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

entered the carriage
and shook her gently, smiling as she stretched and her pale blue eyes widened
in surprise.
    “Are we there already, Henri?” Sofia
yawned.
    “We have done three circuits of the Ringstrasse ,
madam. It is just before eleven.” He stepped out and took her hand and they
strolled together across the park, looking as though they were a father and
daughter out for a late evening walk.
    They entered a dark lane at the back of the
university and Henri pulled her into a dark corner beside the building as he
scanned the wide lawn lit brightly by the full moon, for any sign of activity
or observers.
    “All appears well, madam.”
    He led her across to the next building and
they walked along a winding path to a small wooden door set into an ivy covered
brick wall.
    Henri gave four short knocks, paused and
then tapped two more short raps on the concealed door, constantly looking
around as he checked there was no one following them.
    The heavy wooden door groaned as it opened
slowly and they entered a dimly lit foyer.
    “Welcome, madam, it is good to see you
again. Good evening, Henri.” Johann, one of the doctoral students, ushered them
into a larger room. The light was brighter and Henri looked around as he
escorted Sofia to the table. Pulling out a chair, he glanced to the side of the
room and Sofia nodded.
    “Yes, please, Henri. I will need coffee to
keep me alert. I fear this may be a long meeting.” As Henri poured Sofia’s
coffee, he observed the others already seated at the long table.
    Professor Ernst Schmidt who led the project
at the university listened gravely as Sofia spoke to him in a quiet undertone.
The two research assistants, Johann and Genevieve sat on the other side of the
table, Henri placed a glass of coffee in front of Sofia and he sat at the
table, ever alert, even though they were in a safe room.
    * * * *
    Sofia finished her coffee and pushed the
empty glass to the side of the table as she looked around the room. Candles in
sconces provided a soft light and the rich aroma of the coffee took away the
musty smell of parchment that usually overwhelmed the senses in this old
meeting room in the basement of the university laboratory. She looked around at
the four people in the room and smiled.
    People she would trust with her life.
    Professor Ernst Schmidt sat at the head of
the table, muttering softly to himself in his native German as he flicked
through a pile of papers. Ernst had worked with her father in London, prior to
his death in 1840 and had sought her out when she had moved to Vienna. He and
his brother, Henri, had become like surrogate fathers since the professor had
continued her father’s moonflower research. Ernst had published many papers on
the science of the nature of matter and its transformations, but the moonflower
research was known only to the select few inside this room.
    She caught Henri’s eye and he smiled back
at her, although she could sense the tension in his body. He had been on edge
since the incident at the station. Henri was the indispensible assistant in her
household and salon activities, and Sofia allowed him to think he fulfilled the
role of her bodyguard.
    Johann, a brilliant young doctoral student
from the university at Bologna, sat across the table from Sofia, impatiently
clicking his pencil on the side of his glass, obviously eager to start the
meeting. His assistant and the chief illustrator for the project, Genevieve,
sat still and silent, taking in the scene around the table.
    “I would like to thank you all for being
here at this ungodly hour. I am very grateful,” said Sofia
    “We didn’t stay back, Sofia. We are so
close to success, we have been working through the night for two weeks,”
replied Johann.
    She frowned “It is imperative you take the
utmost care. Any unusual interest in your work must be reported to Henri…immediately.”
    Sofia quickly filled them in on the events
of the previous night at Westbahnhof .
    “I am sure it