CHAPTER 10The hall leading from the kitchen to the front door bisected the manor. To the left was a wide staircase with an ornate banister of polished dark wood. Through its spindles, a red patterned runner climbed the center of the risers. To the right, a textured off-white wall shot up beyond the first flight of stairs. A pair of doors, also polished dark wood, stood halfway between the front of the house and the kitchen entryway. Mara stopped at the two doors and rattled the doorknobs. Locked.
Ping hurried up to her and said, “That’s the fabrication shop. It’s locked.”
Mara shook the knob again and said, “So I can see. You got a key?”
“I thought you wanted to see the steam laboratory. That might be a better idea for now,” he said.
“Steam lab it is. Where is that?” she asked.
Ping h
