Summer of the Moon Flower (The de Vargas Family) Read Free

located. Placing her hand over her chest to still the pounding of
her heart, she paused and turned slowly. For a brief moment, it had sounded
like the clicking of the automaton’s talons and she sighed with relief as Henri
brought the horse and barutsche to a stop beside her. He climbed down
and held her gloved hand assisting her into the open carriage, whispering close
to her ear.
    “Madame, I have been so worried. I have
been searching for you since first light.” Her trusted manservant glanced at
her as he flicked the reins and the horse broke into a light trot.
    “It was a trap…but I am all right,” she
reassured the elderly man as a look of concern crossed his face. “I am tired
but I have appointments all day. I must meet with Professor Schmidt and the
others as soon as possible. I need to find out what has happened and we must
take extreme care.”
    “When shall we meet, Madame?”
    “Organize a gathering for eleven this
evening please, Henri,” she replied as the carriage pulled up in front of her
salon. “At the university.”
    “Are you sure, Madame? Will that be safe?”
She quelled him with a steady look as she stepped down from the carriage and
her voice was terse.
    “At the university,” she repeated. “Have
the carriage ready at eight. If the stable staff ask where I am going, I shall
be attending a music recital at the Musikverein and you shall return the
carriage in the morning.
    * * * *
    Sofia glanced into her salon as she made
her way to her apartment above. Pulling the glove off and placing her cloak on
the cloak stand in the foyer, she cursed once again at her carelessness in
dropping the glove. As she moved through her apartment, her thoughts turned to
the meeting tonight. It was most unusual for a woman to participate in any
activities at the University; women were not allowed to enroll there and there
were no female staff involved in any of the research. Sofia’s involvement at
the university had begun when she had read the research notes her father had
bequeathed to her when Indigo had passed them on after her marriage to Captain
Zane Thoreau ten years ago.
    Sofia smiled as she remembered Indigo’s
wedding. It had scandalized society as she had been heavily pregnant with the
twins, and Indigo in her usual brash manner had thumbed her nose at the society
matrons who had expressed their displeasure. Nevertheless, curiosity won out
and the ceremony and reception in the tropical biome was attended by all who
were invited… with the exception of Duke Lorca.
    Sofia had stayed in the manor with Mr. and
Mrs. Grimoult to oversee the operations of the holiday complex while Zane and
Indigo had travelled to Scotland for a brief honeymoon. She had enjoyed her
time there and Sofia had spent the following year in the household assisting
with the twins when they were born. Jago and Jory had their mother’s lust for
life and created a multitude of work for the household.
    She had been fascinated by Indigo’s biomes.
Word of the passionflower pharmacologicals and their healing properties had
spread across Europe and the colonies.
    Indigo had shared the research notes with
her and Sofia had been intrigued by their father’s writing on the properties of
the moon flower and his belief that human life could be extended if the liquid
from this rare white flower from the alpine region of Austria could be
extracted. For years, she had carried the idea with her and a chance meeting
with Professor Schmidt, an old colleague of her father in Vienna three years
later had resulted in her acceptance into the elite ranks of Vienna University.
A small group of scientists allowed her to became a part of their secret
society in exchange for Professor de Vargas notes and Sofia had eventually led
the research and still held control
    A recent missive to Indigo had described
how close they were to achieving their goal. Sofia now wondered if she had been
foolish detailing their progress in writing and trusting the