He shook his head. “Too dangerous. Anyone who’s tapped in can hear everything, and we don’t want information that sensitive going out on the wires.”

“It’s safer to stick it in a hole in the wall?”

“Then it’s not so obvious who’s sending it.” He smiled at me. “I trust in your ingenuity, Verity.”

“The battery’s running low, Alec,” Everett called from the controls.

“Then we’d best get back to roost.”

For the rest of the journey home, Alec stood with his arm around my shoulders and pointed out streets and landmarks. I almost forgot about revolutions and robberies as we soared through the night. I had the wind in my hair, air beneath my feet, and a good man at my side. I laughed out loud for the sheer joy of it.

The voyage came to an end all too soon as Everett guided the airship to the rear of the Lyndon mansion. Alec opened the gate on the side of the basket and lowered the tail of the ladder. I took off my goggles and handed them to him, then turned to wave farewell to Mick and Everett. “Thank you for bringing me along!” I said.

“This one’s got the makings of an aviator,” Everett said.

“I do enjoy flying.”

Alec helped me over the side and knelt to hold me steady until my footing on the ladder was secure. “Hold on to the ladder,” he cautioned.

“Thank you for a lovely evening,” I said, smiling up at him. “It was the most amazing thing I’ve ever experienced—aside from the steam engine, obviously.” Impulsively, I stretched upward and kissed his lips.

He returned my kiss, and when he pulled away, he said, “Just wait, there’s more to show you.” He started the mechanism that lowered the ladder and sent me away from him. The ladder stopped in front of my window, and he started to climb down to assist me, but I waved him back.

With one elbow crooked around the ladder, I reached for the window, caught the edge, and used that to pull myself closer to the building. I got one foot solidly on the windowsill, took a deep breath, and leaned forward into the room while I stepped off with the other foot and released the ladder, grabbing the other edge of the window for balance. When I was steady, I turned to wave at the airship’s crew while they pulled the ladder up. I stood in the window, watching until the ship blended into the night sky and disappeared from view.