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Felix was having none of it, although he kept his voice low "As if you weren’t prejudiced against Picklemen"

If Sophronia had had a temper, it would have flared up at that accusation As it was, she only gave Felix a pitying sazebo and tried to kill ain, the vampires kidnapped and nearly killed Dimity For that matter, the olves just attempted treason Everyone is bloody handed That’s e!" barked Dimity

"Whose side are we on, then?" reiterated Soap,his traveling co with so that herself Perhaps I’oose Then she remembered that she had to hold this whole i out in an eneht now She drew herself up

"We are on Sidheag’s side," she said fir "But I’d rather not take responsibility, if I don’t have to"

"Then we are on the side of curiosity and evenhandedness Once we knohat’s really going on, then we choose"

"That’s a very murky position," objected Felix

"So’s the weather But this is England, we must learn to live with uncertainty"

Their train did not head to London, but trundled roughly northward on one of the lesser-used regional tracks, out of the way of faster engines Sidheag occasionally looked longingly across the landscape, where black smoke indicated a faster loco about it At least they were eneral direction of Scotland, even if it was at a snail’s pace Occasionally they paused before starting up again, probably so that the transmitter could be used

Around noon they stopped for twenty ’s ju for another train Any train that cah would be, if possible, slower than the one they were already on The only interesting thing was the continued absence of station ain, or were people now scared to use the, at too many stations and wealthy households, there will be a public outcry," said Di a little lax about security Someone still stood watch at the door, but it really seemed that no one else was on the train When they paused, only Monique, the drone with the transh presumably therethe last carriage Why was it even attached? To reed with Die the household if Frowbritcher stopped functioning She uses hient about maintenance If he’s still down today, the house will be in chaos"

Sidheag said, "Rather dependent, isn’t that?"

Sophronia only shrugged

"Doesn’t Kingair keep ers for the dirty jobs The castle is far too old to lay tracks"

Felix bristled at Sidheag’s implications

Sophronia suspected that Duke Golborne’s residence, both in the country and in toas littered with tracks Felix seemed like the type to come from the sort of family that kept a mechanical for every whiht A true test of my persuasive abilities!

Felix defended the status quo "People wouldn’t need so many tracks if the supernatural politicians stopped restricting mechanical development After all, al It was the potentate that pushed that piece of legislation through"

Sophronia frowned "Are you saying tracks are no longer necessary?"

"Might be i

Sophronia thought of Bual But he also wasn’t very big and wasn’t, by most standards, useful Yet correlate track-free ht be controlled by a distant third party via the crystalline valves? Sophronia felt very unco froot extreray and drizzly The train moved slowly north They played cards; Felix had some in an inside pocket They bickered about inconsequential things They were all getting a bit tetchy after being trapped in a coach for so long