“Journal pages, Lady Melbourne. Indisputably in my father’s hand. Most of them concern his summer in Switzerland in 1816. The first after he...left...England.”
Lady Melbourne stood abruptly and moved to the fireplace. She leaned there, staring at her reflection in the gilt-framed mirror. Ada watched her mouth move. She watched the aging beauty say over and over, They survive. They survive!
“Do they...is it suspected this paper of your father’s has something to do with Mr. Babbage’s disappearance?” enquired Lady Melbourne aloud.
“Everything is suspected at this time. But, I confess, I do not see how the two could be related.” Ada tilted her head a little. “Do you, Lady Melbourne?”
“I? Not I,” She waved her hand toward the door. “I am locked in my rooms, not to be let out if it can be avoided. I’m sure I am permitted to know nothing.”
Which is an interesting turn of phrase.
Lady Melbourne turned toward Ada again. Her colour was very high and her breath came short. Ada drew back a little, expecting that lady to reach for her salts or to swoon, and she found she had no wish to witness such a scene.
“It was not I, Ada, who sent these papers. Although, had your father left any instruction for me to entrust his journal to you, I would have carried it out faithfully.”
Ada mustered a smile and got to her feet. “I am sorry I cannot stay, Lady Melbourne. I have another engagement.”
She took Lady Melbourne’s hand in farewell. That lady’s eyes glowed as radiant as a new bride’s, as she rang the bell for the servant to show Ada out. Ada left the parlour too unnerved to look back.
“Ada.” Mother set down her teacup. “I’m so glad that you place such confidence in the officers of the law that you feel perfectly free to go on as if nothing had happened to Mr. Babbage.”
Mother’s parlour had been very carefully arranged. She always sat in the exact centre of her gold-upholstered sofa so that she was the first thing one saw upon entry. The Furies sat on either side of her in smaller chairs, never altering their accustomed positions.
The overall effect was of walking into a queen’s formal court.
Ada had not wanted to come here. She had wanted to go to her studio and think, but Mrs. Carr had been waiting in the foyer with a summons when she returned, and Ada knew from long experience if she put the encounter off it would only grow worse.
Ada folded her hands and reminded herself that she was no longer a child. “I was confident I could not be harmed on the short drive to the Prime Minister’s residence.”
For one of the few times in her life, Ada saw her mother startled. “You called on the Prime Minister?”
“Lord Melbourne was not at home. I spoke with Lady Melbourne.”
With a startling amount of inner satisfaction, Ada watched her mother flush from paper white to beet red.
Ada felt her mouth settle into a hard line, and she once again heard Mr. Worth say, Your mother’s feelings for your father were...complex.
And Mother could have commanded a servant to take the portrait at any time. Or she could have done it herself. She could have an entire store of her husband’s papers, unknown to any. Lady Byron had long ago perfected the art of keeping her own counsel.
“Years ago, I forbade you to speak to that woman.”
“I have not forgotten.”
“But you disobeyed me?”
“It would seem so.” The Furies murmured their distress, but Ada remained utterly still. Her mother had insisted she learn to be so; had, in fact, made her lie on a board in absolute stillness a half-hour at a time every day as a child. “I wished to ask her about some papers I have received.”
“What papers?” demanded Lady Byron.
“Papers that appear to belong to my father.”
For a moment Ada thought her mother might actually faint.
So, apparently, did Mrs. Carr and Mrs. Doyle, both of whom started to their feet before Lady Byron shot them a quelling glance.
“You will bring these papers to me at once.”
“I cannot. Mr. Worth has removed them all.”
Lady Byron’s hands trembled. Perfect stillness, Mother. It is not so simple, is it?
“And did...that woman send these papers?”
“She said she did not. Did you?”
“Why on earth would I do such a thing?”
“I don’t know. Where my father is concerned you have done many unusual things. The portrait, for instance.”
But mention of the painting elicited no further reaction. Lady Byron stared at her, gimlet-eyed, searching for the object or subject where her next words could do their worst. This time, though, Ada found she was able to stand that fierce, righteous gaze. Her mother’s disapproval was nothing compared to the reality of Mr. Babbage’s disappearance, of the threat that her world, her work, might be stripped away.
“I had credited you with a more logical mind, Ada,” said Lady Byron at last. “But I see that sentiment has blinded you to duty. All I have done, I have done to preserve my freedom, and yours.”
Mine? Ada’s brows shot up. You would have controlled the beating of my heart if you could.
“Perhaps you wish you were like his bastard, Allegra, abandoned to die in a convent. Or perhaps you wish you were like his half-sister’s child, the product of so much fierce and unnatural love.”
Shock sent an involuntary tremor through her. Mother had never once spoken of those other children to Ada’s face. “You have no idea, foolish girl, how you must fight, how I must fight, against the curse of him. He returns again and again, seeking to strip all away and leave behind nothing but what gratifies his selfish, mindless need for continuance. From this I have done my best to shield you. Perhaps this was my mistake. Perhaps I should have made you face it, fight it for yourself.” She frowned, but Ada knew she did not see the room before her, not any more. “Perhaps then you would have understood the nature of the war.” She closed her eyes. “You may leave, Ada. I must think.”
Ada chose to ignore the nature of the dismissal. She curtsied and withdrew. Safe in her workroom, she sat down to pen a letter to Mr. Worth.
But it was Lord Melbourne who arrived first.
VIII
The Prime Minister was pacing up and down in the grand salon when Ada entered. They made the proper greetings and Ada sent for refreshments. Mother and William arrived, only to be summarily dismissed by Lord Melbourne. Ada thought her mother would spit nails right there.
“Is there any news of Mr. Babbage?” asked Ada as soon as the salon door closed.
“None that I am aware of,” said Lord Melbourne, sitting on the edge of a wing-backed chair. “What I want to discuss, Lady Lovelace, is your visit to my wife.”
Ada hesitated, but Lord Melbourne went on. “It is beyond me, my lady, with all your responsibilities at this crucial, unsettled time, why you would choose to trouble Lady Melbourne.”
“I’m sure I did not mean to trouble her.”
“Do not pretend to me,” whispered Lord Melbourne harshly. “You come to my home, you drag up the past and create agitation and dismay. Is it entertaining to you, Lady Lovelace? Do you enjoy the spectacle?”
Anger poured in waves from the Prime Minister’s frame, and his sharp chin trembled.
I miscalculated. I misunderstood. He loves her. God help him, he loves her and can never have her love.
“I am sorry, Lord Melbourne,” she said. “Truly.”
“Years ago.” The Prime Minister leaned forward. “I warned the government that development of the automatic sciences should not be left in your hands. I reminded them how dangerously unstable your father was, with his wild conduct and unceasing perversions.”
“Lord Melbourne...”
“I warned them, Lady Lovelace, that madness can run in families. That the strains of such an enterprise on the female mind could bring on hysteria and instability. Especially if any additional, unforeseen pressures should be brought to bear.”
&nbs
p; His eyes did not flicker once from hers. This was a man of power, of privilege, and a man who would protect what was his, whatever the cost.
“You are an intelligent woman, Lady Lovelace. You will think about what I’ve said.” Lord Melbourne stood. “Keep your seat. I will see myself out.”
Ada did keep her seat. She sat in perfect stillness as the light faded around her, and she heard the gong ring for dinner. She sat alone, seeing her mother, and Lady Melbourne, and Lord Melbourne.
And her father hovering over them all, his arms outstretched, his hands open to claim them for his own.
IX
After the Prime Minister’s visit, the atmosphere at Lovelace House became almost unbearable. Mother or the Furies patrolled the corridors constantly to watch for Ada’s comings and goings. William had gone so far as to insist that she not leave the house unaccompanied, and she found she did not have the strength to argue with him.
She spent more and more time in the Garden of the Automatic Sciences, among the blooming trees and the silent keymen. She adjusted the mechanisms and considered improvements, listened to the ticking and the birdsong. She did everything she could to try to shield herself from the sense of impotence gnawing at her heart.
In midafternoon the peacocks opened their tails and the mastiff raised its head.
The door opened a heartbeat later. Mr. Worth walked in. She suppressed a smile as she saw his glass-blue eyes widen.
“Vigilance,” said Ada to the Mastiff. Its bronze ears pricked up. “This is Mr. Worth. He is welcome here.”
Mr. Worth bowed, but he was not really looking at her. The great stag peeked from behind the lemon trees. Mr. Worth caught his breath. For the first time in days, Ada smiled.
But the smile was fleeting. Mr. Worth still wore his brown suit and his stained collar. He had not shaved today, possibly for several days, and his eyes were sunken deep into his skull.
She did not have to ask. “There has been no word.”
Mr. Worth dropped onto the edge of the nearest fountain and tossed his battered bowler down beside him.
“Nothing. No demands, no corpse... Forgive me, Lady Lovelace.” He smoothed his hair back. “It’s as if he’s vanished from the face of the earth.”
“Did you receive my letter?”
He nodded. “And then I received one from the Prime Minister informing me if I continued to harass his wife, or permitted you to do so, he would make it his business to ruin me.” He spoke with calm disinterest, but his eyes were fixed and purposeful.
“He made similar threats to me.” Ada sat on the wrought iron bench across from him. Vigilance, ever alert, lay down at her feet.
Slowly, Mr. Worth’s shoulders straightened. Slowly, his tired eyes grew hard.
“Lady Lovelace, is Mr. Babbage a man who can be worked upon? Is there anything he could be threatened with?”
“Aside from drowning in the Thames?” she snapped back. But the words made no change in Mr. Worth.
“In truth, no.” She sighed. “He lost his wife and three of his children in ‘27. Since then...since then he’s only cared about the automata. About creating the machines to make the empire great.”
Whatever happens after this, we have succeeded, Ada. We have done it!
“And in fact, since his public and dramatic disappearance I understand Babbage & Lovelace stands to gain several lucrative new contracts?”
“I beg your pardon?”
“Does Mr. Babbage want to be found, Lady Lovelace? Do you want him found?”
Anger surged through Ada’s blood as she realised the extent of the accusation, but Mr. Worth sat as still as if he had been trained by Mother.
“Lady Lovelace, you know a great deal about hidden commands and how small actions propagate across a much larger mechanism. You appear to live entirely in this house, and yet when I look, I find all manner of strange investments and involvements: an unusual bookshop in Charring Cross, journeys of exploration in Africa, scholars in Amsterdam and Vienna... Then I find you’ve gained great benefit from this untoward disappearance of your partner, and might even be able to raise a scandal that could bring down the Prime Minister.”
Ada’s throat seized tight, but before she could clear it and formulate a reply, the nearest peacock spread its tail and Vigilance lifted smoothly to his feet.
William strode into the garden.
He marched straight up to Mr. Worth. Ada saw how his hands clenched into fists.
“This is most irregular, Mr. Worth.”
Mr. Worth bowed, as calm and controlled as if he had never accused her of fraud. “I beg your pardon, Lord Lovelace. I had business with Lady Lovelace.”
“Then your business is with me,” William spat.
“William...” began Ada, but when he turned toward her, she found she barely recognised him. This was not mild, politic William, but a man made reckless by fear.
“I have permitted this up until now because I had hoped my wife might be able to assist in the recovery of Mr. Babbage,” he said to Mr. Worth. “But clearly you have failed in that, and your impertinence and insistence on private meetings have become intolerable. You may leave the house.”
Ada felt her cheeks flush. With William ordering him out of the house, Mr. Worth’s suspicions toward her would only increase.
Mr. Worth bowed again. “As you wish, my lord.”
And he was gone. Ada faced her husband.
“What do you think you’re playing?” William demanded before she could get a word out. “Your mother’s been conspiring with those women of hers for days now. I can’t get her to say three words to me!”
“You place a great deal of store on my mother’s regard for you,” she sneered.
“God Almighty, Ada!” he cried. “I would think you of all people would understand what she’s capable of? She mounted an utterly ruthless campaign against her husband so she could keep hold of you. Do you think she will not mount an equally ruthless campaign against you, against us if you threaten her?”
“What threat have I made against her?”
“You went to see Lady Melbourne. You are holding secret conference with Mr. Worth.”
“I want to find Mr. Babbage!”
“Hang Mr. Babbage, Ada! It’s ourselves and our children you should be troubled about.” He scrubbed at his scalp. “You must pull everything apart. You can never let it be and just do your part!”
An idea slotted into place. “Has Lord Melbourne been talking with you?”
“Worse. He’s been talking with your mother, Ada.”
Ada felt the strength drain out of her knees. She sat down abruptly.
“Now you understand.” William made no move toward her. “You have never realised how important you truly are, how important it is that you of all people keep up appearances!”
“I never asked for this,” she murmured.
“Well, you’ve got it, Ada, and now you might be ruined by it.”
She looked up at him, looming over her, his hands clenching and unclenching. “Why did you marry me, William?”
He regarded her with a bleak honesty of expression she had never before seen in him. “You were Byron’s brilliant daughter. You were going to change the world. Everyone knew it. I wanted to shape that change.” He shook his head. “The more fool I.”
He left her there. Around her, the garden ticked and the birds sang and the mastiff sat still as the machine it was, as still as her mother had always wanted her to be.
I built this world. She wrapped her arms around herself. I taught it to move and think and speak. I hold its keys and commands. Why have I done so much and it still means so little? Nothing matters but the blood in my veins. That’s all anyone sees.
The play’s the thing...
No matter what happens, Ada, we did this.
There are half a dozen people with the technical expertise for this. You are one of them. Mr. Babbage is another.
Does Mr. Babbage want to be found?
S
he saw it, cascading into place, a perfect formation, as perfect as any arrangement of commands. It was perfectly clear, interconnected, and clean.
Her first thought was to call Mr. Worth back. But she hesitated. To bring in Mr. Worth would be to remove affairs from her own hands, and enough had slipped out of her control already. Whatever happened that day on the river, she still owed Mr. Babbage a great deal—too much to permit him to be exposed without warning.
But she could not do what was necessary alone.
But she was not alone.
The world out there was her world, her Garden.
You’re wrong, William. I understand appearances perfectly. I understand that if you appear powerless, people will underestimate you. It was unsurprising, really, that the person who came closest to deciphering this was Mr. Worth.
Ada rose. What she did now might be a mistake. She might risk exposure of her most carefully constructed secrets. She would certainly never be able to hide behind the mask of the retiring lady of numbers and languages again.
But if she stayed inside, then the Prime Minister and Mr. Worth, and even William and Mother, would make of her what they could. Which might very well be a Judas Goat.
“Keymen, come here.”
Smoothly the three keymen moved to stand in front of her. She opened their backs and extracted from each of them three golden cards. These she slotted into the back of the mastiff. When this was done, she spoke one word. A moment later, three sparkling black spiders, each as big as a pigeon, scuttled down from the trees. Ada picked them up gently, one by one, and tucked them into the folds of her crinoline petticoat.
“Come, Vigilance.”
With her dog following close behind her, Ada Lovelace unlocked the central window of the conservatory and walked out into the night.
X
The New Britannia still stood at the London docks, with naval men to guard it. They were highly reluctant to allow anyone onto the ship, being under orders, as they repeatedly told her. But she was Ada Lovelace, and when she said she had thought of something that might help recover Mr. Babbage, they believed her and let her pass, carriage lantern in hand and automatic dog pacing close behind.
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