"Will the people who go up in the balloon get hot as they get closer to the sun?"
"Actually," Augusta said, frowning slightly, "I have heard that they get quite chilled."
"How very odd. Why is that?"
"I have no notion, Meredith. You must ask your father that question."
"Can I go up in the balloon with Mr. Mitford and his crew?"
"No, dear, I fear Graystone would object very strongly to that plan." Augusta smiled wistfully. "Although it would be a very fine adventure indeed, would it not?"
"Oh, yes. Lovely." Meredith gazed rapturously at the brightly colored silk balloon.
Excitement mounted steadily around the basket as the huge balloon was filled with hot air. Ropes trailed everywhere, tethering the craft to the earth until it was time for the ascent. Mr. Mitford, a thin, energetic man, leaped about, shouting orders and giving directions to several sturdy young boys who were assisting him.
"Stand back, everyone," Mr. Mitford finally yelled in a commanding voice. He stood with two other people in the basket and waved the crowd away from the ropes. "Back, I say. Ho, lads, release the ropes."
The colorful balloon began to rise. The crowd roared approval and shouted encouragement.
Meredith was thrilled. "Look, Augusta. There it goes. Oh, how I would love to be going with them."
"So would I." Augusta tipped her head back and clung to the brim of her yellow straw bonnet as she watched the balloon rise.
When she first felt the tug on her skirts, she thought someone had bumped into her in the packed crowd. When the tug came a second time, however, she glanced down and saw a small urchin gazing up at her. He extended a grimy hand and offered her a small piece of folded paper.
"You be Lady Graystone?"
"Why, yes."
"This is for you." The lad shoved the paper into her fingers and dashed off through the throng.
"What on earth?" Augusta gazed down at the slip of paper. Meredith had noticed nothing. She was too busy cheering Mr. Mitford's bold crew.
Augusta opened the folded paper with a gathering sense of dread. The message inside was short and unsigned.
If you would learn the truth about your brother be in the lane behind your house at midnight tonight. Tell no one or you will never have the proof you seek.
"Augusta, this is truly the most wonderful thing I have ever seen," Meredith confided, her eyes still focused intently on the rising balloon. "Where are we going tomorrow?"
"Astley's Amphiteatre," Augusta murmured absently as she dropped the note into her reticule. "According to the advertisement in the Times, we shall see astounding feats of horsemanship and some fireworks."
"That will be nice, but I do not think it will be as wonderful as this balloon ascent." Meredith turned to look at her at last as Mr. Mitford's balloon began to move off over the city. "Will Papa be able to come with us to Astley's?"
"I doubt it, Meredith. You know he has a great deal of business to attend to while we are in town. Remember, we are supposed to amuse ourselves."
Meredith smiled her slow, thoughtful smile. "We are doing that famously, are we not?"
"Famously."
Harry opened the door of his library as Augusta and Meredith swept into the hall of the town house. His eyes snagged Augusta's and he smiled slightly.
"Did you enjoy the balloon ascent?"
"It was most interesting and very educational," Augusta said coolly. All she could think about was the note in her reticule. She longed to rush upstairs and study it again in the privacy of her bedchamber.
"Oh, Papa, it was the most amazing thing," Meredith enthused. "Augusta bought me a beautiful souvenir handkerchief with a picture of Mr. Mitford's balloon on it. And she said you would explain why it is that the people sometimes get quite cold when they go up in a balloon, even though they are actually closer to the sun."
Harry cocked a brow and slanted an amused glance at Augusta while he replied to his daughter. "She said I would explain it, did she? What made her think I would know the answer to that?"
"Come, now, Graystone," Augusta chided. "You usually have all the answers, do you not?"
"Augusta—"
"Will you be going out again this evening, my lord?"
"Unfortunately, yes. I shall not be back until quite late."
"We will, of course, not wait up for you." Without waiting for a response, she started sedately up the stairs to her bedchamber. She glanced back over her shoulder and saw Meredith tug at her father's sleeve.
"Papa?"
"Come into the library for a few minutes, Meredith. I will attempt to answer your question."
Augusta heard the library door close. She picked up her skirts and ran the rest of the way to her bedchamber. As soon as she reached her sanctum, she sank down onto the chair behind the escritoire and yanked open her reticule. If you would learn the truth about your brother…
Perhaps, just this once, Graystone did not know all the answers. She would show him, Augusta vowed. She would produce the proof of her brother's innocence and confound Harry with her cleverness.
After careful consideration, Augusta decided the safest way out of the town house and into the night-shrouded garden was through the window of her husband's library.
The only other option was the back door, but that route would take her through the kitchens near the servants' quarters. There was too much chance she might awaken someone.
It was no trick to open the window of the darkened library and slip out into the garden. She had, after all, explored the route in reverse on the fateful evening when she had paid her midnight call on Harry.
Looking back, she was still amazed that Graystone had wanted to marry her after that hoydenish act. His sense of honor had no doubt tipped the balance when it came to making his decision.
Augusta dropped down onto the ground, leaving the window open behind her for a quick return. She gathered her dark cloak around her, pulled up the hood, and stood listening for a moment.
When she heard no sound she went cautiously toward the garden gate. One had to be careful about this sort of thing, she warned herself. She must keep her wits about her. She would question whoever was waiting in the lane very thoroughly. And she would make certain he kept his distance. She could always yell for help if necessary. The servants or the neighbors would hear.
She paused before opening the gate, straining to detect any sounds out in the lane. There was not even a whisper or footstep to be heard.
Augusta unlatched the gate and opened it carefully. The hinges squeaked in protest.
"Hello? Is anyone out there?"
There was no response. Down at the end of the lane the lights were shining in all of Lady Arbuthnott's windows, but the other nearby residences were in darkness. Carriage wheels clattered out in the street and moved off into the night.
"Hello?" Augusta peered anxiously into the deep shadows for a few minutes. "Please, are you there? I got your note, whoever you are. I want to talk to you."
She took a step out of the safety of the garden and her toe collided with a hard object on the ground.
"What in the world?" Automatically Augusta glanced down and saw a square shape lying on the paving stones. She started to step over the object and then realized it was a book of some sort. She bent down and picked it up.
As her hand closed around the leather-bound volume she heard the sudden ring of hooves on stone at the far end of the lane. She whirled about in time to see a horse and rider disappear around the corner.
Someone had been watching her from the shadows, she realized with a chill. Someone had hovered there in the darkness, waiting until she had retrieved the book, and then he had vanished.