When the coach door latched,I decided to preempt his news. “I know the dagger is missing. That was my error. I have been a total fool.”
“You and I planned the security together. Blame is useless in war. Save it until the need for action has passed.” His fingers meshed restlessly. “Guilt, on the other hand, I indulge in the dead of night. A bedroom ceiling is an excellent stage for reviewing my failures.”
He said that with moving honesty. What was my trial against the deaths that weighed on the commander of England’s armies? “I am sorry. You have faced far more serious circumstances.”
He rubbed his eyes. “I hope you are correct, but I fear otherwise. My news is worse than a missing dagger. The naval command received a communication at daybreak by messenger bird. In short, England’s navy is defeated and in retreat.”
“What?” I must have misheard.
“The bird was from a flotilla patrolling the Dover Narrows. There were twelve ships, including four ships of the line. The entire flotilla is sunk. Fishermen are pulling wreckage from the water. Bodies. We have no survivor account as yet.”
The implication was obvious. I wet my lips, afraid of the answer. “Were they burned?”
“It seems not.”
I breathed again. “That is a relief. I feared you meant the black dragon.”
“I do mean the black dragon. The message was four scrawled words: ‘Black wings. Black breath.’ Do you understand that last part?” I shook my head. “Those few words alone would mean little. But when I add the witnesses on the Thames where the dragon rose, and those outside the museum…” His eyes met mine. “Why did the black dragon come to the museum?”
“She was summoned by the wyfe.” Give her the courtesy of her name. “By Miss Rees. She summoned her with the dagger.”
“Summonedher?”
“The dragon is female. She is called Fènnù. It is Chinese for Fury. That is all I know.”
His fingers drummed the armrest. “That woman died. We captured another mad wyfe at the museum. Does she control the black dragon?”
“That wyfe was also dosed with crawler venom. She is a victim, not mad.”
“Your sister Mary has been loudly insisting the same thing. She is with her. However, my question was whether that wyfe controls the dragon.”
“No. She never touched the dagger. Is she recovered?”
“Slightly. Miss Bennet reports old wounds from brutal mistreatment.” His tone pressed harder. “Our naval losses are not an animal lashing out. Those were military targets. Who controls the black dragon?”
My heart was thumping. “I have no idea. It may be whoever has the dagger.” Sounding more defensive than I liked, I added, “It is notme!”
“I know that much. More’s the pity.” He blew an angry sigh. “A second message arrived a half hour ago, this from the French coast. It, too, is sparse, but English ships are sunk, while French ships are untouched. Not even a dragon can survey an ocean in a night, so our enemy had foreknowledge and intelligence of our positions. The third and last message was from Brighton. American warships and slave cutters are standing four miles off England’s south coast, unchallenged.” He gave a humorless laugh. “The English navy is dropping like mayflies. The admiral has dispatched a general order to scatter and hide. But that leaves our shores unprotected, and without naval support, our armies in Spain—myarmies—will exhaust their supplies in weeks.” He slammed his fist into the side of the carriage, rattling the glass panes. I had never seen him display physical anger, not even when he shot a man in the hills of Pemberley. “In one night, the war has turned. If we do not turn it back, England’s strength will be cast down. We will be invaded.”
“That cannot be possible.”
“We have done it to others often enough. I assure you, they are eager to return the favor.” He wedged a smile onto his lips. “You see why we are summoned. England must fight fire—or whatever ‘black breath’ means—with fire. The Council will ask for Yuánchi. How will you answer?”
The coach wheels chattered. The springs creaked.
“My answer will disappoint you, but hear me out.” I swallowed and tried to sound sane. “There is something wrong with me. The black dragon influences me. Attracts me to… to violence. I lose myself. I dare not be involved in battle. And I am certain Yuánchi will not participate without me.” Lord Wellington drew a breath, but I held up my hand. “There is more. Yuánchi has isolated me. Shielded me from my own ability. It is like being wrapped in cotton. I cannot even sense where he is. I am useless.”
“If not you, the Council will try another great wyfe. They know of Miss Darcy.”
I shook my head. “She cannot even speak to Yuánchi.”
“Who are the others? You said there were four great wyves at the ball.”
I had forgotten that. “The fourth may have been Miss Rees.” But I hadviewed her through draca eyes. She had no aura. And the other dosed wyfe was weaker.
“Perhaps thethirdgreat wyfe, then?” he said dryly.
The third was Emma.
