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if she had another one of those beastly governesses in tow? Just as I was considering hiding, she barreled into the room with Father trailing behind her. He looked quite put out.
    "I don't know where she is, Mother, but perhaps next time if you'd let us know ahead that you planned to visit, we could be sure she was here to greet you."
    Grandmother paused and surveyed the mess around her. "Really, Alistair. Is this any way to run a museum? It's a pigsty. It's bad enough you chose to work; the least you could do is keep your museum tidy."
    "We're preparing a new exhibit, Mother. And we're closed for preparations, so no one will have to see the mess. Except for those who drop by unannounced," he said pointedly.
    "Theodosia! There you are," Grandmother said, sailing toward me. "Where have you been, child? We've nearly turned this place upside down looking for you. It was most inconsiderate of you to disappear."
    I opened my eyes wide and tried to look innocent. "I've been in the basement all day, cataloging the items down there."
    "Really?" Father frowned. "That was the first place I looked."
    "Well," I demurred. "I did have to come upstairs to use the facilities. Perhaps you just missed me?"
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    Grandmother thumped her cane. "Do not be vulgar."
    "What would you prefer I call it, Grandmother? The water closet?"
    "I would prefer you didn't call it anything at all. It's not spoken of in polite company. Now, Sopcoate seemed rather fond of you. I thought perhaps you'd have some ideas."
    Oh no! I did not want to discuss Admiral Sopcoate with Grandmother Throckmorton! She'd been rather sweet on him, which, as disgusting as it was, wasn't nearly so bad as him turning out to be an agent of Chaos. She thought he'd died a hero's death when really he'd simply escaped with his fellow Serpents of Chaos. "Ideas for what?" I asked cautiously.
    Father clapped his hands together. "Well, now that you've found her, I think I'll be off to the workroom."
    Honestly. He was such a coward sometimes!
    Grandmother waved him away. "Very well. I'll see myself out once Theodosia and I have finished. Come, gel. I don't want to stand in this mess. Let's go to the withdrawing room. I only have a few minutes before I must leave for the admiralty."
    Thank heaven for small favors, I thought as I meekly followed her into the room our family used as a refuge from museum business.
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    "Sit down," she said, taking a seat on the small red-velvet settee.
    I perched myself on the edge of a chair. It doesn't do to get too comfortable around Grandmother.
    "So." She glanced at me briefly, then turned to study the clock on the mantel. "There's been no more word on Admiral Sopcoate."
    "I'm very sorry, Grandmother," I murmured.
    "Yes, well. It can't be helped. However, I've decided that something must be done to commemorate his courage and patriotism." She speared me with a gaze. "It's the least we can do, don't you think?"
    "Er, yes, Grandmother."
    She gave a small satisfied nod, pleased that, for once, she and I were in accord. If only she knew! But I'd been forbidden to tell her. Not to mention, I wasn't certain how she'd take the news. She was a devout Conservative and it might do her in if she realized she'd been consorting with an enemy, however unknowingly. "What did you have in mind?"
    She stood up and went over to the fireplace. "Something grand, I should think. With lots of pomp and ceremony. A big brass band and dress uniforms. Maybe even a forty-one-gun salute. It seems appropriate for a hero such as Sopcoate."
    "But Grandmother ..."I had to step carefully here.
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    "There are many heroes who don't receive a forty-one-gun salute, aren't there? Otherwise, we'd hear the guns going off constantly. I imagine there must be regulations for who gets that sort of fanfare, don't you think?"
    She scowled at me. "You sound just like the admiralty."
    "I beg your pardon?"
    She sighed and turned back to the fireplace. "The admiralty has finally agreed to allow me to hold a