Rebel Magisters (Rebel Mechanics #2)(30)

“Both of them went off to their rooms, and I believe the governor’s valet has already left him for the night.”

I put my book down and stood. “So it’s time?”

“It is.”

“I’ll get my coat and hat.”

“You won’t need that. Just come with me.” She stuck her head out into the hallway before gesturing for me to follow.

I was curious about where I was going and how, without a coat. The weather was quite brisk. Did the Mechanics here have tunnels like in New York? Or did they have some fantastic conveyance that kept us out of the elements?

The truth proved to be rather disappointing. Mary opened the hidden door at the end of the hall that took us into the servants’ staircase, where two black coats hung over the railing. Mary handed me one of them, along with a black felt hat, and said “You put that on, and I’ll go get your handsome lord.” She went back out into the hallway.

I slipped on the coat, which was plain and made of rough material. The hat, likewise, was simple and unremarkable. I realized that she must be disguising us as servants. With so many temporary staff brought in for the governor’s visit, no one in the household was likely to notice an unfamiliar face.

Mary returned with Henry a moment later. He’d changed from dinner attire into the kind of tweed suit he usually wore to go searching for insects. He put on his plain coat and a black Derby hat, and we followed Mary down the stairs to the servants’ hall.

There, we waited while she put on her own coat and hat. She paused for a moment, studying us, before giving us a curt nod. “You’ll pass, I think.” We joined the flow of temporary staff who weren’t living at the house as they left for the day. If they suspected there were impostors among them, they showed no sign of noticing, though I doubted they cared all that much. As we passed through the servants’ door, Mary signaled to a boy standing nearby. He ran over to us.

“These are the friends I told you about,” she said to him. “When they come back, you’re to let them in and get them to the servants’ stairs, without lettin’ anyone else know. Have ye got that?”

“Got it!” he said, snapping to attention like a soldier who’d been given an order.

Henry took a silver coin out of his pocket and handed it to the boy. “Here’s to thank you for your trouble, and there’ll be another just like it once we make it safely back to our rooms.”

The boy’s eyes went as wide as the coin as he studied it carefully. “Yes, sir!” he said. “You can count on me. My name’s Harry. Ask for me if you need me, but I’m the hall boy tonight, so I’ll be the one to open the door.”

“Harry, eh?” Henry said. “My name’s Henry, but my brother used to call me Harry.”

Harry beamed. “We Harrys have to stick together, sir.”

Mary gave Henry an approving nod before nudging us to get going. The servants’ door opened into a space under the house’s front steps, and we had to climb a short flight of stairs to reach the sidewalk. We walked past a row of grand mansions like the one we’d just left, and I hoped Henry was sure of the address because they all looked alike to me. I wouldn’t know which one to return to.

After a few blocks, the houses were a little less grand. They were tall and narrow, shoved together in a row. A few more blocks, and we reached a neighborhood of shabby tenements. The streets were more lively here, with people out and about. Some shops were still open, and loud voices came from within pubs. Henry edged closer to me, and his glance darted warily around our surroundings.

Mary led us to a set of steps down to a basement apartment and rapped on the door in a distinctive sequence. A moment later, the door opened, and we entered into a darkened vestibule. A bright light suddenly hit me in the face, blinding me. I threw up a hand to shield my eyes from the glare.

“Are these the ones?” a voice behind the light asked.

“Yes, they’re the ones from New York,” Mary said. “Colin vouched for them.”

“This way,” the voice said. Abruptly, the light swung around and lit the way for us down a short hallway to another door. I blinked, trying to readjust my eyes to the darkness so I could follow.

Once that door opened, we found ourselves in a large room lit by electric lights. I saw then that the light that had met us was set into the band of a top hat worn by one of the most attractive men I’d ever encountered. He looked like something out of one of the paintings hanging in the halls of the Lyndon mansion. His cheekbones were chiseled, his jaw strong and square, with the slightest hint of cleft in his chin. When he swept the top hat off his head to bow to me, he revealed wavy golden hair. Although he wore the eclectic mix of styles favored by the Rebel Mechanics, he seemed to have visited a tailor after taking items from the rag bag, for his clothes were perfectly fitted to his form. And what a form! He had broad shoulders and a barrel-like chest, with his torso tapering to narrow hips.

I distrusted him immediately, not so much because he was attractive but because of the way he smiled as he bowed to me. He knew he was attractive and counted on that affecting me. I’d been burned by flirtatious Mechanics before, so I steeled myself against his charms.

“Ah, the infamous Miss Newton. Colin didn’t tell us how lovely you were,” he said, taking my hand to kiss it.

“That’s because Colin respects me as an ally and as a valuable operative,” I said, withdrawing my hand from his. “My appearance is not relevant.”