The Madman's Daughter Trilogy by Megan Shepherd

Author:Megan Shepherd
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HarperCollins

TWENTY-TWO

I JERKED MY HEAD toward Montgomery. Worse, they also spoke of “Moreau’s creation,” which meant they knew about Edward, too. Montgomery kept a finger to his lips and silently reached for a revolver holstered at his side.

“She got lost in the crowd,” another man answered.

“Well, find her,” Radcliffe said. “She’s the best chance we have of hunting him down. If only Claggan could have given us a better description before he drank himself to death. Dark hair, not yet twenty—that could describe half the young men in there.”

One of the men spat over the side of the balustrade and added, “That old blatherskite von Stein won’t say a word. The moment he hears the name Moreau, he slams the door in my face. He practically threw Lessing out by the collar.”

“Leave von Stein to me,” Radcliffe said, and then added, “What of the preparations?”

“The specimens will be ready within two weeks, providing we can capture Moreau’s creation. Then it’ll be a simple matter of extracting what we need from him and finishing the preparations for New Year’s Day.”

“Rochefort is speaking to his contacts in Paris about the exact delivery date. They’re threatening to change their minds, but once they see what we have planned, they’ll double their current order.”

“Excellent.” Radcliffe snuffed out his cigar, and it fell to the garden at my feet. I drew in a gasp as it singed my slipper, but Montgomery pressed his hand to my mouth. It felt like an eternity while we waited until their footsteps receded and the balcony door swung closed, leaving us alone in the garden once more.

Montgomery let go of my mouth, and I gulped in air.

“They know about Edward!” I gasped. “Claggan must have learned on the ship about his two sides and somehow gotten in touch with the King’s Club. This whole party is a trap. They knew I’d be here and thought it would lure him. That ‘guest of honor’ nonsense—I thought they were just trying to win favor with the professor, and all the while Radcliffe wanted me here as bait.”

Montgomery ran a hand over his forehead. “They don’t know what Edward looks like—that’s good at least, so we can get to him first. Damn it all, how do they even know he exists?”

“Radcliffe is the one Father was writing to on the island—his secret colleague who went by the code name ‘A King’s Man.’ Don’t you know about the letters? You must have delivered them.”

Montgomery shook his head. “I did, but all Radcliffe ever did was pay the bills for my travel and the exotic animals and other supplies—chartering a ship to the island was exorbitantly expensive. There was never any science exchanged, or else I would have put an end to it.”

“Did you ever actually read the letters?”

“Of course not—they were sealed. But your father swore. . . .” His voice trailed off as he realized Father had lied to him, as he’d lied to all of us. As much as Father had loved Montgomery, he wasn’t above lying even to him.

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