Page 23 of The Designs of Lord Randolph Cavanaugh

Cursing, Rand thrust his legs into his trousers and shoved his feet into his shoes. He shrugged on a shirt and headed for the door.

The clanging was slowing but hadn’t ceased.

Still buttoning his shirt, he strode down the corridor—and saw Felicia, swathed in a silk wrapper and carrying a candlestick, in the gallery ahead of him.

He caught up with her as she started down the stairs. Going down three and four at a time, he waved at her. “Stay back!”

On reaching the hall tiles, he glanced over his shoulder—only to see her hurrying down.

She pinned him with a furious glare. “Don’t be ridiculous.”

Cursing anew, this time under his breath, he turned and strode on. He hauled open the door to the workshop—the clanging had come from there, but had almost stopped, fading in a rather curious way.

All below him lay in inky darkness.

Tight-lipped, he swung around, seized one of the candles left on the hall table, lit the wick from the candle Felicia—her expression stoic, but concern leaping in her eyes—held steady. Then he turned once more to the workshop stairs.

“Wait!”

Rand looked around to see William John, the skirts of his dressing gown flying about him, a lighted candelabra in his hand, come hurrying down the stairs.

Johnson appeared behind his master, and Shields, Corby, and the two footmen came thundering down in their wake.

“It’s all right,” William John assured them all. “If they’d got through, the sound would have changed.”

“What was that racket?” Felicia asked.

William John grinned. “It’s an alarm Papa and I rigged up. It goes off if anyone tries to force the workshop doors.” He pushed past Rand and started down the workshop stairs. “Come on. I’ll show you.”

Everyone clattered down the stairs, even Mrs. Makepeace, Cook, Mrs. Reilly, Mr. Reilly, and their four daughters—the maids of the house.

In the workshop, William John threw the switch that, with a buzzing hum, set the gaslights blazing. He stood back and surveyed the doors, then laughed. “It worked perfectly.” He pointed to a structure mounted on the wall high above the double doors. “See there? That’s our alarm.”

Rand had noticed the contraption earlier, but had assumed that, it being connected to the bars that secured the doors, it was merely some mechanism to lift them that was no longer in use. He came to stand beside William John and studied the mechanism of gears and levers, and what appeared to be several saucepans with their handles cut off. He debated asking how it worked, but feared William John would immediately demonstrate. If the noise had been so loud it had hauled the entire household from their beds, then in the stone-walled workshop, the cacophony would be horrendous. Nevertheless…he glanced at William John. “Very effective.” He had to give credit where it was due.

“It was, wasn’t it?” William John beamed. “I’ve been wanting to test it for an age, but there’s nothing like a true test of an invention to give one confidence.”

Rand shared a glance with Felicia, who had halted on the last stair, then dryly murmured, “Indeed.”

Felicia turned to the others, arrayed on the stairs behind her. “All’s well. Someone must have tried to force the doors, but no one got through.”

“Should we check outside?” Shields looked at Rand, as did both footmen.

Remembering the figure he’d seen fleeing into the night, Rand shook his head. “Whoever they were, they’ll be long gone.” And with so much woodland all around, their chances of catching anyone were slight. “But I believe we must treat this as the sign it unquestionably is. Someone knows of the Throgmorton engine and has, tonight, targeted it.”

Rand glanced at Felicia.

She nodded slightly, in support.

He looked at the others and went on, “We’ll need to mount a guard—despite the alarm mechanism, several men, acting together, might think to push past it and damage the engine before fleeing.” He focused on Shields, Corby, and the footmen. “We’ll need two men here at all times during the night.”

Corby exchanged a glance with Shields, then volunteered, “I’ll draw up a roster. We’ve Struthers and his lads from the stable, too, so it shouldn’t be too much for anyone.”

Rand nodded. “After the recent excitement, I’m sure we’ll be safe for the rest of the night. Whoever it was who tried to break in will need to regroup.”

Everyone nodded in agreement. All except William John, who was still admiring his successful alarm mechanism.

Rand tipped his head in dismissal and turned to William John. While Felicia urged everyone to return to their beds, Rand, with William John, checked that the doors were, indeed, still shut tight. William John assured Rand that as long as the bars were set in their place—as they were—the alarm system could be relied on to give notice should anyone attempt the doors again.