Contents IntroduCtIon 1 AdA’s Awful AnCestors 2 EduCAtIng AdA 3 AdA And the MAChIne 4 AdA on A MIssIon 5 AnAlytICAl AdA 6 AdA MAkes soMe notes 7 Agent AdA 8 AdA And the horses 9 AdA’s fInAl Adventure 10 AdA’s lAst lAugh tIMelIne glossAry notes seleCt BIBlIogrAphy Index 1 7 15 32 45 65 71 82 98 114 122 132 138 140 141 142 v
IntroductIon 13 Piccadilly Terrace London January 15 1816 It was a freezing cold January night when a one month-old baby was being stolen from her father A woman took the baby from the nursery It was the wrong century for electricity and central heating The bedrooms of the five-floor mansion were snug and warm with coal fires but the stairs and hallways hallways were as dark and cold as the night outside The thief crept away with her precious bundle terrified of being discovered In a house this size it was a long way from the nursery to the front door a lot of wooden floors and stairs ready to creak a warning The stairs bent under every step the woman took She held her breath each time she put a foot down feeling the wood flex under her weight But no sound came Silver moonlight splashed across the tiles of the front hall There was one more challenge the big heavy front door bolted shut against the night She drew the bolts back one by one and the metallic clunks echoed around the house One clunk It was like an explosion in her ears She made herself keep going If people woke up they would be pouring down the stairs any minute now 1
