The Painted War

The Painted War by Imogen Rossi

Book: The Painted War by Imogen Rossi Read Free Book Online
Authors: Imogen Rossi
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City, La Luminosa would be ready for it.

Chapter Six
    Bianca forced herself to walk slowly as she and Marco headed through the secret passages towards Master di Lombardi’s secret workshop. Their talk with Duchess Catriona had been reassuring, but Bianca’s mind was still racing off in all directions.
    â€˜What if the Duchess is wrong?’ she said. ‘What if letting the Baron into La Luminosa is a terrible plan? What if we lose track of him? What if this was exactly what Edita was betting on?’
    â€˜I think we should trust her,’ Marco said, gently but firmly. ‘There’s no point dwelling on what could go wrong so much that you don’t prepare for it.’
    â€˜But, what if  … ?’ Bianca said, and Marco gave her a faux-stern look. ‘I know, but Duchess Catriona’s expecting my mother to take back the throne. What if she can’t do it on her own? What if she needs our help?’
    An even worse possibility lurked at the back of Bianca’s mind, too horrible to voice, even to Marco. What if Catriona waited too long and Edita captured Bianca’s mother first? What if she  … ?
    Bianca rubbed her eyes, trying to banish the image of Duchess Edita presiding over an Oscuritan execution.
    â€˜Look,’ Marco said, ‘let’s follow Captain Raphaeli’s example – go with it, but be prepared to act if we have to.’
    â€˜Yeah, you’re right.’ Bianca shook off the horrible vision and smiled at Marco. ‘Thanks.’
    A young woman’s voice echoed down the passage, stopping Bianca in her tracks.
    â€˜All right, let’s put the spare springs down over there for the moment. Then we can get at whatever this is  … ’
    That was Lucia’s voice. And a second later, Bianca heard a chorus of other young voices answering her.
    â€˜What’s she doing in here?’ she said, but she realised it was a stupid thing to say as soon as she’d said it. All the apprentices knew about the secret workshop now. It was the only way.
    Marco looked a bit sheepish, but shook his head. ‘What could I do? We need all the help we can get.’
    â€˜Of course,’ said Bianca, waving her hand as if to brush the last few moments away. ‘I didn’t mean it like that.’ But she knew that wasn’t quite true.
    They rounded a corner and found the door to the secret workshop propped open. Beyond it, the workshop seemed to be swarming with people. Bianca stood in the doorway, chewing her lip. She knew she’d allowed the other apprentices into the workshop, but that was a matter of life and death – she hadn’t quite realised how she’d feel when she saw Lucia and Ezio and Gabriella strolling between the inventions and workbenches, giving appraising looks to her grandfather’s secret projects. Her face flushed with irritation as Lucia picked up an ornately etched brass egg the size of her fist and tapped it on the workbench beside her, as if she could crack it open.
    Marco gave Lucia a small salute as he ran over to where Sebastiano was still tinkering with the strange domed Vehicle for Travelling Underneath the Canal Surface. Bianca took a deep breath and tried to make herself smile. Despite Marco’s very reasonable argument, she wished she’d never let the apprentices in. It was selfish to want to keep it for herself, but that was how she felt.
    Cosimo sighed. ‘It’s going to take us a long time to solve all the mysteries of this place,’ he said, and Bianca looked down at the floor, hoping he wouldn’t read the disappointment on her face. She felt silly for it – what if something here could help her mother, or save La Luminosa? – but she did not like the idea of Cosimo and Lucia solving all the mysteries her grandfather had left behind.
    â€˜How did it go with the Baron?’ Lucia asked, coming over to them with the brass egg still in

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