“Absolutely not.” Raven kicked off his moleskin breeches and wriggled into a pair of foul-smelling canvas pants.
“Fawwgh.” Peregrine held his nose. The odor also woke Harper, who gave a canine sneeze. It was truly disgusting.
“Why not?” demanded Peregrine.
“Because of the new house rule,” replied Hawk as he adjusted the brim of his filthy hat. “After your new guardian gave his permission for you to stay with us this month, m’lady gave strict orders that you aren’t to accompany us into the stews. She feels a responsibility to your family to keep you safe from scandal.”
“Your lordly reputation would be in tatters if you’re recognized dressed as a filthy gutter rat,” pointed out Raven, “and Eton might give you the boot.”
“Ihatebeing a lord,” retorted Peregrine, eyeing their rags with longing.
“Life isn’t always fair,” observed Raven. He looked at his brother. “Ready?”
A nod.
“Actually, there’s something very important that you can do here,” said Hawk after scrambling out to the window ledge. The night breeze rustled through the twines of ivy.
Peregrine squared his shoulders. “Just name it.”
“Keep Harper from eating the rest of the ginger biscuits.”
* * *
A short while later, the Weasels had made their first discovery. After asking around among their urchin friends, they had learned that Billy Bones and Carrot-Top, two lookouts for a gambling ring from Seven Dials, had been keeping watch on a dice game behind Maudslay’s laboratory on the night of the fire.
Another inquiry allowed them to track down the two boys in an alleyway near Cockpit Yard.
“Oiy, I saw da fella wot smashed a window and tossed the firebomb into the building,” said Billy Bones in answer to Raven’s question.
“Can you describe him?” asked Raven,
A shrug. “Naw—wuzn’t lookin’ at him.”
“Wot I can tell ye is that wuddever was in the bottles that he lit wiv da fuses, it weren’t no ordinary lamp oil,” piped up Carrot-Top. “When he tossed dem through da broken window, the place exploded in a holy hell o’ flames.”
Raven and Hawk exchanged a sharp look.
“Which window of the building did the man break?” inquired Hawk.
“Not sure,” said Carrot-Top.
“Perhaps this will help you remember.” Raven held up a gold guinea.
Eyes widening, the urchins put their heads together and began a fierce exchange of whispers.
“If yer facing the back o’ the building from Cesspool Alley, it’s the second one in from the left,” said Billy Bones.
“You know that you’ll never get another farthing from us if you ain’t telling us the truth,” cautioned Raven.
“Oiy, we know,” said Carrot-Top. He held out his hand.
Raven tossed him the coin and then nudged his brother. “Let’s be off.”
They gained entrance to the ruins of Maudslay’s laboratory by crawling through a tiny gap beneath a shutter that had come loose on the undamaged back office.
“Sshhh,” warned Raven as Hawk took a step and a shard of burnt wood crunched under his boot. “I’ll light the candle for just a moment, so we can pick a path through the rubble,” he whispered, opening the small folding metal lantern he had brought with him. “It’s best we don’t keep it lit in case a night watchman walks by.”
Steel struck flint, and a tiny flame flared to life. Raven studied the jumble of collapsed beams and tumbled brick, then blew it out. “Follow me.”
