The Spy Master's Scheme (Glass and Steele Book 12) Read online

  Lady Rycroft perked up. “My middle daughter does tend to have that effect on people.” She tapped Charity’s knee. “She’s quite a…surprising girl.”

  “I like surprises.”

  Charity stared at Lord Farnsworth, her face frozen. She seemed unsure how to take him and was rendered speechless.

  The same could be said of Aunt Letitia, Matt and me. While it was true that Lord Farnsworth liked unusual experiences, his sudden interest in Charity was out of the blue. He’d previously said she was too odd, even for him.

  What was he playing at?

  The clock on the mantelpiece chimed the hour softly. Lady Rycroft glanced at it and let out a small gasp. “Charity, we must go. We have another call to make.”

  Charity wrinkled her nose. “Can’t I stay here?”

  “We’re calling on Lady Burgess.”

  Charity sighed while Aunt Letitia gave a knowing nod. “How unfortunate that you can’t stay longer, but you mustn’t keep Lady Burgess waiting. Such an esteemed personage,” she said to me. “Once a girl is invited to Lady Burgess’s first ball of the spring, it’s said she’ll be set for a wonderful season. Do try to look happy, Charity.”

  “I hate balls and parties,” Charity muttered.

  Her mother laughed, but it rang false. “Don’t be silly, child. Of course you love parties and balls.” She turned to Lord Farnsworth. “She’s just being modest. You know what young girls are like.”

  “Indeed I do,” Lord Farnsworth said.

  “Do you like balls and parties, Davide?”

  “Depends on who else is there.”

  “Quite right.” Lady Rycroft cleared her throat as she watched me tug on the bell pull. I could see she wanted to say something more to Lord Farnsworth to encourage him in Charity’s direction, but she wasn’t sure how to do it without coming across as desperate. In the end, she invited him to a musical soiree. “India and Matthew are coming,” she finished with a hopeful smile for me.

  “We are?” Matt said.

  “Yes. It’s tomorrow night.”

  Aunt Letitia’s jaw hardened. “I think Davide is going out with Willimena tomorrow night.”

  “I can do both,” he said. “The soiree first then I’ll meet up with Willie later.”

  Lady Rycroft’s smile slipped a little. “Nine o’clock, then. It’ll just be an intimate occasion, since some of my acquaintances haven’t returned to the city.” She handed him a card with her address on it. “We’re so thrilled you can come, aren’t we, Charity? What a wonderful evening it promises to be.”

  “It does now.” Charity beamed at Lord Farnsworth.

  His eyes flared for a moment before he smiled too. “I’m looking forward to it already.”

  I tugged on the bell pull to summon Bristow. He opened the door for Lady Rycroft and Charity, and must have thought Lord Farnsworth was leaving too because he waited. But Lord Farnsworth stopped at the door to wave off the others.

  “This is an interesting development,” I whispered to Matt. “They both seem keen.”

  “It suits us well. It means Charity is no longer interested in Cyclops and he’s no longer interested in Willie.”

  “I don’t think he was ever interested in Willie.”

  “Of course he was,” Aunt Letitia whispered back. “And he can be again, if Beatrice didn’t interfere.” She crossed her arms and glared at Lord Farnsworth as he rejoined us.

  He stopped upon seeing her frown. “Is something the matter?”

  “What are you playing at with my niece?”

  “Oh, that. I’ve just been a little bored of late. She’s just a distraction, Letty.”

  “A distraction!” I cried. “Davide, you can’t court a young woman simply because you’re bored.”

  “Never fear. I’ll stop it before it gets too far. She doesn’t seem like the sort to fall in love anyway.”

  “One doesn’t have to be in love to have one’s hopes raised.” I looked to Matt.

  “Just be careful,” he warned. “Your feelings won’t matter to Aunt Beatrice. If she can secure you for her daughter, she will.”

  Lord Farnsworth threw himself onto the sofa as if he lived here. “Don’t worry about me. I haven’t avoided the institution this long by being an easy target.”

  I looked to Aunt Letitia, but she seemed rather pleased that Lord Farnsworth wasn’t considering Charity seriously. No doubt she still thought Willie was a viable prospect, entirely setting aside her own snobbery that dictated like must marry like when it came to social standing. She was also forgetting both Willie and Lord Farnsworth’s disinterest in the other. They might have had one dalliance, but there’d been no sign of it happening again.

  Two sets of footsteps loudly clomped up the stairs and headed toward the drawing room. A moment later, Willie and Duke entered.

  “You just missed them,” Matt said.

  “We know,” Duke said, eyeing off the cake. “We waited outside until we saw their carriage leave.”

  Willie cut a slice of cake for herself and took a large bite before sitting down on the sofa. Having her mouth full didn’t stop her from talking. “Were you here the whole time, Davide?”

  “More or less.” He waggled his eyebrows at her. “Lady R invited me to a party tomorrow night. I’m going to flirt with Charity. Won’t that be a lark?”

  She stopped with the cake halfway to her mouth. “Are you mad? Do you remember what she did to Cyclops? She nearly ruined his life by accusing him of forcing her against her will.”

  He waved off her concerns. “I can look after myself.”

  Duke accepted a slice of cake from me. “I agree with Willie. I reckon you’re playing a fool’s game. If you get caught, you’ll be stuck with Charity for life. Her father will make you marry her.”

  Lord Farnsworth looked offended. “What do you think I’m going to do with her?” He stared at me, aghast. “India, you too?”

  I lifted a shoulder, no longer sure what was going on.

  “I’m not going to have a dalliance with her. I won’t even be alone with her. It’ll just be a little flirtation here and there. We’ll do what all amusing people do at parties—laugh at what the other guests are wearing, talk about horses, and drink too much Champagne. All in full view of everyone, naturally.”

  I breathed a sigh of relief and caught Matt smiling at me. The devil knew what Lord Farnsworth had meant all along. Perhaps I shouldn’t have been so quick to judge him. He was a good man underneath all the frivolity.

  “I still reckon you should be careful,” Willie said. “Charity’s mad, not simple.”

  Lord Farnsworth rubbed his hands together. “I’m looking forward to this party more and more.”

  “I’m not,” Matt said. “How did we even get invited to this thing?”

  “Beatrice doesn’t yet know Davide well enough to invite him without you and India, the intermediaries in this new acquaintance,” Aunt Letitia said. “If she wanted him to attend, she had to invite you.”

  “So can we get out of it now that he has agreed?”

  “Certainly not.”

  “What if I’m ill?”

  “You’re not ill.”

  Matt appealed to me. “But I think I need to be careful not to tempt fate. Don’t you, India?” He was referring to him being out in public, tempting the killer to shoot him. We hadn’t informed Aunt Letitia that someone was trying to kill him, and didn’t plan to, hence the cryptic conversation.

  “We’ll see how you feel tomorrow,” I said.

  We fell into silence, the only sounds coming from Duke and Willie as they drank tea and ate cake. After several moments, Lord Farnsworth clicked his fingers.

  “I almost forgot. I had a reason for coming here.” He looked serious, which meant something was very wrong. My heart did a little flip in my chest as I urged him to go on. “I dined at my club yesterday and all the talk was about magic and magicians.”

  “That talk is everywhere,” Duke said. “Ever since Barratt relea
sed that damned book, people haven’t stopped talking about magic.”

  “There aren’t merely people at my club. There are influential people, politicians among them. It seems there is a petition circulating with the intent to submit it to parliament. The petition wants the law changed to make it mandatory for craft guilds to exclude magicians.”

  “No law can do that!” Willie cried. “Membership is a guild matter. Ain’t that right, India?”

  I nodded as I crossed my arms, hugging myself. A chill crept down my spine that I couldn’t shake.

  Matt came to stand behind me, his hand on my shoulder. He gave it a reassuring squeeze. “It won’t get through parliament, but guilds will exclude magicians anyway. It’ll happen soon, I’m sure.”

  Without guild membership, magicians couldn’t get a license to trade, and without that license, they had to close their shops and factories. If Matt was right, it would have devastating consequences for many families.

  Lord Farnsworth wasn’t quite so worried, however. “Dearest India, don’t fret. The monied class are scouring the city for magical wares. They desire the best things money can buy, and now everyone knows the best is made by a magician. You’ll see. People like Lady Rycroft will demand magicians be allowed to sell their goods, and we all know that people like her—and me, of course—run this country, not guild craftsmen.”

  He was probably right. As long as the wealthy and influential wanted magician-made goods gracing their homes, magicians would be protected. Lady Rycroft had practically begged me for the name of a fur magician. “Magicians will have to go into hiding and trade in secret,” I said. “That won’t be easy.”

  Lord Farnsworth looked smug. “Or a law will be passed that allows magicians to trade without a license.”

  It was a radical idea but a good one. Could it be possible? The guilds would put up a fight. If there was no need for craftsmen to obtain a license, there was no need for the guilds to exist.

  “The ridiculous thing is, magic doesn’t last,” Matt said. “Magician-made goods might be excellent quality for a while, but once the magic deteriorates, they become as ordinary as artless-made ones. The tension between magicians and artless is pointless.”

  We spent the rest of the afternoon discussing what we could do and how we could influence certain politicians. Lord Farnsworth was very helpful, but I discovered that Matt already knew who would be capable of swaying the opinions of members of parliament.

  At six o’clock precisely, Cyclops walked in. Dressed in the smart blue tunic of the constable’s uniform, his helmet under his arm, he looked authoritative rather than resembling a menacing pirate. He removed his gloves and stood by the fire, warming his back, his hands clasped behind him. “What a day,” he muttered. “You all heard, I s’pose.”

  “Heard what?” Willie asked.

  “About the riot.” At our blank looks, he continued. “The riot in Shoreditch.”

  “Who was rioting and why?” Matt asked.

  “They were targeting shops on High Street where the proprietor was a known magician. Windows were smashed, doors broken. No one was injured but there was a lot of damage to property.”

  “The general public started it?”

  Cyclops shook his head. “Artless guild members. And guess who led them.” He looked at me as he said it.

  I suddenly felt sick. “Abercrombie.”

  Chapter 2

  Bristow entered but didn’t have a chance to inform us that Catherine Mason had arrived before she barreled past him. She ran to Cyclops and threw her arms around him.

  “Thank goodness you’re all right.” She cupped his face and inspected him thoroughly. “We were closing the shop for the day when we heard about the riot in your district. I came here directly. I was so worried.” Satisfied that he was unharmed, she embraced him again.

  His lips twitched as he tried to contain his smile. “I’m fine. You didn’t have to come here. You could have sent a message.”

  She drew back and tilted her head to the side to regard him critically. “And you could have sent back a reply that said you were fine when you weren’t, so that I wouldn’t worry. I prefer to see you in person and judge for myself.”

  “What will your parents think when your brother arrives home without you? Is he going to tell them India invited you to dine here?” He glanced over her head at me.

  “Of course you can stay for dinner, Catherine, and I will tell your parents that if they ask.”

  She shook her head. “I told Ronnie to tell them the truth. That I came here to see if you were all right, Nate. But I did say that I would stay to dine if invited.”

  “Then I’ll tell Bristow to set another place at the table.”

  The butler suddenly appeared at the door again, but not because he heard his name or sensed that I wished to speak to him. He announced the arrival of another uninvited, but no less welcome, guest.

  “Detective Inspector Brockwell has arrived. Shall I set another two places for dinner, madam?”

  “Thank you, Bristow.”

  Willie greeted Brockwell with almost as much enthusiasm as Catherine had greeted Cyclops. He seemed surprised by her public display of affection, but not unhappy. He, too, warred with a smile.

  “Well, this is nice. Is there a particular reason I’m being greeted with an embrace?”

  “Can’t a woman hug her man?” Willie asked.

  “It’s not like you. Not in front of the others.”

  She lifted a shoulder in a shrug. “Cyclops just told us about the riot and I got worried about you.”

  “I didn’t attend the scene. The uniformed men had it under control.”

  She patted his chest. “Good.” She led him by the hand to the sofa then sat beside him.

  We all watched her with curious expressions, including Brockwell, but she failed to notice.

  “Cyclops was just telling us about the riot,” Matt said.

  “News reached us at the Yard some time ago.” Brockwell turned to Cyclops. “Did you make any arrests?”

  “Five,” Cyclops said.

  “Including Abercrombie?” Matt asked.

  Cyclops shook his head. “He didn’t commit any of the violence himself.”

  I couldn’t imagine the aloof and somewhat delicate man throwing a brick through a window, but I also had trouble envisaging him involving himself with such a violent group, yet Cyclops said he led them. “Couldn’t he be arrested for inciting violence?”

  Cyclops shook his head. “He claims he wanted the protest to be peaceful. In fact, he called for calm, but it fell on deaf ears. I witnessed his attempts myself.”

  “He should still be arrested for organizing it,” Matt said.

  “A detective from my district will make inquiries. If he can prove Abercrombie did organize it, he’ll be arrested.”

  Willie nudged Brockwell with her elbow. “You should be heading up the investigation. It involves magic.”

  “I think we’re past the point of assigning crimes related to magic to me,” Brockwell said. “This is just the beginning.”

  Matt agreed. “It’s no longer a secret, best kept to a small group at the Yard.”

  “Dashed ugly business,” Farnsworth muttered. “Why can’t everyone just get along?”

  “Because people’s livelihoods are at stake,” I said.

  “Money is the root of evil.”

  Willie snorted. “Says the man who owns two houses, acres of land, and dozens of racing horses and magical objects.”

  Farnsworth sniffed. “Yes. Well. I’m a generous employer, too. Everybody likes working for me.”

  Willie and Duke rolled their eyes.

  Catherine left Cyclops’s side to come and sit with me. She handed me a piece of paper. “Seeing as it’s just us, I’ll take the opportunity to give you this now rather than wait until your aunt returns.”

  With Aunt Letitia getting dressed for dinner and only our friends present, we all felt comfortable talking freely. While Lord Far
nsworth was a new friend, we trusted him after he’d helped Matt become acquainted with the home secretary. He knew all about Sir Charles Whittaker’s position as a spy, our suspicions about Lord Coyle, and the attempts on Matt’s life. While his opinion was usually an unconventional one, his help as a nobleman was invaluable. Matt hadn’t made many powerful connections among the nobility yet, but he was starting to, thanks to Lord Farnsworth.

  That was why Catherine felt comfortable giving me the piece of paper with names on it for my list of magicians in front of him. I’d begun the list a mere week ago and asked my friends to help contribute to it where possible. While it was still a short list, I hoped to expand it so that it became a definitive catalogue. The trouble we’d experienced with Mrs. Trentham the toymaker magician and Amelia Moreton the fireworks magician proved that we needed to know who wielded magic for those times when it was used as a weapon.

  But I would not share the list with the authorities unless and until it became necessary. It would be kept here, locked away in a secret place, with only myself, Matt, Cyclops, Willie and Duke knowing where to find it.

  I unfolded the paper and scanned the three names. I recognized one. “Are these all woolen magicians?”

  Catherine nodded. “I heard the woolen guild revoked the membership of suspected magicians, effective immediately. I asked a few questions of an acquaintance and discovered these men were identified by their superior workmanship and rumor.”

  Willie scoffed. “So a person is deemed guilty based on rumor now?”

  “This isn’t the work of the police,” Brockwell reminded her.

  She huffed and folded her arms. “It should be a crime to take a person’s livelihood away from them without a trial.”

  “Or a thorough investigation or process of appeal,” Cyclops added.

  I handed the paper to Matt. “My Pyke’s name is on there.”

  Mr. Pyke was a rug maker who used his woolen magic to make his carpets stronger and last longer. He’d given Fabian and me a spell which I’d changed to include the relevant words for the moving spell. The subsequent new spell had made Fabian’s woolen rug fly.

  The wool magic didn’t work for long, however, so Mr. Pyke rarely used it. Despite that, he’d been correctly identified by his guild as a magician, and now he couldn’t trade at all. He’d have to close his shop. It would be utterly devastating for him.