Echoes of Aether

by Gail B Williams

  Chapter 57

  Jenson turned to the first page of the report again and read through it. Every detail had to be meticulously captured.

  The New Jacobites, Vostock, Stephen Russell and the A-Guns, even the acoustic weapon, though he didn’t know enough to give away any secrets there. Not that it mattered, the Queens Own had the weapon from the tower. After the failed rebellion, he’d returned to the site and with Rhett Lagina, he’d rounded up as many of the men as possible. Including Lord Montgomery, Sir Giles Chalmers and Willimena Chalmers. Both men had lost their knighthoods, because the official records put them among the dead of what the world was being told was a failed and fractured group of rebels who had turned on themselves, though seven was a luckily low number of deaths given the circumstances.

  The three not-dead aristocrats were in Lagina’s care now. They continued to bleat about lawyers and due process and their day in court. None of which were ever going to happen. The Queens Own had the power to ensure that not one of them would ever see the light of day again. The prisoners didn’t know that yet, and hopefully, they would bring more to light about the rebellion over the next steps in the process.

  The only part of the process that Jenson was unsure of was his mention of Earl Pembrey. Maker’s assurances aside, the man still had to be investigated.

  “Done?”

  Jenson looked up at Lagina. He closed the file and handed it across. “For now.”

  Lagina nodded and stood, took the file. “What will you tell Miss Forester?”

  “The truth, but only if she asks.”

  Lagina tucked the file under his arm and considered the older man. “Silence or lies would be better.”

  “Not with her, they wouldn’t.”

  “If she becomes a liability‒”

  “She won’t.”

  Chapter 58

  Belgravia Square was a very different prospect to the dales and Apollo’s Tower. Vostock chose a suit and a top hat, and the cane he bore with him could unlock into a sword. Not that he expected to have need of it today. A resident strolled past. He returned the nod of acknowledgement, but didn’t recognise the man, and knew he wouldn’t be recognised.

  The afternoon was gentle and warm, the last days of August. It had taken him some days to find out where Miss Amethyst Forester lived and now he looked at the white-painted house. All perfectly respectable.

  And the woman inside was the perfect target for his employer’s intentions.

  Number seven’s front door opened, and the man in the tweed suit stepped out, bowler hat on head. Detective Inspector Jenson. It seemed an odd relationship, but apparently this Jenson wasn’t a fool, and he’d know the uses a mind like Forester’s could be put to.

  For now, the brief was to watch and wait.

  He was watching.

  He would wait.

  THE END

  Shades of Aether

  Amethyst Forester is a scientist, not a lady.

  Benjamin Maker is a lord, trapped in a loveless marriage.

  The only thing they have in common is Professor Richards - genius aetheric scientist and mutual friend.

  When Richards is found dead, Forester and Maker are put in an impossible situation, jointly inheriting his house, its contents - and the mystery of his murder.

  Could the Professor have been killed for one of his experiments? And if so, what is someone’s still looking for it?

  Book 3

  Speed of Aether

  will be released in 2019

  OTHER WORKS

  BY THE SAME AUTHOR

  STEAMPUNK

  Shades of Aether

  The Steel Inside - part of the Steel & Bone anthology

  CONTEMPORARY CRIME

  (as GB Williams)

  Locked Up

  Locked In

  Last Cut Casebook

  Thank you!

  Thank you for reading, because that really is the whole point of writing after all.

  About the Author

  Gail Williams lives in her own private dungeon populated with all the weird and the wonderful she can imagine. Some of it’s very weird, and the odd bits and pieces are a bit wonderful. Well okay, she lives in Swansea with her husband and daughter. And the world’s most demanding cat.

  Well okay, I was born and bred in Kent, I moved to South Wales where, I’ve worked, married, had two great kids, you know, the usual.

  And I keep writing. I don’t remember a time when I didn’t, and I can’t foresee a time when I won’t - I tried that - made my brain itch. So, I figured it was time to share. If you want to know more about me or my work, check out my website and social networks:

  Website:www.gailbwilliams.com

  Twitter: @ShadesOfAether

  Blog:thewriteroute.wordpress.com

  Oh, and I do actually live with the world’s most imperious and demanding cat.