Katya broke free of her heavy memories and caught someone waving to her. It took her a few moments to recognize Mary. She looked resplendent in a new white silk jacket, white satin gloves emerging from the sleeves. Katya greeted Mary with a squeeze. “You look wonderful. How do you feel?”
“Much better.” Mary’s blue eyes outshone her jacket for health and gratitude. “Thank you again. When’s my mother coming home?”
“Soon. She’s having a marvelous time. I’ll have to show you the postcards she’s been sending to the house. The views and the inns she’s staying at are stunning.”
Mary gestured to something behind Katya. “The carnival’s expanding, I see.”
“Yes.” Katya turned. The once-perfect rectangle of the fence had been added to in the southwestern corner. “A horse-riding attraction is going in behind the Kaleidoscope.” Katya pictured Mr. Davies, a few years older than she was looking for but closer to Mary’s age. He was single, kind, and direct, much like Mary.
“I’ve never ridden a horse,” Mary said, enthralled with the idea.
“Our carriage driver thought of it, Mr. Davies. Have you met Mr. Davies?”
“No.”
“He’s a pleasant man. I think you’d like him.”
“Katya.” Mary sighed. “I got out of the hospital yesterday.”
“And you never looked better.”
A young man walked up to Katya, his young wife on his arm. “Excuse me, miss. Do you have any more of those colored maps?”
Katya gradually remembered she had been on her way to Brady’s office to pick more up when she ran into Maddox outside the maintenance office. “No, I’m sorry. I’ll bring more out soon.”
“That’s all right. Can you point me to the Wheel of Independence?”
Katya pointed toward the band stage and the Beast’s winding track. “It’s at the very back of the grounds, sir. You can’t miss it.”
“Thank you.” He led his wife away, their eyes taking in everything around them.
“I should go take care of that.” Katya patted Mary’s arm. “It’s good to see you. You’ll stay at the carnival for a while, won’t you?”
Mary nodded. “Of course.”
“I won’t introduce you to Mr. Davies if you don’t want,” Katya said. She was already imagining leading Mary around the carnival while they talked, walking her close by where Mr. Davies oversaw the layout of the horse ride. She could call it a happy accident all night, and Mary would see right through it. It did not matter to Katya so long as she introduced them before Mr. Davies found a girlfriend on his own. “I’ll talk to you later.”
Katya walked past the band, which Brady had added two musicians to in the past month. She passed the side stage, where several people were giving cooking demonstrations on small gas burners. She reached the food stall and offered Magdalene a wave. Magdalene took the time to return it before accepting coins from a customer and passing down a bag of popcorn.
Katya was not sure how to repay Magdalene for all of her help and support. She knew it was the kind of thing a friend should simply accept with a genuine thank you and move on from, but Katya knew that nothing would have turned out right without Magdalene’s sly eye and silver tongue.
Katya approached Brady’s office and let herself in. She did not feel any of the rush or anxiety she had experienced when it was Mr. Warden’s office. It felt homey and comfortable, like visiting a friend. Brady had even moved Mr. Warden’s desk to the center of the far room where he could see and be seen as people entered.
Brady set his pen down on the record book and flexed his fingers. “What can I do for you, Miss Romanova?”
“I need more of those maps.” Katya strolled up to his desk and joined him on the other side of it. “The guests really like them. I always thought they would.”
Brady opened the bottom drawer and handed Katya a stack of a few dozen maps. The name Steampunk Carnival was printed in sturdy black letters over a curling gold banner at the top.
“We’ll need new ones when the additions are opened,” Brady said.
“And these will become collectibles.”
Brady picked up his pen but hesitated to jump back into the facts and figures filling the columns in his book. Katya lingered over the framed photographs he kept on his desk, one of Sarah and one of Nathaniel. He had never shown them to her, but she knew who they were. Sarah stood humbly with her hands on the back of a chair, dark hair uncovered and wedding band encircling her thin finger. Nathaniel’s picture had likely been taken after his death. He rested in a bed with a far-off look in his eyes. It was a fine family any man would have been proud of, but Katya did not say it. She kissed Brady gently on the cheek.
“It’s going very well tonight, Mr. Kelly,” she told him.
“Good.”
“It should go well every night. Except for the night none of us want to mention, it was always like that. A success.”
“Thank you for making it so.”
Katya laughed as she stepped into the front room. She wanted to tell Brady he was wrong, that the carnival sold itself. It invited the guests, not her or anybody else. But maybe he was right and Katya did add to the magic of it, its untouchable mystery. Katya reached the outer door and opened it. Thinking of nothing else to say, she stepped out into the night and pulled the door shut behind her.
Learn more about Steampunk Carnival and the Steam World series. Take character-based quizzes and peek at what’s coming next.
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Steam World will return with book 2, The Airship. For now, you can check out my other books:
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About the Author
Photo © 2014 Joshua Leuthold
Cassandra Leuthold started creating outside-the-box, character-driven stories in second grade. Over twenty years later, she continues to combine what most people think of as opposites: the magical and the everyday, the modern and the vintage, the darkest recesses of the mind and the greatest heights humans can achieve.
In between new ideas and breathing fresh life into old projects, you can find her sewing, watching TV, and binging on music from around the world.
Cassandra lives with her writer husband and their moody cat, Gaia, in a house three sizes too big. She holds a Bachelor’s in Liberal Studies and a Master’s in English.
Visit her online at www.cassandraleuthold.com.
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