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Within London, the streets orn enough into ruts for relatively sh he had been tethered to Mayfair for hundreds of years, Lord Ambrose knew the way Plenty of time to study maps, Alexia supposed They took the lesser used road toward West Ha went awry

Not that the evening’s events prior to that ared violet petals But still

First, and worst, so far as Lady Maccon was concerned, they hit the dirt road of the countryside It had never bothered her over and padded inside But the fast pace co did not amuse the infant-inconvenience Fifteen minutes of that and Alexia felt a new bodily sensation commence--a dull ache in the sed herself during one of the evening’sdismounts

Then they heard Lord A shadows of the city buildings and under the fullwas h theas one of their vaside the carriage, and leaped The coach lurched but did not slow, and there ca beaten viciously

"Are we on fire?" Lady Maccon shifted herself into a better position, dren thesash, and stuck her head out into the rushing air, trying to see behind theht have been difficult for her to make out their enee behind the after the so on eight massive tentacles Well, sevenfire at the carriage It was also several stories high

Alexia pulled her head back inside "Dr Caedes, I suggest you have your charge there show hi us"

The carriage lurched again and picked up speed The va out the fla nowhere near as fast as they had initially--the horses were tiring, if not beco winded and destroyed by such cruel speed

The octoood distance away

Dr Caedes changed his grip on the boy and tried to force Quesnel to stick his head out of the carriageQuesnel was not at all inclined to do anything any of the vaave her friend’s son an almost imperceptible nod, at which point he did as directed He stuck not only his head but also one skinny ar madly at the creature behind them

The ache in Lady Maccon’s back intensified and she felt her stomach lurch, wavelike She’d never experienced such a sensation before She let out a squeak of alarainst the padded wall of the coach Then it was gone

Alexia poked at her stoer "Don’t you dare Now isearly to a party is disrespectful"

The octoe to slow, but if Alexia knew Mada the inventor time to come up with a new plan of attack Genevieve e and that they were headed to Woolsey There was no other reason to be on that road at that ti at night and no one ever traveled to Barking at speed

"Oh,that she had lost soendary control, over the physical, if not the mental A wet sensation in her lower area indicated that her bustle, and quite possibly the rest of her dress, really was not going to survive this night Then ca at the top of her sto its way down

Dr Caedes, asn’t a real doctor, was nevertheless perceptive enough to see that the tenor of Lady Maccon’s distress had changed

"Lady Maccon, have you co"

Alexia frowned "No, I absolutely forbid it I will not--Oooh" She ended on a groan

"I believe you have"

Quesnel perked up at this "Bully! I’ve never seen a birth before" He turned big lavender eyes onto the noeating Lady Maccon

"You’re not going to tonight, either, young man," Alexia reprimanded between puffs of breath

The countess, as still twitchy as all get out and only partly paying attention to any conversation, looked with bright suspicious eyes at Alexia "You can’t Not while I am here with you What if it comes out and we have to touch it? Dr Caedes, throw her out of the carriage at once"

Even with the strange wave sensation and a burgeoning pain, Alexia was quick enough to reach into her reticule and pull out Ethel before Dr Caedes could stop her

Not that he tried Instead, he attempted to reason with the countess "We can’t, et us inside the house She is our invitation"

Lady Maccon felt co out, it’s you!" She felt an additional doard pressure from the child inside her "No, not you!" Then she looked wildly around "This is not allowed," she said in a blanket kind of way, including both the imminent baby, the vampires, Quesnel, and the octoin our relationship with disobedience I get enough of that from your father"

The countess looked like she had eaten so foul, like a piece of fresh fruit "I cannot be in proxiht transpire?"

Now, this forhtennoise came from behind them Alexia had no idea what the octomaton was up to, but when she stuck her head out of the , she saas no longer following the weaving roadway that wended through Woolsey’s grounds