Vow of Deception (The Ministry of Curiosities #9)(74)

But Lincoln wasn't gone. He was in jail, and I was his only hope of getting out.

"If we had the imp, it could attack," Gus said, peering out of the window again. He swore and let the curtain go. "We have to warn the others to stay away from the front of the house."

Seth followed him but stopped. "Come on, Charlie. It's not safe in here. The kitchen is at the back of the house. We'll make that our base."

"The imp," I echoed, eyeing the safe.

"Charlie?"

"I'll follow in a moment. I have an idea."



* * *



"Let me go!" Alice's panicked voice came from the service area.

I broke into a run and burst into the kitchen. "Alice!"

She struggled against Seth and Gus who held her back. "She wants to give herself up," Seth said.

"I have to!" she cried, trying to wrench free of his grip and failing. "We can't beat an entire army! Be reasonable. This is the only way to make them leave. Let me go before they let one of those boulders loose."

"No," Seth growled.

"Lady V." Alice appealed to Seth's mother who was watching Cook load a pistol. "You understand. I must give myself up or we'll all die!"

Lady Vickers turned a deathly white face and wild eyes to Alice. She wore a shawl around her nightgown and her hair hung in tangles down her back. She looked like a madwoman escaped from the attic. "I do understand," she said. Upon her son's protest, she put up her hand. "But you are not going out there. You are to remain here at all costs. Is that clear?"

"No!"

Cook finished loading the weapon and handed it to Lady Vickers. She aimed it at Alice's foot. "I will shoot you if necessary."

Alice stopped struggling. Seth and Gus slowly released her.

"Now," Lady Vickers said crisply, "where should I stand to get the best shot at one of those soldiers?"

"You're not shooting at them, you're staying here as the last line of defense," Seth told her. "With Alice."

Alice plopped down on a chair and buried her head in her hands. "This is all my fault," she groaned.

"No," I said, stroking her hair. "You were a child when you came here. Whatever happened in Wonderland that led to you being sent here is not your fault. Now, arm yourself. I have a plan to get out of this before a shot is fired."

Lady Vickers expelled a loud breath. She held up the pistol. "Thank God for that! I have no idea how to use this thing."

Seth pushed it away. "First lesson: aim it at the enemy, not your only child."

"What be your plan, Charlie?" Cook asked.

I opened my mouth to speak when a resounding crash boomed through the house above us. Glass shattered. Bricks and wood splintered. Pots rattled and crockery fell off the hutch, smashing onto the floor.

Lady Vickers screamed. A gun went off and she screamed again.

Everyone dropped to the floor, hands over heads, as plaster drifted down from the ceiling and formed little white piles of powder on the flagstones. The house fell silent except for the tinkling of the chandelier in the entrance hall.

"Reload!" came a distant shout.

Seth crawled over to his mother and took away her pistol. "You can have a knife instead." He got to his feet, a pistol in each hand. "It'll take them a few minutes to reload the catapult," he said. "Charlie, tell us your plan before they destroy Lichfield."

I got to my feet and refused the weapon he offered me. "There's no time to discuss it. Come with me and follow along. You too, Alice."

"No," he said. "She stays here."

"The plan won't work without her."

He looked set for an argument but Alice marched between us and out the kitchen door. I raced after her, Seth and Gus on my heels. I was grateful that Cook remained behind with Lady Vickers. She seemed to need comforting, and it was wise to have someone with a level head to look after the house and her in case I failed. Failure was an extremely likely possibility.

I caught a glimpse of the clock on the table as we gathered in the entrance hall. I should have been getting married in three hours. It seemed like a fantasy now.

"Alice, stay here until I call you," I said. "Seth, Gus, put down your weapons." I pushed open the door before either man could protest.

I put up my hands in surrender. Beside me, Seth and Gus did the same. We looked out to the soldiers swarming our lawn, spreading as far as the eye could see to left and right. The catapult was already loaded, a team of men drawing back a boulder ready to release it.

"Stop!" I cried. "I'll give you Alice!"

"Charlie," Seth hissed. "What are you doing?"

"Trust me, Seth. Please."

The leader on the horse put up a hand to halt his men. The team stopped but did not disarm their catapult.

"Where is she?" the commander demanded. He was not terribly old but he had the weathered features of an experienced soldier and the bearing of a man used to command. His stature, sitting erect on the biggest horse, was impressive. Where his men wore red jackets with white breeches, his uniform was entirely black. The gold buttons and watch added a handsome elegance.

"She's inside," I called back. "She will only go with you if you stop laying seige to the house."