The Girl and the Clockwork Crossfire

by Nikki Mccormack

  He gave her a hard look. “I'm sorry. It can’t be done.”

  “I'll find a way.”

  “What will you do, grow wings and fly over the wall? You’ll never get in and out of there without my help.”

  “I don’t need your bloody help.” She spun on her heel and stormed out, slamming the door as hard as she could behind her.

  CHAPTER SIX

  At the end of the hall, Ash jerked to attention, startling when the door slammed. Maeko met his eyes for a second, then turned and strode the other direction. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to talk to him, she just didn’t want to risk lashing out at him in frustration. The sound of his rushed footsteps gained on her even as she walked briskly around to a door that led out onto a balcony overlooking the front courtyard and grounds.

  She stormed through the door, leaving it open behind her since she knew shutting it wouldn’t stop him, and walked to the railing. Cool air washed over her, quenching some of the fire of fury burning within.

  He promised to help.

  Her hands curled around the cold railing and she glowered out. Someone was working with a young horse in one of the paddocks, attempting to introduce it to a saddle. The animal danced away from the large leather object, tossing its head in a way that made it look as if it were mocking the man trying to saddle it.

  You tell him. She smiled faintly, the fist of anger relaxing a little more.

  Ash shut the door behind him and came to stand next to her. He gave her a cautious glance before speaking. “Care to tell me what happened in there?”

  The man popped the horse’s lead sharply and the animal tossed his head back, splaying his front feet wide in surprise. The man shook his head, set the saddle on the railing, and picked up a long whip. He then led the horse out into the middle of the paddock and drove the animal out to move around him in a big circle. She didn’t know much about working with horses, but it appeared to calm the animal. After a few spirited kicks, the horse settled and fell into a steady stride.

  “I found out last night where Chaff and Garrett are being held, but now Drake is refusing to help get them out.”

  Ash scowled. “See, he is an arse. We can’t leave my dad…” He caught himself. “We can’t leave them there.”

  The horse’s movement was mesmerizing, his strides long and smooth, his mane and tail streaming behind him. The smelly beasts could be rather majestic at times.

  She drew in a deep breath, letting it calm her. “No. He's right to refuse. He lost two men last night getting back some supplies the Lits got their hands on. It wouldn't be reasonable to expect him to risk more lives for this.”

  Ash gave her a worried look. “I don't like it when you start talking sense. Makes me wonder what plots are hatching in that brain of yours. I know you don’t give up this easy.”

  Never have. She started to chew at the inside of her lip.

  If Ash took his family and her mother away from here… Could she even get to Thaddeus without Bennett or Joel catching her first? It was a risk, one in which the consequences were dire. Bennett scared her. He had looked much too eager when Thaddeus suggested letting him have his way with her.

  He was a killer, not because he needed to be one, she suspected, but because he liked being one. She might be able to convince Bennett to take her to Thaddeus if he found her, but that assumed a lot about his concern for his employer’s wishes. She suspected his loyalty fell below his personal pleasures on a scale of importance. Besides, she’d only asked Thaddeus to free one person. He might not barter for more than that, which meant she needed to find another way if she meant to get Garrett out too.

  Her gaze moved over the grounds and something caught her eye. The black nose of Drake’s small airship stuck out from behind the nearest stable.

  “Why is Drake’s airship out?”

  Ash looked at the end of the ship. “They moved it up this morning. One of the men said they needed the space below for something else.”

  They must have needed more space for assembling the battleship. That would be a sight to see, if Drake didn’t ban her from the lower level after her show of temper. However, as long as Macak was down there, they would have to kill her to keep her out.

  Ash was still gazing at the end of the ship, an almost feverish gleam in his eyes. “I'd love to fly that thing.”

  The gears began to spin faster in her head. "Would you?"

  He turned to her. “Who wouldn’t? You’ve flown it. Was it brilliant?”

  She had to smile at his enthusiasm. “It was rather splendid. Maybe you’ll get a chance sometime.”

  Soon.

  There was a light knock on the door behind them, a momentary warning before Crimson stepped out. She acknowledged Ash with a nod and focused on Maeko.

  “I’m sorry, Kitten. I know Drake promised you…” She trailed off when Maeko held up a hand.

  “He did, but he’s right.”

  Crimson threw an alarmed glance in Ash’s direction.

  He returned a worried look. “Rather unsettling, isn’t it.”

  Maeko ignored the exchange. “I still need to meet with my contact tomorrow night. I can’t simply leave him hanging. He might have some other useful information. Do you think someone could alter my dress so it doesn’t look like I only own one?”

  Crimson sized her up with a glance and smirked. “I can do you one better. Drake’s sister died of consumption when she was seventeen. Most of her clothes are still in her room. I don’t think it would take much to make a few of the dresses fit you.”

  “Wouldn’t that upset him? I think he’s already peeved with me.”

  Crimson shook her head. “If you knew him better, you’d know he’s more upset with himself. I’ve never seen him go back on his word before. He doesn’t take losing someone lightly. Would it surprise you to learn that he suggested giving you some of her dresses the day after you got here? He hasn’t said anything because he didn’t think you would be any more willing to wear them than I would.”

  “Oh. They do come in handy on occasion. Don’t you ever wear dresses?”

  Crimson wrinkled her nose. “No. He did buy me the loveliest gown once. I take it out now and then just to look at it.”

  “You should wear it for him sometime.”

  Crimson glanced at Ash again.

  He shrugged. “I think maybe she’s sick.”

  Maeko felt her face starting to flush. “Oh, bother. You two are impossible. Where are these silly dresses?”

  They followed Crimson to an unoccupied room and began digging through dresses in the wardrobe of Drake’s dead sister. Even living in the bedroom of Lucian’s deceased daughter for a time hadn’t accustomed her to the strange, pervasive sense of something missing that filled the room of someone who had passed away. It made her eager to depart. Crimson moved with the haste of someone who felt much the same. She pulled out the dresses and threw them down on the bed, quickly grabbing those that were clearly too formal for the task at hand and hanging them back up to narrow the options.

  “This one’s nice.”

  Ash held up a yellow dress with a big cascading bustle. Lace lined the bust as well as every seam and layer of fabric. Crimson wrinkled her nose and Maeko made a small sound of disgust.

  “Perhaps you should wear it. I’m sure it would be lovely on,” she teased.

  He tossed the dress down and balled up a coffee colored jacket to throw at her. She caught it and held it up. There was a sedate black lace trim and the jacket itself had simple, fitted lines appropriate for eveningwear. Not too formal or fancy.

  She lowered it to look over the top at Crimson. “What does this go with?”

  Crimson dug through the pile and pulled out a dress of the same color, also sparingly trimmed in black lace.

  They smiled at one another and spoke in sync. “Perfect.”

  A few hours later, after a thorough fitting to have the dress altered, Maeko and Ash sat in plush chairs in a quiet little tearoom hidden in on
e corner of the upper level. The walls were a pale yellow with a floral pattern that made Maeko cringe. Elaborately carved woodwork trim rippled around the windows and doors like waves of white foam. It almost looked edible.

  What was edible was the selection of cakes and pastries they’d snagged from the kitchen and laid out on a small table between them. Custard tarts, pumpkin pasties—Maeko tried to make herself munch on them.

  Large windows overlooked the pasture. A light rain fell outside, the sky slowly darkening with the onset of evening. Three horses stood under a tree in the pasture, their bay coats turning black as daylight sank away on the horizon. They stood quiet, each with one rear foot at rest, the occasional shift to the other foot or twitch of an ear the only movement to draw them out as something alive amidst the deepening shadows.

  “They look sad.” She looked at Ash as she spoke only to find him watching her.

  He turned to glance down at the solemn beasts. “I don’t think they’re sad. They’re just resting the way horses do.”

  “Oh.” She gazed down on them again. “They always look sad when it’s raining.”

  “I imagine they like it better when it isn’t.” He popped a bite of pastry into his mouth and chewed.

  Maeko held her silence. He wanted to talk about something. She could feel the unspoken words hanging heavy in the air, so she curled her legs up into the chair and waited. He swallowed the bite and started to reach for another, then stopped and returned his hand to the arm of the chair instead.

  “You mean to go after them anyway, don’t you?”

  No point lying since she planned to give him his wish and let him help this time. “Yes.”

  “How?”

  “It depends on what I learn tomorrow night. How would you feel about borrowing Drake’s airship?”

  He glanced at her out of the corner of his eye. “Without asking?”

  “Of course.”

  “They call that stealing.”

  “I mean to return it.” She popped a small lemon cake in her mouth.

  He gazed out the window in thoughtful silence, but the slow change in the set of his jaw gave her all the answer she needed. He would help.

  “Can I come with you tomorrow night?”

  “I don’t care if you ride in the coach, but I have to meet my contact alone.”

  “Why?”

  “He’s a Literati officer and I’m meeting him at JAHF. I can’t exactly take my mates along.” Not to mention Ash’s presence would discourage Wells’s coworkers convenient assumption that there was a relationship between them. The way things were, the late hour of her visits and her lack of chaperone would encourage the supposition that their courtship was being carried on in secret. Nothing distracted people away from the truth like a little sumptuous scandal.

  Ash ran a hand through his dark hair, leaving it charmingly mussed. “Why can’t you ever find a safe way to get things done?”

  “I do the best I can. Besides, what fun would safe be?” She grinned and tossed a cake at him.

  He caught it and gave her a sly grin, bounding up from his seat with the cake brandished before him like a weapon.

  “Don’t!”

  She threw her hands up and he caught one wrist, parrying the other with the arm holding the cake as he drove the morsel toward her face. She twisted her arm, knocking the cake away at the last second and throwing his balance off. He tripped and went over, taking her and the chair with him. His leg caught the edge of the table, kicking it over, and the remaining selection of delicious pastries rained down on them. When Crimson opened the door to call them to dinner, she found them splayed on the floor coated with the remains of smashed sweets and laughing too hard to do anything about it.

  Macak trotted into the room with Crimson, the gears in his leg clicking softly, and dutifully began to lick a bit of buttery pastry from Maeko’s chin.

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  Maeko considered her reflection in the long mirror she had uncovered. The newly altered dress fit perfectly. The understated deep coffee color and simple style had a quiet elegance to it that she hadn’t expected. It looked fully appropriate for a young lady out in the evening hoping to impress a possible suitor. To her surprise, with the assistance of a little corsetry and proper tailoring, she actually looked the part. That her black hair had grown out a bit didn’t hurt the overall effect either.

  Crimson helped her finish off the ensemble by pinning her hair up into a small bun and topping it off with a matching decorative little hat tilted neatly to one side. It proved that the woman’s lack of feminine embellishments had nothing to do with a lack of ability.

  When they finished, Crimson clapped her hands sharply. “Chivvy along now! We’ve got places to go!”

  “And we don’t want to give Drake a chance to spot us heading out.”

  “Precisely.”

  Maeko took a quick moment to cover the mirror for her mother’s sake before turning to follow Crimson from the room. When she walked past the vanity, Macak leapt up to her shoulders. His claws dug in through the material. Extracting them would have to be carefully done to avoid damaging the dress, but she liked him there. His presence always boosted her confidence somehow.

  Crimson turned before the door and held up a staying hand. “The cat stays here.”

  “He’s bored.”

  “He’s a cat.”

  “And I’m a rat.” With a smirk, Maeko stepped around the other woman and opened the door, proceeding Crimson out with Macak happily balanced upon her shoulders.

  Ash was already out front by the coach, standing to one side of the open door. He stared a little too long as she approached, his gaze openly approving. She flushed and climbed into the coach fast enough that Macak had to dig in deep to hold on, and she clenched her teeth against the pain.

  “Stop gawking,” Crimson chastised Ash as she followed Maeko in. “You look like you’ve never seen a young lady before.”

  Ash followed them in and smiled at Maeko who averted her gaze, refusing to acknowledge his appraisal or how it made her feel a bit giddy.

  “Not one that lovely.”

  He sat next to her and she turned her full attention to petting Macak who had extracted his claws and climbed down into her lap.

  Crimson gave the cat a sour look. “You’ll have fur all over you by the time we get there. Give him to me.”

  Maeko reluctantly relinquished the cat. He yowled an initial protest, then settled as Crimson began to scratch his chin and Maeko dutifully brushed the cat hair off the dress. She did have a part to play tonight. After that was done, Macak could get all the hair he liked on the dress.

  Ash reached across to scratch Macak’s head then sat back in the seat. “How did you become a Pirate, Crimson?”

  Crimson smiled and a certain wistfulness in the expression captured Maeko’s curiosity.

  “I don’t know that I ever became a Pirate. My father was a blacksmith. Keeping the horses here shod was a full-time occupation. We lived on the property, and Drake and I spent a lot of time together. He had an interest in science and engineering that I shared, so he brought me into the workshop his parents had set up for him and taught me everything he learned. At some point, the friendship turned into love. Whatever he is, I support him. If that makes me a Pirate, so be it.”

  Maeko straightened a bit of black lace on one sleeve of the jacket, making a point of not looking in Ash’s direction as she spoke. “How did you fall in love with him?”

  “I don’t know. I just know that one day I realized that I wanted to be more than a friend to him. Fortunately, he felt the same. He’s very private though. The Drake I fell in love with stays well hidden. In front of others he can be…” she hesitated, looking down at Macak’s false leg as if the word she sought might be etched in its gleaming surface.

  “Creepy,” Maeko offered.

  Crimson laughed. “Sometimes. He tries to take care of those who follow him, but he also tries not to get too close. He’s lost many
good mates.”

  Good mates who trusted him and followed him the way Chaff had followed her into danger and paid the price. Drake might not be willing to risk his own people to help her save Chaff, but he couldn’t claim not to understand why she had to try.

  Ash and Crimson were both against letting her do much walking alone in the city dressed as she was, especially after Crimson mentioned the blokes who had accosted her on the prior visit. After some argument, they agreed on a pickup location and dropped her off a block away from JAHF. If all went according to plan, it would be a short visit. She strode down the street and up the steps doing her best to move with the proper blend of the haste of secrecy and the confidence of privilege.

  The older gentleman with the gap-toothed smile answered the door and, after glancing up and down the street, welcomed her in with a small, disapproving shake of his head.

  “Pardon my asking, miss, but shouldn’t you have a chaperone?”

  She gave a shy smile. “My chaperone has fallen ill. I talked father into letting me go out. It is JAHF, after all. What could happen here?”

  The gentlemen raised his brows, his expression suggesting that she might be surprised, but he said nothing as he shuffled back to his chair and sat down. He looked up at again once he had settled at his post. “Officer Wells is busy. If you wish to wait, I believe his visitor will be leaving shortly.”

  “Visitor?”

  “Don’t fret, Miss. You’re the only lady what comes to visit him here. He’s meeting with Mr. Folesworth.”

  Her heart leapt into her throat. Fret? She wasn’t going to fret, but she might panic. The telltale coach hadn’t been out front. If it had been, she would never have come inside. Maybe his driver had parked around the side.

  She deliberately unclenched her hands and smoothed her skirt. She couldn’t be here when Thaddeus came out, but maybe she didn’t have to leave either. “Is there somewhere quiet I could wait for him? Perhaps somewhere a bit warmer than here by the doors.” She rubbed her arms with her hands for emphasis, her palms whispering over the fine material.