The Wild Adventure of Jasper Renn (The Steampunk Chronicles)

by Kady Cross

  “Are you staying here with Sparrow?”

  She nodded. “I’ll get her packed up and then go back to the hotel tomorrow. We’ll probably fly out tomorrow night or the next day.”

  She seemed to be looking for something in his face, but he didn’t know what. He nodded. “So, this is goodbye, then.”

  “Yeah, I guess so.”

  He lowered his head and kissed her forehead. “Goodbye, Cat.”

  She removed his coat and handed it to him. “Goodbye, Jasper.”

  He watched her hop down from the carriage and walk with the girls up to the door of the house, the skirts of her pretty gown swaying with every step. One of the girls opened the door and they all filed in. Only Sparrow stopped at the threshold and turned to wave at him. Jasper waved back. Her sister, however, didn’t even look. She just closed the door, and was gone.

  Chapter Six

  “I’m not leaving.”

  Cat wasn’t surprised to hear these words tumble out of her sister’s mouth. What did surprise her was her own disinterest. Of course she cared what happened to Sparrow—she’d chased the girl across the Atlantic to make certain she wasn’t being harmed in some way, or taken advantage of—but she wasn’t worried about it.

  “I like it here, Cat. I have friends—real friends, who don’t think I’m odd because I can make myself stay in the air for longer than most. They like me. I like them. I like Mrs. Rhodes. She’s like a mother to us. I like Mr. Anders, who owns the circus. It’s like a family—sort of like Five Points, but without all the fighting and blood.”

  If ever she needed a reason not to force her sister back to New York, that was it. Five Points might be on its way out, but the people would go elsewhere in the surrounding area. There would always be poor people, gangs and hate. The same could be said for any city, but London was a fresh start for Sparrow, and it was obviously a place where she felt wanted and safe, despite having been attacked by Lord Blackhurst.

  “This is really where you want to be?”

  The girl nodded. “I never planned to stay with Lord Canton. I just wanted to see London, you know?”

  No, she really didn’t. She didn’t understand being romantic with someone you didn’t love, but then, she’d had the advantage of seeing her parents’ relationship. Sparrow had been younger still when their father died, and she’d grown up fast. When she talked about her friends at the circus—which she had been doing for the past hour—her face lit up and her eyes brightened. She looked like a fifteen-year-old girl, not an old woman in a young body.

  “If you’re certain this is what you want, then all right.”

  Her sister grabbed her hands. They were sitting on Sparrow’s neat little bed at Mrs. Rhodes’s boardinghouse. The room was prettily done in creams and blues, perfect for a young lady. “Really? You mean it?”

  Cat cocked her head to one side. “Do I ever say anything I don’t mean?”

  The girl snorted. “You said goodbye to Jasper Renn. Seriously, Cat, I think there’s something wrong with you.”

  “Excuse me? You did not just say that to me.”

  Sparrow obviously wasn’t worried about her sister’s temper. She laughed. “He’s gorgeous! And, as the girls say, he’s absolutely mad for you. You’re mad for him. It’s simple.”

  “It’s not simple, Row.” God, she wished it was. “He’s a flirt and a charmer. He’d get bored with me after a while.”

  “Yeah, because that’s why he keeps coming back to you, because he has no one else to flirt with or bring a little excitement into his life.” She made a rude noise. “Lie to him if you have to, or yourself if you must, but don’t lie to me. It makes us both fools.”

  Cat’s jaw slackened. When the hell had her baby sister gotten so smart? “Fine, I like him, but I’m scared that once he gets to know me he’ll leave, just like everyone else.”

  “Everyone else?”

  “Da left.”

  “Da died. There’s a difference.”

  “Ma’s been partially gone for years.” Ever since her father’s death, Cat’s mother had been withdrawn and distant. “Rory Sullivan left me to become a fisherman in Canada. Jasper’s already left me twice. You left me.”

  “You’re insane. Do you hear yourself? Insane. Good lord, pull your boots up, stop whining and go get your claws into that fella before someone smarter does.”

  “I’m still old enough and big enough to beat you.”

  Sparrow dismissed the threat with a wave of her hand. “You know I’m right. You’re just a coward, and yellow doesn’t suit you.”

  Cat’s mouth dropped open in disbelief. “Thanks, sis. Really. Thanks so much. I feel so much better now. I’ll go back to New York by myself and die a cowardly old woman alone in my bed.”

  “I won’t be surprised to see it happen.”

  “All right, that’s enough.” Cat’s temper was good and stoked now. “You’ve no right to call me a coward, a girl who couldn’t even tell me what you were planning to do.”

  “Because you’d try to stop me.”

  “Did it ever occur to you that I might have helped you? Hell, that maybe I would have taken you to London if I’d known you wanted to go.”

  “You can’t afford to do that.”

  “I’m here, aren’t I? I can afford it. I have more money than you’ll ever know. It’s money for us. For our future. I did some things I’m not proud of to get that money.”

  “So, what? Now you go back to New York, where everyone knows who you are, and try to live a fancy life? No one will want to socialize with a Five Points gang leader, Cat. And it will get out. The coppers will still treat you like dirt. Your old connections will still expect favors, and you’ll never get out from under that stink. Or, you could start a new life here. Think about it. No one in London knows Wildcat McGuire. You could just be Cat again. You could be whoever you want.”

  The girl should be a politician. “You really believe that?”

  Her sister nodded. “I do. You won’t know until you try. What’s the worst thing that could happen if you stay?”

  “I could be miserable.”

  “Why?”

  She looked away. “I don’t like this game.”

  “Why would you be miserable, Cat?”

  “Because Jasper and I might not work out.”

  “At least you would know. At least you would have tried.”

  This was ridiculous. “We shouldn’t even be wasting time talking about this.”

  “You’re right, because obviously you don’t want to hear the truth. You should have seen the look on his face when you walked away from him tonight.”

  “Really?”

  Sparrow rolled her eyes—an annoying family trait. “Please go see him. I’d love to have you in London, too, and I just want to see you happy. You’ll never get that if you’re always wondering what might have been.”

  “I’m not sure I like that you’re giving me all this sage advice.”

  “I learned from the best.”

  And that was the heartbreaker, right there. Eyes burning, tears threatening to spill over, Cat wrapped her arms around her sister and squeezed her hard. “I love you, Row.”

  “I love you, too.” She sounded as if she might be a little overcome, as well.

  Cat pulled back. “All right, wish me luck.”

  Her sister’s entire face lit up. “Are you going to see him?”

  “You told me to, didn’t you?” She smoothed some of the wrinkles out of her gown as she stood. “And I hear you had an excellent teacher.”

  The two of them just smiled at each other. There was really nothing else that needed to be said. Cat hugged her sister and promised to come see her the following day regardless of what happened with Jasper. Then she gathered up her wrap and left the boa
rdinghouse. Fortunately it was a somewhat busy neighborhood, so it wasn’t difficult to hail a hackney. She had a small stash of money pinned to the underside of her skirts for exactly this sort of situation.

  “Where to, miss?” the driver asked, peering down at her from under the brim of his hat.

  “Mayfair,” she replied, giving him the directions. “And please hurry.”

  * * *

  They said if you made a wish on a falling star then the wish would come true. Lying on his back on a blanket in the center of the garden maze, Jasper saw a falling star and wished that he could find someone who thought he was worth sticking around for.

  Then he realized what a pathetic request that was, and he wished for a sandwich, because he was hungry and tired of feeling sorry for himself.

  There was only one thing for him to do—go to Cat and tell her that he’d like her to stick around for a while. She’d understand that going back to the States wouldn’t be possible for him. Along with the possibility of Dalton’s revenge, there was the fact that if she was involved in some criminal behavior, it would be foolishly easy for him to fall back into those old ways. He didn’t want that to happen.

  But he just might risk it for her.

  He rubbed his hands over his face. He was tired in addition to being hungry. He should go inside and go to bed and try not to dream about Cat. She’d be leaving in probably the next twelve hours or so.

  Oh, this was more useless than teats on a bull. With a frustrated sigh, he sat up—and realized he wasn’t alone.

  “Hey,” she said, skirts rustling as she walked.

  “Hey.” Was this a dream? He gave his forearm a little pinch just to be certain. No, sir. Not a dream.

  She came forward until she could simply drop onto the blanket beside him. She was still wearing her gown, still looking gorgeous.

  “Mind if I join you?”

  He shrugged. “Guess not.”

  Gracefully, she lowered herself to the blanket, arranging her skirts in the process. “So, I’ve been thinking.”

  “About what?”

  “Houses.”

  Out of all the things he might have imagined her saying, that was not one of them. “Why?”

  “Well, since I’m going to be staying in London for a while, I thought it might be a good idea to find a house or a flat rather than stay in a hotel.”

  Any pretense of trying to play cool and remote evaporated like a puff of smoke. He sat up—they were only inches apart. “If this is a joke, it’s a mean one.”

  “No joke.” She smiled faintly. “Sparrow wants to stay and I think I will, too.”

  “Sparrow. Right.” Not for him, then. Had he really expected her to give up her life for him?

  “It’s not like there’s anything left for me in New York. I left the gang, and Five Points is going to be razed. Sparrow pointed out that London might be a good place to start fresh.”

  “Smart girl.”

  “Family trait,” she replied with a grin. “How would you feel if I stayed?”

  He shrugged. “Fine.”

  She cupped his face, holding his head still so he had to look at her, just as he had done to her. “Jasper Renn, I’m telling you that I think I might stay in this city for a reason—because I want to know if you’d like to be with me.”

  “I always like being with you.”

  “No.” She gently knocked her forehead against his. “With me—and only me. I’m askin’ you to be my fella. What do you say?”

  What did he say? God, he wanted to shout yes from the very rooftop. “Are you sure?”

  She kissed him. “I’ve never been more sure. Finding Sparrow was only part of the reason I came to London. I can admit it now. I came for you, because I haven’t been able to stop thinking of you.”

  Since she was being honest, he figured he could do the same. “I can’t stop thinking about you, either.”

  Her feline gaze bore into him, as though she could peer into his very soul. “I love you.”

  Jasper went completely still, except for the feverish pounding of his heart. “You do?”

  God, she looked so nervous and brave. “I do. And I would like to be with you.”

  He brought his hands up to cup her face, as well. “I love you, and I—” The rest of his speech was cut off when she covered his lips with her own. He came up on his knees, as well, so it was easier to hold her. His fingers curved against the back of her skull as her hand slid between them and up his torso to settle over his heart. He dropped his right hand to her chest, and felt the beat of hers against his palm. Their hearts beat in unison.

  Looked as though he didn’t need to say anything else, after all.

  Epilogue

  “Are you certain you wouldn’t rather be out looking for Emily?” Jealous as she might sometimes be of the girl Jasper thought of so highly, Cat also knew that Jasper was loyal to a fault and she didn’t want to keep him from his friends.

  “I was out looking earlier today, following up a lead I had in Brighton. It was nothing.”

  She turned her head to look at him. They were lying on her bed at the Continental, where she was going to stay for another day or two until she heard back about a flat she’d looked at. “You’ve been to Brighton and back? It’s only noon.”

  Jasper grinned. “There are some things I can do very quickly.”

  She smiled coyly. “Lucky for me you do other things very slowly.”

  “Like what?” he asked, inching closer.

  “Like explaining to me why you’re here and not with Sam or Griffin.”

  “Because you’re prettier than they are. Because I told Sam a few days ago that I was helping you with an issue. I even told him about the automatons we saw, in case it tied into whatever happened to Em. I don’t think he’s impressed with me, but I wanted to be with you and look for Emily. I couldn’t do both. It’s not the most honorable of reasons, but it’s all I’ve got.”

  She was more important to him than his friends. The realization made her dizzy. It also made her uncomfortable a little. “You can’t toss them over for me, boyo.”

  “I’m not tossing them over. I’m just being selfish for a bit.” It was sweet, but she didn’t feel right about it, and she could tell he didn’t, either. But he didn’t have to choose between them and her. Her whole life had been about being either black or white, Irish or African. Seemed as though someone had always been wanting her to pick one, when she just wanted to be herself.

  “I think should go over there and do what you can do to help.”

  “You sure?”

  “I’ll be here when you’re done.”

  His eyes sparkled as he looked at her. “You are the most amazing woman I’ve ever met.”

  “And don’t you forget it.” She kissed him. She didn’t care what people thought of their relationship, or if they whispered about them. If people didn’t like the way she looked, they could stop staring.

  He inched closer until their legs touched. “You know, I’m pretty amazing, too. I reckon we could do plenty of amazing things together.”

  “No flirting,” she commanded, but her grin voided any real threat. “I’m immune to your charms.”

  He snorted. “You are not.”

  She opened her mouth to continue the argument, because it was fun to argue something so ridiculous, but was cut off by a strange dinging. “What’s that?”

  “My portable telegraph.” He pulled a small, relatively flat device from his coat and used the small control panel to read and respond to a message. “It’s from Griffin. They’ve found out where Emily is. Looks like Sam’s in trouble, too. He wants me to come help if I can.”

  “Then you should go.” She gave him a soft shove. “I’ll be fine.”

  His gaze locked with hers
. “Come with me.”

  Her heart skipped a beat. “Now? Your friends won’t want me around. I’m a stranger.”

  “They know you well enough, and we need all the help we can get. With Em and Sam both gone, we’re down two. With you on board, the odds are more in our favor. What do you say, darlin’—are you ready for another adventure? Rescue the damsel and her knight, plus slay the dragon, or dragons, as the case may be? We can do it together.”

  Cat wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him soundly. “I say yes.”

  And yes to every adventure to come.

  * * * * *

  Keep reading for an excerpt from

  THE GIRL WITH THE IRON TOUCH

  by Kady Cross.

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  Chapter 1

  London, Autumn 1897

  A giant tentacle slapped the front of the submersible, driving the small craft backward in the water. A crack no wider than a hair split across the view screen as suckers the size of dinner plates pulled free.

  “Mary and Joseph,” Emily O’Brien muttered as murky water from the Thames began to seep in through that crack. A sound like breaking ice followed as pressure from the outside pushed against the glass, demanding to get inside like a rowdy drunkard at a tavern door.

  “Goin’ up!” she yelled. “The control room’s been breached!” She shoved hard on the guiding lever, forcing the vehicle to rise quickly.

  The crack grew.

  Emily held her breath.

  The glass popped—another crack shot downward.