But there was nothing for it; he couldn't defeat Hugo on his own. Clancy's last words grated at him. The family's power was not his responsibility – it never had been. He just wanted to get the others out safely. Descending a narrow staircase, he followed a twisting corridor to a door made of stones mounted in an oak frame. Blowing out the candle, he peeped through the spyhole in one of the cracks to see that the way was clear and then gently unlatched the door and swung it open. He was in the east wing of the stables.
It was dark, but not the pitch black of the passage behind him. He could smell the horses and their hay and the oiled leather of the tack hanging up on the wall beside him. The quiet was disturbed only by the animals shifting position or snorting softly, and the creaking of the grooms and stable boys moving about in the attic above. Letting his eyes adjust to the gloom, he walked through the stable until he reached Flash's stall.
As he opened the door to the stall, he was surprised to find the velocycle was not alone. One of the stable boys was asleep next to it, hugging its front wheel. Flash greeted Nate with a friendly grunt and turned towards him, waking the lad. Blinking his encrusted eyes, the boy took a moment to register Nathaniel's presence. He gaped in shock, jumped to his feet and whipped off his hat, knuckling his forehead.
'I'm sorry, sir!' he blurted out. 'I was just-'
'Shhh!' Nate whispered, holding up his hand, forgetting that he was still holding his firearm.
The boy started to shake. Nate looked at the gun and then put it in his pocket.
'It's all right, I'm not going to hurt you,' he reassured the lad. 'I need you to be quiet though, you understand me? You're… I've never seen anyone so comfortable with this beast. You must be good with engimals. What's your name?'
'Francie, sir. I mean… Francis Noonan, sir.'
Noonan. Nate tried to remember where he had heard that name before – and then it came to him.
'You're related to Seamas Noonan?'
The boy didn't answer at first, but his hesitation was enough to give him away.
'He's me father,' he admitted at last.
Nate leaned back against the door. Suddenly, things started to make a little more sense.
'Saddle it up… quietly,' he said, gesturing at Flash. 'I'm leaving here and I don't want anyone to know it. And you're coming with me. You're going to take me to your rebel friends.'
It did not surprise Nate that Francie knew how to lead Flash with its eyes dimmed, without making any noise, and that he knew the path through the woods to the forest road. After all, he had stolen the velocycle once before. What did surprise him was that the rebels would recruit such a young agent. They must be a cold-blooded lot indeed. But once Francie knew the game was up, he wasted no time in telling the full story, in a desperate attempt to convince this gent that Shay Noonan was neither a rebel nor a murderer.
'You blew up the cemetery because you were trying to
'They were just tryin' to blow through the wall,' Francie explained. 'They thought there was a treasury on the other side. They didn't know about the powder store.'
So much for the Duke's theories about a criminal mastermind, Nate thought.
'But what about your attack on my brother? You left a bloody note!'
'I was just nickin' the engimal, sir!' Francie protested softly. 'Da just wrote the note to put the wind up yez. I wasn't even goin' to leave it except I ran into Master Roberto and dropped it by mistake when I fell off.'
'Bloody hell,' Nate sighed. 'All this mayhem because a few petty thieves were trying to steal some gold. So you're definitely not rebels?'
Francie shook his head vigorously, his eyes ever watchful for a chance to make a break for it. He wasn't sure why Nathaniel was being so sneaky about wandering around his own grounds, but there could be no doubt that Francie was well and truly scuppered. He was probably too young to be hanged, but there was plenty of space in Kilmainham Gaol for the likes of him.
When they were a little way into the forest, Nate climbed into Flash's saddle and had Francie get on behind. With Flash still suppressing the sound of its engine, they rode through the forest towards the wall that surrounded the estate. Francie felt the thrill of the ride again, relishing the engimals raw power.
It took less than ten minutes to reach the wall, and then they stopped.
'There's a culvert off to the right,' Francie said. 'You'd have to get wet, sir, and Flash would have to be pushed through on its side-'
'Nonsense,' Nate declared. 'We're going to jump it.'
He steered the velocycle round until they were about thirty yards back from a grass bank that lay in front of the wall. Nate knew his beast's agility could make a ramp of that hillock and the ground on the other side was clear enough for a landing.
'I don't know if this is such a good idea, sir,' Francie whispered nervously. 'This thing's a contrary craythur at the best of times.'
'Just hold on,' Nate told him, and kicked his heels into the velocycle's sides.
Flash reared and its eyes flashed bright, its engine raised in a roar. They hurtled forward, gathering speed at a tremendous rate. The beams of Flash's eyes picked out the stone wall and then the ramp… and then the wall again. Nate felt the engine falter.
'No-' he managed, before Flash slowed as they hit the ramp and then came to an abrupt halt, hurling the two riders over the wall.
The ground struck with a shocking suddenness in the darkness. Nate found himself sprawled in the long grass, unable to see where he was and in too much pain to find out. He could hear Francie giving wheezing cries a few feet away. And then he heard someone else shouting.
Sentries had been alerted by the noise and the lights. Did they know there had been a change in power? Were they Hugo's men now? There was no way to be sure. Nate heard two voices, possibly three. He lay still in the grass, trying to discern where they were coming from. Turning his face to the ground, he detected running feet approaching from his right. He felt for his pistol, still in his jacket. Falling on it had left a nasty bruise under his ribs, and he winced as he drew it from his pocket. A man came hurrying through the grass and was almost on top of him when Nate sprang up and whipped the butt of the gun across the side of his head. The man flipped onto his back and hit the ground with barely a grunt.
Grabbing Francie's arm, Nate pulled him onto his feet.
'Come on,' he hissed. 'That blasted beast has shafted us good and proper. We have to get out of here.'
'But… but why are yeh runnin' from yer own family?' Francie gasped as he hobbled after Nate on wobbly legs.
'That's a bloody good question,' Nate replied.
The zoological gardens where the Wildensterns kept their menagerie of exotic wildlife – including their collection of untameable engimals – was a bizarre place in daylight, but at night-time it was positively eerie.
Some footmen had gone ahead to light the gas-lamps along the walkway, but the place had not been built to visit at night and the widely spaced lamps gave a meagre light; they still needed two of the footmen to guide the way with lanterns. The enclosures loomed over them in all shapes and sizes, from closed-off sheds to fenced pens to ridiculously ornate cages. Daisy let herself be led on Hugo's arm, willing to play along until an opportunity to escape presented itself. And if one didn't, she was determined to concoct one.
They were accompanied by Elizabeth, Brunhilde and Gideon. As they stepped through the tall cast-iron gates of the zoo, Elizabeth gasped in delight at the shadowy beasts around them. Brunhilde began scurrying from one to the next, chattering, grunting and panting as if she were trying to communicate with the creatures. The woman had no class whatsoever.
'The smaller creatures are kept here,' Gideon explained as they strolled down the walkway. 'Wild mowers, a few breeds of snake-chain, some miniature cranes… you get the idea. Down by the canal are the larger engimals, including the ones that require moats, like Trom. Although none of them have been tamed like Trom, of course.'
'Let us see the most magnificent first,' Hugo said.
Gideon nodded and led them through the avenue of dark buildings. They heard an array of noises emitted by
