Dead Dukes Tell No Tales

by Catherine Stein

  The lock popped and Sabine slipped inside, letting the handkerchief drop from her face and abandoning her fake bag of laundry. She tossed the cap aside, ripped off the tear-away skirt, and drew her knife. The doors around her were closed, the hall empty. Light and noise filtered in from the kitchen beyond. Sabine scampered up the stairs.

  The ground floor appeared deserted. The haze from the smoke bombs outside blocked out the sun, leaving the main hall lit only by a few dim bulbs. A faint clamor rumbled upstairs. That part of the plan had gone well.

  Sabine peeked into the drawing room. The furnishings were costly and too elaborate for her tastes, but suited to a flashy couple like Barton and Adriana. The room was unoccupied, and her quick look around didn’t reveal any obvious places to imprison a man. She moved on.

  The large dining room at the back of the house also had its door opened, but a smaller room off to the right was closed. Light shone through from the crack beneath the door. Sabine grasped the handle. Locked.

  Her pulse quickened. Cliff! If he was inside, she could have him free in under a minute. She again pulled out her lockpicking device and pressed it securely to the lock. The entire door shifted. She jerked her hand back in alarm. Several seconds ticked by, but no one emerged from the room. Sabine reached out and gave the door a shove. The door toppled inward, crashing to the floor.

  Sabine leapt through the empty doorframe, knife in hand, ready to battle whatever enemy lay in wait. She saw the improvised weapon coming at her out of the corner of her eye and dove to avoid it. At the same moment, her attacker yanked it away, stumbling back in surprise.

  “Sabine?”

  “Cliff!”

  He dropped the crystal decanter to the floor, allowing the contents to dribble out onto the carpet without comment. Sabine picked herself up and appraised him.

  “You’re not wounded.” Her clenched muscles sagged in relief.

  He grinned. “No. You came to rescue me. Naturally.”

  “Yes. But you seemed to be getting out on your own.”

  He lifted a battered letter opener. “I removed the hinges.”

  Her eyebrows rose. “With a letter opener.”

  “I dismantle junk for a living. I have used many peculiar things to pry apart other things.” He dashed over to a desk that was covered with papers, most of which appeared to be mathematical calculations. “How much time do we have?”

  “None.”

  Cliff picked up a pencil and wrote something on the bottom of a page covered with letters written in all capitals. Random letters.

  “Scheiße. Is that my code?”

  “Part of it. I’ll explain later.”

  Cliff added more letters to the section at the bottom. Sabine peered at the paper, trying to read the squashed-together words.

  GREETINGSMYNOBLEHEIRIHAVEEN

  TRUSTEDYOUANDONLYYOUWITHTHIS

  MESSAGEANDTHEMEANSTOREADITI

  HAVECONCEALEDTHEHEARTOFRAIN

  SIDEAWOODENBOXBURIEDBENEATH

  THEFLOORINTHEMAUSOLEUMOFAUGUS

  TUS…

  He finished before she could get through it, then he grabbed her free hand and started for the door. Together, they dashed into the hall and out the front entrance. Smoke still obscured their vision, but much of it had lifted into the air, hiding the dirigible and her distraction on the upper floor. Sabine led Cliff down the street, not daring to release his hand, lest he trip or turn the wrong direction. She ran to the end of the block, turned left, then the next right, then left again. Away from the smoke, she could once again see blue sky. And there, blocking a portion of it, was her ship. Rope ladders unfurled, dropping down to their predetermined meeting place. Cliff and Sabine scrambled aboard and Die Fledermaus rose into the air, leaving London a play town full of moving dolls below.

  “You’re not wounded.”

  Sabine sounded skeptical this time, not relieved. Cliff poured himself a glass of brandy that he was ninety-nine percent certain hadn’t been poisoned and lowered himself into Sabine’s cozy armchair. Lola clambered up into his lap and snuggled against his chest. He tried his best to ignore the little furry legs that reached out of her pocket and brushed against him.

  “Not at all,” he replied. “Adriana wasn’t so lucky. Barton was bemoaning the fact that she would be unable to provide him with intimate companionship while she recovers. He may be the biggest ass in the world, but he seems genuinely attached to her.”

  “Romantic entanglements are peculiar things.”

  Cliff looked straight into Sabine’s luminous brown eyes. “Yes. They are.”

  She didn’t flinch. “Tell me everything.”

  “Everything.” Well, let’s see. First I could say that I love you. Then I’d tell you how insanely happy it made me that you came to rescue me. And how absolutely furious it also made me, because I don’t want you putting yourself in danger.

  “Barton. Adriana. The papers all over the desk. What did you learn?”

  “Adriana was copying the coded message, intending to go after the Heart behind Redbeard’s back. You stole it before she could finish. She and Barton are still in this for themselves, but pretending to go along with Redbeard. They didn’t know about the device and thought the book I had on me held the key to deciphering the message. I made up a bunch of mathematical nonsense that sounded complex enough to have been planned by the duke, and Barton insisted I sit down and decode his part of the message. So I did. The papers you saw were various math problems. Only the first few were even real. I stopped when I realized I could just write random numbers because no one was going to look that closely.”

  “And the message you wrote beneath the code? Did you send him in the wrong direction?”

  “Nah. I didn’t think he’d trust me. I wrote, ‘Greetings, my noble heir. I have entrusted you and only you with this message and the means to read it. I have concealed the Heart of Ra inside a wooden box buried beneath the floor in the Mausoleum of Augustus in Rome. The location is marked by a small plaque that reads, ‘Rot in hell, Barton.’”

  Sabine laughed. Damn, did he love that sound. He wished she would laugh more often. She deserved more happiness in her life.

  She rose from her chair, all business once again. “Right. No time to waste, then. Let’s decode the message properly.” She knelt on the floor beside the bed, reaching beneath it and pulling out the Sphinx device. She set it on the desk and opened the box. “The fourth wheel, if you please.”

  Cliff frowned at her. “Don’t you need the other wheel as well? The one I hid?”

  “No, I have that one. Just hand over the one you’ve been carrying on your person.”

  “But, how…”

  Lola giggled in his arms, pressing her face into his shirt. “Miss La Capitaine and you both tried to hide them in the same spot!”

  “Either we’re both brilliant or we’re both fools,” Sabine said. “Take your pick. Now, can I have the last wheel?”

  “Um… yeah. One moment.” He stood up and set Lola on the floor, then turned his back to the ladies to unfasten his pants.

  “You hid it in your trousers?” Sabine blurted.

  Cliff hurriedly freed the wheel from its less-than-comfortable hiding place and fastened everything back up, his face flaming. “It seemed safer. If I’d left it in a pocket, Barton would have it right now.”

  “How did I not know this already?” she asked.

  Cliff thrust the wheel at her, wanting the conversation over before he had to start fielding extremely awkward questions from Lola while Sabine watched and listened.

  “I suppose you undressed yourself, didn’t you?”

  Lola eyed them both with the puzzled suspicion only a child could have. She knew there was something between them, but she didn’t understand it. Explanations were already forming in Cliff’s mind.

  “Can we get on with it?” he asked. I do not want to have to explain sex to Lola in front of you.

  Because surely Sabine would have her own input on the matt
er. It would be perfectly rational and clinical. And then he would be left to explain that there could be—often were—emotional aspects to it all. Which would leave him openly confronting the fact that while his emotions were absolutely involved, Sabine’s might not be. He couldn’t do that. Not yet. He was a coward.

  Sabine made a pretense of wiping the wheel clean with a handkerchief, then placed it carefully into the correct slot. She placed the three remaining wheels, then turned each one to the correct initial setting.

  “It seems it’s now my turn to fetch something from beneath my clothing.” She began to unbutton the saggy, gray blouse she wore, not bothering to turn away. Underneath, she wore her favorite bright green corset. She unclipped the top busk and withdrew a folded piece of paper.

  “Maybe pirates should sew pockets into their underthings,” Lola suggested.

  “Good thinking,” Sabine replied.

  She opened the document on the desk, not bothering to refasten her clothing. Cliff had a perfect view of the swells of her breasts, the gleaming top of her chestplate, and the scars that ran up the left side of her neck. He couldn’t say whether she was teasing him or if she simply didn’t care anymore, now that he’d seen all of her.

  She typed an N, then an E, deliberately punching in each letter of the random code on her document. The apparatus whirred, printing out the corresponding letters. Cliff leaned over the desk, watching the paper slowly spool from the slot, his heart pounding. This could be it. The answer to the Heart of Ra. An easier life for Lola and the end of their wild chase. His eyes began to pluck words from the stream of letters.

  To my unfortunate heir. You have my deepest apologies for the mess I am surely leaving you. In recompense, I am giving you, alone, the secret to my greatest and worst invention.

  “My God, we did it,” Cliff blurted. “We’ve decoded the document!”

  Sabine pushed him aside. “Stay back. I don’t want to mistype anything.”

  Cliff backed away, bringing Lola up beside him so she could watch the discovery unfold. “We did it, Lo,” he whispered. “We’ve solved the mystery of the treasure. Pretty soon we’ll go dig it up just like real pirates.”

  She beamed up at him for a moment, but then her nose wrinkled and the corners of her mouth turned down. “But what happens after? Do we have to go to California?”

  “Um…” Shit. He still hadn’t planned beyond retrieving the Heart.

  Lola’s bottom lip trembled. “I don’t wanna.” She stared up at him, cheeks coloring and small fists clenching. A tear trickled down her cheek. She pulled away and tore from the room.

  “Lola.”

  Sabine’s hand clamped on his arm before he could follow. “Let her go, Hartleigh. Give her a moment to be angry at you.”

  Cliff shook her off. “I can take care of my own child, thank you.” Stay out of it. You’re already too close, and it’s all going to go to hell.

  Something hard flickered in Sabine’s eyes. Pain? Regret? “I remember what it’s like to be a little girl. She has so little control over her own life. She’s tough. She’ll be okay. Give her a chance to vent her frustrations.”

  “Fine,” Cliff sighed. He couldn’t even put up a fight. Couldn’t push her away, even knowing the end was near. He’d dug himself a pit that was too deep to climb out of. God, he wished he could cry and run off like Lola had done. “Let’s finish the code,” he said, gruffly.

  Sabine resumed her careful typing and the words continued to print. When at last she finished, she tore off the paper, pushed her spectacles firmly onto her nose, and began to read.

  To my unfortunate heir. You have my deepest apologies for the mess I am surely leaving you. In recompense, I am giving you, alone, the secret to my greatest and worst invention. Since you have come this far, I know you are both capable and determined. I only wish I knew your heart. Though you may do with the Heart of Ra as you please, I beg you to use it only for good and not allow it into the hands of any who may misuse its power. Retrieving the invention requires two parts: the coordinates of the area where it is buried and a map showing the precise location. Reset this Sphinx device to retrieve the coordinates. The sun-king will show you the way. As for the map, you may find it concealed at the base of the fountain in Forsyth Park, Savannah, Georgia, US of A. Blessed journey, my heir, and remember, the Heart of Ra holds but a fraction of the strength of the heart of man.

  “Dammit!” Sabine cried.

  Cliff flinched. “What’s wrong?”

  “Damn! Shit! Bloody fucking hell!” She continued on with a string of curses in languages that he didn’t understand.

  “Sabine, what’s wrong? What’s the problem?”

  “Fucking Savannah is the problem! Of all the goddamned places…” She threw the paper down onto the desk and sank heavily onto her bed. “Just my luck.”

  “Why is Savannah a problem? It’s an easy stop on the way to the Andes.”

  “I’m wanted there.” She flopped onto her back and stared up at the ceiling. “For murder.”

  40

  Land! Merciful God, he could see land!

  Cliff leaned so far over the rail, gaping at the beautiful sight before him, that a hand grabbed hold of his coat and hauled him back down.

  “You’ll break the Captain’s heart if you tumble to your death, Duke,” Nicole scolded.

  “I won’t be a duke down there,” Cliff replied, keeping his thoughts focused on the shoreline and not on Sabine. “That’s America. I can be ordinary Cliff Kinsley.”

  “Hmph. You don’t blend in as well as you think you do.”

  “I’m ordinary enough.” He wouldn’t be in the papers. People wouldn’t know who he was. And hopefully enemies wouldn’t be chasing him down.

  He’d spent far too much time over the past four and a half days staring through the lens of a telescope, looking for other airships, watching for any signs of hostility. Landing would be a relief, and not only for that reason.

  “Lola! Come see! We’re nearly there. We’ll be back in America before you know it.”

  “Okay.” She didn’t even look up from the treasure map she was drawing. She’d been quiet since the day they’d decoded the document, even after he’d sat with her and promised that once they found the treasure they would decide together what to do next. He worried she was still angry with him.

  Frustrated, he fetched the telescope again and stood watching the land creep ever nearer. The journey was almost over. He would be able to stop feeling so damned useless. Flying through the night, the crew worked in shifts. Constantly busy. Keeping the ship safe, clean, and on course. He’d sat around and done… nothing.

  “I’d like a look, if you don’t mind.”

  Cliff jumped, then stepped aside and handed the spyglass to Sabine. “It’s your ship.”

  “Mmm. Not for long.”

  What did she mean by that? She loved this ship. He’d hardly spoken a word to her in days because she’d been working non-stop. She piloted the ship, did repairs and maintenance, cooked up meals in the kitchen. He’d even seen her swabbing the deck. He’d offered to help, but she’d said only, “You’re a passenger.”

  Sabine lowered the telescope and handed it back to him. “We’ll be arriving soon. In Savannah, this is not my ship. I am not and never have been a captain or even a crewman. She belongs to Nicole and Ben. They are merchants based in Jamaica. I am only a passenger. Your wife. I’m quiet and shy of strangers. We came from Europe, where we were visiting my family. Soon we will be boarding a train home to… You’re the American. Tell me where we should be from.”

  “It has to be Chicago. I sound like I’m from Chicago.”

  “Chicago, then. We are here for one day only, just to see the town before we leave. Can you handle that?”

  “Probably. Do I get to sleep with my wife?”

  “Don’t be an ass, Hartleigh.”

  “Resentful husband in a sexless marriage, then. I’ll flirt with the waitresses when we go for dinner.”
<
br />   “You will not. We are a loving family.”

  He turned from the rail to look her in the eye. “We’ll have to talk to one another, then. You know, act like we like each other.”

  Sabine put her hands on her hips. “I used to like you.” She spun and stalked away.

  Cliff stared morosely over the rail, letting the minutes tick by as Die Fledermaus drew nearer to the shore. She was right. He was an ass. He was so damned frustrated with the days of hardly talking and not touching. Her resistance to even acknowledging what had passed between them did nothing to suppress his desperate wanting. Desire didn’t care how impossible a future would be. No wonder Lola was avoiding him. He probably radiated bitterness.

  Sabine was knowingly putting herself in danger by going to Savannah. She was probably scared and angry and had every right to be. Cliff didn’t doubt whatever crime she had committed there was justified. Something bad had happened to her. And he’d offered her nothing but his own petulance.

  Damn. He owed her an apology.

  Cliff crossed the deck to where she stood, her arms crossed over her chest, lost in her own thoughts and memories.

  “I’m sorry.”

  She nodded, but didn’t respond.

  “Very sorry. I’ve been frustrated and worried, but it’s no excuse. I’ve been selfish. Your concerns far outweigh mine and I should have been thinking of you instead of dwelling on my own problems. I will do my best to make amends. What can I do to help?”

  Sabine sighed. “I don’t need any help, Hartleigh.”

  “I know.”

  Her head whipped around to look at him, brown eyes wide with surprise.

  “You’re so strong and so competent,” he said. “You always have been. I love that about you. But I’m offering to help anyway. That’s what friends do. So, what can I do to help?”

  She turned away again. “Just play your part.”

  “I can do that.” He stepped closer, speaking in low tones. “And if you want anything—someone to talk to, a hug, another night of mind-blowing sex—you only need to ask.” Her head moved in the tiniest of shakes, and he sighed. “I know, I know. You’re over it.”