shadows and colours perfect so that when she added depth to it with the paint it would become solid.
A few minutes of intense concentration later, she looked up.
âI think Iâm done,â she said. âCareful though, the paintâs still wet.â
She shifted aside as Marco wrapped his hand in his sleeve and reached down. He looked nervous, as if he didnât quite believe that his fingers would be able to slip under the solid surface of the floor and grasp the handle â but they did. He pulled, and the painted window opened up as easily as if itâd been a real doorway on oiled hinges. Bianca took a step back as a blast of cold air came up from the hole in the floor, full of the pungent smell of fish, boat oil and old rope that any true La Luminosan could identify as the scent of the canal. She could hear it, too â a definitely watery sloshing and sucking. Marco dug in his pockets and found a pebble, which he dropped into the hole. It went
plop
.
âWe can roll the craft down into the water on some of the spare planks,â Domenico said, excitedly.
âNow all we have to do is
actually
get it working,â Sebastiano pointed out.
Marco grinned at Bianca. âThanks,â he said.
Bianca rolled her eyes. âOf course. Now shut that door â itâs giving me the creeps!â She glanced again at the underwater craft. It seemed perfectly solid and comfortable on dry land, but that was one invention of her grandfatherâs that she was in no hurry to test out.
Chapter Seven
Bianca crouched behind a topiary bush cut into the shape of a wading bird. She peered between the spindly stalks that formed its legs, trying not to breathe hard enough to rustle the leaves.
On the other side of the bird, the walled sculpture garden was full of courtiers â half of them dressed in the traditional bright jewel colours of La Luminosa, and the other half in deep, almost-black blues and greens and purples. The diplomatic delegation from Oscurita had arrived.
There were ten of them, men and women draped in Oscuritan finery with pale skin and dark hair, who seemed extremely uncomfortable in the La Luminosan sunlight, although it was barely a few hours after dawn and the day wasnât even shaping up to be a particularly bright one. They carried parasols of inky-black silk, which cast pools of shadow around them but probably made them feel even hotter. One or two of the palest ones had collapsed onto the stone benches dotted around the garden to catch their breath. They fanned themselves with brightly coloured fans hastily borrowed from their La Luminosan counterparts, and squinted and shaded their eyes as they tried to talk trade routes and the rules of exchange and migration.
Bianca had been listening for a little while, and it bothered her that she hadnât heard anything that sounded like treachery or plans for an invasion, even when sheâd made sure to catch the delegation talking amongst themselves. She wouldâve loved to believe that it meant they werenât planning to betray La Luminosa, but she couldnât. All it meant was that they were good at hiding it.
Still, the delegation were all here, and they werenât going to be allowed to wander off by themselves, which had to be a good thing. Every few minutes Bianca checked that the palace guards were still positioned at regular intervals around the gardenâs walls, their golden armour and sharp spears glinting in the sunlight and making the Oscuritans wince. It might be diplomacy, but at least it was heavily guarded diplomacy.
Bianca carefully crept along a few metres to her left, sheltering in the small gap between the hedge and the sun-warmed stone wall. A little way along the path on the other side of the bushes there was a swinging wooden seat under an arch of climbing roses. Duchess Catriona sat on the seat, dressed in one of her finest â and brightest â cream gowns. The neckline was
A few minutes of intense concentration later, she looked up.
âI think Iâm done,â she said. âCareful though, the paintâs still wet.â
She shifted aside as Marco wrapped his hand in his sleeve and reached down. He looked nervous, as if he didnât quite believe that his fingers would be able to slip under the solid surface of the floor and grasp the handle â but they did. He pulled, and the painted window opened up as easily as if itâd been a real doorway on oiled hinges. Bianca took a step back as a blast of cold air came up from the hole in the floor, full of the pungent smell of fish, boat oil and old rope that any true La Luminosan could identify as the scent of the canal. She could hear it, too â a definitely watery sloshing and sucking. Marco dug in his pockets and found a pebble, which he dropped into the hole. It went
plop
.
âWe can roll the craft down into the water on some of the spare planks,â Domenico said, excitedly.
âNow all we have to do is
actually
get it working,â Sebastiano pointed out.
Marco grinned at Bianca. âThanks,â he said.
Bianca rolled her eyes. âOf course. Now shut that door â itâs giving me the creeps!â She glanced again at the underwater craft. It seemed perfectly solid and comfortable on dry land, but that was one invention of her grandfatherâs that she was in no hurry to test out.
Chapter Seven
Bianca crouched behind a topiary bush cut into the shape of a wading bird. She peered between the spindly stalks that formed its legs, trying not to breathe hard enough to rustle the leaves.
On the other side of the bird, the walled sculpture garden was full of courtiers â half of them dressed in the traditional bright jewel colours of La Luminosa, and the other half in deep, almost-black blues and greens and purples. The diplomatic delegation from Oscurita had arrived.
There were ten of them, men and women draped in Oscuritan finery with pale skin and dark hair, who seemed extremely uncomfortable in the La Luminosan sunlight, although it was barely a few hours after dawn and the day wasnât even shaping up to be a particularly bright one. They carried parasols of inky-black silk, which cast pools of shadow around them but probably made them feel even hotter. One or two of the palest ones had collapsed onto the stone benches dotted around the garden to catch their breath. They fanned themselves with brightly coloured fans hastily borrowed from their La Luminosan counterparts, and squinted and shaded their eyes as they tried to talk trade routes and the rules of exchange and migration.
Bianca had been listening for a little while, and it bothered her that she hadnât heard anything that sounded like treachery or plans for an invasion, even when sheâd made sure to catch the delegation talking amongst themselves. She wouldâve loved to believe that it meant they werenât planning to betray La Luminosa, but she couldnât. All it meant was that they were good at hiding it.
Still, the delegation were all here, and they werenât going to be allowed to wander off by themselves, which had to be a good thing. Every few minutes Bianca checked that the palace guards were still positioned at regular intervals around the gardenâs walls, their golden armour and sharp spears glinting in the sunlight and making the Oscuritans wince. It might be diplomacy, but at least it was heavily guarded diplomacy.
Bianca carefully crept along a few metres to her left, sheltering in the small gap between the hedge and the sun-warmed stone wall. A little way along the path on the other side of the bushes there was a swinging wooden seat under an arch of climbing roses. Duchess Catriona sat on the seat, dressed in one of her finest â and brightest â cream gowns. The neckline was
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