Steam & Sorcery

by Cindy Spencer Pape

  “Thank you, Piers.” Caroline found the place and waited until Piers took his seat before she began to read.

  Things had been quiet upstairs for over an hour, which was worrisome. God knew what those little demons were up to. He’d managed to talk the maid out of quitting, but it had been a close thing. Now, Merrick had planned to leave for his club, but on his way upstairs to change, he couldn’t resist a side trip to the nursery, which, thank God, was in the opposite wing from his bedroom.

  He padded down the hallway and spotted the new governess bending over one of the twin beds in the younger boys’ room. To Merrick’s surprise, both boys were clean and quiet in their beds—and not tied in place, which made their stillness even more suspect.

  “Does it hurt very badly?”

  “Not much, miss,” Jamie replied with a grin and a yawn.

  “Well, good. We’ll have you fixed up in no time.” Miss Bristol tucked the sheets up around the boy’s chin and brushed a strand of hair off his face as Merrick watched from the doorway. Then she moved over to the other bed and plucked a book out of Piers’s hands. “Sleep now. There will be plenty of time for reading tomorrow. You need to get rid of that cough before you start burning the midnight oil.” She feathered a hand across the boy’s cheek before walking over to the dresser and turning down the lamp.

  “Good night, miss,” both boys chorused as she turned toward the door.

  Good lord, had she mesmerized them?

  “Good night. I’ll leave the door open a touch, in case you need anything. I’ll be right across the hall.”

  Merrick couldn’t see it, as he had ducked away from the exit before she turned, but he imagined both boys rolled their eyes at the cosseting. He wondered what the so-proper Miss Bristol would think if she could see her new charges wielding swords and fighting a vampyre.

  “Is something amusing, Sir Merrick?” She’d slipped out of the room and partially closed the door behind her.

  “Nothing at all, Miss Bristol. Do you think you can spare me a few moments of your time?”

  “Of course.” She dipped a hint of a curtsey and waited for him to lead the way. Merrick didn’t think most men would have caught the shadow of wariness in her eyes, but then most men didn’t have Dorothy for an aunt. She’d informed him quite plainly that Miss Bristol had suffered advances from more than one employer, and warned him in no uncertain terms to keep his hands to himself—which suited him just fine. The last thing he wanted to do was get tangled up with an employee.

  Instead of his library, he led her to a small, second-story sitting room, one open to the gallery at the top of the stairs. Dorothy favored this space for reading and visiting with friends, so a fire was kept glowing in the small marble hearth and the gaslights burned softly. Two chairs flanked a pedestal table near the back wall, and Merrick held one for Miss Bristol before seating himself opposite. A slight tension relaxed from her shoulders as he rested his hands on the tablecloth, in plain view. Damn, she had been accosted, hadn’t she?

  “How the blazes did you get them quieted down?” In his limited experience, the only time those children were still was when they had passed out from exhaustion—or when they were plotting something.

  Miss Bristol smiled. “In the boys’ case, full bellies, warm milk and a bloodthirsty bedtime story. They were nodding off before I reached ‘the end.’ The girls are happily doing whatever they wish for another hour or so, which means Nell is playing with her dolls and Wink is tinkering with her machines—though she said she’ll work on the smaller ones at night while the younger children are asleep, and keep the banging to a more civilized hour.”

  “And Tommy?” Merrick meant to spend a little more time assessing the skills of his new ward before the Order’s tutor arrived.

  “He is supposed to be studying his geography, but I believe he is cheating your footman and valet out of their wages down in the kitchen.” Behind her spectacles, there was a wry twinkle in her green eyes that suggested she wasn’t too offended.

  “And you know this how?” Not that he thought she was wrong.

  “Nell was less than pleased that he managed to escape the nursery and she didn’t. Once I got her talking about her dolls, however, she forgot all about it. Did you know she’s moved them all from the nursery to a corner of her bedroom? That one will either grow up to be a governess herself or have a brood of her own. She’s a natural with children. Each of the dolls in the nursery already has a name and a distinct personality. When she sings to them, it’s truly something to hear.”

  Merrick chuckled. “Some use for those poor dolls at last. The only girl in that nursery for generations was Aunt Dorothy, and she never cared for girlish toys, though I understand her mother kept trying to interest her, which is why there’s such a large collection. My grandmother was a determined woman.”

  “Imagine that.”

  He chose to ignore the hint of dry sarcasm, though his lips may have twitched just a bit. Although he really should be leaving for his club, he found he was enjoying her quiet wit, so he lingered. It couldn’t be that trace of lavender and roses he kept smelling that had him mesmerized, or the challenging sparkle in those emerald eyes. No, he told himself firmly, it was simply good form to enquire after his newest staff member. “After having successfully navigated your first few hours, do you have any questions about your charges?”

  “Do you truly believe that Nell can see ghosts, or are you merely humoring her?”

  “She can see and speak with ghosts.” He steepled his fingers and studied Miss Bristol’s face intently, gauging her response. “It’s not a belief, it’s a fact. Will you be able to cope with that, Miss Bristol?”

  Her pause for careful consideration pleased him—she was taking the question seriously. “Yes,” she finally said, nodding. “I believe I can. And the others?”

  “Before we go any further, Miss Bristol, there are things you should know about this household—and things I may not discuss with you. I’ll need your word that none of this will ever pass your lips to anyone other than my aunt or myself. Aunt Dorothy trusts you. I hope that trust is not misplaced.”

  “Unless the secret is a matter of breaking the law, I can give you my word. If the matter is an illicit one, then I suppose I’d like to know whether or not it is designed to victimize others. If you are a crime lord, Sir Merrick, I would prefer to walk away, though I will swear to secrecy regarding what I’ve seen and heard up to this point.”

  Crime lord? Merrick gave in to the laughter that rumbled in his chest. “Rather the opposite, my dear. The secrets you may run across in this household are considered to be matters of State. My appointment is to the Crown.”

  Her smile was warm and transformed her severely pretty face into one that was vivacious and lovely. Damn, he didn’t want to have noticed that. Back to business. “Well, then, you have my word that nothing I see or hear shall pass my lips.”

  “Excellent.” How much to tell her? “Suffice it to say that Nell is not the only one of the children with supernatural gifts. Tommy, in particular, possesses talents that make him valuable to the Crown. His tutor will be working with him to develop those skills as well as the more ordinary ones.”

  “I see. And the others are, of course, aware of his abilities. So part of my task is to keep them from inadvertently revealing anything to the outside world.”

  She was taking this rather well. He nodded. “And helping them adjust to their new position in society, which will take a good bit of work.”

  “Not in every case—Wink, at least, has had some formal education. Though getting her to wear frocks instead of trousers may prove difficult.”

  “I suspect you are up to the challenge.” He rose to his feet and held out his hand. “Welcome to my household, Miss Bristol. If you need anything, please don’t hesitate to ask.”

  “Thank you, Sir Merrick.” She stood and shook his hand. Once again, even through their gloves, he felt a frisson of…something. Was it true power or sim
ple attraction? He rather hoped for the former. “Have a good evening, sir. I’m off to check on the girls.” With a swish of her biliously ugly brown skirts, she was out the door.

  Caroline straightened the covers around Nell, who’d fallen asleep in the rocking chair with one of her dolls in her lap. Fortunately, the girl hadn’t truly woken when Caroline lifted her and put her to bed. Each of the eight dolls had, if not a cradle or toy pram to sleep in, at least a hatbox or carton that had been lined with scraps of cloth for blankets.

  With her exotic looks, Nell might have the most difficulty fitting in to British society, but she was sweeter natured than some of her cohorts, which would help ease her path. Caroline tucked the covers in around the girl, then went out into the playroom where Wink was quietly tinkering with a bit of bronze and tin, her faithful companion, George, by her side.

  “What are you building now?” Caroline sat in a chair well removed from any mechanism and folded her hands in her lap.

  “It’s a spaniel,” Wink answered without looking up. “For Piers. I’d made him a kitten while he was ill, but it was destroyed by a cart horse.”

  “From what I’ve gathered, Piers is a very lucky boy to have had the rest of you to look after him last winter.” Caroline had managed to discover that Piers’s bout with pneumonia had been a close call, and that he’d just been back on his feet for the past few months.

  Wink shrugged, not looking up from her work. “When their mother died, their landlady sold him to a chimney sweep, and Nell was placed in an orphanage. Her mother and some other ghosts helped her escape. The governors of the orphanage were going to sell her to a brothel as soon as she had her first…” Her fair skin flushed and she stared intently at her work.

  “Menses,” Caroline suggested, horrified but not terribly surprised. In that business it was probably considered a kindness to wait that long—many girls were sold off even younger. Though it took some effort, she kept her voice calm and even. “The scientific term is menses, though among women, even society women, you’ll also hear the words courses and flux, along with silly phrases like ‘monthly visitor.’ None of them are considered ladylike to mention in company, but of course women discuss such things with one another. I should hope you could come to me with any questions of that nature.”

  “Aye, miss.” She picked up another piece of metal and screwed it to the growing pile on the table in front of her, which still bore no resemblance to a dog. “Mrs. Miller—she ran the teashop I lived above in Wapping—she explained things to me when it first happened. I used to fix things for her, and her friends, for food and a room. She wouldn’t let me share my room with Tommy, and she had to explain why. I didn’t believe her at first; it seemed so silly.”

  “Yes, it does at first, doesn’t it?” Caroline couldn’t remember not knowing the differences between boys and girls, but she’d been raised on a country estate, spending much of her life watching the farm animals. “How old did you say you were when your father died?”

  “Nine. He had consumption. We were in London when he died, so in London I stayed. If Tommy hadn’t found me, I’d have starved to death that first month. He taught me…”

  “To steal? You’ll hear no complaint from me about doing what you must in order to survive.”

  “Yes, miss. Then he showed me where people threw out their broken machines. I started taking bits and putting new ones together. Soon enough, I made more selling those than I could picking pockets.”

  “Didn’t you have any family to help when your father died? What about your mother?”

  “Mum died when I was born,” the girl replied. “She had nobody. My da’ was a toff, but they threw him out when he married a serving girl. So he traveled, inventing things and fixing them wherever he went.”

  The story wasn’t that different from Caroline’s own, except she’d been older when her mother had been disowned. And her mother hadn’t been strong enough to earn a living, so the onus had fallen on Caroline to support them both.

  There but for the grace of God… Except she wasn’t sure that God or any deity, for that matter, had anything to do with it.

  “Tomorrow, I’d appreciate it if you’d put on a dress when we go outside the house,” Caroline suggested gently. “Actually, that’s something I forgot to ask Sir Merrick about. I’m certain he’ll want to make sure you all have sufficient wardrobes.”

  Wink grimaced. “Aye. The dressmaker was here, though she left in a hurry. Then Miss Dorothy marched us one by one off to the shops to buy ready-made. I’ve a frock or two, if I must. With pinafores.” She said the last word as though it was a curse.

  Caroline didn’t even try to smother her laugh. “Fifteen is a difficult age, isn’t it? Not quite a girl, not quite a woman. When do you turn sixteen?”

  Wink had to think a moment. “Midsummer. That’s in June, right?”

  “June twenty-first,” Caroline agreed. “That’s a typical age to start allowing girls to wear longer skirts and put their hair up. Perhaps we can move that up a month or two if the pinafores truly annoy you.” Birthdays, though—that would be something else that most of these children probably didn’t know. “Do you mind my asking—how did you come to be Sir Merrick’s wards?”

  Ten minutes later, Caroline shook her head in wonder.

  Vampyres?

  This delicate-looking girl wielding a sword?

  Part of Caroline’s mind wanted to scream, “Preposterous!” but another part recognized that Wink’s explanation—improbable as it was—was the only one that made any sense at all. Dear God, how was he even going to arrange the legalities of the situation? Surely one couldn’t just scoop children up off the street and claim them as his wards? Then again, he was a baronet and he worked for the Crown. Perhaps he could.

  “We should both be off to bed now.” She stood and turned toward the door. “Thank you for explaining the situation.”

  “You’re welcome, miss. Here, want to see a trick? Shake, George.”

  The mechanical mastiff, which had been perfectly still during their conversation, lumbered to its feet and moved to sit in front of Caroline. Obediently, it lifted one paw, which accidentally grazed Caroline’s wrist, just above her glove. With a horrible creak, the clockwork dog stopped moving, one ear spinning wildly.

  “Oh dear.” Caroline yanked her hand back.

  “George!” Wink lunged over to her automaton pet, staring up at Caroline. “What happened?”

  “You’ve told me your secrets, now here’s one of mine.” Caroline backed cautiously away from Wink’s workspace. “I seem to have a negative effect on machinery. It’s not intentional, but that sort of thing always happens when I touch anything mechanical. I can’t even carry a pocket watch, and I practically hold my breath when I’m on a train. I hope it’s not too serious.”

  “No, just a broken spring. I can fix that easily enough.” Nonetheless, Wink cast a suspicious glance at Caroline.

  “I’ll try to be careful around your pets, I promise. And now you know to keep them far from me. Truly, I am sorry, Wink.” She moved to the door, turning just before she left. “When you’ve finished repairing George, will you wash up and go to bed? I’ll see you in the morning.”

  Her only response was a grunt as Wink set to work.

  Chapter Five

  A shrill scream, as if someone were being killed, invaded Caroline’s consciousness.

  Instantly she was awake and out of bed, grabbing the wrapper she’d hung on the post at the end of her bed. As she reached the corridor, a second scream sounded, allowing her to pinpoint the source as the younger boys’ bedroom. She hurried across the hall and pushed open their door.

  Piers stood over Jamie, shaking his shoulder. He ducked, dodging a blow from the arm with the cast. Caroline ran to the other side of the bed and grasped Jamie by his left shoulder, holding his injured arm immobile while Piers shouted Jamie’s name.

  Wink, still in her coveralls, came running in from the nursery door. Seeing Caroli
ne and Piers already by Jamie’s side, she paused to turn up the lamp before coming over to the foot of the bed. A heartbeat later, Tommy dashed through the hall door wearing nothing but a nightshirt, while Nell, in a lacy white nightgown, was close behind Wink.

  Finally, the boy woke, midscream. Wide-eyed, he lay panting, coated in perspiration.

  “You’re all right, Jamie. ’Twas just a dream.” Though Caroline wasn’t at all sure there was any “just” about it.

  Nell sat on the side of the bed and gathered the boy into her arms, rocking him as if he were much younger, which seemed to soothe him. Caroline turned to the others and whispered, “Does this happen often?”

  Wink shrugged. “Sometimes. Changes upset him, even good ones, like moving here.”

  “Jamie, what was the dream about?” So often nightmares lost their power once you spoke them out loud—or wrote them in a journal. Caroline knew that from experience.

  “Just an old one—things comin’ up out of the dark, hitting, biting, calling me.” He stopped to sob into his pillow.

  “That’s the usual, miss,” Piers said calmly. “It don’t mean nothin’—just that ’e’s upset.”

  “Sometimes, in his dreams, he sees things,” Tommy added in a low voice. “I don’t know how, but sometimes he sees things that are going to happen—or might be going to happen. Those dreams are the worst, because they frighten him even after he’s awake.”

  Now Jamie looked up at Caroline in horror. “Please don’t throw me out, miss. I’m not bad, really, I’m not.”

  Caroline sat down on the other side of him from Nell and stroked his clammy, sweat-soaked back. “Do you really think Sir Merrick is so lily-livered that he’d toss you aside because of a dream?”

  The little boy only cried harder.

  “His own family did,” Wink noted sadly. “He told his mum not to go out one morning but she did anyway and was killed by a footpad. When his aunt and uncle heard he’d warned her, they called him the spawn of Satan and threw him out on the streets.”