an
If only she’d watched more closely as the count had initiated the ignition sequence! But no, she had been too bothered by the thought of Andrew and Alice alone in the rear compartment to pay much attention.
Of all the silly geese …
Never mind. She must focus on the task at hand. H ow different could the Daimler’s instrument panel be from that of her own Henley Dart?
“Yes,” she said.
“I don’t see we have a choice. The count has to get to a doctor, and the longer we wait, the poorer his chances are. If we can’t find Andrew, why, we … we …” Her voice faded.
The same dreadful thoughts hovered in both their minds. What if he had been shot, too, as he came over the rise? And why had the count’s captains not come to their aid as soon as they saw the Daimler go off the road? In Claire’s mind, there was only one answer. If Andrew had shared their fate, she did not think she would be able to bear it.
“Come.” She shook away the u gly thought before it could root in her mind and terrify her. “You must ride in the rear compartment and hold his head.”
Alice climbed in and gingerly took Count von Zeppelin’s head into her silken lap, heedless of the blood. “This has to be one of the most valuable heads in all the world,” she muttered. “How’d this come about, I’d like to know?”
Claire tried to remember the order in which he had flipped levers and spun the wheel. After a number of false starts, not to mention some suggestions from the back, the mighty boiler rumbled to life and steam began to issue from the pipes extending out the side. She leaned on the acceleration bar and spun the wheel to give it more steam, and they began to roll.
With the other hand, she guided the landau into an arc that took them back the way they had come, and in a moment, they half rolled, half slid onto the road.
She had underestimated the other landau’s location, and they were now behind it. But where were—
“There’s Andrew,” Alice said urgently, craning her neck to be able to see over the padded cushions. “Thank God.”
“What is he doing?” Claire murmured, half to herself. For he was not administering aid to anyone. He crouched against the wing of the captains’ landau, head down, his body stiff and focused into the distant night. Cold fear cascaded into her stomach.
Claire piloted the landau as close as she dared. “Andrew!” she called through the broken window. “ Are you all right? Where are the men? Come quickly—we must get the count—”
Without warning, the rearmost window exploded and Claire distinctly felt something thud into the cushions upon which she sat.
Alice screamed and Andrew jerked upright as though he had been struck by lightning. He flung himself into the front compartment, shouting, “Go! Go!”
“But the captains—”
“Go!”
< [
Claire leaned on the acceleration bar and the engine coughed, like a horse who has been struck with the crop when it expected to stop and nibble the grass. It had gathered a small head of steam while she had paused it and forgotten to release the pressure valve, and with this, they leaped down the road at a headlong pace.
With one hand on the steering wheel and the other on the acceleration bar, Claire peered wildly into the night hoping nothing would smash their one remaining lantern.
“What happened?” she managed between chattering teeth.
“Dead, both of them.” Andrew’s tone was grim, his face carved in stone at the edge of her vision. “And while I was searching for signs of life, a bullet missed me by half an inch.” He raised his arm. “It passed right through my sleeve. The second one went over my head when I ducked behind the landau.”
Claire could not look, though she heard Alice gasp. Her gaze was fastened on the ribbon of road ahead and she could not look away .
“But who—how could anyone—”
“I do not know, but I fully intend to find out,” Andrew said. “It could only have been
If only she’d watched more closely as the count had initiated the ignition sequence! But no, she had been too bothered by the thought of Andrew and Alice alone in the rear compartment to pay much attention.
Of all the silly geese …
Never mind. She must focus on the task at hand. H ow different could the Daimler’s instrument panel be from that of her own Henley Dart?
“Yes,” she said.
“I don’t see we have a choice. The count has to get to a doctor, and the longer we wait, the poorer his chances are. If we can’t find Andrew, why, we … we …” Her voice faded.
The same dreadful thoughts hovered in both their minds. What if he had been shot, too, as he came over the rise? And why had the count’s captains not come to their aid as soon as they saw the Daimler go off the road? In Claire’s mind, there was only one answer. If Andrew had shared their fate, she did not think she would be able to bear it.
“Come.” She shook away the u gly thought before it could root in her mind and terrify her. “You must ride in the rear compartment and hold his head.”
Alice climbed in and gingerly took Count von Zeppelin’s head into her silken lap, heedless of the blood. “This has to be one of the most valuable heads in all the world,” she muttered. “How’d this come about, I’d like to know?”
Claire tried to remember the order in which he had flipped levers and spun the wheel. After a number of false starts, not to mention some suggestions from the back, the mighty boiler rumbled to life and steam began to issue from the pipes extending out the side. She leaned on the acceleration bar and spun the wheel to give it more steam, and they began to roll.
With the other hand, she guided the landau into an arc that took them back the way they had come, and in a moment, they half rolled, half slid onto the road.
She had underestimated the other landau’s location, and they were now behind it. But where were—
“There’s Andrew,” Alice said urgently, craning her neck to be able to see over the padded cushions. “Thank God.”
“What is he doing?” Claire murmured, half to herself. For he was not administering aid to anyone. He crouched against the wing of the captains’ landau, head down, his body stiff and focused into the distant night. Cold fear cascaded into her stomach.
Claire piloted the landau as close as she dared. “Andrew!” she called through the broken window. “ Are you all right? Where are the men? Come quickly—we must get the count—”
Without warning, the rearmost window exploded and Claire distinctly felt something thud into the cushions upon which she sat.
Alice screamed and Andrew jerked upright as though he had been struck by lightning. He flung himself into the front compartment, shouting, “Go! Go!”
“But the captains—”
“Go!”
< [
Claire leaned on the acceleration bar and the engine coughed, like a horse who has been struck with the crop when it expected to stop and nibble the grass. It had gathered a small head of steam while she had paused it and forgotten to release the pressure valve, and with this, they leaped down the road at a headlong pace.
With one hand on the steering wheel and the other on the acceleration bar, Claire peered wildly into the night hoping nothing would smash their one remaining lantern.
“What happened?” she managed between chattering teeth.
“Dead, both of them.” Andrew’s tone was grim, his face carved in stone at the edge of her vision. “And while I was searching for signs of life, a bullet missed me by half an inch.” He raised his arm. “It passed right through my sleeve. The second one went over my head when I ducked behind the landau.”
Claire could not look, though she heard Alice gasp. Her gaze was fastened on the ribbon of road ahead and she could not look away .
“But who—how could anyone—”
“I do not know, but I fully intend to find out,” Andrew said. “It could only have been
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