Leading the way to a grouping of ornate gilt chairs and settees, he sat himself down, his drink in hand, his legs crossed, as if he were sitting in his club ready to discuss politics. It took one look towards the door for it to silently close. Pip still bet Wilkins could hear somehow. She sat next to Beau on a delicate looking settee.
“We have a conundrum,” Drake announced, focusing on the lint he was picking off his knee. “And a very tight deadline.”
“Is this about the guns?” Beau asked.
Drake looked up and nodded. “In fact, yes. Clever work there, by the way. It turns out these were rifles stolen from the Royal Arsenal.”
“What is north of the arsenal?” Beau asked.
Drake’s smile was dry as dust. “North is one of the senior officers. He has been taken into custody.”
“Well, that makes more sense,” Pip muttered.
“What are the guns doing all the way down in Dorset?” Beau asked.
“Planned disturbances in Portsmouth, Plymouth, and Bristol. At least that is what we believe. We’re still following the movement of the shipment, not to mention the persons of interest from the house party who have also moved on. The problem is that we don’t know the exact details of the disturbances. Will they be together or separate? Will there be a general signal of some kind? Will it be while an important personage is in the area who might make an excellent hostage or political statement?”
“As in a royal personage?” Beau asked.
“We have several of the princes due to wander about on good will visits.”
“And Princess Charlotte?” Pip asked. “Is she back in Weymouth? They wouldn’t kidnap her, would they?”
“We doubt it. They need to be in her good graces. After all, she is who they are hoping to put on the throne so they can control her.”
Pip couldn’t help but laugh. “Have theymether?”
“And the conundrum?” Beau asked.
Something about that question notched up the tension in the room. For a long moment Drake was silent. He studied Pip as if she were alien to him.
“Well,” he finally said. “It seems that one person knows the details. And that one person is missing.”
“Who?” Pip asked.
Drake looked up at her. “Your Miss Schroeder.”
Pip found herself blinking. “Miss Schroeder? Missing? She is not at the Academy?”
“Not for a while. In fact, a little while ago she helped someone escape from a place called Richmond Hill Asylum, another woman with vital information. To do that, Miss Schroeder took her place, so the escape went unnoticed.”
“Not very observant, are they?” Beau muttered.
Drake continued. “You see, we have found that certain high-ranking husbands who are involved in the plot to overthrow the government….”
“Lions,” Pip said.
Drake’s eyebrows rose. “Yes. It seems that they needed to keep certain wives somewhere…er, safe, somewhere the women wouldn’t be heard from. At least until the plot succeeds. And I am afraid it is far too easy to commit one’s wife to a mental institution if she becomes…shall we say, a disturbance.”
“Women know that,” Pip dryly assured him.
Drake shrugged. “Evidently these wives were not as enthusiastic about the plan as their husbands and threatened to peach on them.”
“And Miss Schroeder?”
“Recently let us know that she has been in contact with a woman whose husband is the one coordinating the attacks. But we cannot seem to locate Miss Schroeder. And we’re running out of time.”
Pip sat up straighter. “You can’t just go in and get her?”
