Page 10 (2/2)

Madame Lefoux looked mildly interested at that Her dimples showed in a little half-s a parasol even at night? I take it I a honored by a visit from Lady Maccon?"

"Alexia," Miss Hisselpenny asked, scandalized, "you never introduced yourself?"

"Well I--" Alexia was grappling for an excuse, when…

Boom!

And the world about them exploded into darkness

CHAPTER FOUR

The Proper Use of Parasols

An enormous noise shook the structure around the about violently Ivy let out thescreaas lighting went out, and the shop descended into darkness

It took a moment for Lady Maccon to realize that the explosion had not, in fact, been intended to kill her Given her experiences over the past year, this was a novel change of pace But it also made her wonder if the explosion had been intended to kill someone else

"Ivy?" Alexia asked the darkness

Silence

"Madame Lefoux?"

Further silence

Alexia crouched down, asher eyes to acclimatize to the black She felt taffeta: the ruffles attached to Ivy’s prone form

Alexia’s heart sank

She patted Ivy all about for injury, but Miss Hisselpenny seeht puffs of breath hit the back of Lady Maccon’s hand when she passed it under Ivy’s nose, and there was a pulse--shallow but solid Apparently, Miss Hisselpenny had si

"Ivy, please!"

Miss Hisselpenny shifted slightly and murht Alexia What a terribly unsuitable ed to soressed so far as to involve s in times of distress Then she felt a stab of pity Better to let Ivy have her dreams while she could

So Lady Maccon left her friend as she lay and did not reach for the s salts

Madame Lefoux, on the other hand, was nowhere to be found She had apparently vanished into the blackness Perhaps seeking the source of the explosion Or perhaps being the source of the explosion

Alexia could guess as to where the Frenchwoloo the wall toward the back of the shop, where the scrape marks were located

She felt all about the wallpaper for a switch or a knob of solove display box She pressed it sharply down, and a door swung open before her, nearly cracking her on the nose

Lady Maccon eway but a large shaft with several cables down the uide rails on the side She craned her head inside and looked up, hanging on to the doorjamb What appeared to be a steam-powered windlass occupied the whole of the top of the shaft She found a cord to one side of the doorway that, when pulled upon, engaged the windlass With e appeared from out of the shaft depths Alexia was familiar with the concept--an ascension roos with a less sophisticated version at the Hypocras Club She had found that they did not suit her storate behind her, and turned a crank on one side to lower the contraption

The cage bu Alexia to stuainst the side Parasol held defensively before her as though it were a cricket bat, she opened the grate and stepped out into an illuLady Maccon had ever seen It e tintedThethe illuht cast as clouds, thought Alexia fancifully

At the end of the passage was an open doorway, out of which spilled a er As she neared, Alexia realized the passage ent Street She also realized the voices were arguing in French

Alexia had a good grasp of the ist of the conversation without difficulty

"What could possibly have possessed you?" Mada, her voice still smooth despite her annoyance

The entranceway appeared to service a laboratory of so like those Alexia had seen at the Hypocras Club or the Royal Society It had more the look of an apparatus factory, with etry

"Well, you see, I could not for the life of "

Alexia peeked into the rooe and in a complete and utter lass had shattered, and thousands of tiny gears were scattered across the dirt floor A ju with the hat stand they had once been hanging on There was black soot everywhere, coating both those tubes, gears, and springs that had not fallen and the larger pieces of s were also in disarray A pair of glassicals lay atop a pile of research books Large diagrams drawn in black pencil on stiff yellow paper were pinned haphazardly to the walls It was clear that some accident had disrupted matters, but it was equally clear the place had been untidy well before the unfortunate event

It was noisy, as ets not affected by the blast were running Steaears clanked, metal chain links clicked, and valves squealed Such a cacophony of noises as only the great factories of the north ht ineering