Unfortunately, the following day wasn’t nearly as bright and sunny as the day prior. However, even the swirling fog held a certain charm to Alden as he and his newly formed family arrived at the park. It would probably get more crowded towards the afternoon when the labourers of London got their half-day off work, but at the moment the park was nearly deserted. With the fog limiting visibility to only fifty feet or so, it felt almost as though they were in a private little world for just the three of them. Alden couldn’t help but smile as he watched Ember run and play among the drifts of fallen leaves. Although he was rather glad he had asked for proper instructions on how to wash and dry kimono in the store yesterday, because the brand new clothing Ember was wearing was already looking rather stained. But that was fine. Ember was a Rascal, after all, and a Rascal shouldn’t be afraid to get a little dirty. In contrast, Tiffany had conscientiously put down a small blanket to sit on and was working on a piece of embroidery. Alden vaguely remembered her mentioning that she used to enjoy practicing needlework with her sisters when she was young, but he’d never actually seen her with needle and thread before. “You seem rather absorbed in your work, Tiffany. What are you making?” Tiffany coloured slightly. “Oh, nothing much. Just a personal fancy, really. I was raised druidic, remember? Well, my sect teaches that embroidering the names of your family along with flowers or leaves that suit their nature will bind you together and protect you from harm. I… felt like this would be the right sort of time to work on it.” Alden nodded thoughtfully. She was only working on a small portion at the moment, but the cloth in its entirety was rather large. “Looks like you’re planning for a big family.” Tiffany’s flush grew brighter. “Well, I… I’m hoping that maybe Liz would see fit to marry me one day, and that we could start a family as well…” Alden briefly considered just how much he was allowed to say at a time like this, and finally settled for… “That seems like a fairly realistic ambition. Although… would it be rude to ask…?” “We would probably adopt.” Tiffany replied, correctly predicting Alden’s query. “Even if I was capable, which I’m frankly not even sure of at this point, I wouldn’t want to.” Alden chuckled. “Like father like daughter. In a sense, anyway.” Tiffany smiled. “You don’t mind, do you? The embroidery, I mean. I know you were raised Olympian…” “I’m not exactly a zealot, Tiffany. The last time I went to temple besides at Saturnalia was… Gods, it must be over a decade already. If your faith brings you any measure of joy or comfort, then that’s all I can ask for, no matter what that faith might be. Besides, isn’t Elisabeth an Asarite? She often wears Thor’s hammer on a leather cord around her neck, after all. So it’s going to be a family of many faiths regardless.” Tiffany nodded. “I think I quite like that, actually. It’s certainly very different from how…” But she didn’t get any further, because Ember had gotten tired of playing by themself and choose that moment to practically dive into Tiffany’s lap. And after a brief lecture from Alden about the dangers of diving at someone who’s holding a needle, Ember pulled them both to their feet and practically demanded that they join in Ember’s game. By the time Ember tired of playing in the park, the three of them had all grown rather hungry. As such, they had lunch together at a nearby pub. It was a lively meal, with the three of them chatting as they ate, but Alden was keenly aware of just how brittle Ember’s good cheer seemed. Tiffany didn’t seem to notice it, but Alden could tell just how desperate Ember was to hold on to this newfound happiness. It was to be expected, of course. Ember had firsthand experience with having their happiness suddenly taken away from them. Alden understood perfectly why Ember would be worried that it would happen all over again. But it still made his heart ache just a little every time he noticed the brittle edge to Ember’s laughter, or the slightly forced pushiness with which they expressed their affection. He sincerely hoped that one day Ember would be comfortable enough in their new life to see Alden’s and Tiffany’s presence within that life as something natural and obvious… When they finished their meal, Tiffany excused herself to get ready for her afternoon plans. Apparently Elisabeth had managed to get some fairly good tickets for the afternoon performance of ‘The Beggar’s Purse’ at The Globe, and Alden was hardly inclined to get in the way of their market day plans two weeks in a row. After bidding Tiffany a pleasant afternoon, Alden headed home with Ember. Not that he could stay home for long. He had a shift as evening greeter at Nabber Hill Lodge to get to, so he needed to make sure he arrived well before they officially opened their doors at six. Somewhat surprisingly, Ember decided to go see the Rascals at The Place rather than stay at home. But then again, Alden supposed staying home alone in the little apartment all evening might be a little lonely for Ember. Not particularly wanting to part ways with them any sooner than he had to, Alden decided to walk with Ember over to The Place before setting off towards Nabber Hill. The lodge was mostly empty when Alden entered through the back door. Then again, he expected nothing else. Sure, sometimes people came by off hours if they had special business or, in rare cases, if they were just desperate for a drink. But today there was nobody here this early save the kitchen staff and the barkeep. As was often the case during the evening shift, the person behind the bar tonight was none other than Emelyn Stone, the current chairwoman of Nabber Hill Lodge. Frankly, Alden rather liked Emelyn. She was a no-nonsense, dependable sort of woman. And even though she had semi-retired from her work as a carpenter in favour of managing the lodge around the time she turned fifty, she still retained the methodical, detail-oriented nature that Alden felt was a necessity for any reliable craftsman. Then again, the fact that she was missing the ring and little finger on her left hand suggested that her careful nature had been purchased at a rather steep cost. Still, she greeted him with a friendly smile as he entered the front room of the lodge, motioning for him to sit down at the bar. “Alden! Have a seat. Cider, as usual?” Alden was about to answer in the affirmative when he remembered the little bottle of mead that Elisabeth had given him. As small as it was, it was still a little much for one person, and it was still nestled within his jacket pocket. “Actually, could you pull out a pair of sipping glasses? I figured I could treat you today.” Emelyn raised an eyebrow as Alden pulled out the bottle and placed it on the counter, but she still pulled out the two glasses as asked. “Now this is unusual. Alden Stowe treating me to a drink of mead? And a rather fine one, at that. What, are you celebrating your long-awaited return to the lodge? As I hear it, you’ve barely showed your face here for weeks.” “I’ve been very busy of late, Emelyn. Besides, Cecil offered to cover quite a few of my greeter shifts after I pulled his arse out of the fire when the Darling came to visit.” “I heard about that. Who would have thought it? Lucille Baines of all people, visiting our little club.” “Oh, it was a night, all right. Everyone was so busy gawking they didn’t even think to greet her.” “I suppose it was poor luck that Cecil was greeter that day. How a man of so little composure ever became a watchmaker is beyond me. Still, you have my thanks, Alden. Receiving censure from the Social Circle would have been disastrous for a club like ours.” “I was looking out for myself as much as anything else. I’m not exactly keen on making an enemy of a Darling, however indirectly.” “The way I hear it, you ended up sharing a rather lengthy confidence with that Darling.” “Now now, Emelyn. It would hardly be a confidence if I went around discussing it with people, now would it?” “I suppose not. But I do note you’re dressed rather better than I remember. Could it be that sharing a confidence with a Darling is actually a rather lucrative business?” Alden didn’t reply, and Emelyn chuckled as she took a sip of her mead. “Sorry, sorry. I’ll stop asking. Still, something must be going on with you. Even if you didn’t have any shifts as greeter, you used to be in here every few days.” “As I said, I’ve been busy. My life has taken a bit of a turn, of late.” Emelyn raised an eyebrow and cast a glance at the bottle on the table. “You know, there’s a local tradition up around Jorvik thereabouts. I heard about it because my cousin married a woman from there. A bottle of fine mead is given to new fathers to be drunk in Eir’s name, as a way of asking her to look after the health of the child.” Alden chuckled. “That’s certainly more than was explained to me. But I suppose I’d better raise my glass to Eir, then. Whoever that may be.” “Goddess of healers and medicine, I think, but…” Alden raised his glass. “A toast to Eir, then. In the vain hopes that she’ll look after mine even if there’s not an Asarite among them.” Emelyn dutifully joined in the toast, though she looked very curious as she did so. Once they’d swallowed their drinks, she set her glass down on the counter. “So, care to tell me how on earth you managed to become a father, Alden Stowe? Have you been hiding a woman from us all this time?” “Nothing of the sort, I assure you. It’s a matter of adoption, and even that’s not official yet, though I intend to sort that out as soon as I can. One is a young woman who seems eminently well suited to one day succeed me as the owner of Stowe’s Tinctures, the other is a child who was in dire need of a family.” “Is that so? I have to say, I never took you for a family man, Alden.” “Neither did I, to be honest. More fool me, as it turns out. We may not have been family for long, but I fully intend to see to it that they are safe and happy.” Alden’s face darkened slightly. “No matter what it takes.” It was past midnight when Alden finally started making his way home from the lodge. The thick fog lent the dark streets an eerie, foreboding air that the street lamps could do little to alleviate. Well aware that he was something of a marked man and that his eyes were largely useless in this soupy murk, Alden kept a careful ear out for anything out of place in the muted sounds around him. Which is probably why he was able to pick out the distant peals of a fire bell. Before this whole mess started, Alden would probably just have ignored such a distant bell. But given recent events, fire had become something Alden simply couldn’t ignore. Hurrying down the streets, he soon found himself in an area of London he vaguely recognized as being close to the Holm Academy, a private research and learning institution dedicated to material sciences. But the fire fighters weren’t headed to the academy, they were congregating around a small townhouse a few hundred feet down the street. As he ran towards the flickering orange glow that pierced the night fog, Alden quickly realized the whole house was a lost cause. It had gone up like a match, and even the fire fighters had stopped working on the house itself and were instead focusing on just preventing the flames from spreading to nearby buildings. Alden offered to help, but was firmly told that they had all the hands they needed and that getting untrained people involved at this juncture would just end up getting in the way of the fire fighters. Satisfied that there was nothing he could do to help at this juncture, Alden looked around at the gathered onlookers. Most of them seemed to be people looking to help or simply people here to watch the spectacle, but Alden did notice a woman sitting slightly apart from the crowd. She was draped in a thick blanket, but she was wearing nothing but a nightgown and a pair of slippers beneath it. Her hair was tousled, there were smudges of soot and ash on her face and, though it was hard to tell in this murk, Alden thought she’d been crying. With a determined nod, Alden walked over and sat down next to her. “I’m sorry for your loss.” The woman looked over at him. “Are you one of the fire fighters?” Alden shook his head. “I just came over looking to help. But by the look of things, I was too late.” The woman sighed sadly. “We were all too late. I woke up from smelling smoke, so I went to look for the cause. I didn’t realize the house was burning until I saw there was smoke coming out from under Mr. Holm’s bedroom door.” “Mr. Holm?” “Lars Holm. He is… He was the head teacher at Holm Academy. I suppose the family will elect someone new for that post now, though.” “And you are?” “Marigold Green. I work… worked as Mr. Holm’s housekeeper. I lived and worked with him for the last ten years…” Her eyes started tearing up once again. “Oh, what am I going to do? Everything I owned was in there! And Mr. Holm… When I opened the door, flames just came bursting out of the room! There was nothing I could do! I ran to grab the fire bell, but even as I started ringing it, there was a huge crashing noise and the second story started collapsing down into the first! It all happened so fast!” Alden glanced over at the townhouse. It was basically unrecognisable at this point. A few portions of the frame were still standing, but most of the structure had collapsed into a big heap that blazed like a bonfire. Even at this distance, the heat was oppressive. “Tell me, Miss Green… Was Mr. Holm acting at all unusual in the past few days?” “Unusual? What do you mean?” “Any uncharacteristic behaviours? Increased aggression, perhaps, or a greater than usual ardour?” The woman’s eyes narrowed. “Why are you asking this?” “This is not the first strange fire in the past while. Did you hear about Professor Laurence Abney?” “The spontaneous combustion case? Mr. Holm was very upset about that. He and Professor Abney did a lot of work together, in the past… Wait, you don’t think…?” “They may very well be related, though I would prefer if you didn’t tell anyone else about that, at least for now.” “And just who are you? Are you a reporter for some newspaper or something?” “Not exactly. Let’s just say I’m very keen on making sure nobody else ends up the same way as the late Professor Abney and Mr. Holm.” “And why exactly should I just take your word for it?” Alden considered his options. He realized she had every right to be suspicious of him, and he didn’t exactly have any credentials to present. After all, he was, legally speaking, little more than a busybody. But he did have one thing going for him… “Because I’m willing to offer you fifty pounds for any information you can give me.” The woman drew in a sharp, shocked breath, and Alden could practically see the calculation going on inside her head. On the one hand, he surely had to seem like a rather suspicious character, and she probably held some level of loyalty to her late employer. On the other hand, she was essentially destitute, without a home, an occupation or much anything in the way of belongings. In the end, there was really only one sensible answer. “Fine. Ask your questions. But I want the money first.” Alden nodded and handed her the coins, which she carefully examined before accepting them. “Now, about Mr. Holm’s behaviour prior to the incident…” “Well, you were right. He was acting a bit more passionate than usual. Me and him always had that sort of relationship. Part of the job, really, not that I much minded. He was a fairly caring type, when it came to that sort of thing. But in the past week or so he’d been getting more and more amorously inclined, and it was frankly getting to be a little problematic. Neither of us got much working done today, truth be told.” “And what was Mr. Holm working on?” “I suppose there’s no harm in telling you. He’s been working on making better alloys for airship frames. Trying to make them both strong and light, you know? He’s been obsessed with it for almost two years now. It needs to be stronger, he’d say. It needs to be lighter. I don’t know why he was so set on that. Don’t the airships we have now work just fine, I’d ask, but he’d just scoff at me. Said the alloys they’re using now are good, but they’re not good enough, whatever that means.” Alden asked Miss Green a few more questions, but he already felt very certain of what happened here. After all, a prominent academic working in the general field of aeronautics had just died in a sudden, intense fire that started in his bedroom. And that same academic had exhibited increased passion and ardour in the days leading up to the fire. There was no doubt in Alden’s mind. This was another burning drug murder. When he got home, Alden found Ember sleeping in his bed, with Ember’s own bed standing empty. The child lay curled up surrounded by soft toys both new and old, but they were hugging Alden’s pillow tightly as they slept. Alden reached out to gently pet their hair, but his face was set into a severe frown. Despite everything, despite dealing with Li Tao and the Corker brothers and the Sunshine Club and who even knows how many Han loyalists, the real threat was still out there. The mysterious ‘bastard’ who had dragooned the Corker brothers into service was still active, and the academics of London were still under threat. And worst of all, the ‘bastard’ knew about Alden. Having a murderous criminal out for his blood was bad enough on its own, but Alden had a family now. And loathe as he was to admit it, having a father in Alden’s position was a risk to his children in and of itself. Alden no longer had time to dawdle. He couldn’t just idly prod at the case while waiting for more leads to fall into his lap. No, the man behind the burning drug murders was going to hang, and he was going to hang as soon as possible. It was the only way Alden could keep his family safe. Leaving Ember to their rest, Alden started looking through all the information he’d gotten from the Corker brothers and Mei Jing’s network. If there was even a smidgen of useful information he’d overlooked, Alden was determined to find it as soon as possible.