Page 41 (2/2)

For ten days, Ivy and Tunstell had waited, with no contact from the kidnappers, their hopes pinned on Alexia and Conall discovering the whereabouts of their daughter Now Lady Maccon had returned with the earl dead, and Pri

And Lady Maccon? Lady Maccon was alsoseemed to reach her She responded to direct questions but softly, quietly, and with long pauses She was also uninterested in food Even Ivy was shaken out of her oorry enough to be upset by this

But Alexia did cope Alexia was always one to cope She did what needed to be done, once soed to explain that she had been unable to convince the aethographor to give her Lady Maccon’s es So Alexia went to bed, slept most of the day aith dreams full of Conall’s face as he fell, woke up, dressed autoes herself There were nine of them from Biffy, one for every sunset she had missed The more recent were merely worried notes of "Where are you?" but the earlier ones told such a depressing truth that Alexia was allad she was too numb to be affected by it

Not Floote

Not her Floote

Not the man who had always been there for her Always provided her with the necessary cup of tea and a soothing, "Yes, ed her nappies as a baby, who had helped her sneak out of the Loontwills’ house as a young woman Not Floote Yet, it made horribly perfect sense Who else but Floote would have had all the necessary contacts? Who else but Floote would have the training in how to kill a olf? Alexia had seen him take on vampires firsthand; she knew he had the ability

Lady Maccon returned to the hotel, clutching her stack of h the bustling city streets that only a week and a half earlier she had foundthan any other In the hotel, she caught sight of Madame Lefoux and Ivy in one of the private parlors off the reception area She floated past, not even realizing that she should extend an evening greeting There was nothing left in her for even the social graces She felt, in fact, very absent froain Not even tea

But at Madaesture, she wandered into their private boudoir and, in answer to her friend’s polite inquiry as to her health, said, "As it turned out, it was Floote"

Genevieve looked confused

Ivy gasped and said, "But he was here Floote was here, looking for you We sent hiht… Oh, silly ht up Oh, I don’t knohat I thought"

Even that didn’t pull Alexia back to the here and now "Floote was looking for me? He probably wanted to explain himself"

Madame Lefoux pressed for details "Explain what, exactly, Alexia?"

"Oh, you know, the God-Breaker Plague Killing Dubh That kind of thing" Alexia tossed Genevieve the little stack of papyrus papers froraphor station "Biffy says…" Alexia trailed off, standing quietly while Madame Lefoux read over the notes

Ivy said, "Oh, Alexia, do sit down!"

"Oh, should I?" Alexia sat

Prudence cairl grabbed at her hand "Maain?"

"Yes!"

The nurse breast "They came back, Mrs Tunstell! They ca at her throat with both hands "Oh, heavens Percy, is he all right?"

"Yes, madam Yes" The nurse embrace Percy, unperturbed, burped contentedly

"See," said Prudence, still trying to get herunder the bed, good girl" Alexia was busy staring off into space

"Ma in front of her ently It was a roll of heavy papyrus tied with cord The inventor unwound it and read the missive aloud

" ‘Send Lady Maccon for the baby, alone Tonight, after sunset’ " She added, "And they provide an address"

"Oh, Primrose!" Ivy burst into floods of tears

Alexia said, "I suppose they aiting for ?" Madah her brain werelike a snail--a real snail, slow and sli infant, didn’t they?"

The Frenchwoht "Yes, I suppose they did What if that’s it? What if they were after Prudence? What if they are taking you as a substitute? What if they still think they have Prudence, not Pri toward the door, her footsteps slow and ?"

"It’s after sunset," said Lady Maccon, as though it were perfectly obvious

"But, Alexia, be sensible You can’t simply trot to their orders!"

"Why not? If it returns Pri, could not speak She looked back and forth between Alexia and the Frenchwoman Her hat, a mushroom-puff turban affair with a peacock-style fan of feathers out the back, quivered with a surfeit of eerous!" protested Madaerous," replied Lady Maccon flatly

"Alexia, don’t be a peewit! You can’t want to die You’re not one forwithout hiht out to find the kidnappers and retrieve Primrose"

"That’s not what I meant! What about Prudence? She needs her mother"

"She has Lord Akelda"

"No, it’s better--e, and he doesn’t look to be dying anytioodness, Alexia, please, wait We must talk about this, devise a plan"

Alexia paused, not really thinking out her next maneuver

The hotel clerk came in to the parlor at that entleman for you A Mr Naville Claims he has some important information to impart"

Genevieve rose and brushed past Lady Maccon "Just wait a few minutes, please, Alexia?"

Alexia merely stood, unresponsive She watched as the Frenchwoentle a leather case stae of an octopus She watched Madame Lefoux tilt her head, lift up her short hair, and pull down her cravat and collar, exposing the back of her neck She was showing them her octopus tattoo Alexia’s brain said, Those are members of the Order of the Brass Octopus Her practical side said, I hope she doesn’t tell them about the preternatural mummies There will be a race to the bodies, to use theainst immortals Her even more practical side re to defend those mummies to the death Her husband’s death