London Calling

by Sorcha Mowbray

  Carrick was one of his oldest and dearest friends. He trusted him implicitly. But where Trixie was concerned, doubts bubbled to the surface. Some primitive part of him didn’t want other men near her. Not that Carrick would be anything less than a gentleman with her. But he didn’t want anyone else showing her the ins and outs of the castle and reciting its history to her. It might be Carrick’s castle but Nathaniel wanted to have that one-on-one time with Trixie.

  Yet here he sat. With a book instead of the woman.

  He needed to be careful. She had left him behind once. Who was to say she wouldn’t do it again? Her leaving had hurt but he had gotten over it. Perhaps the trick was in not caring whether she was in or out of his life.

  He grunted. Not caring. Could he manage that where she was concerned?

  He moved to the desk and blocked out those uncomfortable thoughts and focused on the text in front of him. Finally the room faded and the words and symbols popped off the page. In his mind’s eye he moved letters and numbers around and matched them with new ones. Before long words began to form. Eventually, whole sentences.

  When he broke free of the cloud of letters and symbols, he found he had scribbled over multiple sheets of paper he had somehow taken from the drawer. Carrick and Trixie had returned from their walk and were watching him with interest.

  “Did you enjoy your tour about the castle?” Nathaniel asked.

  “And just like that he’s back with us,” Carrick murmured.

  Trixie smiled. “I did.”

  “Dinner is about ready. Will you be joining us or disappearing into that book again?” Carrick asked.

  Nathaniel reached for his pocket watch. “Is it time for supper already?” The rumble in his stomach confirmed it was.

  “It is.”

  “Excellent.” Nathaniel snapped the lid of his watch closed and sprang to his feet. He pocketed the journal then offered Trixie his arm. She took it and the three of them headed toward the dining room.

  “Did you make any progress on Father’s journal?” she asked.

  “I did. Unless he switches methodology, I feel confident I can translate all of your father’s notes.”

  “That’s wonderful.” She squeezed his arm. “I can’t wait to read Father’s words again.”

  The smile she gave him lit up her face and made him feel like a giant amongst men.

  15

  When they arrived at the dining room they found a young man seated at the table with a glass of wine in one hand and a book in the other.

  “Gerard. It’s about time you left that dungeon you call a bedroom,” Carrick said.

  The young man looked their way. If he was surprised to see guests, he didn’t act like it. “Mrs. Jones refused to send a tray up while there were guests in the house.”

  Nathaniel chuckled. “Terribly sorry to inconvenience you, old boy.”

  “A dammed nuisance is what it is,” Gerard grumbled. “Had to put on clean trousers and everything.”

  “Master Jamison!” Mrs. Jones exclaimed as she entered the dining room. She set the tray she had been carrying on the sideboard and put her fists on her hips. “That kind of talk might be acceptable at your club or in the stable but not here. Especially not with a lady present. Your mother, God rest her soul, would be mortified to hear it.”

  Gerard sighed and got to his feet. He came around to their side of the table and took Trixie’s free hand. “My apologies. I’m afraid I am so out touch with polite society that my manners often slip.” He bowed his head. “Do forgive me.”

  Trixie’s lips twitched with amusement. “It’s quite all right. My brother is much the same way after he has been locked away in his laboratory for too long. I am afraid he very nearly forgets how to properly use a spoon.”

  Mrs. Jones harrumphed and returned to the kitchens.

  Gerard’s eyes twinkled. “As you have already heard, dear lady, my name is Gerard Jamison.”

  Nathaniel quickly stepped in. “Gerard this is Miss Beatrix Wadeworth.”

  “A pleasure.” Gerard squeezed her fingers then returned to his place at the table.

  Trixie and Nathaniel exchanged amused glances when Gerard had to quickly correct himself and wait until Nathaniel had seated her before taking his own.

  “So Gerard, may I inquire as to what you have been doing these past few days. I swear I don’t think we’ve seen you in a week,” Carrick asked while one of the serving ladies brought out the first course.

  “Mostly research.” Gerard fingered the edges of his book as if he couldn’t wait to crack it open again.

  “I assumed that much. But what about this time,” Carrick pressed.

  “I’ve been studying wings,” Gerard admitted.

  “Wings?” Nathaniel asked.

  “Wings,” Gerard confirmed.

  Nathaniel glanced her way. She hid her grin behind her spoon.

  “What kind of wings?” Carrick asked.

  Gerard sniffed his soup. “Bird wings. Insect wings. I even managed to find a bat up in one of the attics.”

  “Mrs. Jones will throw a fit if there are a bunch of animals and bugs running around your room.”

  Gerard finished off his soup before everyone else. “No worries there. Everything I’ve brought in is dead.”

  The room went silent. The serving girl dropped the ladle into the tureen with a clang then with a gasp she hurried out of the room.

  Trixie held her napkin to her lips to smother her laughter. Nathaniel shook his head and finished the last of his soup. Carrick muttered something under his breath and Gerard finally gave in to the temptation and flipped opened his book.

  Despite Carrick’s elevated status, the rest of their dinner was enjoyed with a complete lack of fanfare or ceremony. Carrick and Nathaniel took turns sharing stories of all the trouble they had gotten together either as children or at University. She could see how the two of them had grown so close.

  Gerard contributed to the conversation when Carrick or Nathaniel pulled him in, but otherwise he simply listened and observed. His gaze frequently drifted her way.

  She finally realized Gerard’s attention wasn’t on her but rather one of her mechanical friends. “Gerard, you are welcome to take a closer look at Nid.” She encouraged the brass and silver spider upon her hand. “She’s probably the calmest of my pets.”

  Gerard’s face brightened. “They’re… fascinating.”

  “You said your father created them?” Carrick asked.

  “Yes. He worked on the idea for years, but didn’t perfect the power source until just before he disappeared.”

  “The timing certainly raises a few questions with respect to your father’s crashed airship,” Carrick said.

  “How did you father power these?” Gerard asked as he studied Nid.

  “I… I don’t really know. I’ve never questioned it.” Trixie absently petted Squeaks who had come out of her hiding place. “Father only told me that as long as I kept their gears well maintained and wound them up at least weekly, they would be with me my entire life.”

  Carrick let out a low whistle.

  “That’s remarkable,” Gerard mumbled as he examined the spider he had coaxed onto his hand.

  “Have any of your pets gone missing?” Nathaniel asked.

  “No. A couple have, well… died, for a lack of a better word.”

  Carrick’s brows rose. “Died how?”

  She shrugged. “One fell off the roof. He was so damaged that even Peter couldn’t repair him.”

  “And the others?” Nathaniel prompted.

  “Two of them we don’t know what happened. They just stopped working. Peter tinkered with them and eventually dismantled them but he was never able to figure out what was wrong.”

  “What did you do with them?” Nathaniel asked.

  “Like I said, Peter took them apart in an attempt to repair them. He’s used many of the parts over the years to repair the others.”

  “So the parts have never gone missing,�
�� Carrick clarified.

  She glanced from one man to the other. “Not that I know of. But in truth, I wouldn’t know with any certainty. Given the condition of his workshop, I doubt even sure Peter would know.”

  The men exchanged meaningful looks.

  “Would you mind if I took one of them apart?” Gerard asked.

  Trixie gasped in alarm.

  “No.” Nathaniel’s tone brooked no argument.

  “Gerard, I don’t think Trixie sees these as trinkets.” Carrick said. “I suspect they are more valuable to her than a cherished pet.”

  “You would be correct,” she told them.

  “My apologies.” Gerard gave her an awkward grin as he let Nid crawl back onto the table. “My curiosity got the better of me. I didn’t stop to think that your father’s creations might mean something more to you than the scientific genius that they are.”

  She tipped her head in acknowledgement even as she reached for Nid.

  “We really need to get you out in society more often, brother,” Carrick chuckled.

  “Why would I ever want to do that?” Gerard said with mock horror.

  Nathaniel shook his head.

  “So that you can talk with women without upsetting them,” Carrick said.

  Gerard harrumphed.

  “Perhaps we can find something in your father’s journal about them,” Nathaniel said.

  “Oh, yes.” She scooted her chair closer when he pulled out the book so they could read at the same time.

  Nathaniel gestured to the book. “You’ll have to unlock it again. It appears to lock each time you close the cover.”

  “I’m surprised it didn’t lock on you while you were working on it earlier,” she said as she pulled her necklace out from underneath her blouse.

  “I never closed it.”

  She placed the key on the lock mechanism. She twisted the key back and forth until the gears turned and unlatched the closure.

  “Do you remember the date of when you father finished working on them?”

  “He gave me the first one on my eighteenth birthday,” she told him.

  He thumbed through the pages until he landed on an entry dated around that time. Using a scrap piece of paper he pulled from the back of the book, he translated a few paragraphs while the rest of the group enjoyed dessert.

  “I’m not sure this means anything.” He pushed the paper to Trixie.

  She scanned the hastily scribbled words. The entry referenced a luncheon he attended. She reread it to be certain of what it said. Her father would have never written about something so trivial. Especially not in this journal.

  “What else does it say?” she asked.

  “On the same entry or one of the days next to it?”

  “Would it take long to do all three?”

  Nathaniel scanned the pages. “Not long.”

  “Perhaps we should retire to the library?” Carrick suggested.

  “A wonderful idea.” Gerard pushed his chair back and got to his feet.

  Trixie nodded her agreement.

  In the library, Carrick and Gerard poured themselves a brandy. Nathaniel settled behind the desk while Trixie sampled the chocolates Carrick offered.

  The boys were just helping themselves to another glass when Nathaniel held up a new piece of paper to her. She tugged the paper from his fingers. When she finished reading she looked up at him. Nathaniel had blanked his expression.

  “What does it mean?” she asked for clarity.

  “One of three things.” Nathaniel lay the pen on the desk next to the papers he had been using. “Either it means exactly what it says, or your father changed just enough of the story to confuse anyone reading who wasn’t present that day, or I made a mistake decoding your father’s formula.”

  She reread the pages.

  Carrick set a glass of brandy down in front of Nathaniel. “You never make mistakes when it comes to codes.”

  “So that only leaves two choices,” Trixie murmured.

  Carrick held his hand out to Trixie. “May I?”

  She shrugged and handed him the papers.

  Carrick’s eyes skimmed downward and he flipped to the next page. “Do you really think your father felt that having tea with someone named…” He squinted at the paper. “Named R. Layot was so memorable that he needed to write it down?”

  She grimaced. “No.”

  Carrick tossed the papers onto the desk. “That eliminated the first.”

  “Which leaves us with the second theory,” Nathaniel said.

  “So who is R. Layot and why was their meeting important?” She waited for Nathaniel or Carrick to offer answers, but both responded with blank looks.

  16

  “Earlier this month I was asked to investigate a string of disappearances,” Nathaniel confessed to their group. “Each one has occurred in the last six months. And it seems that all of the missing persons are connected in some way to a recent invention or scientific discovery.” He pulled his notebook from his jacket pocket and thumbed to the page he wanted. “However, after reviewing Investigator Morris’ notes in the Edinburgh office, I think the disappearances have been going on a lot longer than the RIO realized.”

  Trixie frowned. “There is a whole list of people who went missing with no witnesses to their disappearance or clues to why they left?”

  “Basically,” Nathaniel said.

  “So, just like Peter,” she pointed out.

  “Yes.”

  She flinched.

  “Who’s Peter?” Gerard asked.

  “My brother.” Trixie got up and went to the window.

  “I’m sorry. To clarify, is her brother one of the men on this list?” Gerard asked Nathaniel softly.

  “No.” Nathaniel told him. “Neither is her father.” He kept one eye on Trixie as he continued. Her back was ramrod straight as she stared out into the night. “There have been no ransom notes delivered, no evidence of suicide or illicit affairs. All of these people have just vanished. Almost overnight.” Nathaniel told the men.

  “And you said they were all scientists?” Gerard asked.

  “That’s how it appears. I don’t know most of the names on the list so I plan to reach out to a friend of my sister’s when I returned to London. I think I need an expert in the scientific community.”

  “Or someone who follows all the journals and occasionally attends the lectures?” Gerard asked.

  Nathaniel raised a brow. “That might do.” He handed Gerard the list of names he’d collected from Mr. Morris’ files.

  Without a word, Trixie rejoined their group. Nathaniel leaned across the desk and squeezed her hand to offer a small measure of support.

  “These I know.” Gerard pointed to four of the names on the list. “Let me check something.” He went to one of the bookcases and removed three books. He dropped them onto the desk. The books were different volumes of the same scientific journal.

  Gerard flipped open the cover and skimmed the table of contents. “I thought that name was familiar.” He set the book down on the table where the rest of their group could see. His finger lay next to a name that matched one on the list. “I haven’t read a lot about him, because I don’t care much about his field of study, but I knew I had read something about him.”

  “What about the others?” Nathaniel asked.

  Gerard shrugged. “Can’t hurt to look.”

  Nathaniel and Trixie flipped open the covers of the other books.

  “I don’t see any of the names in this one,” Nathaniel said.

  “I believe this one has two of the names.” Trixie pointed out two names in the list against the contents of the journal she had.

  “Do you have any other books?” Nathaniel asked.

  “Of course. Same shelf.” He pointed to one of the bookcases. “And I have a few more in my room.”

  Within the other books they found all but one of the names on the list.

  “Other than publishing a paper in the same journal do th
ese people have anything in common?” Trixie asked.

  Gerard mumbled, “Varying backgrounds, education.” He continued reading. “Although, if I remember correctly these three worked together on last year’s Ministry challenge to create a replacement for a butler.” He circled the names with his finger.

  “What is the Ministry challenge?” Carrick asked.

  “The Ministry of Science poses a challenge each year for anyone in the community to compete in. It’s a difference task each time and participants have six months to submit their solution. Participants may submit a written solution or a working prototype. The entries are evaluated and judged by a panel and the winner has their results published in the Journal of Science.”

  Trixie frowned. “That is a lot of work for a mention in a journal.”

  “There is a monetary award attached to it as well. To fund future research, of course.”

  Trixie nodded. “Ah. That makes more sense.”

  “So at least a few of these men knew each other,” Nathaniel redirected them back to the original topic.

  “Yes,” Gerard confirmed. “And this group won the challenge that year.” He circled the names on the list with his finger.

  “They actually made a replacement butler?” Trixie asked.

  “Not entirely. Their prototype couldn’t do everything a butler did, but it was able to open doors, take your coat, and deliver drinks.”

  “Did you go to the presentations?” Carrick asked.

  “I did.”

  “Do you know the men?” Nathaniel asked.

  “I met them at the presentation but no, we’re not on familiar terms.”

  “Do you know what the others were working on?” Nathaniel asked.

  “Not off hand. But I’m sure their journal submissions will give us at least a hint.”

  After skimming each of the papers in Gerard’s journals Nathaniel said, “So these men worked on either propulsion, alternate power sources, machines, or a combination of those.”

  “What are you thinking?” Trixie asked Nathaniel.

  “I’m not sure.”

  “Perhaps you should sleep on it,” Carrick gestured to the clock standing in the corner.