Rebel Magisters (Rebel Mechanics #2)(26)
“Go in and do your homework while you wait your turn,” I said, nudging him toward the family parlor where the piano was. With the children occupied with art and music lessons, I sought out Henry. He should have been back by now.
I nearly ran into him on the stairs. “How did it go?” I asked.
“He wasn’t nearly as shocked as I would have liked. I suspect he sees it as a way to observe me up close.”
“So we’re going?”
“We leave next Monday. I’ll tell the children at dinner.”
I started to continue up the stairs to my room, but turned back. “Oh, I almost forgot. It sounds like someone at Rollo’s school reads the World. He mentioned information he heard at school that was only printed there. You could try talking to him about his friends. There might be someone sympathetic within the school.”
“His friend’s parents need to have a talk with their son. It could be quite dangerous to let something like that slip at that school. The majority there are loyal royalists. If any other boy at the school brought home that story, there could be trouble. It might even be considered sedition.”
“When you say things like that, it makes me want this revolution even more,” I said with a shudder. “To think that merely saying something unpopular could cause real trouble.”
“That’s the way it’s always been. We may seem to have privilege, and we certainly do, but we’re watched more carefully than the fellows downtown. They can preach revolution in the taverns without catching much notice, but if I tried that sort of thing in the drawing rooms of the magister set, I’d find myself in prison. Do your Mechanic friends realize that I’m taking a bigger risk than they are?”
“That’s why we’re changing things. Our new country won’t be that way, will it?”
“I think that most of the people who might side with us feel the same way.”
*
From the preparations required for our journey, I’d have thought we were invading a distant country. We didn’t have a specific itinerary, so we had to pack clothing for just about any occasion. That was easy for me, as I had one ballgown, one nice party frock, and several day dresses. Flora, on the other hand, wanted to bring the entire contents of her wardrobe. She only got to bring as many items as she did because the rest of us didn’t come near meeting our weight limits for the airship. Henry tried to “forget” to bring evening attire, but his valet noticed the omission and corrected it just in time.
When the morning came to set out, most of our baggage had been sent ahead to the airfield on Long Island. The first leg of our journey, to Boston, would only take half a day, so we wouldn’t need anything with us in the cabin other than whatever items we brought to pass the time. For once, I was the one most heavily laden, as I had books and school assignments for the children.
The governor met us at the airfield. “Good, you’re on time,” he said brusquely. “The weather looks ideal for our voyage.” He led us into the massive barnlike hangar, where I found myself gazing in awe at the leviathan inside. I knew this ship was far smaller than the military vessels I’d watched pass overhead, but it was still a lot larger than the rebels’ Liberty. “Your first time to travel by air, Miss Newton?” the governor asked, and I was so startled to be addressed by him that I almost told him it wasn’t, until I remembered that wasn’t something to share with him.
“I’ve never traveled like this before,” I told him, and it was true. The gondola on the Liberty was little more than a wicker basket. This ship had an enclosed gondola that looked like the cabin of a luxury yacht. Inside its hangar, the ship hung low to the ground, so we only needed a short flight of stairs to board through the nose of the gondola. We were seated in the passenger lounge, where windows were angled for a view of the earth below.
Rollo was too excited to sit. “Grandfather, please, may I watch the takeoff from the control room?” he begged. “And may I have a tour of the ship? I want to see it all!”
“Let’s see what I can do,” the governor said with a chuckle. The man was still intimidating, but I was beginning to see a different side of him. Although he represented the oppression of the colonies, he seemed to truly care about his grandchildren. He went forward for a few minutes and returned, beaming. “The captain would be delighted to have you as his guest, but you must stay out of the way and be very quiet.”
“Outstanding!” Rollo cried out, sprinting forward.
Olive settled herself into one of the seats beside the windows. “I’m going to look out from here,” she said. I noticed that she was very pale. There had been many a night when I’d had to soothe her nightmares about the airship accident that had killed her father. I wasn’t sure how much resemblance her dreams bore to reality, so I sat beside her and took her hand.
“I’ve never flown like this before, so may I hold your hand?” I asked softly.
“Yes, Miss Newton. I would like that very much,” she said, and the grip of her tiny hand on mine was likely to leave bruises, it was so fierce.
Even Flora seemed at least a little interested as the great ship began moving slowly forward. We burst out into the light upon leaving the hangar, and the ship drifted upward. The city gradually grew smaller beneath us, and we went out over the open water, turning to head northward. I realized I’d been holding my breath and made myself let it out slowly. I wasn’t sure why I’d been so tense, unless I’d picked up on Olive’s fear. I’d flown on a smaller, unproven nonmagical airship before, without even the security of a closed cabin. This one flew higher and moved faster, which might have accounted for my unease.