Magnificent Devices 01 - Lady of Devices

if she were honest. How had Mrs. Fragonard found out that Claire had to practically beg Lady St. Ives to invite Emilie to the party? And what a reason to refuse someone a night’s shelter! In such dangerous times as these, people should band together to help each other, not throw their friends to the wolves. But then, her father had played the wolf often enough in Parliament, if the papers were to be believed, voting down the rights of prisoners and those being deported to the Antipodes. Human nature would not pause a moment to turn the tables on him and his, as she was witnessing this very evening.
    Was Gorse all right? If he came to find her here, what would they tell him? That they had turned her away? Claire cast a glance over her shoulder as she bowled down the square. Should she wait? She must find shelter before it was fully dark, but where would she go? Wellesley House? Astor Place?
    Not likely. Then she blinked as an idea struck.
    Who would be most likely to take up the cause of the downtrodden and homeless? Why, Mrs. Stanley Churchill, of course. If she could not find shelter with Emilie, maybe Peony would be the better choice. Yes, that was it. She would go to Chelsea immediately, and send a tube from there to Cadogan Square for Gorse. Surely they would give it to him when he arrived. After all, he had done nothing to offend.

Chapter 13

    Claire had never been to Peony’s home, but she knew it was on Elm Park Road in Chelsea. Once she located the street, finding the house was just a matter of making inquiries—and even that proved unnecessary. Only the house of Mrs. Stanley Churchill would have a band of—Claire peered through the twilight—wild Indians on the front steps?
    She parked the landau and made her way up the walk, sidling past the group of children playing on the railings of the white Georgian house. Not Indians. But definitely something wild, as their boots appeared to be made of animal skins. She rang the bell and waited.
    To her astonishment, Peony herself peeked through the nine-paned glass and answered the door. “Why ... Claire Trevelyan. What a surprise.”
    “I’m so sorry to arrive unannounced like this, but I’m in rather a fix and I was hoping to ask a favor of you.”
    “As long as it doesn’t involve funding of any sort, I’m all ears. Come along into the drawing room.” Over her shoulder, she tossed a string of unintelligible syllables that made two of the children laugh.
    “No, no funding. Who are those children?”
    “They are Esquimaux, from the Canadas. Far north of the Canadas, actually. Their band hunts on the land where Her Majesty wishes to mine diamonds. They are here to plead their case before the House, with my mother’s help, or they face starvation. Her Majesty wants to boot them off, you see. They’re in the way.”
    “Goodness,” Claire said faintly as she seated herself on a striped divan. “And they have brought their children too?”
    “They’re not very old,” Peony pointed out. “Can’t very well leave them sitting on an ice floe with a sandwich, can they?”
    “I suppose not.”
    “So what has brought you to us this evening? But first, allow me to offer my condolences on your loss, Claire. I should have said so right away instead of babbling on.”
    “Thank you.”
    “How are you managing?”
    Claire took a breath and plunged in. “Not well, I’m afraid. My mother has taken my brother down to Cornwall just in time. There was a riot on Hyde Park Corner tonight, and a crowd of vandals attacked Carrick House.”
    Peony’s red lips fell open. “Good heavens!”
    “They’re investors, apparently, determined to get something out of my father’s estate. As I fled, I heard glass breaking. I hope they find joy in our furniture.”
    “They’ll make a bonfire in the street with it to make their point, more like,” Peony said with such world-weary practicality that Claire’s skin pebbled with goosebumps. What must this girl have seen in her life? Far more than herself, that was evident. “I’m very thankful that you got away.”
    “Which brings me to the reason I’m here. You wouldn’t have an extra bed for tonight, would you?”
    Peony’s eyes filled with sympathy. “My dear, I wish we did. But A’Laqtiq and his family have filled all the bedrooms, to the point that the children you saw outside are sleeping under the dining-room table. The carpet is quite thick. All I have to offer you is the bath, I’m afraid. With a bit