of my companion. “You look beautiful.”

  Tess smoothed out her gown, a clever combination of diaphanous white silk flowing over her shoulders and sides, with a cornflower blue panel running down the center. It was, however, cut fashionably low, and revealed a great deal of her bosom. I shrugged. Such was the Parisian style. She looked stunning in it and would provide a useful diversion for my night’s errand. With Tess in the room, I could go about my business without attracting any notice at all.

  I opened the door and summoned Lord Ravencross. With a nod he instructed the coachman to take us to St. James’s Square and climbed in. He took one look at Tess and his cheeks flamed. He tugged at his collar.

  “Would you like me to straighten your cravat for you?” Tess asked.

  “No,” he snapped.

  Aloof and as elegant as a swan, she elevated her chin. “As you wish.”

  He eyed her cleavage and took a deep breath. “I’ve half a mind to rip the ruddy cloth off my neck and use it to cover up your…” He waved at her breasts. “Haven’t you something to hide those … What I mean is … Bloody hell, you’re practically naked. I’ll be forced to call out at least a dozen men before the evening is half over.”

  “It was not my intention to distress you, my lord.”

  I rather thought it might have been her exact intention. She plumped up the lace at the sides of her breasts. “There. Is that better?”

  Whether it was better or worse, I couldn’t tell. Poor Lord Ravencross could not look away.

  Tess seemed rather pleased at his response. “I fail to see why you should call anyone out on my behalf. You aren’t my brother, nor any relation at all. I don’t see that it is any of your business if another gentleman lays his eyes on my…” She paused, waiting for him to tear his gaze away from the exact spot in question. “Person.”

  He growled and shoved back against the seat.

  “Speaking of relationships,” I called their attention to the business at hand. “How do you plan to explain our connection? What excuse will you give as to why you are escorting us this evening?”

  “Don’t need an excuse,” he muttered.

  “You could introduce us as your cousins,” I suggested. “Among the peerage everyone is related somehow or other. In fact, it is quite likely you and I actually are cousins through my father’s line. My uncle is Lord Brucklesby.”

  “Brucklesby.” He made my uncle’s name sound like a sour word and muttered something else, which sounded suspiciously like, “That old goat?”

  I wasn’t certain, because our carriage finally rolled to a stop in front of Lord Castlereagh’s imposing town house and my thoughts turned elsewhere. “Sebastian,” I whispered aloud, and touched my finger to the carriage glass.

  Eighteen

  HARE AND HOUNDS

  Lord Ravencross’s plan worked. A few moments later, we stood on a lavish staircase along with dozens of other guests waiting to be announced into the ballroom. I tapped my foot against the marble stair and peered up and down the procession hoping to catch a glimpse of Sebastian. He must be here. He had to be here, but where? I stretched up on my tiptoes but couldn’t see over the gentlemen’s shoulders, or ladies’ voluminous turbans and billowy hair arrangements. In this awful crush how would I find him in time?

  Tess edged close and warned us in a low voice, “Daneska will be here.”

  Lord Ravencross rumbled with disapproval. She laid her hand on his arm. He stared at her white glove resting on his dark sleeve.

  “This is important, my lord. You must stay away from her. Whatever you do, avoid her at all costs.”

  He frowned and looked confused. “I have no interest in Lady Daneska.”

  “I am well aware of that,” she said. “It’s your dislike of her that worries me. It would be best if you did not cross paths tonight.”

  “I will not run from her,” he snarled.

  “You mustn’t take that attitude.” Tess let go of his arm and tilted her face up to him, pleading. “She already wants vengeance. We cannot risk making her angrier.”

  “You can’t possibly think I fear her.”

  “I wish that you did.” Tess shook her head. “You don’t know what she’s capable of. I do. Daneska is no fool. She won’t attack you. Not directly.” Tess pressed her lips together. “She’ll go after someone you…” She looked away and red rushed into her cheeks. “Someone else.”

  His eyes widened. “She wouldn’t,” he whispered softly.

  “I’ll stay away from you. Perhaps she won’t guess.…”

  He frowned. Hard lines brought the wolf in him to the surface. “Even she would not be so bold.”

  “I beg to differ, my lord. You do not know her as well as I do.”

  He grumbled and turned away.

  Tess leaned close and whispered in my ear. “You must stay away from her tonight, too. Otherwise, she will destroy everything.” By the intensity in her eyes I knew she had seen Lady Daneska play a part in this nightmare. “Run if you have to. Heed my words. Run.”

  I nodded quickly.

  “Oh, this is hopeless.” Tess turned pale. “Impossible.” Her shoulders sagged and I feared she would fall to the floor and under the heavy agony of knowing too much.

  “It will be all right.” I grabbed her hand and clasped it tight, speaking quietly but in a voice firm enough that she would draw strength from my words. “We fixed the ink. That was impossible. Yet, because of you, we did it. This will be easy in comparison. We will deliver it to Sebastian and leave. We can do this. Look, we are almost to the receiving line.”

  She shuddered. “May God help us all.”

  Our turn arrived to be announced. I swallowed air and felt a bit nauseous. The page shouted us in a booming voice, “The Earl of Ravencross, his cousin, Miss Georgiana Fitzwilliam, and her companion, Miss Teresa Aubreyson.”

  Fortunately, most of the guests in the room took little notice of us. We made our way down the receiving line where Lord Ravencross bowed elegantly and introduced us to Lord and Lady Castlereagh. Tess and I curtseyed deep. I quaked in my shoes, meeting the leader of the British House of Commons under false pretenses. Lord Ravencross rapidly distracted Lord Castlereagh with a friendliness I hadn’t thought him capable of, while we pressed forward away from Lady Castler
eagh’s curious glances.

  Lord Ravencross asked our host, “I wonder if you might help me. I’m looking for a particular friend of mine, Lord Wyatt. We served together on the continent.”

  Lord Castlereagh studied Lord Ravencross with greater interest. “I know the man. Fine fellow, Lord Wyatt.”

  “Bit of a muddle,” Ravencross confided. “I agreed to meet him here earlier, but I arrived late, you see. Wouldn’t know where I might find him, would you?”

  I pretended to be disinterested, averting my gaze to the dazzling company swirling across the dance floor. All the while, my ears were keenly tuned to every word they said. That’s when I spotted Daneska on the other side of the ballroom surrounded by admirers. She glanced pointedly in our direction.

  “I’ve a fair notion,” the foreign secretary spoke cautiously, “I saw Wyatt and several of his friends headed out the side door. If I know the gentlemen, they wanted a quiet place to smoke cigars, and perhaps drink a glass or two of brandy.” He nodded toward the west wall of the ballroom. “Probably went downstairs to my study. No doubt they found the good stuff stashed in my desk.”

  I gazed up at the ornate ceiling. Clearly, Sebastian had rounded up his contacts for a secret meeting under the foreign secretary’s roof. Ravencross thanked our host, bowed, and we took our leave of the reception line.

  “I have to get to that study,” I said to Tess from the side of my mouth. She nodded and drifted away to join a circle of young ladies and gentlemen, greeting them as if they were old friends. One fellow bowed over her hand and looked on the verge of asking her to dance.

  Ravencross growled under his breath and marched straight for Tess and her group of acquaintances. He parted the circle and glowered at them like a towering Hessian mercenary about to whip out his saber and cut down each and every one of them.

  He provided the perfect diversion I needed to find my way to the side door. Turning, I nearly collided with Miss Pinswary. Had she overheard what I said to Tess? Her eyes narrowed on me. “Miss Fitzwilliam, what a surprise to find you here.”