When a Rake Falls Read Online Free PDF

rejected this choice and labeled it a product of silly dreams and vaulting ambition, an unrealistic goal for a female in her situation.
    Eve decided on choice number two. While she had no idea how she might double-cross him and land before they reached the Channel, she would think of something later—some action more cunning than bludgeoning him until he became unconscious. She took a deep breath and answered her blackmailer’s question. “The only choice is to save humanity.”
    He flashed a broad smile for a second. “Yes, yes, France, here we come. I am going to release you now, so no tricks.”
    She returned his smile with great artifice and batted her eyelashes.
    â€œI like you.” He opened his embrace to release her.
    This might have been easier than she had expected because of his trusting nature. Perhaps when the time came, she could tie him up with a rope before he caught on to her purpose. The box in the corner contained sufficient rope, so to be prepared, she must remember to casually remove it. The mental image of this Tulip trussed up made her gulp again.
    Remember your goal is to save humanity.
    She knelt to take several barometer readings. “My calculations indicate we are currently at an altitude of five thousand, two hundred feet.”
    He peered ahead. “So that’s the address of clouds.”
    She grinned and pulled on the line to open the valve, so they could descend to four thousand feet, the predetermined altitude for the experiments to begin. After tying the line to the balloon’s harness, she sat on a low seat and faced him. “Our first experiment will examine the capacity of air at this elevation to maintain flight. I mean normal flight—without a gas balloon. To accomplish this goal, we have cages containing various birds of different weights and wing lengths. So to test the thickness of the air, we will release each bird. If the air is too thin, they will not be able to fly. With multiple testing at many altitudes, men of science can discover the correct ratio of wing length to weight necessary for flight at various elevations. Your job will be to help me observe if the bird is able to fly away or if it falls. If the bird falls, it will be important to determine whether or not they are flapping their wings to limit their descent.”
    Turning sideways, he glanced at the cages. “Please let me do it. You can watch me.”
    â€œNo.” She placed her hand on a wicker cage. “My father designed these experiments carefully. I must follow the experimental design precisely.” Opening the wooden box, she pulled out a piece of rope and big ledger book. Green leather covered the book’s boards and on the front the word Results, embellished in gold letters, glinted in the sun. “This book is the most important item we have on board. All of the data we have collected this year is contained in this book. After our planned experiments are completed, my father and I will use the information to advance our knowledge of the air, and maybe even increase the accuracy of predicting England’s weather. With routine storm prediction, many lives could be saved.”
    â€œHow exactly? I mean, when the rain falls on my nose, I’m not likely to die.”
    She wondered if he understood the uncertain threats many people lived with every day—farmers, sailors, people other than Tulips. “My father and I started our experimentation after my brother’s death. Tom was returning home from Gibraltar after the war. A nasty gale struck, and his ship foundered on the rocks.” She glanced over to discover true empathy in his countenance, a soft knowing in his green eyes. Perhaps reality was not a stranger to him, and he too at one time had lost a loved one. She drew a deep breath. “Twenty lives were lost. I was six years old. I don’t remember him exactly but…” A wave of fragmented memories overwhelmed her. She