When did she start calling him Edwin?
“Agents are stationed throughout the museum,” she said, tapping her finger on the clipboard. “These sections of the museum are closed. I reassigned museum security, placing them at the entrances and exits. Her Majesty plans to visit the aviation wing, following this path, after the opening. She’ll depart thereafter, leaving through this exit. I have agents stationed all along here,” she said, pointing once more.
Edwin laced his hands behind his back as he studied the clipboard. “Yes. Very good,” he said, but then he began rocking onto his heels.
“The guards in the aviation wing have all been verified and searched, as you requested. Everyone is in place who should be there,” Harper said.
“Well done,” Edwin told her.
“And how is Her Majesty arriving?” I asked.
“By airship,” Edwin answered, but he didn’t meet my eye.
“She’ll be very exposed climbing down a ladder,” I said.
“They’ve made a special basket to lower her more fashionably—and quickly,” Edwin explained, still not looking at me.
“Are any agency airships accompanying her?” I asked.
“Two. They’ll fly in with her from Buckingham,” Harper replied.
I nodded. Avoiding Edwin had left me out of the loop, a fact that didn’t sit well with me. I was good at my job, partially because I wanted to be the best agent in the Red Capes. One day, I hoped I would be promoted. Only the best agents were tasked with events like this. I would have thought, after the incident with Marlowe, and Krampus, and the Vikings, and all the rest, that Her Majesty had noticed my work. Apparently, I had over-estimated my successes at the agency. With Edwin at the helm, and Edwin and me in the most awkward situation ever, things weren’t looking good for my career. I never thought I should be worried about my job, but it was Harper leading this detail, not me.
I cast a sidelong glance at Edwin. His jaw was clenched, and he was tapping his fingers behind his back
Something wasn’t right here.
Was that something me?
“Hank and I will sweep the Aviation Hall one more time then get into position,” Cressida said.
“I’ll check out front,” Pippa added.
Edwin nodded to them, and the other agents left.
“Agent Fox spoiled your surprise. I understand I’m on duty outside,” I said, giving Harper a knowing look.
“I wasn’t the one—” Harper began.
“Her Majesty asked for you,” Edwin interrupted.
Steeling myself, I met his eyes. It hurt to be this close to him. It bothered me to know I had wounded Edwin. I cared about him. I really did. It was just… “Why?” I asked.
Edwin cleared his throat, then cleared it again. “She said she wants her best agents close by. You and Harper—and me—we’ll all be on the platform with her.”
“All right,” I said cautiously. “You do know it’s cold out there,” I said with a slight grin, trying to ease the tension.
Harper smiled. “We’ll only be out there for a few minutes. There will be general introductions by the London Tinker’s Society, then Archibald Boatswain is scheduled to speak. Afterward, Her Majesty will open the museum, then we’ll all come back inside.”
“Archibald Boatswain?” I asked.
“Archibald Boatswain IV,” Harper clarified.
I nodded then scanned around once more. “There is a lot of security—well done, Harper—but maybe Her Majesty should have declined the invitation to come, all things considered. Do we have any leads on her would-be assassin?” I asked Edwin.
“We’re still sorting out the details,” he said then cleared his throat again.
He was lying.
I cast a glance at Harper.
She was also eyeing Edwin, an odd expression on her face.
“All right. Let’s say I buy that for the moment—which I do not—do we know what kind of preternatural we’re keeping an eye out for? In my case, quite literally.”
Edwin laughed softly then shook his head. “I should have known. No. We don’t. That is why we have our best eyes on the ground.”
“And if you’re upset about having to stand outside in the cold, you should know it could be worse. Agent Rose is under the museum,” Harper said.
“Oh, she must be pleased about that,” I said with a smirk. Knowing Agent Rose was lurking around had the dual effect of setting me on edge and putting me at ease. In a fight, Rose was handy to have around. But the fact that she’d been invited was proof enough that all was not well.
“I’ll wander about for a few minutes, see if I notice anything. It would be helpful if I knew what I was looking for,” I told Edwin.
He didn’t say anything.
“Right.”
“You need to be outside and on the podium by eleven fifteen. No later,” Harper told me, a stern look on her face.
I rolled my eyes. “Stop worrying, partner. Everything is going to be fine,” I said, but there was a nagging feeling in my stomach that something wasn’t right. Edwin was not telling us everything—which I hated. Well, I’d just have to figure things out on my own.
Leaving Harper and Edwin behind, I headed back across the museum. There was a plaque beside the antique airship in the foyer. I was right. It was one of the original airships designed by Archibald Boatswain I. The airship was gifted to the museum from Lord Rhys and Lady Isabelle Llewellyn. How posh.
Glancing down the Hall of Clockwork, I felt a strange tug. I headed in that direction.
A museum guard stood at the end of the hall.
“Dim in there, Agent,” he told me.
“Just having a glance about,” I replied then went inside.
He was right. Inside the hall, the gaslamps were lit but on low. The flickering flames brought the polished wood floors and walls to life. They glowed in rich shades of amber. The dim light cast long shadows in the room. I passed through a hall entryway where rudimentary clockwork devices were on display. Pausing a moment, I eyed an exhibition of small, wind-up gnome men. The little toys stared at me with their beady glass eyes. A windup key lay in the exhibition along with them. I read the plaque on the walclass="underline"
The Scarlette Automaton.
The clockwork skeletal structure prominent in today’s most advanced automatons was initially designed by Missus Scarlette Boatswain as a means to animate toys. Missus Boatswain is the first tinker to fashion a fully-functioning automaton. The Scarlette Automaton is the signature design used in the creation of automatons fashioned by the Boatswain Colossus Corporation. From gnomes to giants, today’s automatons first found life through the gift of childlike wonder.
Cute.
And a little creepy.
The eldest gnome held out a silk rose that looked as though he was offering it to me. Had he been holding that before? I couldn’t remember. I squinted at the creatures with my mooneye. Childlike wonder. Hmm. Something about these little buggers was off. But they were tiny, clockwork gnomes. In a glass display. Not a threat.
Passing down the narrow corridor, I emerged into an elaborate chamber filled with amazing clockwork devices. Steamcycles, velocipedes, steamautos, automatons of every shape, size, and use filled the room. The walls themselves were made of gears and cogs that turned and clanged.
Now, this was something.
This was the future.
My palms itched.
Of course.
Of course, they did.
“So, who is in here?” I whispered.
Exhaling slowly and deeply, I narrowed my vision and scanned the place. Automatons always triggered my senses. It was something about the way they were made. I knew they were no more than cogs, gears, and ethics boards, but something about them always set me on edge.