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Not only was I armed, but I was suitably attired-for bustles, crinolines, and tight sleeves are cumbersome and impractical for a pedestrian on shadowy streetwalks Between the weight of the layers of(not to th of the dratted skirts), I would have been a walking target for anyone, froirl, to the footpads who lurked in the shadows-or to any threats that existed for a tall, gawky, yet intelligent young woman who'd been cursed with the beak-like Holmes nose

I felt confident I was prepared for whatever dangers I ht encounter

One of the self-propelled Night-Illuminators trundled below on its four wheels I looked down from the raised ay on which I stood and watched its welcoht The cool air stirred, bringing with it the fae Below, at the ground level, I heard other coht: the clip-clop of hooves, the rattle of various wheeled conveyances, shouts and laughter and, threaded through it all, the constant hiss of steam

Steam: the lifeblood of London

I paid two pence to take a street-lift to the middle level of the block, where it was ostensibly safer to walk alone But at ht in London, I wasn't certain that any street level was safe

The entire day had been rainy and dark clouded Trapped inside, I read three books fro, fanciful, A Arthur's Court), worked on two different projects in the lab, and h that she refused to cookI hadn't meant to knock over the flask of silver polish, but et in the way

I didn't clean it up well enough for her (I confess, I found conductingon , she mopped, then emptied the bucket of dirty water froer All the while, she complained Why couldn't Mr Tufference invent a way to make the device empty the mop water afterward as well? To punctuate her foul mood, Mrs Raskill turned off the mechanized levers on the stove and fairly slammed a plate of cold meat and cheese onto the counter for my dinner

It was a shae, Mrs Raskill more than made up for in the kitchen I counted both as benefits Her skill with the culinary arts was the reason those layers of crinolines over the torture chamber of my corset had become a tad more difficult to fasten around my waist as of late Before Mother left, our ravies, sauces, and butter because she'd been the one planning the menus

I thrust away the pang of grief and eone for more than a year, and other than a few brief letters fro into her empty bedchamber just to remind myself that she had, indeed, existed

The Night-Illue to cross the air-canal half a block from Russell-street Just a few steps aere the hallowed halls of the British Museurounds Real grass and even trees surrounded it

Abovethe sky Great dark sky-anchors soared above the cornices of the tallest structures They floated like eerie gray clouds chained to the roofs, keeping the uppers stable

To the south were the spires of Westht Or perhaps I just inherently knew their location, as I did the steeple of St Paul's Cathedral, Big Ben's glowing face, and the ary's Uncle Sherlock boasted he knew every level of every block of every street, alley, and mews in all of London-and so did I

At last I approached the stately colu erless gloves Was I to boldly climb the steps to the front entrance and present myself? Would the doors be open? Or-

"Pssst"

I turned to see a cloaked figure, one of the fe the ing of the ers curling over the hilt of un As I approached, I noticed a patch of yelloing from beneath the wall of the museum A door

"I expect you've been suure She peered atwhat appeared to be a wooden dagger A remarkably incompetent weapon in comparison to my own more lethal one