Free Summer of the Moon Flower (The de Vargas Family) by Annie Seaton Page A

looked
up into his face, which he knew was full of curiosity; he had never seen a door
open with a simple touch of the hand. Most of the doorways in his castle did
not even have a door to lock…and that would be problematic if the plan
formulating in his head came to fruition.
    “A recognition device embedded in the
cogs,” she explained with a laugh. He sensed she was trying to lower the
emotional tension lodged between them like a solid door. At the moment, he had
no wish to pass through that doorway, although if all went to plan…
    He gathered his thoughts and harrumphed
before taking his leave. Taking her small hand between his, he lowered his lips
gently to the inside of her wrist and pleasure shot through his body as she
shivered at his touch.
    “May I call on you again before I depart
for the Alps?” he asked.
    Sofia nodded without speaking and stepped
through the doorway. She turned and smiled up at him.
    “Thank you for a pleasant evening, Dougal.”
    Before returning to their lodgings in Mariahilfer
Strasse, Dougal called into the Café Schwarzenberg to collect Edward. The
young man was still sitting in the entry flirting with the cashier.
    “There is no doubt, Edward. We are a fine
pair. Too long in the wilds of Scotland and the first pretty face brings us
both to become a quivering mess.” Edward followed Dougal to the street and
flushed when Dougal slapped him jovially on the back.
    “Enough of that. We have some serious
planning to do.” Dougal lowered his voice as they retraced almost the same
route he had taken with Sofia, less than an hour ago. The streets were now busy
with carriages, both horse-drawn and steam-powered as the city came alive after
the end of the evening’s music recitals.
    They entered their lodgings at the end of
the street and Dougal looked across at Westbahnof, just across the road
from their building. Much had happened since he had chased Sofia along the departure
platform and he smiled grimly as the sight of the railway station reminded him
of the journey ahead.
    “Tomorrow we shall book out our tickets to
Salzburg. I would not feel safe travelling through the Alps in our airship. And
if the quality of the mechanicals in the ship is anything like those in dear
Celestine, I would prefer to be on the ground.”“How we will travel from
Salzburg to Schladming?” Edward asked.
    “It all depends how quickly we want to get
there and when we wish to arrive.” Dougal laughed at the expression on the
younger man’s face as he tried to decipher the cryptic reply. He crossed the
room to his travelling bag and removed a velvet pouch.
    “It will all depend on how long Madame de
Vargas takes to return from Cornwall with her nephews.” If the interlude with
Sofia in the Kaffeehäuse had not been pleasant enough, he had also
gleaned information from her about her forthcoming trip to Schladming and the
fact she would have her nephews with her.
    He reached into the pouch and slowly
withdrew an elaborate inclinometer from the bag.
    “What is that?” Edward asked curiously.
    “This, my dear man, is an Astrolaberors
which will get us to our destination. As long as we can plot against the
sunrise or sunset, it will allow us to navigate through time. We shall arrive
at Schladming before we leave Salzburg if we so desire.
    The young man’s eyes were huge in his face.
“So we dinna need the airship after all?”
    “Yes, we needed to bring the automaton.
However, now she is no longer functioning, we may send her back to England on
the airship. We will use the Astrolaberors for our return journey when the time
comes. An inclinator of this size can transport three people with little worry.
    Dougal smiled as understanding dawned on
Edward’s face.

Chapter 7
    Sofia passed the first two days of her
journey in Paris taking delight in visiting three couturier houses. At the end
of the second day, she was met by Mr. Grimoult, her sister Indigo’s manservant,
who conveyed her to Indigo’s