Scotland Hard (Book 2 in the Tom & Laura Series) (25 page)

31.
      
Work

Laura had been given the finest parchment along with a calligrapher’s pen and copper ink to work her bind. The ink contained the highest concentrations of copper currently possible and was a strange brown color. It required constant stirring to stop its contents solidifying at the bottom of the ink pot,

A much healthier looking Giles Summers stood to her right, bent over so he could watch her as she performed the bind. Laura wondered if she would ever get a better chance to change everybody in the castle into some form of rodents. These men had no idea of how powerful she was or that she was here against her will and made no attempt to protect themselves.

Laura might well have done it there and then, but for the fact that she had no idea where Tom was. If he was inside the castle then she could save him and they could prepare against any counter attack from the village. But if he was outside the castle with Lord McBride, then McBride would be able to hurt him. Laura was imaginative enough to conjure up all sorts of terrible images. Tom with a severed hand, his tongue cut out in front of her, or simply killed by a vengeful Lord McBride. She couldn’t risk any of those things happening, and she was certain that McBride was capable of doing them to get his way.

Laura completed the bind as instructed and she and the two men stepped over to look through the thick plate glass window into the room beyond. They uttered a collective sigh of disappointment at what they saw.

In the room behind the glass, a copper rod filled with semi pure dantium had been placed on a thick muslin sheet stretched over the open top of one of the vats. Laura’s bind had been constructed to turn the copper and uranium to water leaving pure dantium as a solid behind.

The water would pass through the muslin leaving the dantium on it in powder form. What they saw when they looked through the protective glass was that all that remained of the rod was a tiny residue of grey powder. There was certainly only a sprinkling of the powder on the cloth. Whatever she had separated out from the rod was not the dantium they sought.

The water drained into a rod shaped clay mould. Laura tore the bind and the water solidified back into a rod, albeit with the copper casing now mixed in with the dantium.

“If we look on the bright side,” Giles said with a wan smile. “It took Andrew and me months of work to get the uranium and dantium to turn to water. You did that on the first attempt. At this rate, we will get you to our level of performance in a week or so. A Spellbinder must learn to understand the substances they manipulate before their binds will work.”

“I have little understanding of dogs or cats but I was able to change people into them from an early age without the slightest trouble,” Laura said in annoyance. Her professional pride had been hurt by the failure. It was probably the first time she had failed so completely at binding. “Let us try again.”

“I’m sorry, but we cannot,” Kemp said wearily. “We need to remove the cloth and reset the experiment. I will have to get the decontamination team in to do that and they aren’t at our beck and call. I also need to write up this experiment and find out what that material is on the cloth. I’ve certainly never seen anything like it before. You might well have discovered a new element, Laura. Hans Clerks will be all over it when he returns.”

“And pray tell; who exactly is Hans Clerks?” Laura asked.

“He is the Natural Philosopher that the Laird employs as a consultant,” Giles explained. “Right now he is off on the Laird’s business, having taken a device with him that he and the Laird refer to as Project Gomorra. I don’t know what it is supposed to do, though I must admit I always feel a certain amount of dread when I look at it.”

“You talk such nonsense, Giles,” Kemp retorted. “I admit I have no idea what the device is supposed to do either, but I feel no dread over what amounts to two cannons pointing at each other.”

“That sounds like a very foolish and dangerous thing to do?” Laura enquired.

“Only to anyone foolish enough to try to fire it, or to be standing anywhere near it when it is fired,” Kemp explained. “While I have not been taken into the Laird’s confidence, I watched as the Gomorra engine was constructed. It is a cylinder of cast gunmetal that has been bored right through from one end to the other to form a pipe.”

“The Laird had his specialist Spellbinders, the ones who make his glass and the like, create special end pieces for this pipe, which can lock with a half turn onto it creating breech’s at each end. It is the same kind of technique that modern rifle makers use to allow rear loading of their weapons.”

“The Laird has rubber coated wires inserted through the side of the pipe so that charges at both ends can be set off using electricity. I presume because he wishes to ensure that the two ends will fire at each other at the same time. It is therefore two cannons pointing at each other that will certainly explode into a million pieces the first time they try and use it.”

“Why would anyone want to make something like that?” Laura asked in astonishment.

“This Hans Clerks is a charlatan,” Kemp said angrily. “He has played on the Laird’s desire to experiment with dantium and find new uses for it. Clerks’ is the reason that Andrew is hovering at death’s door and Giles came so close to death. It is for Project Gomorra that we must extract pure dantium.”

“It remains a mystery,” Giles told Laura. “Just as the mystery of where Clerks has taken the first of his devices. Or why the Laird is so anxious about producing enough pure dantium that he has brought you here to help with the process.”

Cam
threw a large vase of water in Tricky’s face, which instantly awoke the boy. Tricky used a string of swear words that made
Cam
and Daisy blush as he spat water onto the floor.

“You trying to drowned me?” he asked furiously. “That were that silly bitch,
Alice
. She damned near split my head in two with her shouting.”

“Well, at least we know she is close,”
Arnold
said phlegmatically. “And I will ask you to keep a civil tongue in your head, young man, or you and I shall be taking a walk out into the woods to cut a suitable switch for your backside.”

“It weren’t me throwing buckets of water into other people’s faces,” Tricky grumbled as he wiped his face with the sleeve of his jacket. “Seems to me that it’s others who should be taken into the woods to learn them some manners.”

Tricky wisely retreated towards the back of the room away from
Cam
, as he saw the look in her eyes.

“What did
Alice
tell you?”
Cam
asked through gritted teeth. It seemed that even the children in the team were able to criticize her actions with impunity.

“Nuthin’. She just screamed that I was never around when she needed me. And ‘ere’s me come all the way to
Scotland
to save ‘er, the ungrateful bitch.”

“She didn’t know you were so close,”
Arnold
pointed out. “She was probably just letting off steam.”

“She didn’t sound happy, like,” Tricky admitted as he remembered the emotional tone of the message. “P’raps she really does need me.”

“It’s a pity that telepathy isn’t directional,” Daisy mused. “And my dreams aren’t being much help at the moment. All I’m certain of is that we must go to this dance tonight. Or maybe it was the next dance or the one after that. It was a Scottish dance though, and I’m sure Dougal was there.”

“And they say that precognition is a useless talent because it isn’t ever detailed enough,”
Cam
said sarcastically.

“It saved that maid, Jane,” Daisy pointed out.

“And a fat lot of good that has proved to be. Saving a stupid girl who works for the Brotherhood.”

“Good deeds rarely go unrewarded,”
Arnold
pointed out. “Perhaps we will receive ours in heaven.”

“I’d rather go on living, if it’s all the same to you,”
Cam
said irritably. “And what is more I’ve got nothing to wear for this dance.”

“There might be a shop in the village,” Daisy said cheerfully. “We should go and look. I’m sure you wore something pretty in my dreams.”

“Now that, boys, is the problem with putting a female in charge of a team,”
Arnold
remarked with a sly grin on his face. “At any critical juncture, it is highly likely that the ladies will decide to go shopping.”

Arnold
ran through the house laughing as Daisy and
Cam
threw anything they could lay their hands on at him. He ended up locked in the bathroom with
Cam
pounding futilely on the door shouting words not at all dissimilar to the ones Tricky had used earlier.

The moment came that
Alice
had been dreading. Madam Hulot announced that their lessons were ended for the day and stood up to go. The girls leapt to their feet to curtsy to her. Madam Hulot inclined her head in approval and swept out of the classroom door.

Seconds later
Alice
found herself backed up against a wall with three angry girls facing her down.

“I have not had so many stripes across my legs since the day I got here,” Gwendolyn Mathews complained. She was a big girl in every manner and her chubby fingers were clenched into a menacing fist. “And it is entirely your fault.”

“She caught me right on the crease of my bottom,” Lucy Williams said. The girl had a Welsh lilt to her voice. “I can barely walk now because it hurts so much.” Lucy was the smallest of the girls, and had a doll like quality to her. This was probably a consequence of her striking jet-black hair. Even tied back behind her head it had an unreal quality to it.

“How can you be so ignorant of the simplest rules of etiquette?” Edith Trenchard asked in sneering exasperation. She was the tallest of the girls and the thinnest. She had curly red hair that was immaculately groomed. In fact, everything about the girl was immaculate. That and her refined Scottish accent were enough to make
Alice
dislike her intensely.

“It’s not my fault Hulot is a cow,”
Alice
protested. “I did the best I could. It just weren’t good enough for ‘er.”

“Listen to how she speaks,” Edith said disdainfully. “She is an ugly common little trollop and no mistake.”

Alice
attacked Edith with fists flailing. Flurries of blows were exchanged on both sides before
Alice
was pulled to the ground by Gwendolyn, who promptly sat on her.
Alice
’s arms were trapped under Gwendolyn’s weight and she found she could not move.

“Now girls, shall we extract our revenge on this little hussy?” Gwendolyn asked her friends.

“Get off me or you’ll get yours,”
Alice
wheezed as she tried to arch her back. Gwendolyn raised herself up on her knees before dropping her bottom firmly down on
Alice
’s tummy.
Alice
felt the breath squeezed out of her.

‘GET OFF ME!’
Alice
shouted telepathically with all her strength. Gwendolyn screamed and fell over with her hands clasped to her ears. Edith and Lucy fell backwards before fainting on the floor.

It took
Alice
a few moments to free her body from under Gwendolyn’s limp form.

“Now I wonder just what I should do with you three,”
Alice
asked herself, before an answer came to mind that made her grin with devilment.

32.
      
Actions

Trelawney cursed as he read the telegram for the second time. Belinda stood on the far side of Trelawney’s desk and wondered what had so upset him. As if in answer to her question, he passed the message over for her to read.

LOST ITEM AT STATION STOP STAFF HERE CANNOT REMEMBER HIM STOP VERY BUSY WITH PASSENGERS TODAY STOP REQUEST PERMISSION TO GO TO HOTEL STOP UNDERSTAND RISK BUT CAN SEE NO OTHER WAY STOP AWAIT YOUR PERMISSION STOP BENTLEY STOP

“Bentley is the man you have following Saunders?” Belinda asked. Trelawney had not told anybody who he was using for that task, but Belinda was more than capable of reading between the lines. “He’s just come back to
England
from being head of station in
India
. I thought he was on extended leave.”

“He is.., officially,” Trelawney said wearily. “I needed to find a competent agent I could trust and with Saunders working for the Brotherhood, the supply is limited. Saunders has been involved in the recruitment of most of our agents over the last five years. I recruited Bentley myself over twenty years ago and he has been in
India
for the best part of ten years. I felt he was a safe pair of hands.”

“But he has lost Saunders somewhere in
Scotland
?” Belinda surmised.

“He lost him in the centre of
Edinburgh
to be precise. He tracked Saunders to the Waverley Hotel, but lost him at the railway station this morning. Now he wants permission to talk to the staff in the hotel to find out where Saunders has gone.”

“That sounds reasonable.”

“For all we know, all the staff in the
Waverley
work for the Brotherhood. We have no idea how deep their influence extends and it would only take one false step to put Laura in terrible danger. As it is,
Sidney
wants me to set up snipers at every port with orders to shoot anyone who looks like her who is seen boarding a boat.”

“The Secretary of War wants that?” Belinda asked in astonishment. “But was he not telling you how terrible it was that she was dead only a couple of days ago? Now he wants you to kill her? That makes no sense.”

“Laura Young dead, was
Britain
down one Class A, which
Sidney
regarded as terrible news. Now we know Laura was sold to the Hungarians, and that is a very different situation. Laura dying is terrible, the Hungarians gaining a Class A Spellbinder is a disaster. The only reason I was able to dissuade him was because Laura is currently in the hands of the mysterious Sir M and we were expecting Saunders to lead us to her.”

“If only that maid had kept her eyes open,” Belinda muttered.

“Her eyes are not the problem; Jane Muldrow just isn’t very bright. Still, without her we would have nothing. She is the only one in that house who has told us anything, and she had the chance to speak with Tom and Laura as well as Camilla’s team.”

“The Navy are not making any headway with Bertram Smee?”

“Everyone in the house seems to be scared to death of talking. They fear it more than the gallows. I have two MM1 agents talking to Jane at this very moment, to see if they can find out anything else. The girl is terrified, but she is being cooperative. Apparently, there were earlier auctions at the house and we are hoping to find out the names of the children who were sold, if not to who.”

“I have a possible solution for you, regarding Bentley,” Belinda said suddenly. “Give him descriptions of Arnold, Camilla, Daisy and the two boys and tell him to ask the station staff about them. They are a much more distinctive group than Saunders. The station staff might well remember them. The one thing we know for sure is that Saunders is chasing them, so wherever they have gone, he is following.”

Trelawney thought it through and smiled. “Sometimes I think you should be sitting in this chair rather than me. That is a brilliant idea. Will you compose the telegram for me?”

“Of course I will, Ernest. But if I were to do your job, who would handle all the paperwork? I think things are better arranged the way they are.”

Belinda walked back to her office as Trelawney stared after her
. She is quite correct
; he thought. I have always been hopeless at paperwork.
On the other hand, Belinda is efficient and talented enough to do the paperwork and my job. Men may well prove redundant should women ever get the chance to run the Empire
.

Tom’s tour of the factory finished and he admitted to himself that Lord McBride ran an impressive facility. It was obvious that the man took a pride in looking after his workers and paying them a decent wage. If it were not for the fact that he had kidnapped Laura, Tom would have found himself admiring the man. It was rare to find someone so committed to bettering the lot of his fellow man.

McBride led Tom along a large imperial style concourse back to the castle. This was the first time they had been out in the elements during the tour, though the flagstones were heated from beneath, so no snow had settled on them. It was freezing out in the real world and Tom made a mental note to locate heavy clothing he could steal for when he and Laura escaped. The idea of freezing to death for want of a coat did not appeal to him in the slightest.

Tom was grateful to be back inside the castle and basked in the warm air as McBride led him onward through endless rooms and stone corridors until eventually they found themselves back in the laboratory.

Laura turned and smiled when she saw him. She looked so beautiful in her pretty Scottish dress that Tom wanted to rush over to hug and kiss her. Not that he did, of course. He had been brought up with better manners than that.

“I see you have fully recovered, Thomas, though you appear to be a little breathless.”

“That is through having to chase after Lord McBride as he has rushed me through the castle. I am glad to see you recovering so well, Mr. Summers.”

“That is all down to you, Healer,” Giles said, giving Tom a small bow. “I trust you will be able to do the same for my friend, Andrew Baxter, when you are able.”

“The boy will attempt the healing tomorrow,” Lord McBride said sharply. “Judging by what healing you did to him, he will need all his strength for Andrew.”

“That sounds like the wisest course of action, my lord,” Giles agreed.

“What progress have you made?” Lord McBride asked Kemp.

“Laura’s first bind dissolved the copper rod leaving behind a residue of a strange grey metal,” Kemp explained in a tone similar to that of a teacher. “It was to be expected that her first attempt would end in failure. When the decontamination team has done their work, we will try again. It is all very exciting.”

“Aye, well donna think you have all the time in the world. Giles can begin to process the other rods while you get the lassie up to speed. With a wee bit of luck, we will have Andrew back at work tomorrow and then we can relax a little. Perhaps all I needed all along was a really good Healer.”

“I do not understand your urgency on this matter, Lord McBride. Surely Mr. Clerks has enough of the pure dantium to continue his experiments?” Kemp protested.

“If his experiment goes as planned we will have little time to act,” McBride stated. “There will be those that suspect, even if they cannot comprehend the method. We must move before they act on their suspicions…”

McBride’s eyes unfocussed as he stared into the distance, lost in thought. Then he snapped out of his reverie.

“Be that as it may. You have done enough for today and there is the Cèilidh tonight to prepare for.”

“What is a kay-lee?” Laura asked trying to copy McBride’s pronunciation and failing. “Is it some kind of experiment?”

Giles laughed and even Kemp and Lord McBride smiled.

“Have you never heard of a Cèilidh?” Lord McBride asked in astonishment. “It is an occasion to dance, an evening of entertainment and merriment. We are to welcome a host of new workers come to join us in our humble home. It will take place tonight as they arrived today, but we always hold a Cèilidh at least twice a month if not every week.”

“I’m afraid I do not know any Scottish dances. Do they not generally involve men dancing over the blades of swords?” Laura asked.

“Aye, sometimes they do,” McBride conceded. “But we will show our new guests how to do each dance before we start and these dances were designed to be danced by those a little the worse the wear for drink, so I think you’ll have no problems. Many of my new workers are from
England
and
Wales
, so you are unlikely to be the poorest dancer in the room tonight.”

“Is everyone in the castle coming?” Tom asked.

“Aye, every man woman and child will be there. It is the tradition, though some will be busy serving food and drink. Why do you ask, laddie?”

“I was wondering if we would get a chance to see
Alice
,” Tom replied. Laura immediately felt guilty because she hadn’t thought about
Alice
at all.

“Aye she’ll be there too, as will my son Dougal. Giles, will you escort these two back to their quarters to make their preparations?”

“It would be my pleasure, my lord,” Giles said as he smiled warmly again at Tom.

Alice
realized she needed some kind of hold over the girls, still lying unconscious on the floor. It was the irritatingly refined voice of Edith that provided an appropriate answer
Alice
was quite capable of being rather wicked and her upbringing ended her innocence before it was ever started.

Once she had arranged them in exactly the right manner and removed their clothing where appropriate,
Alice
poured the contents of a large pitcher of water over them. The girls awoke and instantly grasped their compromised position.

“Oh my lor’,”
Alice
said placing the back of her hand to her forehead. “To think I should come into a room and find yer doin’ such things to each other. I shall ‘as to tell Madam Hulot, that I will.”

The girls hastily scrambled to their feet, struggling to pull up clothing wrapped around their ankles.

“We shall deny it,” Edith said haughtily. “And it must have been you that arranged us like that in the first place.”

“The truth’ll out, me dad always says,”
Alice
said with a wicked grin on her face. “I’ll bet yer’ll change your tune when Hulot has placed enough stripes across that bottom of yers. And yer knows she will.”

“We’ll kill you for this,” Gwendolyn said through gritted teeth, her fists clenching and unclenching spasmodically.

“Not affors I tell,”
Alice
challenged. “And yer know what I can do to yer now. Maybe I’ll do it again and bring Hulot in to see it for ‘erself.”

“What do you want?” Lucy asked with a sigh. She had faced defeat often enough to recognize it when it bit her on the bottom.

“I wants us to be pals like. I was stolen from me parents and this aint the place I’d choose to spends me time, if I was given a choice. We ‘as to keep in mind who the real baduns are in this place.”

The other girls looked at her in astonishment. Gwendolyn slowly unclenched her fists and began to calm down.

“We were taken from our families too,” she said and put her arms around
Alice
and gave her a hug, the other girls immediately joined in.

“You sure you three aint trying to squeeze the life outta me?”
Alice
asked breathlessly a few moments later. However, she was grinning as she said it.