Wooster felt that he should state the obvious. “She ran away, after giving you a slight concussion.”
Gil shrugged. “I’m not saying it would have been an easy courtship. But I believe—”
They were interrupted by the far door being slammed open. A high-pitched squeal announced the arrival of Zoing. The miniscule construct waved its blue claws frantically from within its concealing coat.
From long practice, Ardsley could sometimes actually understand parts of what the excitable creature said, but not this time. It was hooting and piping so quickly that he was completely at sea.
Gil however, listened intently and nodded in satisfaction. “Excellent, Zoing, well done.” He turned to Ardsley and a genuine grin crossed his face. “Time to work!”
Without pause, he followed Zoing out the door. Hurriedly, a concerned Wooster followed. “Seriously?” he demanded as he tried to keep up with Gil’s long strides. “Between marathon sessions in your lab, and your excessive dueling with assorted monstrosities, you’re already driving yourself to an early grave!”
They passed a large boiler that had several red lights blinking ominously across its front. As he passed, Gil casually flipped two switches and gave the side a thump. All the lights changed to green. “Well I certainly can’t stop now,” he said reasonably. “The next few days will be critical. Should I let them die just so I can get some sleep?”
Wooster frowned. “If your father finds out that you have them—”
“I don’t give a damn!” Gil interrupted fiercely. “And you should have thought of that before you helped me hide them.”
Wooster grimaced. He’d thought about little else for days. Gil continued, “Besides, with any luck, we’ll be done and have them out of here before he even—”
“Master Gilgamesh! The Baron demands that you attend him! Now!” Expressions of shock and guilt raced across Gil’s face before he damped them down and smoothly turned to face the Lakya that had appeared at the end of the hallway.
He was not reassured by the creature’s appearance. Ever since Agatha’s escape and death, the Baron had been subtly dispersing the Jägermonsters throughout the vast Wulfenbach Empire. As a result, the Lakya had been given more and more of the day-to-day duties that the Jägers had been entrusted with aboard the castle. This had resulted in an increased superciliousness amongst the dapper constructs.
There was no evidence of that now. The Lakya before Gil looked almost frantic, and was obsessively rubbing his hands together in a frantic dry washing motion that any casual observer of the footmen would have known was only a few steps below actual panic.
Gil tried to marshal his thoughts. “But—”
The hand washing increased in intensity. “Now! Right now!” The Lakya chattered its teeth together. “I have never seen him so angry!”
Gil tried again. “Um…with me?”
A frantic nodding. “Especially with you!”
A peculiar calm settled upon Gilgamesh. For years he’d imagined what would happen to him if he failed to measure up to his father’s never-ending tests. Surely the reality couldn’t be worse. Probably. He nodded. “Very well.”
He turned to Ardsley and put a hand on the distraught man’s shoulder. “Wooster, go on to the lab without me. Work with Zoing. Keep everything stable for as long as you can. I…” He swallowed. “I may be gone for some time.”
Despite this acceptance, it was still a pale, nervous face that shortly peered around the slightly opened blast door to Klaus’ laboratory. “Father?” he ventured.
“GET IN HERE, YOU IMBECILE!” Klaus roared.
Gil quickly threw the door open wide and was hit with a wave of moist heat. The lab was like an oven. Even his father, who was a stickler for formal dress most of the time, was clothed in little more than rolled up shirtsleeves and a foundryman’s leather overall. Gil tried not to stare. His father was sweating, which combined with his unshaven face and the circles under his eyes, gave him a terrifying appearance.
Reflexively, his eyes swept the room and discovered it equipped with a baffling hodgepodge of chemical, electrical and medical equipment. Whatever it was that the Master of Castle Wulfenbach had been working on, it had been tortuously complicated.
Gil took in the large camp bed and the various kitchen trays, which indicated that Klaus’ residence here had been prolonged and that this project had required constant supervision. He felt a flicker of curiosity, which was then snuffed out under the force of Klaus’ rage.
Klaus grabbed Gil’s upper arm and dragged him towards the center of the room. Gil saw an ornate, and obviously handmade container, over three meters in diameter, somewhat resembling a steam boiler, but fitted out with a bewildering array of additional devices. Studying it, Gil was even more puzzled. He could identify almost all of the devices in play, but could not conceive of what possible project they could all be working on in concert.
Releasing Gil, Klaus strode up to the container and threw a knife switch on the side. A set of green lights on the bottom of what was revealed to be a fluid filled tank flared on. Klaus spun about and pointed to the tank. “Who the blazes is that?!”
Gil stepped forward. Within the tank floated a naked girl. Gil estimated that when she stood, she would be tall and full figured. A short, thick mane of curly black hair floated above her head. Her eyes were closed, and there was a curiously blank look on her face. Gil studied her intently, frantically searching his memory.
Finally he gave up and turned to his father. “I… I don’t know who she is, father. Should I?”
This only seemed to further infuriate the elder Wulfenbach. “That is the girl who’s body you brought back!”
Gilgamesh stared at her. “Girl? What girl? I didn’t—” Realization hit him. “Miss Clay?” He stepped forward. “That’s Agatha?”
“No!” Klaus roared. “That’s the girl you told me was Agatha!” He slammed his fist upon the container, which boomed in response. “Weeks of preparation! Constant monitoring! I’m finally set to decant her, and this is what I find!” He glared at Gil. “You fool!”
Gil felt his head start to reel. He stepped back. Not from the heat of his father’s rage, but from the waves of realization that were battering him with successive bursts of insight.
“She’s still alive!” Another realization. “The circus… they tricked me!” He looked at Klaus blankly. “Father—they tricked me!”
Gil hadn’t believed that Klaus could get any madder. He was incorrect. “Am I supposed to feel better because the heir to my empire was duped by a pack of carnies?”
Gil wisely realized that there was no good answer to this. Klaus turned away in disgust. Gil felt the ambient heat begin to diminish. He considered breathing.
“Fortunately,” Klaus continued, “I decided to attempt a revival.”
Gil blinked. “But… her head was—”
Klaus waved him into silence. “Yes, the brain was a complete loss. But then, I thought, a Spark’s brain can be such an obstreperous thing. But a Heterodyne, ah—that would be a useful thing to have in one’s arsenal.” He turned to look at the floating girl. “I had the body. If I could repair that, why then I could fill it with any brain I wanted.”
Gil stared. It was an audacious plan. But what left him breathless was the medical miracle that Klaus had developed solely in order to implement it. Even after this fiasco, the Baron’s scientists would be developing and refining this for years to come.
“But now—!” Klaus ended this speculation by again smashing his great fist onto the tank. “I want her back here!”
Gil felt himself nodding frantically. “I’ll—”
“No!” Klaus fixed Gil with a look of contempt. “I will take DuPree and I will fetch her myself!”
Gil blanched. He thought desperately. “Do you know where she is? It’s been months.”
This checked Klaus. “True…”
Gil tried to sound reasonable. “You’ve done some astounding work father, but yo
u must be exhausted. You’re the one who always says that important decisions should always be made twice—once when tired, and once when rested.”
Klaus hesitated, closed his eyes and wearily rubbed his great jaw. “I do, don’t I?” He regarded Gilgamesh with an unreadable expression upon his face. “Perhaps you are—” he paused. “Yes, Boris?”
The four-armed secretary checked the knock he had been about to complete. “An important emissary from Sturmhalten has arrived, Herr Baron.”
This was unusual enough that it piqued Klaus’ interest. “Very well, show him in.”
The Count Hengst von Blitzengaard, immaculately attired in a formal traveling cloak, stepped into the lab and kept from perspiring by sheer force of will. Gil was impressed. He crisply bowed and formally presented a large black envelope, encrusted with the winged sword and gear sigil of the House of Sturmvarous.
“Forgive the intrusion, Herr Baron. I bring most grave news57.” Klaus accepted the envelope, snapped the wax seal with a thumb and unfolded the document within. He looked at his son.
“Prince Aaronev Wilhelm Sturmvarous IV, is dead,” he announced.
Gil frowned. That meant that Aaronev Tarvek Sturmvarous was the next prince. He shook his head. There would be trouble there—
“A lab accident?” Incredulity filled Klaus’ voice. He slapped the paper. “It says here that Aaronev died in a lab accident.”
Gil shook his head. “Preposterous.”
The Count cleared his throat nervously. “The Royal Family assured the medical—”
Klaus interrupted him. “There are many things I can say against Prince Aaronev, but in the lab he was the most meticulous and procedurally brilliant—” Klaus stopped dead. Within his uniquely convoluted brain things were coming together. “It’s her!”
Gil tried to understand. “Her who, father?”
“The girl! Agatha! I know it!”
“How could you possibly—”
Klaus waved his hands impatiently. He had enough confidence in his son’s thought processes that he did not even bother with full sentences. “Circus! Passholt gone! Balen’s Gap! Time versus distance. Aaronev is a fan of Heterodyne shows—he was always Lucrezia’s slave! Of course that’s where she’d wind up!”
He turned to his secretary, who was already poised to receive his orders, notebook in hand. “”I’ll be leaving for Sturmhalten within the next three hours. I’m assigning the Seventh Groundnaut Mechanical, the Fifth Airborne, a wing of Hoomhoffers and two Bug Squads to come with. They are to be fully armed and should be prepared to encounter moderate resistance. Captain DuPree is to be in Command. I shall travel on her ship. Inform her at once. Within twenty-four hours I shall expect to be followed by a full Inspection Team. I shall want Sturmhalten probed down to the bedrock.”
Boris nodded. “Very Good, Herr Baron.”
During this, Count Blitzengaard’s face has gone white. “My Baron!” he broke in, “The people of Balan’s Gap are completely loyal to the Empire! This is an invasion! You must allow me to contact—”
Klaus cut him off. “No contact.” To Boris he added, “With anyone.” The Count drew his breath in outrage, but before he could speak, Klaus verbally steamrollered him. “Whereas I am confident in the loyalty of the people of Balan’s Gap, I suspect there may be a threat to the populace of the Empire as a whole. Under those conditions, I may send in an Inspection Team protected by sufficient troops to ensure their safety and insure compliance. Boris will cheerfully recite the relevant passages from the treaty that Prince Aaronev signed when the city was annexed as he escorts you to your quarters. Good day.”
With that, the Count felt several hands clasp his shoulders and gently but irresistibly pull him from the room. As the door shut, Gil looked at his father and spoke seriously. “Are you planning on leveling Sturmhalten?”
Klaus frowned. “If I must.”
Gil felt overwhelmed. “This is all about Agatha, but she’s done nothing!”
Suddenly Klaus looked tired. “There is a possibility that she has done everything!”
Gil paused. His father was not known as an alarmist. “Explain, please.”
Klaus paused. He considered his son for a moment.
Encouraged, Gil continued, “Father, if you’d let me just talk to her—”
But this had been the wrong thing to say. “Absolutely not,” Klaus declared flatly. “That family is utterly poisonous, and this girl may be the worst of all.”
Gil was lost. “But you liked the Heterodynes! You worked with—”
Klaus paused in the doorway. “Not the Heterodynes. The House of Mongfish. Your Agatha’s mother was the worst of them. I couldn’t stop her, but if I act quickly, I may be able to stop another war.” With that he strode off down the corridor.
Gil started to follow him when a frantic Zoing raced around the nearest corner and squealed excitedly. Gil impatiently listened, and several seconds later was running at full speed back down the corridor.
He burst into the lab to find a sweating Wooster desperately dashing amongst the various devices, trying to adjust them. He was failing most spectacularly. All of them were blinking red. Many of them were shuddering and venting great gouts of steam.
He saw Gil and waved his hands. “Gil! Thank goodness! I don’t know what to do!”
Gil strode forward and began twisting valves and re-routing cables. “Bleed the pressure here! Counter the loss by heating here…” Both Wooster and Zoing leapt into action as Gil continued to shout directions while performing his own corrections. Within several minutes, green lights shown instead of red, and with a sigh, Gil replaced a final clogged filter. He slumped. Wooster allowed his shoulders to droop slightly, and Zoing fell over sideways.
“Nice one, Herr Boffin” Ardsley muttered and then looked mortified at the slip.
Gil smiled. He hadn’t heard Ardsley use the phrase since college, when they were both students. He nodded, but otherwise ignored it. “Unfortunately, it’s even more unstable than I’d feared. I’ll have to monitor it closely for—” He stopped aghast. “I can’t—” He stared at Wooster and the Englander could see that Gil was deeply distressed. “I… I can’t leave!”
“Does Sir need to go somewhere?”
Gil’s face took on one of those intensely blank looks that Wooster had come to recognize. Within his head, Gil was frantically thinking. Assessing, sorting, imagining and computing possibilities faster than his friend would have ever believed possible. Wooster braced himself. Whenever this happened, it meant that things were about to get very interesting and very nerve-wracking, very, very quickly. This time, Gil outdid himself.
He blinked, and swiveled his head towards the waiting valet. “It will have to be you,” he said hollowly.
Wooster swallowed. “Me? Sir, what are you talking about?”
Even more worrying, Gil was again in deep thought. “But how to ensure…”
Wooster felt a prickle of fear. This was—
Suddenly, Gil was right in front of him. His face centimeters from his. His large, powerful hands gripping his upper arms. “Wooster,” Gil said very intently, “This is very important. Do you fear me?”
Wooster had braced himself for any number of things, but this was not one of them. “Sir?”
Gil gave him a small shake. “No, really. Be honest.”
Wooster considered the question carefully. Suddenly he realized that Gil was holding him so that his feet were not actually touching the floor. That helped clarify things. “Ah—a little, I confess.”
Gil searched Ardsley’s face. He nodded. “I can work with that.” Then he grinned. “Miss Clay—Agatha Heterodyne—she’s alive!”
Wooster’s jaw dropped at the news. “Alive!”
Gil nodded in delight. “Yes! She found people to help her and she tricked me!” He paused as another thought struck him. “And Captain DuPree no less! Hee hee, she’ll be furious!”
Wooster nodded. “But—that’s wonderful, sir.”
“Your father,” Wooster surmised.
Gil nodded. As he spoke he pulled down a large leather travel satchel and began placing useful things inside. “That’s right. He knows, and he’s going to go get her himself.”
Wooster frowned. “That… could be bad.”
Again Gil nodded and pulled open a cabinet containing maps. He sorted through them quickly and tossed a series of them into the bag. “Bad indeed. So I’m sending you to her.”
“Me?” Wooster didn’t even try to hide his surprise.
Gil pulled down a magnetic compass he’d been experimenting with. He hesitated, and then gently switched it on. Instantly his entire body was forcefully spun about until it was facing towards Magnetic North. Regretfully, he switched it off and placed it back on the shelf. “Yes, I want you to get to her first. Warn her. Hide her.”
Wooster looked lost. “Where? In my room?”
Gil sighed and closed the bag with a snap of fasteners. “Don’t be ridiculous. After you reported that she had escaped, you were ordered, if the opportunity presented itself, to do everything within your power to get Agatha to England.”
Wooster felt the floor drop out from under him. “I—Wh—What?”
Gil continued blithely. “This will enable you to do so.”
Wooster stared at him.
Gil rolled his eyes. “Please. You don’t work for me, you work for British Intelligence. You did when we met back in Paris. It’s why I recommended you for duty aboard Castle Wulfenbach, it’s why I made you my valet, so I could keep an eye on you. My father certainly didn’t object. To be honest, for a while I thought you might be one of his little tests.” Gil shrugged. “It’s been an enjoyable game, and I’m sorry I have to end it, but this is quite important.”
Wooster blindly reached back and found a chair. He slowly sank into it, shaking his head. “Oh dear,” he muttered. “You’ve known all along. They’ll be so angry…” He looked at Gil and a touch of his old smirk crossed his lips. “I suppose I’ll be in slightly less disgrace when I bring them Agatha Heterodyne.”
Agatha H. And the Clockwork Princess Page 34