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"Oh, don’t fuss about her," yelled Felicity "Help nored Miss Loontwill and directed the pilot to float in until the gondola section of the basket was just under Lady Maccon

The building lurched at exactly that moment, and Alexia, with a cry, lost her purchase on the beam

She landed with a thud inside the basket Her feet failed her and she went backward, once more onto the bustle, which had very little resilience left after the evening’s extensive abuse After a ht there on her back Enough was enough

"Now ood cause, for the structure was indeed falling

Boots looked the young wo in the bite ht well be tu down that very moment, but he hesitated

"Lady Maccon?" Boots was a very well-trained drone

Alexia sucked at her teeth and looked up at her sister "If we must"

The pilot gave the balloon soh escorting Miss Loontwill in to dinner, and Felicity stepped off the ledge and into the dirigible with all the dignity of a terrified kitten

The building crumbled behind her The pilot pulled one of his propeller levers hard, and the airship let out a great puff of steae chunk of roof as the last of the hive house cruround

"Where to, Lady Maccon?"

Alexia looked up at Boots, as crouched over her in evident concern The child inside her was continuing to express its distress with the night’s events Lady Maccon could think of but one place to go, with her husband out of coht above them All of her normal hidey-holes were inaccessible: Madame Lefoux’s contrivance chamber was out of the picture, and the Tunstells were still in Scotland

BUR, she was confident, would already be investigating the scene of the destruction below or chasing the octoh the city BUR had an arsenal of weaponry at its disposal--their own aethertronic Gatling guns, natronic cannons, not to mention Mandalson custard probes Let them try to stop Madame Lefoux for a while They probably wouldn’t be any iven the inventor’s intellectual skills and ht slow her down Alexia, after all, had only a parasol Then she swore, realizing that she didn’t even have that any below, probably buried under half a collapsed building Ethel was secured in the reticule tied at her waist, but her precious parasol was gone

"I’ree with irl needs is some serious council on her attire"

Boots and Tizzy looked with deep concern at Alexia’s sorry state of dress, her bustle flattened, her hem filthy, her lacy triested Tizzy seriously

Alexia arched a brow "Oh, no, this is a profound clothing eency Please, take me to Lord Akeldama"

"At once, Lady Maccon, at once" Boots’s face was suitably grave behind the her and, with another violent puff of stealide north toward Lord Akeldaibles Fear to Tread

Lord Akeldareen to be built on the roof of his town house It was shifted off to one side, allowing rooraphor’s cuspidor-like receiver Lady Maccon wondered that she had not noticed this before, but then she didn’t spendrooftops as part of her daily routine

The dirigible touched down as light as aher , Alexia reluctantly claht, Lord Akeldanified exit from the transport here at its honed peaked step ladder that flipped over the side of the gondola basket and then telescoped out to the required height on each side This perreat solemnity and aplomb

"Why," wondered Alexia, "don’t you float around already carrying that little ladder?"

"We thought nobody would be dise before we returned hohty disapproval to one side "What a way to travel! One can hardly countenance how acceptable floating has becoh up And to land on a roof! Why, Alexia, I can see the tops of buildings They are not landscaped properly!" All the while co, Felicity patted at her hair to ensure it hadn’t been disturbed by air travel or her near-death experience

"Oh, Felicity, do be quiet I have had quite enough of your prattle for one evening"

Summoned by that secret instinct possessed only by the very best of servants, who always knohen the mistress is in residence, Floote appeared at Alexia’s elbow

"Oh, Floote!"

"Madam"

"How did you knoould be here?"

Floote arched a brow as though to say, Where else would you possibly end up on full-ht but on Lord Akeldama’s rooftop?

"Yes, of course Would you please take Felicity here back to our house and lock her in a rooured wine cellar"

Felicity shrieked, "What?"

Floote looked at Felicity with an expression that was as close to a smile as Alexia had ever seen on his face--a tiny little crinkle at one corner of his mouth "Consider it done, rip on Felicity’s ar her off

"Oh, and, Floote, please send someone to check around the rubble of the Westet there I believe I accidentally droppedabout"

Floote didn’t even flinch at the knowledge that one of the most respected residences in London was now in ruins "Of course, ive out the address?"

Lady Maccon gave it to hi Felicity behind him

"Sister, really, this is uncalled for Is it the tooth marks? Is that what has you overset? There are only a few"

"Miss Felicity," Alexia heard Floote say, "do try to behave"

Boots, finished ible, came up next to Alexia and offered her his arratefully The infant-inconvenience really was being quite troublesohting ferret

"Perhaps you could take ht to lie down Just for a moment, mind you There is still a loose hive to deal with I suppose I should try to deterone And Madae"