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"Scotland," replied Lady Maccon firements directly and depart tomorrow"

"You shall find that difficult Giffard’s is not open to nighttiibles catered to daylight folk, not the supernatural set Vah out of territory range Ghosts were usually inconveniently tethered And olves did not like to float--prone to terrible airsickness, her husband had explained the first and only time she intimated interest in such a mode of transport

"Tomorrow afternoon," she as Lord Akelda about some of Madame Lefoux’s inventions?"

"Indeed"

Madame Lefoux described several of her more recent devices Despite his old-fashioned house, Lord Akeldaical developments

"Alexia has shown me her new parasol You do i a patron?" he asked after some quarter of an hour’s talk, clearly i else

Understanding fully the unspoken code, the inventor shook her head Given Madame Lefoux’s appearance and skills, Alexia was in no doubt she had received offers of a similar nature in the past "Thank you kindly, my lord You do me particular favor, as I know you prefer male drones But I am happily situated and of independent means, with no wish to bid for ie with interest So Lord Akeldaht Madame Lefoux had excess soul, did he? Well, if her aunt had turned into a ghost, excess soul ht run in the family She was about to ask an i white hands together

"Well, my little buttercups"

Uh-oh, Alexia winced in sympathy Madame Lefoux had achieved Akeldaether

"Would you char blossoms like to see my newest acquisition? Quite the beauty!"

Alexia and Madaed a look, put down their teacups, and rose to follow hiuilded hallway and up several sets of increasingly elaborate staircases Eventually they attained the top of the town house, entering what should have been the attic It proved, instead, to have beenwith e enough to house two horses It was raised up off the floor via a cos and was quilted in a thick fabric to prevent a its interior The box, itself, comprised two small rooms filled with machinery The first, Lord Akelda roo roo before

Madame Lefoux had "Why, Lord Akeldaraphic transmitter!" She looked about the crowded interior of the first rooer of reappearing "She’s beautiful" The inventor ran reverent hands over therooetry

Lady Maccon frowned "The queen is reputed to own one I understand she was urged to acquire it as a replaceraph proved itself an entirely unviable method of communication"

Lord Akeldama shook his blond head sadly "I was vastly disappointed to read of the report of that failure I had such hopes for the telegraph" There’d been a noted gap in long-distance communication ever since, with the scientific co that was asses

"The aethographor is a wireless communication apparatus, so it does not suffer fronetic currents as the telegraph," Lord Akeldama explained

Lady Maccon narrowed her eyes at hiht to see it so soon" As afor an invitation to see the queen’s aethographor for over a fortnight, with little success There was some delicacy to its function that would not allow it to be interrupted during operation She had also tried, unsuccessfully, to visit BUR’s aethographor She knew that they had one at the London offices, because she saw rolls of etchedabout Her husband had been utterly impossible about it "Wife," he had finally stated in abject frustration, "I canna interrupt business simply to satisfy your curiosity" Unfortunately for Alexia, since they had coraphors had been in constant operation

Lord Akeldama picked up an etched metal roll, flattened it out, and slotted it into a special frae for transfer, so, and activate the aetheric convector"

Mada about with avid interest, interrupted him mid-explanation "You would, of course, first have to input an outgoing crystalline valve frequensor, just here" She pointed to the control board, then started "Where is the resonator cradle?"

"Aha!" crowed the vampire, apparently thrilled she had noticed this flaw "This is the latest and greatest design, squash blossom It does not operate via crystalline compatibility protocol!"

Madame Lefoux looked to Lady Maccon "Squash blossom," she mouthed silently, her expression half offended, half aed

"Usually," explained Lord Akelda coraphor requires the installation of a specific valve, depending on the e’s intended destination You see, a companion valverooe transfer from point A to point B The problereed upon beforehand by both parties, and each must possess the appropriate valve The queen has an entire library of valves linked to different aethographors dotted all about the e "And yet your device has none? It is not very useful, Lord Akeldae into the aether with no one at the other end to receive it"

"Aha!" The vampire pranced about the tiny roo far too pleased with himself "My aetheric transponder does not need one! I have had it installed with the latest in frequency trans is desired All I need is to know the crystalline valve’s orientation on the receiving end And to receive all I need is the right tiood scan, and soes intended for other aethographors" He frowned a moment "Story of my life, if you think about it"

"Good Lord" Madame Lefoux was obviously iy even existed I knew they orking on it, of course, but not that it had finally been built Impressive May itness it in action?"

The vao out at the present ti"

Madame Lefoux looked crestfallen

"So what happens, exactly?" asked Lady Maccon, as still looking closely at the equiphted to explain "Ever notice that the rid on it?"

Alexia switched her attention to a scroll of metal Lord Akeldama handed her The surface was, indeed, divided into a standardized grid "One letter per square?" she hypothesized

Lord Akeldama nodded and explained further "The metal is exposed to a cheh Then two needles pass over each grid square, one on top and the other on the bottoh the letters This causes an aether wave that is bounced off the upper aethersphere and, in the absence of solar interference, transhout became wilder and wilder, and on the last phrase, he did a little pirouette