The Iron Assassin
Page 29
BERNARD BERINGER, Lord Gaunt, a scarred and gruff old nobleman who is loyal to the Crown, a member of the Privy Council, and a not-quite-retired old warrior
LESLEIGH PEROWNE, Lord Winter, a nobleman and the current owner of Lessingham’s who has a collection of secrets larger than is good for any man
MISTER BENTLEY STEELFORCE, the prototype Iron Assassin, code-named “the Silent Man” and reanimated by Jack Straker from a dead London chimney sweep, Bentley Roper
SIR JASPER RICHMOND, a loyal knight who happens to know the Iron Assassin’s past
ROSE GORDHAMMOND, Lady Harminster, an earnest young noblewoman of beauty and brains who lost her parents early and so is now the head of her house—and our heroine
PONSONBY HARTWORTH, Lord Sefton, the elder nobleman of the Hartworth family to grace our pages, a fiery-tempered gruff and pompous old retired Rear Admiral and nonretired Dread Agent of the Tower (secret agent for the Crown) whose stiffest feature is his neck, and whose largest achievement is his mustache
ALGERNON HARTWORTH, Lord Sefton, the hot-tempered son of Lord Ponsonby Sefton—and so, of course, also “Lord Sefton” (one can never have too many badly behaved noblemen in a gaslamp fantasy)
WILLIAM BRENT (better known as “Willum”), an aging “beagle” (policeman of the Queen’s High Constabulary), of the rank of Constable
ADLER HOPWOOD, a young beagle (policeman of the Queen’s High Constabulary), of the rank of Constable, and Willum’s beat partner
BERTRAM BUCKINGHAM, Lord Chamberlain of the Empire, a mild-mannered, polite, shrewd, and very capable man
ALBERT HINDMARSH, holder of the rank of Commander in the Queen’s High Constabulary, “Old Bert” to all in the force; scarred, ginger-haired, and heavily whiskered
PERCY TRICKER, Lord Harkness, Commissioner of the Queen’s High Constabulary, a fence-sitting diplomat notable for his fiercely drooping mustache
NORBERT MARLSHRIKE, a vindictive and brilliant inventor bound to the Ancient Order of the Tentacles—who, as their name might suggest, are dark and dastardly villains. He likes his tea black.
LADY CONSTANCE ROODCANNON (“Roo” to the Prince Royal); white of long leg and black of eyes and hair, a stunningly beautiful patron of cutting-edge art; a former lover of the Prince Royal who secretly bore his bastard son, Lionel; “Auntie” in the Ancient Order of the Tentacles
ALBERT ALOYSIUS GRIMSTONE, known to all simply as “Grimstone,” the sole surviving longtime family servant of the Roodcannons; now bodyguard and personal agent of Lady Constance Roodcannon; a formidably dangerous individual
MILES WHIPSNADE, a dangerous man who has colorless eyes and a left hand of metal and clockwork that can thrust forth both weapons and tools; bodyguard to, and agent of, the mysterious “Uncle”
DARMOND FFLOUKES, a rather anxious underservant of the mysterious “Uncle”
ALSTON DRAKE, Assistant Commissioner of the Queen’s High Constabulary, “the Commissioner’s Hound,” a stout, balding, massive man who is a disciplinarian and enjoys his work—that is to say, a bully
“LONG” TOM BASTABLE, the scarred and battered publican of the Raging Lion pub in Whitechapel
MISTER OSWALD SMEDLEY, a cracksman of Whitechapel
ADRIAN SYKES, a fearful stablehand of Lord Barnstaple’s country household
BURGESS CARTER, a less fearful stablehand of Lord Barnstaple’s country household
CHATWIN GOSLING, a royal bodyguard (soldier) stationed at the gates of Foxden
MISTER KENDRICK MALMERSTON, the butler at Foxden, a coldly correct and frighteningly competent “butler of butlers”
RODERICK DYSON, better known as “Dyson the Knife,” a snuffer (killer for hire) of Whitechapel
CONNELL FURLONG, holder of the rank of Sergeant in the Queen’s High Constabulary; a sad-eyed man assigned to the duty desk of the Tower Street police station
LEYLAND BLAKESLEE, holder of the rank of Inspector in the Queen’s High Constabulary; a good man
CHARLES BLUNT, holder of the rank of Sergeant in the Queen’s High Constabulary; a grim, competent veteran of the force
GERALD PRYCEWOOD, Herald Pursuivant to the Empire (Throckmorton’s assistant and understudy); thin, earnest, young, bespectacled, and loyal to the Empire
RODNEY OLIVIER, a royal bodyguard (soldier) guarding the chain-gun in Foxden
LILY FRETWELL, more commonly known as “Lil,” a good-natured prostitute invited into Foxden by the Prince Royal
MISTER SIMON MORROWPYKE, leader of the Crown Anarchists political party (who seek to set aside royal rule and to dismantle most of the offices and authority of government); a nervous and pompous man on the ascendant
CLAYTON HAMMILL, a beagle (constable of the Queen’s High Constabulary) of no particular note
PAXTON MUNDY, a beagle; holder of the rank of Sergeant in the Queen’s High Constabulary; a burly, cigar-smoking, cynical veteran of the streets
“COUSIN ALFRED” in the Ancient Order of the Tentacles; a nobleman of the Empire, true identity unknown
“COUSIN CLYDE” in the Ancient Order of the Tentacles; a nobleman of the Empire, true identity unknown
“BLUSHING NIECE” in the Ancient Order of the Tentacles; a noblewoman of the Empire, true identity unknown
“NEPHEW NESTOR” in the Ancient Order of the Tentacles; a nobleman of the Empire, true identity unknown
JEFFREY ASHMAN, a young “beagle” (constable of the Queen’s High Constabulary), assigned to the Tower Street Station
THOMAS WILKINS, a beagle (policeman of the Queen’s High Constabulary), of the rank of Constable; a good, competent man
RUPERT SUMMERS, a beagle (policeman of the Queen’s High Constabulary), of the rank of Constable; another good, competent man—yet the Empire still has too few
GARRETT OLDTREE, a beagle (policeman of the Queen’s High Constabulary), of the rank of Constable, who is more than he at first seems
ELIZABETH LALBROOKE, more commonly known as “Bess,” a prostitute invited into Foxden by the Prince Royal
SIR FULTON BIRTWHISTLE, a magistrate of style, verbosity, and accomplishment
HELIOTROPE STONEBRACE, Lady Armour, a young noblewoman of the Empire; Algernon Hartworth hopes she’s “ripening for marriage”
MISS ALTHEA PEABODY, a severe and tartly judgmental housekeeper to Norbert Marlshrike, whose looks reflect her character
AMELIA BRASSGIRDLE, Lady Rathercoats, an old, wrinkled, respectable noblewoman; a widow with an indiscretion in her past
MISTER HAROLD JENKINS, competent, loyal, and brave butler to the Rathercoats noble family
MONTAGUE PAUNCEFOOT, a grotesquely fat and filthy-rich “twister” (crooked moneylender) of London, complete with ornate London mansion and an endless succession of fine meals
“OLD HORSLEY,” in the Ancient Order of the Tentacles, within which his rank is high; a ginger-whiskered nobleman of the Empire, identity unknown
QUENTIN CHILDERHOSE, Lord Amesbury, “Cousin Quillan” in the Ancient Order of the Tentacles, within which his rank is high; a nobleman of the Empire
“REDHAIRED NEPHEW” in the Ancient Order of the Tentacles, within which his rank is high; a red-haired nobleman of the Empire, true identity unknown
AN ANONYMOUS MASKED ASSASSIN, who wears a top hat adorned with a descending column of diamonds, each stone marking a noble slain by him; Lady Roodcannon’s visitor (and, it seems, her superior, but not in the Ancient Order); mysteriouser and mysteriouser
ALICE LOUISA HANOVER, “the Dowager Duchess,” widow of Duke Leopold (the younger brother of Queen Victoria), a grasping battle-ax and tyrant; also petty, spiteful, and lazy—and those are her better qualities
VENETTA DELEON, maid to the Dowager Duchess and her sometime envoy; the Duchess thinks her “entirely too independent-minded and snippy”—and the Duchess is right
NIGEL BURROWS, a beagle (constable of the Queen’s High Constabulary)
COMMANDER ROBERT ADAMS, holder of the rank of Commander in the Queen’s H
igh Constabulary, in charge of the beagles at Foxden in the absence of the Commissioner and Assistant Commissioner
ABNER CANDLEPIKE (“Noseless” to Grimstone), a large and rather inarticulate thug who serves Clarence Sarkbottle; distinctive thanks to his missing nose
CLARENCE SARKBOTTLE, a disgraced ex-doctor
RANDOLPH DRAPER (“Fang” to Grimstone), a large and aging thug who serves Clarence Sarkbottle; distinctive due to his lone remaining tooth—a canine that juts down over his lower lip
CUTHBERT FURLOW, Yeoman Warder at the Tower of London, charged with guarding its East Gate (that opens onto the street known as Tower Bridge)
AGNUS GLENCANNON, a lowly member of the Ancient Order
ARCHIBALD MASON (“Mase” to Glencannon), another lowly member of the Ancient Order
SEBASTIAN WATKINS, a slightly less lowly member of the Ancient Order
HERCULES MULVER, a sentinel of the Ancient Order
DAHLIA GALLISON, another sentinel of the Ancient Order
BLAKE INSCOE, a rather bloodthirsty member of the Ancient Order
TIMOTHY ILLINGWORTH, a deckhand on the Mary Rose, a large freight airship out of Portsmouth
PHILBERT RUSHWOOD, Lord Dunster, a conservative old nobleman of the Empire
HARBORD KENT, an old beagle (policeman of the Queen’s High Constabulary), of the rank of Constable, and the owner of an impressive mustache
PHINEAS FAIRWEATHER, the Constable of the Tower of London
ALEXANDRINA GLORIANA HANOVER, Queen Victoria the Third, Empress of the Lion Empire, nicknamed “Old Crowned Steamheart” and “Ironheart” (among less complimentary things); a feisty, aging woman kept alive by steam-driven lung and heart replacements
QUADE JESSON, a beagle (policeman of the Queen’s High Constabulary), of the rank of Constable, assigned to the detachment that serves at the Tower of London under the Yeoman Warders
GILES PRITCHARD, a beagle (policeman of the Queen’s High Constabulary), of the rank of Constable, who secretly serves Assistant Commissioner Drake before Queen and Empire
GAVIN PARKHILL, a beagle (policeman of the Queen’s High Constabulary), of the rank of Constable, assigned to the guard at Foxden
HUMPHREY WYKES, a beagle (policeman of the Queen’s High Constabulary), of the rank of Constable, who secretly serves Assistant Commissioner Drake before Queen and Empire
HEATHCLIFF IVES, a beagle (policeman of the Queen’s High Constabulary), of the rank of Constable
GILBERT HARDYSIDES, the old, side-whiskered captain of the Windlark flitter airship of the Crown fleet
KYLE TARKRIDGE, a masked member of the Ancient Order; assigned to guard the mill where Marlshrike was holed up
WALLACE BRADING, another masked member of the Ancient Order; smaller than Tarkridge; also assigned to guard the mill where Marlshrike was holed up
KEENE GILRETH, equerry (stablemaster) at Foxden
VERNON PARKINSON, yet another masked member of the Ancient Order; a member of the boarding party that seized control of the Mary Rose airship
HECTOR BRACKLEBURY, yet another masked member of the Ancient Order; a member of the boarding party that seized control of the Mary Rose airship
GARRICK WOOLCOCK, Royal Mail guard at the Bishop’s Bottom mail yard
IRVIN YERBY, another Royal Mail guard at the Bishop’s Bottom mail yard
ANSON WRIGHTSON, a beagle (policeman of the Queen’s High Constabulary), of the rank of Constable, who secretly serves Assistant Commissioner Drake before Queen and Empire
HUMBERT GREGSON, a beagle (policeman of the Queen’s High Constabulary) who holds the rank of Commander, and secretly serves Assistant Commander Drake before Queen and Empire
AN ANONYMOUS (and well on the way to becoming monstrous) Elder of the Ancient Order of Tentacles; a transformed nobleman of unknown identity
Tor Books by Ed Greenwood
Dark Warrior Rising
Dark Vengeance
The Iron Assassin
BAND OF FOUR NOVELS
The Kingless Land
The Vacant Throne
A Dragon’s Ascension
The Dragon’s Doom
The Silent House
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Ed Greenwood is an amiable bearded Canadian writer, game designer, and librarian best known as the creator of The Forgotten Realms® fantasy world. He sold his first fiction at age six and has since published more than two hundred books that have sold millions of copies worldwide in over two dozen languages. Ed’s fantasy, SF, horror, steampunk, pulp adventure, comic books, and game writings have won dozens of awards, including multiple Origins Awards and ENnies. Ed was elected to the Academy of Adventure Gaming Arts and Design Hall of Fame in 2003. He has judged the World Fantasy Awards and the Sunburst Awards, hosted radio shows, acted onstage, explored caves, jousted, and been Santa Claus (but not all on the same day).
Ed shares an old Ontario farmhouse with his wife and the head of the household (a small but imperious cat). This ramshackle mansion sags under the weight of more than eighty thousand books. Chat with Ed or sample his short stories at theedverse.com or sign up for email updates here.
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CONTENTS
Title Page
Copyright Notice
Dedication
Begin Reading
Dramatis Personae
About the Author
Tor Books by Ed Greenwood
Copyright
This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
THE IRON ASSASSIN
Copyright © 2015 by Ed Greenwood
All rights reserved.
Cover design by FORT
Cover art by Cynthia Shepard
A Tor Book
Published by Tom Doherty Associates, LLC
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Tor® is a registered trademark of Tom Doherty Associates, LLC.
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The Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available upon request.
ISBN 978-0-7653-3846-4 (hardcover)
ISBN 978-1-4668-3889-5 (e-book)
e-ISBN 9781466838895
First Edition: June 2015