Vespers Rising (The 39 Clues #11)(8)

Gideon shivered. His son’s tone reminded him too much of Damien’s. He could not tell Luke just how dearly his rash decision to try the serum had cost him. The new outbreak of the plague had given Gideon a sense of urgency, made him disregard caution and rush his research.

If I can save more lives, he had thought, it will be worth the risk.

Now he was paying the price.

“No, Luke,” he insisted. “As I told you, the master serum is much too dangerous. It is far too tempting for anyone.”

“Except for you,” Luke said.

“Luke!” Olivia chided. “Your father is trying to save our family as well as his work.”

“But he doesn’t trust us with his secrets,” Luke said. “You’ve put us in danger. You want our help. You owe us the full power of your serum.”

Gideon could see the other children tensing, watching this battle of wills. They had never seen Luke rebel so brazenly, but Gideon couldn’t feel anger, only sorrow. Luke was suspicious, grasping, perhaps a little too much like Lord Vesper — but if so, it was because Gideon had not been there for him. He had been so absorbed in his work he hadn’t been a proper father.

His children might be brilliant, but they were still children, even Luke. They were already scared. Gideon had to stay confident for them. He couldn’t tell them about the unintended consequences of the master serum, about his own rapidly diminishing chances at survival. Unless he had twenty-four hours to complete the next variation …

“Of course,” he agreed. “Children, I have complete faith in you. Working together, the four of you will do more than I ever could alone. You will perfect the serum and make sure it is used only for good. When the time is right, and you are far away from here, you can pool your resources and —”

“Where are we going?” Katherine interrupted. “And why are you talking as if you aren’t coming with us?”

Gideon forced a smile. “Of course I will come with you. But I want you all to get safely away first. Thomas, are the boats still in the cove?”

Thomas nodded, clearly mystified. Since the time of Madeleine, who’d discovered the island, all Cahills had been natural mariners. They learned to swim and navigate as soon as they could walk. The family kept three small boats on the far side of the island, ostensibly for fishing and amusement, but Gideon always felt better knowing they had a private escape route far from Lord Vesper’s docks.

“Tonight,” he said, “you will pack your things. Bring only essentials that you can easily carry — and of course the serums I have given you, well hidden in your bags. I will secure the laboratory to make sure none of my research falls into Vesper’s hands.”

“You mean you’ll destroy the research?” Luke asked incredulously.

“Listen!” Gideon insisted. “We must not give any sign that we are fleeing. We will cook dinner as usual and spend the night so Lord Vesper does not grow suspicious.”

“But why not leave now?” Jane asked.

Gideon glanced toward the house. In the window of the upper bedroom, the housekeeper Maria’s face hovered like a pale ghost, watching. She would not leave until nightfall, when she would return to her own cottage near Lord Vesper’s house. Five years she’d been with the Cahills … five years on Damien’s payroll of spies.

“We cannot give Lord Vesper any reason to suspect we are fleeing,” he repeated. “His guards on the island are more than capable of stopping us. And on the mainland … his reach is long indeed. We must get as far away as possible before he discovers our plan.”

“Just before dawn, then,” Thomas said. “That’s the next time the tides will allow us to leave safely, at any rate.”

Gideon nodded, grateful for Thomas’s practicality.

He didn’t add the last reason he needed more time. He had to continue his last attempt to perfect the serum. He might not succeed, but he had to try. And that meant he would have to stay longer than his family.

“In the morning, then,” he said, “just before first light, you will make your way to the boats and head to the mainland. I will stay behind and buy you as much time as I can. At my first opportunity, I will make some excuse to visit the mainland, then meet you on the road to Cork. By the time Vesper discovers we’re gone, we’ll be far beyond his reach.”

“But what if it doesn’t work?” Jane’s voice quavered. “What if Lord Vesper won’t let you go? What if Lord Vesper stops us and searches us?”

“It will work, my dear.” Gideon tried to sound reassuring. “I’m giving you the elements of the formula for a reason. Even if he found you, Vesper would probably never think to search you. He has no children and does not approve of children. I don’t think it would ever occur to him that you might hold something of value.”

No one argued this point. In all the years Vesper had been their family “friend,” he never seemed to remember the children’s names. To him, they were like cats — of some limited value, to be tolerated but not worth noticing, much less naming.

Olivia rested her hand on his arm. “Yes, husband. We’ll do as you say. Won’t we, children?”

They all nodded, though none of them looked comfortable with this plan, even Olivia.

“I can say no more for now,” Gideon insisted. “Go to your rooms. Be prepared to leave, but for God’s sake, children, be careful. Do not pack until Maria leaves for the evening. Do not say or do anything to make her suspicious.”