Emma Holloway - A Study in Ashes

They were all phrases from the conversation they’d had about the coal. Han Lo had talked about the nature of the kingdom—alchemy, justice, and a lot of other drivel Bancroft had flushed from his mind the moment he’d walked out the door. But now he wished he’d paid attention. The Cooper girl had blathered something about the Black King’s death releasing all manner of monsters aboveground, but Han Lo’s letter seemed to contradict that. All Bancroft remembered was promising to do his utmost to supply the kingdom with whatever it needed to remain in good health. What could Tobias’s death have achieved?

Unless it was simple revenge, as Han Lo’s girl had threatened. Tobias for Han Zuiweng. A son for a son. That he could understand. Or perhaps he was inventing shadows where none walked.

The cat jumped down from the desk with a thump and trotted to the chair, yellow eyes watching him with far more personality than a cat should have. It bumped against his knee and Bancroft, glad the door to the study was closed and no one could see, reached down to scratch its ears.

Dragons, Han Lo, magic—it was all dust to him. The real truth sat like lead in Bancroft’s stomach. Tobias was gone and all the court favor in the Empire couldn’t bring him back. A moralist would point out that he’d paid too high a price for ambition.

And for once that moralist would be right.

London, October 26, 1889

BUCKINGHAM PALACE

2:30 pm Saturday

“CAN YOU SEE anything?” Imogen demanded.

Evelina clung to the lamppost and teetered. She was standing with one foot on its blocky base, doing her best to see over the ocean of top hats and coiffures. It wasn’t a ladylike stance, but the holiday atmosphere made it easy to forget good behavior. “I see them coming!”

She hopped down beside her friend. Imogen, like many of the women there, was dressed in black. Under normal circumstances, those in deepest mourning shunned the public eye, and right now many still did. Alice wasn’t anywhere in sight. But these were hardly conventional times, and others had turned their grief to a defiant hope for the future. The streets around Buckingham Palace were jammed with crowds, all wanting a look at the new heir to the throne as he made his first winding procession through the London streets.

Peace finally reigned, and the city was slowly getting back to the regular business of living. Evelina had been terrified of the Black King’s prediction that his death would mean packs of Wraiths—and who knew what else—roaming the streets, but none of that had happened. Nor had there been any magical disturbances once the war was over. There had been a few days of something —but that soon went away. Thankfully, the dragon had been wrong, and the magic of the kingdom had obviously somehow stabilized despite their terrible fight. It was safe to celebrate.

Imogen and Evelina had found places near the front of the pack, but there was still one row of people ahead of them—all of them tall. Fortunately, the day was cool and a little cloudy. With all the wool coats and fur collars hemming them in, it was a little bit like being stuffed into the back of a closet.

“You should be in that carriage with the prince,” Imogen said, poking Evelina in the ribs. “I can’t believe you declined his offer to be in the procession.”

“I’ll be at the banquet. That’s quite enough.” Evelina turned to her friend, her soul expanding with happiness to see Imogen awake and glowing with health. “I’m like Uncle Sherlock. I’d rather dispense with the accolades and get on with the next problem.”

The truth was that she wanted to spend time with Imogen. She’d missed her friend deeply ever since they’d been separated more than a year and a half ago, and being at her side was worth all the applause in the world. And it only seemed right to share this moment with her friend; the last trip they’d taken to the palace was as debutantes to be presented to the queen. Coming here together, their grand adventures done, was closing a circle.

The thought brought Evelina a stab of melancholy. She’d danced with Tobias the night after her presentation. So much has changed . He should have been there, with Alice and Jeremy, rejoicing with the rest of them.

But her pensive mood receded a little when Imogen rose up on her toes, craning her neck. “Is that them?”

Evelina hopped back onto the lamppost, narrowly avoiding the elbow of another bystander. A woman was selling hot cider from a steam-driven cart, and the tangy scent of it hung heavy in the air. Evelina was tempted to wave the woman down when a flash of scarlet caught her eye. She looked up to see Prince Edmond’s triumphal procession gradually coming closer. “Yes, it is!”

At first all she saw were mounted guardsmen in their bright-red coats, and then the four black horses pulling the carriage, the brass of their harnesses polished bright as gold. But as they drew closer, they turned the corner and Evelina saw the prince waving from the open carriage just yards away. Edgerton, Smythe, and Mycroft were seated with him, proving how firmly Edmond was standing by his old friends. Flanking the carriage were a number of other riders, including Nick on a large gray stallion. Evelina smiled, thinking how much he must have enjoyed a chance to ride that magnificent steed.

“I don’t think Captain Niccolo is having any reservations,” Imogen said slyly. “I think he rather likes the attention. And he does look fine in a uniform.”

Evelina flushed at her friend’s teasing look. “He deserves his share of applause.”

And he did look particularly handsome in the uniform of the prince’s household. The public was clearly besotted with the dashing pirate rogues who had come to their rescue, and roared with approval whenever Nick raised his hat to the people. There was already talk of a statue to the brave Captain Roberts.

Queen Victoria had insisted on a ride in the Athena , which had been repaired and restored to good humor. Today the elderly monarch would be waiting at Buckingham Palace for the speech and banquet part of the proceedings. By all reports she found her youngest son an agreeable if unconventional young man and had set about grooming him for the position of heir to the throne. The fact that Edmond had the former prince consort’s interest in science and economics had raised him in her estimation.

Evelina saw Edmond lean forward to say something to one of the outriders, who then shouted a command she couldn’t make out. The horses came to a halt with a snort. The crowd hailed their excitement, pushing forward. Evelina jumped down again, grasping Imogen’s hand so they didn’t lose each other in the milling sea of people. But good fortune was finally with her as the two men in front parted just enough to grant her a clear view.

Prince Edmond stood, raising his hands for quiet. Like a single beast, the crowd fell into an eager silence. He looked around a moment, and for the first time Evelina noticed that he wasn’t wearing the tinted glasses. The change was subtle but significant, as if she could finally see him properly. He spotted her in the crowd and gave her a quick grin, but then settled his features into a serious expression.

“I know all of you have sacrificed,” he said, parting his hands to embrace the sea of people. “All have struggled. Many have suffered irreparable losses.”

Imogen gave a pained sound. Somehow Edmond heard it, because his bright blue gaze fixed on her with a look of honest sympathy. “It is with the greatest humility that I stand here today, because we have all paid this price. This, you and I share.”

Evelina thought of the empty cavern that was Tobias’s grave. He had struggled to avoid the war, hated the fact that he had built so many lethal machines. Had giving his life to save his loved ones balanced the scales for that brief moment before everything went dark? Evelina felt her throat closing with tears again, and bit her lip to keep it from trembling. If only I had been able to save him!