The Doomsday Vault

Anger thundered through Alice. “How dare you manipulate us this way.”

“I see.” Edwina looked genuinely hurt. “Your father arranges a marriage that makes you unhappy, and that’s all right, but I match you with someone you actually love, and that’s wrong?”

Alice felt ready to explode, and Gavin’s gentle hand landed on her shoulder. “It’s all right,” he soothed. “You don’t want to throw the teapot. Let’s hear the rest.”

Was she holding the teapot? She was. Alice set it down with careful control.

“Thank you,” Edwina said. “At any rate, you rescued Mr. Ennock but refused to contact the Ward, so I talked to you as Louisa and ‘accidentally’ found the card with the agent’s name on it. And then there was the incident with the paper bomb outside the solicitor’s office. I was hoping you’d notify the Ward then, too. It was a relief when you and Mr. Ennock went off in that dirigible, and I was very upset when you agreed to marry little Norbie anyway and moved Arthur into his house. I had to come up with a whole new plan to break you free. Once young Mr. Barton was ready, I distracted the rest of the Ward and turned him loose so it would be just the two of you going after him. So romantic!”

“How could you possibly have known you’d need Patrick Barton?” Alice said, surprised at how level her voice was. She felt more and more as if she were attending a tea party in a lunatic asylum. “It was a year between the time you met him at the ball and the time he attacked the smithy.”

“Well, I wasn’t sure I’d need him. I was only planning ahead, just in case. It takes time for the plague to develop, especially for someone who’s going to become a genius, and I was sure my new version of it would develop Mr. Barton into one.”

“What if I had joined the Ward right away?” Alice said.

“Then Mr. Barton would have had a wonderful time inventing any number of things before the plague took him off. Really, darling, I don’t know why you’re so upset. You didn’t even know him. And he wasn’t very good in the bedroom. Though now that I think of it, that may have been the drugs.”

“Your version of the plague burns clockworkers out even faster than normal,” Gavin said. His voice was tight. “I watched him die. It was horrible.”

“I was afraid of that. Fortunately, he served his purpose first. You two did become closer. But then my automaton spies gave me the news that Alice was planning to elope, so I had to act fast. I’m sorry the plan was so crude-short notice and all. Still, your adventure with the war machine did make it clear how much you need Mr. Ennock, Alice. My dear brother’s death was a minor complication, but in the end you made the right decision. If it makes you feel any better, darling, you’re going to get notice tomorrow that all your debts have been paid off by an anonymous benefactor. You don’t owe Norbert a thing.”

Oddly-or perhaps understandably-the news didn’t make Alice didn’t feel any better. “Edwina,” she said in a dangerous voice, “I need you to tell us what the point is. Why did you want Gavin and me to. . to fall in love and join the Ward?”

She held up a finger. “You haven’t asked why I attacked the Bank of England.”

“You needed money?” Gavin said.

Edwina laughed like a society woman who had heard a small joke. “I have pots of money, Mr. Ennock.”

“Then why did you do it?” Alice sighed.

“Partly to bring you two lovebirds closer together, and partly so I could play those notes for you, the ones that gave you the map coordinates for this little den of mine. I knew you and your perfect pitch would eventually figure it out, Mr. Ennock.”

“Alice figured it out,” Gavin told her coldly. “I just gave her the frequency numbers.”

Edwina waved this away. “It still worked. You’re here.”

“Aunt Edwina, I’m quite confused. Why did you lead us here?”

She stared at Alice. “So we could have this little chat, of course.”

“We have a wonderful telegraph system,” Alice nearly shouted. “And the Royal Mail. You didn’t need to attack the National Bank to get our attention.”

“Paper communiques can be intercepted. Your sharp mind and Mr. Ennock’s perfect pitch gave me the means to send the perfect coded message. It was the only way to be safe.”

“Safe?” Alice echoed. “Attacking the bank with an army of zombies was safe? Blowing up a dirigible and killing dozens of men was safe?”

“Safer than sending a letter or telegram.” Edwina finished her cake.

“You sent me a telegram,” Gavin pointed out.

“That was from Louisa, not me. And I signed it ‘L.’ Could have been anyone.”

Gavin groaned.

“Getting back to the cure,” Alice said. “What do Gavin and I have to do with it?”

“The cure. Yes.” Edwina leaned forward. A red light, one among many, flashed on the wall not far from Edwina’s chair. It went out, and another one flashed. “We don’t have much time. The first cure I discovered was only partially effective. I had. . manufactured another microorganism that attacks the clockwork plague bacterium. It’s smaller than bacteria and structured quite differently. I suspect similar agents already exist in nature. I call it a ‘virion.’ Do you like the term? I think it might catch on.”

“I thought we didn’t have much time,” Gavin said.

“Right, right. My first virion, the one the Ward stole, is very delicate and can only survive inside a living host. It must be injected directly into the bloodstream. Very disappointing, if one wants the cure to spread throughout the world. I put it in my safe, and then the Ward chased me away and stole it. I had to start again down here.”

“Did you do it?” Alice leaned across the table. “Did you succeed this time?”

“Of course.” Edwina dabbed at her cheek with a napkin. The lights were all flashing red now. “The second virion is much hardier. Once a person is infected with this second virion, he becomes a carrier, and his saliva and mucus will spread it to other people, who become carriers in their own right. Once released, it will spread throughout the world and destroy the plague entirely. The only problem”-and here she sighed-“is that it doesn’t cure plague geniuses. Their bodies change the plague somehow and make it immune to the cure. I tried an early version on poor Mr. Barton and a few others I’ve come across, and it didn’t help any of them.”

“But even so!” Alice breathed. “Edwina! We have to release it right now!”

Edwina held up a hand. “It’s not that simple, darling. I can’t finish incubating the second virion down here, with these limited facilities. It’s going to take some-”

“Wait,” Gavin interrupted. “You’re lying.”

“Oh?” Edwina’s tone was light, but with an edge.

“You said the Third Ward stole your first cure months ago,” Gavin said. “So why haven’t they-we-used it?”

“Ah.” Edwina steepled her fingers and stole a glance at the lights. They all went out. “I’m afraid I won’t be able to explain that quite yet. You need to play ma que with the Queen.”

“I-what?” Gavin said.

“Play ma que with the Queen. Play ma que with the Queen.”

“What are you talking about?” Gavin demanded. “What’s-?”

The main door burst open, and a dozen agents flooded the room.

Chapter Seventeen

In an instant, Edwina was surrounded by pistols, rifles, and other weapons Gavin hadn’t yet learned to identify. Gavin himself stared down the barrel of a very strange gun with copper wiring that twisted all along it. He smelled ozone, and his heart beat at the back of his throat. Then he saw who was wielding it.

“Damn it, Simon,” he snapped, “it’s me.”

“Play ma que with the Queen,” Edwina said.

Simon d’Arco didn’t move, and for a moment Gavin wondered if the man intended to shoot him. His thoughts flashed back to the moment at the symphony a few hours ago. Gavin hadn’t had any time to think about what had happened or what any of it had meant, but now he wondered if Simon was angry. Then Simon lowered the weapon.