Free Steampunk Holmes: Legacy of the Nautilus by P.C. Martin Page A

companion, and Miss Valentine will come to no undue harm while in her custody. The young lady was merely detained a few moments in order to answer some questions relating to several small matters in which she has entangled herself of late, including the deaths of her brother and fiancé, and the robbery of some rather important Engine cards belonging to her brother's department. That is all.”
    “But that is the sheerest nonsense!”
    “Come now, my dear sir, come. It simply won't do, you know. We are not children.” Holmes' piercing gaze did not flinch. Mr. von Oberon's countenance fell slightly.
    “Sir, regardless of what you believe or imagine of my fiancée, will you give me your solemn word of honor that no harm shall befall her?”
    “Barring an act of Providence or fate, I give you my word that no undue harm shall come upon her.”
    “I, too, am a man of honor, Mr. Holmes,” said von Oberon. “I cannot allow Miss Valentine to bear the weight of my actions, for she is a sensitive soul, and wholly innocent of any crime. Your reputation has reached even my ears; you are known for your ingeniousness, but also for your equity. If my confession can dispel the suspicions that surround her, I shall most willingly tell you all you wish to know.”
    “Excellent!” said Holmes. “I must ask you to begin by explaining the murder of Arthur Cadbury.”
    “An accident—sheer accident, and one most regrettable.”
    “Indeed? And was it an accident that his body was thrown from your upper window onto a train?”
    The man before us drew himself very upright in his seat. It was plain that he was shaken by Holmes' knowledge of his affairs; nevertheless there was something noble and commanding in his posture.
    “Mr. Holmes, perhaps it would be simpler for me to commence by relating my background and history; you will find my actions and motives easier to understand once all of the facts are known to you.”
    “Ah, that would be most instructive. You have my keenest attention.”
    “You may judge me to be a thief and a murderer, a mere criminal, but I am none of these,” began von Oberon, choosing his words with the care of one relating a historical drama. “Though I am known as Peter von Oberon, my true name is Pierre Nemo, son of Captain Nemo, who was once Prince Dakkar of Northern India. Many years ago, in the period that immediately followed the Great Mutiny, he was robbed of his rightful heritage by agents of a cruel and dominating nation, and separated from his loving family. Believing that we had been killed, he swore vengeance, and renounced the world to build his own legacy, in the form of a marvelous submarine, which he named the Nautilus. He was a brilliant inventor, an explorer and scientist, and above all, a man of honor and justice, full of compassion for the weak and under-trodden. His Nautilus became not only a tool for research and exploration, but also a weapon against the proud and greedy, for he maintained that while corruption and iniquity subjugated the earth and the sky, the foulness of Man could never permeate the depths of the sea, where alone could be found true freedom. As Captain Nemo he traversed the oceans, incurring the reverence of some, and the hatred of many. When he died, we laid him to rest in the heart of his Nautilus, and scuttled her in an undersea forest which my father had cherished as the most beautiful place on earth to him.
    “I was a youth when he died, yet I grew to manhood under the shadow of his influence and legacy. Several years ago I went to Berlin to study scientific engineering, having assumed my mother's maiden name, for her people had been of German extraction. While there, I learned one day that my father's last resting place had been desecrated and destroyed, and the secrets of the Nautilus stolen by the very nation that had denied him his birthright and divided our family.
    “I was justly infuriated, Mr Holmes, and pledged to retrieve the secrets of my father's