Emma Holloway - A Study in Ashes

No need to say who “they” were. It was just another of the one thousand and one tales of what the steam barons had done. They’d taken the only family he’d ever really known. And just like that, the rebellion wasn’t simply about justice anymore, or ideals, or making sure everyone had a voice. Like the captain, he wanted payback.

My father . Far more than Prince Albert, a man he’d never met.

He slapped the paper back into Edgerton’s hands, anger pumping with every beat of his heart. “Cable Mycroft Holmes.”

“And tell him what?” His friend’s eyes were wide.

I’m going to pound each and every steam baron until there is nothing left but a smear of soot .

“Tell him the hounds are unleashed. This just got personal.”

London, October 2, 1889

LADIES’ COLLEGE OF LONDON

2:15 p.m. Wednesday

“I HEARD SOMEONE IN YOUR ROOMS THREE DAYS AGO,” DEIRDRE said archly. “A man’s voice. I’m just across the hall, you know, and I’m not old and deaf like Matron.”

“You’re merely hallucinating,” Evelina retorted, although she was seized with a ridiculous urge to grin. Part of her ached to talk about Nick, but that was impossibly dangerous. Nonetheless, it suddenly made her much more sympathetic toward all Deirdre’s blather about the young men on campus.

“I am not hallucinating!” Deirdre protested, dropping her voice to a whisper. “You were with someone! Or I should say someone arrived and I never heard them leave.”

Evelina glanced around. They were walking across the quadrangle from the small college library, their arms loaded with books. Or, Evelina’s were. Deirdre as usual had the minimum required for her essay. Fortunately, no one seemed to be interested in their chatter, so Evelina was free to continue baiting her friend. “If someone arrived and never left, then I have an invisible man in my rooms.”

“A handsome one, no doubt.”

“How can he be invisible and handsome?”

“Well, he could look any way you liked if you couldn’t actually see him.”

Evelina shrugged. “Or perhaps he could change at will. A shape-shifter.”

Deirdre rolled her eyes skyward. “Oh, wouldn’t that be a lark. I’d never have to make up my mind between tall and fair or dark and mysterious.”

“And so much better than invisible. That would be a tripping hazard.”

They walked in companionable silence for a moment, and then Deirdre spoke again. “I won’t ever tell, you know. Your secret is utterly safe with me.”

Evelina didn’t doubt it. She’d covered for far too many of Deirdre’s escapades to lack ammunition of her own—and she didn’t think her friend was the type to tell tales anyhow. “I appreciate your discretion.”

Deirdre gave a triumphant smile and put an extra spring in her step. “Ah, then you admit you have something to hide!”

“Not for a moment.” Evelina fell silent as Professor Moriarty intersected their path.

“Ladies.” He tipped his tall hat. “A word with you, please, Miss Cooper?”

She exchanged glances with Deirdre. The other girl gave a nod and then hurried off, her bustle swaying gracefully as she moved. Evelina noticed Moriarty turn and gaze appreciatively at her retreating form.

When he tore his gaze away, Evelina was waiting patiently. “You’re looking well, Professor Moriarty.”

“I spent a day or two in the country, which is as good as a month of rest anywhere else.” His glance fell on the stack of books in her arms, and then immediately took them from her. “Studious as ever, I see.” He cocked his head to read the spines. “You’re developing an interest in rare elements.”

“This library does not have much,” she complained, falling into step beside him as they continued toward her residence.

He gave her a sideways glance, his mouth curled in a half smile. “You are, no doubt, curious about the type contained in the mechanisms of your bracelets.”

She flushed. “I am not even sure which one it is.”

“No doubt all these heavy tomes will give you a clue.” They stopped at the foot of the stairs to her door. He rested the stack of books on the newel post of the handrail, one hand on top to keep them from sliding away. “And your investigation is timely, given the request that just arrived on Sir William’s desk. It seems your uncle is asking for your assistance with a murder investigation in the south.”

Surprise made Evelina fall back a step. “Murder?”

“So it seems. Sir Charles Baskerville has died. Did you know him?”

She blinked. “Only by name.” He was the one who helped Nellie Reynolds .

“Yes, the name. It must have been such an inconvenience to have the same moniker as the rebels. Poor old gentleman. From all accounts he was a gem, taking in that foundling boy and raising him like his own.” Moriarty’s eyes glittered, and she was certain he knew more than he was telling.

But her scrambling wits were too fully occupied to look for more problems. She knew something had to be done to get her to Dartmoor to help with the laboratories, but the murder of Sir Charles? The timing was all too convenient. Or did it just point to the fact that Nellie Reynolds had brought trouble to his door? It could be that the case and her mission were one and the same; any other explanation was too sinister.

“Would you like to go solve a murder, Miss Cooper?” he asked smoothly.

“Of course.”

His fingers tapped the stack of library books with a kind of speculative impatience. “It is in my power to convince Sir William to approve your leave from the college.”

Evelina regained her composure enough to wonder what he was up to. “I’m sure Professor Bickerton would be delighted to be rid of me for a while.”

“No doubt.”

“But isn’t Mr. Keating’s approval the one that counts?”

“Yes and no. He has agreed to your absence, but the university has not. It seems your probationary status complicates matters since there is still the possibility of pressing legal charges. It gives Camelin power.”

Evelina looked away, silently cursing.

He narrowed his eyes. “Shall we bargain, Miss Cooper? My influence on your behalf for a future consideration?”

“An unnamed consideration, Professor Moriarty? Do you take me for a fool?”

He stroked his tidy mustache, clearly amused. “I will agree to limitations.”

But then Evelina saw a familiar figure striding across the lawn. She held up a hand. “Perhaps this should wait. It appears I have a visitor.”

Moriarty followed her gaze. “That is Tobias Roth, is it not? The Gold King’s maker and your minder?”

“The same.” She wondered what Tobias wanted. After the séance, she wasn’t sure he’d ever want to speak to her again.

Moriarty remained glued to his spot as Tobias approached. The two men eyed one another, neither of them friendly. Evelina retrieved her stack of books, and the professor extended his hand. “I don’t believe we’ve met, Mr. Roth. I am James Moriarty, professor of mathematics.”

“A pleasure,” Tobias said, returning the courtesy without much warmth.

Moriarty made a slight bow in their direction. “I will leave you to your guest, Miss Cooper. We will resume our discussion at a later time.”

“As you wish, Professor,” she returned.

“I need to talk to you,” Tobias said quietly as the man left, and he took Evelina’s books.

She leaned close. “Moriarty’s other name is Juniper and he works for King Coal.”

Tobias’s eyes flared with interest. “What’s he doing in a university?”

“He really is a math teacher,” she said.