Free The Black Crow Conspiracy by Christopher Edge

crossing the Mall, passing beneath the plane trees as they hurried towards the shadows of St James’s Park. The rest of the radiant boys seemed to have disappeared into the night, but Penelope was determined that she wouldn’t let these last two escape from her sight. She hastened down the steps, cursing the inconvenience of her heels as Alfie hurried to keep up.
    Reaching the bottom, Penelope waited for the clattering wheels of a hansom cab to pass before darting across the street. All along the Mall, swathes of bunting festooned with flowers hung from every lamppost, the gaslight throwing into vivid relief the majesty of the decorations. To the south, through the trees, were the towers of Westminster Abbey where King Edward the Seventh would be crowned later that week, whilst looking west lay the stately façade of Buckingham Palace at the bottom of the Mall. But Penny didn’t pause to take in these sights, hergaze fixed firmly on the dark figures now slipping inside the park.
    “Where are they going now?” Alfie asked breathlessly, peering past Penny as the two of them reached the bounds of St James’s Park. The spiked railings almost reached up to Penelope’s shoulder as she searched in vain for the gap they must have slipped through. By day, St James’s Park was a pleasure garden, filled with trees, shrubberies and ornamental waters, but now it was a wretchedly dark place and Penny tried not to think of the stories her guardian had told her of the thieves and worse who lurked there after nightfall.
    “We have to follow them,” she said, pointing towards the scurrying shadows of the men as they hurried through the park.
    “How?” Alfie replied. “The gates are locked at dusk. I don’t even know how they got over the railings so quickly.”
    Penny glanced over her shoulder, checking that the coast was clear. The Mall was still busy with pedestrians, even at this late hour, but in the shade of the overhanging trees, the two of them could hardly be seen.
    “Quick,” she said, taking hold of the railings. “You’ll have to help me over.”
    Alfie stared back at her in surprise, taking in her attire with a doubtful glance. With her ankle-length skirt and tailor-made jacket, Pennywas hardly dressed to start breaking into one of London’s Royal Parks. He was just about to protest when he saw the determined set of her features and realised how useless it would be.
    “Here you are,” he said with a sigh, slipping his jacket from his shoulders to lay it across the spikes at the top. “If I give you a leg-up, you can be over there in a second. I’ll then try to scramble over myself.”
    “Thank you,” Penny replied as Alfie bent down, cradling his hands together so that she could step into them. Taking her weight, Alfie tried not to blush at the sight of Penelope’s well-turned ankle, averting his eyes as she clambered up over the railings. With an unladylike groan of effort, Penny dropped down on the other side of the railings, the shrubbery cushioning her fall.
    “Are you all right?” Alfie asked.
    Penelope got to her feet, brushing stray leaves from her skirt as Alfie scrambled over the railings to join her.
    “I’m fine,” she replied. She turned to look in the direction of the two men, their shadowy figures already skirting the lake as they hurried westwards. “Come on, we have to find out where they’re going.”
    They followed the figures through the darkness of the park, Alfie wincing at the sound of every twig that crunched underfoot. He glanced down at the gold of his watch chain, trying to banishhis fearful imaginings of the thieves who might be lurking in the shadows of the shrubbery. The sudden screech of a waterfowl nesting beneath the dripping trees made him jump in alarm.
    Keeping her composure, Penny peered into the gloom. The path the two figures were following was now taking them to the park’s westernmost boundary. Beyond the foliage of trees, the ornate gates of Buckingham Palace