The Diamond Conspiracy: A Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences Novel Read Online Free PDF

most for such a wild tale, but he appreciated that she didn’t dismiss their story as childish fantasy. He then motioned to Liam. “I found something. Thought Miss Eliza should have a look at it.”
    The maid opened the book and gave a slight gasp. “Bless my soul. These are—”
    “Turn the page, Miss Alice.”
    Her brow creased as she did so, and the small scream that immediately followed was only just smothered by her hand. She slammed the book shut with a hard
snap
and set it on an end table as if it were suddenly too hot for her to hold on to. “This demands the mistress’ attention.” She quickly turnedback to the children. “So he got a good look at you then, did he?”
    “Yes,” he replied, feeling like there was a stone lodged in his throat. He knew what she was getting at; there was no place in London that would be safe now.
    “Right then!” Alice got up from the table. “First things first.” She hoisted up her skirts so that her gleaming brass legs were visible. Christopher blushed, even though they were not the normal flesh-and-blood lady’s legs. That much was obvious when a tiny jet of steam shot out of the right one, and it opened like a jewellery box. However, Miss Alice’s idea of treasure was a well-oiled shotgun. Having taken it out, checked that it was loaded, and that she had a good stash of shells for it, Alice closed her leg.
    “Good,” she muttered to herself. “Now, Serena, Colin, and Liam, hurry into the kitchen and bundle up some food. For all of us. We’ll pick up Jonathan and Jeremy on the way. Eric, I want you to finish up that chicken soup I fixed—
broth and all
—then dress yourself in those clean clothes I had set aside for you.”
    “But I don’t really like the broth, Miss Alice,” Eric protested.
    “Not a word out of you,”
she snapped. Everyone gave a start, to which Alice closed her eyes and took a breath. “I’m sorry, Eric. Just trust me without question. We have quite the journey ahead of us.”
    “Journey?” Christopher asked. “I don’t think there is anywhere in this whole world that . . .”
    Alice’s hand wrapped firmly around his shoulder. “Buck up, young man. Don’t think this is the first time I’ve had to go into hiding while in the mistress’ service. We have a plan, a place where we will be safe. All of us.”
    Her eyes were so alive that Christopher believed her.
Without question,
as she said to Eric. She wasn’t that much older than he was, but she radiated the kind of belief that he was happy to hold on to. Like Verity and Eliza, he trusted her.
    Christopher could only hope that Alice took more from the latter than the former.
    “What about Callum?” Serena demanded, sticking her head around the corner of the kitchen.
    He shot Alice a look, and her expression turned grim. “Don’t worry, we’ll get him back. Miss Eliza and Mr. Books will help us set things to rights.”
    Christopher nodded slowly. He had seen those two accomplish amazing things. They’d certainly give the man with the dead eyes a run for his money.
    It was the other name in the ledger that gave him pause.
    “But how will they know?” Serena persisted, her frown deepening. “She’s all the way in America!”
    Alice didn’t seem at all worried. “Do you still have that scarf the mistress gave you?”
    The little girl darted over to her coat, pulled it from one pocket. She looked suspiciously up at the maid. “Miss Eliza said I could have it, you know.”
    “No arguments!” Alice chided, threatening Serena with the same tone that had startled them all earlier.
    Serena stared at her a moment, then her eyes lit up. “The magic button, you mean?”
    “Bugger it, I’d forgotten about that fancy alarm of Miss Eliza’s!” Christopher exclaimed, feeling like a right idiot. Miss Eliza had given it to Serena as a means of communication around the time Mr. Harry disappeared. He frowned. “But will it work across all that distance? America’s a long way