“This entire event,” Zaria said under her breath, “is just an elaborate way of showing off.”
“I could have told you that from the moment I saw the first pamphlet,” Kane returned, though even he couldn’t quite hide his astonishment. “It’s a global competition. An attempt to be the best. The most progressive, the most enlightened.”
All her earlier wonder melted away, replaced by a sense of profound injustice. “What are we waiting for? Let’s steal from this place.”
“That’s the spirit,” Kane said mildly. “Though perhaps lower your voice a bit.”
Despite the overwhelming number that had gathered in Hyde Park, the Crystal Palace itself was fairly empty. Small groups of people milled about, each more rich and important-looking than the next.
“I thought it would be busier,” Zaria said, and Kane loosed a short laugh.
“I told you, this is just a private viewing. The Royal Commission will be here, along with their families, and all those involvedin constructing and organizing the Crystal Palace and exhibits. As long as we don’t run into Mister Fox, nobody should notice I’m not Theodore Wright.”
“Do we know what Fox looks like?”
Kane’s shrug was remarkably unconcerned. “More or less. Don’t speak to anyone but me, and everything should be fine.”
Zaria refrained from noting that she didn’t particularly want to speak tohim, either. When she’d woken this morning and prepared to meet Kane in Hyde Park, she hadn’t imagined she would be thrust into his world—a world of cons and scheming—right off the bat.
“You could have told me we were going to be doing this,” she said. “Pretending to be other people, I mean.”
“Ah, but would you have agreed?” Kane pointed out. “You would have gotten in your head about it, and everything relied on my ability to con Ambrose Taylor.”
“Everything relied onmenot selling you out, you mean.”
“I wasn’t worried about that.”
“Why not?” Zaria demanded hotly.
He ran his free hand through his hair, looking amused. “I’m good at reading people. I was almost positive you’d do better if I didn’t let you worry about it ahead of time. You’re good in stressful situations, but you panic if you know they’re coming. Am I right?”
She lifted her chin, a bit miffed. Hewasright, but she wasn’t pleased he’d managed to ascertain that after meeting her only a handful of times. “Almost positiveisn’t going to cut it when we have to do this for real.”
“Let me worry about that.”
“How could I not worry? Do you see how much security there is already?”
“Yes, and we’ve planned for it. As a special constable, Fletcherwill be briefed over the next week, taking note of the planned security rotations. There are hundreds of officers on the payroll, but the ones we can trust—I say that loosely, of course—will be positioned near the necklace. Of those men, Fletcher will find out which ones need to be avoided; plus, he’ll map out the floor plan and all the most accessible escape routes.”
That sounded reasonable, Zaria had to admit, though she didn’t say it aloud. She only wanted to find what they’d come for and get this excursion over with. “Do we know where the Waterhouse exhibit is supposed to be?”
Kane rotated in place, pulling her along with him as he squinted at their surroundings. “The whole building is shaped like a cross. See?” He indicated with an arm. “It’s divided into machinery and mechanical inventions, decorative manufactures, sculptures and architecture, and raw materials. In this direction are the exhibits from Britain and its dominions. All the foreign countries are the other way. Since Waterhouse is Irish, the necklace should be… this way.” He pointed.
Of course they had divided the British from the foreign. A proverbial line drawn in the sand, separating the represented nations into a clear hierarchy. It was, Zaria thought, an odd way to approach unification.
As they walked, she dragged her attention away from Kane to the myriad items that made up the Exhibition. The walls had been painted in garish shades of red, blue, and yellow, and somewhere an organ played a triumphant tune. As they drew closer to the sound, she yearned to cover her ears. There was just somuch: a second fountain, this one sporting a statue of a boy holding a swan; an enormous ivory throne; an entire gazebo; a taxidermy elephant upon which sata beautifully embroidered howdah. It was ostentatious in a way that bordered on infuriating.
“Everyone will be attending the Exhibition,” Kane told her under his breath. “Not only people from all across London, or even Britain, but people from all over the world. And it’s not only for the wealthy—when I say everyone, I meaneveryone.”
“Then why try to steal from it during the day?” Zaria hissed back. “Every single patron becomes a potential witness.”
“Because at night there’s nobody here except security. Try stealing from a display when a copper is looking directly at it. The crowds may be inconvenient, but they also lend anonymity. Also, on the off chance we need to make a quick escape, it’ll be easy to get lost.”
That, too, made sense. Still, Zaria chewed on her lower lip. She couldn’t imagine trying to doanythingcovertly surrounded by this many people. And this was merely a private viewing—it would be even busier when the Exhibition opened to the public.
“Besides,” Kane continued, “that’s where you come in. I know alchemologists can create explosives that emit a substance to provide cover, if only for a few moments. And I shouldn’t need much longer than that.”
Zaria tapped the fingers of her free hand together in a rapid, repetitive rhythm. She knew exactly what Kane was referring to, but her mind raced as she considered all the problems they could encounter. “I can’t just carry an armful of explosives into the Exhibition.”
