Revenge of the Mad Scientist (Book One: Airship Adventure Chronicles) (3 page)

She walked down the hall and went through the doors into the library, an intimate wood paneled room lined with bookshelves filled with every size and topic of tome for which one could ever hope. Lingering embers in the fireplace cast only a dim light about the room. She paused on the doorway, one hand still on the handle of the door and a tender smile curled her lips as she observed the only occupant.

Benji lay stretched out on the brown leather sofa, fast asleep with three books tented across his abdomen and legs. His shirt was rolled up at the sleeves and his cravat askew. At least he'd removed his shoes.

She crossed the room and rescued the precariously tilted books from his body and laid them on the side table. He snorted in his sleep and rolled over on his side. She put a hand on his forehead, brushing back the unruly brown curls falling over one eye. At her touch, his eyelids fluttered and then went wide.

“B,B, Belle,” he said as he struggled to a sitting position.

“There, there, Benji. Sorry to wake you,” she murmured as she lit one of the table lamps and turned up the wick. Then she lowered herself into a wing chair beside him, put up a hand to remove the pins from her auburn hair, and let the long strands spill down upon her shoulders. With both hands she ran fingers across her scalp and sighed at the release of tension.

“What t, t, time is it?” He pulled out his pocket watch and flipped it open. “Zounds, Belle, i, i, it’s bloody three a.m.”

“I know. I’ve had a very disturbing evening, Benji,” she said.

He tugged fingers through his tousled hair and then rubbed his eyelids. “What happened?”

“My father was kidnapped.”

“What?” he exclaimed. “Sir John?”

“Right in the middle of the ball. Someone came in through a window in a side room off the ballroom. Father'd been meeting with his assistant there. They attacked and then carried him back out the window. Conrad was stabbed in the process—ghastly proceedings.”

“Bloody hell.” Benji blinked several times. “Did C, C, Conrad survive?”

“Yes, thank God. But he was stabbed with a snow tiger tooth dagger so everyone is keen to blame Gandiss without further evidence. There will be no treaty as a result. The whole affair is a disaster for Urbannia.”

The library doors opened and Jasper entered bearing a tray holding a decanter of sherry and two small stemmed glasses. “I took the liberty of bringing a glass for the young master as well.”

“Brilliant, Jasper,” Benji said. “You’re t, t, top of the trees.”

The butler made a ritual of pouring two glasses full of the golden liquid and then handed one to Arabella and then Benji. “So happy to have your approval, Master Benjamin.”

Benji let out a snort of laughter.

“Might I ask if My Lady would like something to eat as well?” The tall spare man raised one eyebrow.

“No, no, Jasper, please, I beg you, go to bed. I shan’t want anything else tonight.” Belle waved him away. “I’ll just have a nightcap with Benji and then I’m off to bed myself.”

Jasper gave her a dignified bow. “Very well, My Lady.” He placed another log on the fire, turned on his heel and marched out of the room, closing the doors soundlessly behind him.

“How does he do th, th, that?” Benji said, watching the butler’s silent exit. “Sneaks up on me all the time.”

“Don’t worry about that. We have to figure out what happened to my father.” She filled him in on the evening’s proceedings. “It just doesn’t add up. I have to tell you, my brief interaction with the ambassador left me quite impressed with him.”

Benji rubbed his hands together and frowned as he considered the situation. “If the weapon came from Gandiss, why are you s, s, so sure it wasn’t them?”

“Oh!” She jumped up, put a hand in her purse and withdrew the handkerchief. “I forgot to tell you about this. I found it on the floor in the room from which Father was taken. I’m positive he left it as a clue but I’m not sure what it means.”

Benji took the piece of cloth with the stick pin and his youthful face screwed up in concentration as he examined it, then he bolted to his feet “D, d, dash it all, Belle. Do you know what this is?”

She shook her head and her heart raced at his tone.

“It’s a ceremonial j, j, jewel given to the Sarcs of Carabarras.”

Her eyes widened. She’d heard of the secret group of assassins but didn’t know any more than the general public. She hoped her adopted boy genius had more details. “You’d better explain.”

“The Sarcs are t, t, taken as children and trained within the secret organization. When they finish their t, t, training, they’re given a task to fulfill. Usually that means k, k, killing someone. If they're successful, they’re given the t, t, title of Sarc and one of these.” He held up the gold and ruby pin. “They wear it on the inside of their c, c, cloaks and never take it off until they die.”

“Or until it falls out of their cloak while they’re kidnapping someone…or…that someone steals it as a clue.” Belle hadn’t really examined it, so she reached out and took it from him. She turned the pin around seeing it in a new light. The golden head resembled some type of flower and the large ruby was planted in the middle of the blossom. She looked up at Benji.

“It’s a l, l, lotus,” he said. “A death lotus—only grows in the d, d, desert of Carabarras. The Sarcs boil it and make a p, p, poison for their knives and arrows. It’s incredibly d, d, deadly. The tiniest drop will kill a man instantly.”

“Benji, what are the chances someone could have one of these and not be a Sarc?” She held up the long pin between her fingers. As she twisted it around, the gold and ruby cast a deadly glitter in the candlelit room.

“N, n, none. Nearly impossible. If someone got hold of one, they w, w, would be hunted down and killed. The j, j, jewel is sacred to the Sarc.”

Belle sat back in her chair. “Then how difficult would it be to obtain a snow tiger dagger?”

“They c, c, can be bought on the black market for a few thousand silver bills by anyone with enough m, m, money.”

She knew what that meant. The lead to Gandiss had to be a false trail. She was sure of it now. The real trail pointed to Carabarras and her father had left his clue to lead her to him, knowing she would recognize the handkerchief. She was convinced he had taken the pin from the person who attacked him and in the scuffle the man didn’t miss it. Benji rocked back and forth on his toes in eagerness.

“Benji I have to go after him. I have to find my father. The authorities are off on a wild goose chase and I can’t get to Her Majesty to explain for three days. Time is running out. By the time I get in to see the queen and convince her of the truth, the trail will be cold.”

Benji straightened his collar and cravat. “Then we have no t, t, time to lose.”

Belle stood. “Benji, I can’t take you with me. It wouldn’t be fair to put you in danger. Besides, I’m not really your legal guardian.”

“Blast it all, Belle. I’m seventeen. In a y, y, year I won’t even need a guardian.” He crossed his arms over his chest. “Besides, you c, c, care more about me than my bloody family ever did. You’re going to need my help and I won’t let you g, g, go without me.”

“No need to curse, Benji.” She eyed the stubborn tilt of his chin and the mulish look about his eyes and knew he was right. His fountain of knowledge would be indispensable on this trip. Look how much he had already helped. It might have taken her days to figure out the meaning behind that stickpin. She also knew he would stow away or even follow her if need be. So she might as well keep him with her where she could watch out for him.

She sighed. “Very well. Pack your bags and call us a hack. We’re going to Carabarras.”

He let out a whoop and ran out the door while she sat down at the writing desk to compose a letter to her mother that would make some semblance of sense. If Lady Trunkett could get to the queen and convince her of the truth, then maybe Urbannia would turn their resources in the proper direction and avert a war over this incident.

Chapter 2

Belle changed from her ball gown into an olive green, twill, split skirt she wore when riding, topped with a white ruffled blouse and a gold brocade corset. She pulled on a matching jacket, and slipped the letter from the ambassador along with his ring and the stickpin into one of its many buckled pockets. Then she pulled on her lace-up walking boots and grabbed a heavy fur lined cape from her closet.

She packed the bare minimum of clothes, taking only sturdy items that would see her through this adventure. As a last thought she went to her night stand, opened the drawer, and took out her bronze multi-shooter. She kept it handy in a wooden box along with a supply of ammunition. She paused, resting a hand on the smooth wood remembering when her father had given it to her and taught her to shoot. Dear father.

Her ball gown lay crumpled on the floor where she had hurriedly discarded it. She picked it up and detached the chain holding her ornate gold pocket watch. A sob rose in her throat when she flipped open the lid and the tiny figurine popped up opposite the watch face. The tune of the popular song,
Daddy’s Little Girl
, played softly in the minute music box inside the watch. Her father had given her this watch when she turned sixteen and she never went anywhere without it. Tears spilled down her cheeks as she thought of him somewhere alone and in the hands of terrorists.

She snapped it shut and brushed at her tears with a brusque gesture. Crying would not help him. Hopefully, he was safe at this point and the kidnappers saw him more valuable alive than dead. To rescue him she must keep her head and not let her emotions overwhelm her no matter how much his loss affected her.

Wiping away a last tear, she attached the chain to her coat and slipped the watch into a pocket. Then she stuffed the shooter box on top of her clothes in the valise and buckled it closed. One more stop and she would be ready. She would probably need lots of money before this trip was over. Fortunately she always kept a large supply in a safe in her office. It was another thing her father taught her—always be prepared for an emergency.

Ready at last, she ran down the stairs, happy to be out of the movement hampering ball gown with its trailing bustle. After she opened her safe, she stuffed stacks of gold and silver bills in the satchel she brought with her and put a handful in one jacket pocket. That was it. She had everything she could think of. Hopefully Benji had the hack ready and they could get underway. She picked up her valise and tossed the strap of the satchel over one shoulder.

When she reached the front door, it stood ajar and outside loud voices disrupted the quiet morning. What could possibly be causing such a ruckus? She stepped across the threshold and stopped in her tracks. There before her, Benji and Jasper argued in the middle of the street, tugging vigorously at a large valise between them. Several other bags littered the ground at their feet. The carriage hack waited behind them with the driver leaning back against the door of the vehicle, grinning as he watched the altercation.

The first hint of a rosy dawn cast a warm glow over the street and soon the neighbors would be up and wondering about the commotion. Belle could have strangled both of them.

“You’re n, n, not going,” Benji yelled.

“I most certainly am.” Jasper grimaced as he put his weight into pulling on the bag.

“Are you both completely, stark raving mad?” she hissed and stomped down the steps, glaring at them.

They fell apart like two naughty school children, both still keeping a hand on the bag.

“What is going on? I’d like to be out of here quickly and I don’t want anyone popping up to question us.”

“He says he’s g, g, going with us.” Benji shot the butler an evil glance.

“Of course I am. I can’t allow Lady Arabella to go jaunting off with nothing but a schoolboy as a companion.” Jasper pulled himself up and looked down his nose at Benji, then gave Belle a hurt look. “And furthermore, I cannot believe you didn’t tell me Sir John had been kidnapped.”

“Oh for goodness sake.” Belle pushed past them and handed her valise to the driver. “I don’t have time for this. My father is in danger. Benji, put your bag in the coach. Jasper, I’m sorry, but you’ll have to stay here. I need someone to look after the house.”

“I apologize, My Lady. But I will not be left behind.” He lifted his chin. “I feel it is my duty to care for your comfort and safety no matter where you are.”

Belle turned around and her mouth fell open, surprised at his obstinacy. “Jasper, you must do as I say. You will not be able to help me on this trip.”

“I’m deeply sorry, but you do need my help and I am going.” He reached into his jacket and pulled out three, small, leather bound booklets, a triumphant expression on his face.

Belle gasped. She
had
forgotten something—their passports. They wouldn’t be able to leave the country without them. How could she have been so stupid?

“Bloody hell,” she swore. “Get in the coach you two. But if either one of you slows me down, I’ll personally throw you off the airship.”

Benji kicked at the pavement and released the bag. Jasper allowed himself a small smile of triumph and they both quickly tossed their bags to the driver to pile on the roof and climbed into the coach with Belle.

###

The hack deposited them on the street in front of the Aereopolis Imperial Aeroport. It was the world’s largest airship transportation center ever since being renovated two years ago. Belle stood for a moment looking up at the imposing façade of the modern building. Tall windows rose from the street to the second floor with decoratively carved arches of stone above them and brass strips running down the sides of the windows.

Above her, airships of every design crisscrossed the sky like giant floating whales at different altitudes. It was hard to believe they could be so numerous and not collide. But Aereopolis used a flashing light system to communicate between ships and the control tower, while other aeroports continued to use the traditional flyer pigeons.

Belle took a deep breath and, after wrestling her bag away from an over burdened Jasper, she headed into the main building. Jasper followed with his four bags and Benji with one. Belle couldn’t believe the butler had brought along so much luggage. They would be moving at a fast pace and such a load could only slow them down.