The feeling hit her between the shoulder blades, a man standing behind her shifted as Corwin held her in a pause. She didn't have to say a thing. Her lips barely parted as his eyes left her face to fasten on a target over her head. Toby issued a whirring growl from his position on her shoulder, still in buckle form.
His hand tightened on her waist and he took her away in a turn so fast, she lost her bearings. Before she could regain her bearings, he left her standing at the refreshment table nearby. She leaned on it for support as he turned to nod to Jeffrey across the room.
"Stay here." He left her to edge through the groups of conversing gentry, making his way back to the man she'd identified. Jeffrey and Lord Weatherly closed in from other directions.
So intent in watching them, she jumped when a glass of iced champagne appeared at her shoulder. She looked up into dark sable eyes as a light tenor voice caressed her ears. "It seems rude to leave a lady standing without even a refreshment."
"Oh." She looked back to Corwin, still intent on his target. "The captain had good reason."
"Whatever his reason, it is my good luck." He waved the glass slightly. "Won't you take the glass? After gracing the dance floor with your lovely self, I would think you might be parched."
His smile disarmed her even as she bristled at the obviously insincere compliment. It fell from his lips as easily as coins from a change purse. He said it too easily, as if he had far too much practice. Still, his eyes sparked with mischief, daring her to challenge him or send him away.
She smiled despite herself and took the proffered glass, thirsty after all. "Thank you."
"Might I..."
Whatever he might have asked became lost in the uproar erupting from the part of the room where Captain Corwin confronted the saboteur. Shouts rose up and a few ladies screamed. In moments, several fights boiled around them.
So much for a quiet apprehension.
"Well, this is turning out a much more interesting party than anticipated." The stranger next to her commented mildly, placing a hand on her back, herding her around to the other side of the refreshment table. "You'll have to excuse my familiarity, my lady, but you'll be safer out of the way."
She let herself be led to relative safety behind the table, craning her neck to see around the awful ice sculpture, searching for Corwin and Jeffrey. They were each engaged in a fight. From the shouts, she gathered their man had cohorts in the crowd.
Chaos reigned.
She had to admit, Corwin possessed a grand left hook. He might be an officer, but he could brawl with the best of them. Lord Weatherly called out to his trusted friends to apprehend any of the revealed conspirators.
"And why don't you seem surprised?" A strong arm wrapped around her shoulders and pulled her down into a crouch as a projectile crashed into the wall behind her.
"I beg your pardon?"
"You are far too interested and not the least upset." The dark-haired stranger peered over the table. "I'd say you know exactly what is going on." He glanced at her, a gleam in those coffee colored eyes. "Aren't you the young lady Captain Corwin saved from the rampaging mechanical earlier this evening?"
"Well..." A pair of men crashed into the table, saving her from having to answer. Her protector stood and shoved the combatants to one side.
Suddenly, Corwin appeared out of the boil of combatants, grappling with a nondescript man of medium build. Her senses jangled in her head and Toby whistled steam in warning as the two crashed towards them. Corwin’s opponent had the same metal on him as the control box receiver from the mechanical. He must be carrying the transmitter.
"Quick!" She tugged on her companion's sleeve and rushed to the ice sculpture. As they came close, she waited for the pair to turn. Planting her hands against the sculpture, she shoved with all her might.
Muttering a curse, the dark haired stranger added his strength to hers.
The ice sculpture tipped off the table and smashed into the back of Corwin's opponent, shattering into thousands of pieces. Her target went down, slipping on the cold shards while the captain kept his footing.
In only a few moments, Corwin had the suspect well in hand, and Lord Weatherly's men had any other fighters subdued. Jeffrey came stumbling through the mess, picking his way carefully through the melting ice on the floor.
"Are you all right?" She beat her brother to asking the question. He looked roughed up, with the beginnings of a fantastic bruise blooming along the side of his jaw.
"I'll live," he growled. "You should have left the ballroom with the rest of the ladies."
"In that stampede of skirts?" She asked, incredulous. "I might not have survived. Besides, this was as safe a place as any, thanks to..." She paused.
Her unexpected guardian chuckled. "Lord Darswell, at your service. You must be Mr. Dunn. Your accent and your sister's plucky spirit give the two of you away."
Jeffrey eyed up Darswell as he returned the other man's bow. "I'm indebted to you, sir, for looking after my sister."
"And isn't that a first?" Darswell murmured quietly, so only Evie heard him, before he said in a more normal tone, "The least I could do. I happened to be offering your sister a refreshment when the pandemonium broke out. I thought it prudent to see to her safety when she didn't bolt on her own."
"As if I would ever." She huffed, annoyed until he flashed another mischievous smile at her.
"I meant to introduce myself sooner, Miss Dunn, but I can't say I regret the manner of our meeting." He grinned. "You are definitely an interesting young lady."
Lord Weatherly joined them at that moment, puffing from exertion. "We've got them all rounded up now. Thank you, Miss Dunn, for identifying the culprit."
Darswell raised an eyebrow. "Very interesting."
"You should get some rest now, Evie." Jeffrey pulled her out from behind the table and began to lead her away. "This has been too much even for you."
"I hope to meet you again, Miss Dunn." Darswell called after her. "Soon."
Once they'd left the ballroom and begun the long climb up the sweeping staircase, Evie gasped.
"What is it?" Jeffrey asked, worry heavy in his voice. "Are you all right? Were you hurt?"
"I still didn't get to see the Christmas tree lit!"
Chapter 6
Evie set her teacup on the breakfast tray as Angelica slipped into her room. Judging from the child's hunched shoulders and tiptoe steps, she must have snuck out of the nursery.
"Have you had breakfast?" Evie smiled as Angelica took a perch on the arm of a sofa across from where Evie finished up her own meal.
"Course." Angelica brushed a golden curl off one shoulder. "I came to tell you Grandfather has decided to invite you to stay with us in London."
"Really?" Trying to hide her excitement, Evie reached for her teacup and lifted it to her lips for another sip. The little girl watched her, bright blue eyes half hooded. "How do you feel about that?"
Delicate eyebrows raised in surprise and light pink flushed porcelain cheeks. "Me?"
Evie nodded. After all, it was Angelica's family. Evie and Jeffrey would always be guests, not family.
Angelica considered for moment before answering with a child's simple candor. "Originally, I didn't like the idea of you in the house, in Mama's rooms. No one has been allowed in here since she and Papa died."
"I'm very sorry," Evie whispered.
Angelica shrugged. "Grandfather talked to me about it, told me how your Mama and Papa are gone, too. And, you like mechanicals. You know about them. You don't think it's boring or odd to learn about those things."
Toby chirped and launched from Evie's shoulder, extending arms and legs to glide the short distance to the sofa. Angelica watched him, eyes wide with wonder, not a sign of any fear. The little metal squirrel sat and studied the little girl as she examined him.
"Mechanicals are in my blood," Evie answered truthfully. "I've got a bit of a gift, of sorts, for engineering and metals. It's not particularly ladylike, but it's a p
art of me I don't think I can hide it."
Considering the events of the previous night, Lord Weatherly and Captain Corwin both knew quite well of her metal sense. But hope warmed her heart at the news Angelica had revealed.
"Grandmomma doesn't think you would make a good lady." The doll-like child commented, reaching out a fingertip to touch Toby gently. The mechanical responded with a sweet chitter and replicated her move, extending a tiny paw. "But she's agreed to sponsor you because she decided if she could make a lady out of you, then there's hope for me."
That surprised a laugh out of Evie. "The two of us have a challenge ahead of us then."
Angelica gave her a smirk, mischief dancing in those bright eyes. "More like Grandmomma has challenges ahead of her."
"If anyone can help us behave with propriety, it's Lady Weatherly." Evie returned the smile.
"What if we don't want to be proper ladies, though?"
And Evie heard her own voice in Angelica's question. Kindred souls, the two of them. But Evie had age and the events of the night before to temper her answer. "No one can tell us who to be. But we could learn to appear proper, when we choose. I've decided I will look at it as a study in a new skill set, like a different technique to building a piece of machinery. It would be a good thing to have the knowledge to pick and choose what would suit any given situation with greatest efficiency."
"Not a bad way to think of it." Angelica wrinkled her nose. "But I'm not certain it would make up for all of the stuffy manners and whatnot."
Evie let a giggle bubble up. "I'm not certain either, dear, but I suppose we'll have to give it our best try."
"Especially since Captain Corwin has asked to call on you in London." Angelica ducked her head after letting the words slip out. "He's very handsome."
Speechless, Evie only looked at her new friend with wide eyes. Whatever could be in the captain's mind?
"And that's not all." Angelica was brimming with information she really shouldn't know. "Lord Darswell also asked Grandfather if he could call on you in London. Grandmomma looked as if she swallowed a huge spoonful of tonic. She said he's the worst kind of rake."
"Do you even know what a rake is?" Evie sputtered.
"Well, obviously not something Grandmomma holds in high regards, which makes Lord Darswell interesting, at least." Infallible childish logic, offered in frank simplicity.
"Interesting." Evie tasted the word as she recalled Darswell's sable eyes and dark hair. Heat bloomed in her core as she thought of him. "Interesting is a good description for him."
A rake? Yes. She could definitely see Lord Darswell as a rake. Granted, Lady Weatherly might be doing him an injustice in labeling him such, but he definitely had a devilish gleam in his eyes. Evie found herself wondering about the handsome stranger and how he'd come to notice her the night before.
"Are you feeling peaky?" Angelica's voice brought Evie out of her mental wanderings. "You're looking flushed all of a sudden.
"Evie, are you getting ill?" Jeffrey entered the room with a perfunctory knock. Without a word, Angelica slid off the arm of the sofa onto the seat cushion, almost squashing Toby in the process. He gave an alarmed cheep and scampered up the back of the sofa.
"No Jeffrey, I feel fine. Truly." Evie spoke quickly to reassure him. He did get so flustered when there might be something wrong.
"You're certain?" She nodded. Even Toby chirruped a confirmation from his new perch. The concern in her brother's eyes faded, replaced by his usual good cheer. "Well then, there's a bit of a surprise for you down in the ballroom if you're ready to go downstairs."
"A surprise?" Evie shot to her feet, quickly followed by Angelica, who apparently didn't know every secret in the household.
"Indeed, and I think Miss Angelica will enjoy it as well." Jeffrey grinned at the both of them in turn. "If I might escort you two ladies down, you'll see."
Angelica giggled and the three of them started the long journey to the staircase through the maze of hallways. If Evie could make the trip once without being exhausted, nearly smashed to pieces by a berserk mechanical or otherwise distracted, she would probably remember her way as well.
"You'll be happy to know, Evie, the man you helped apprehend was a subversive element attempting to sabotage not only Lord Weatherly's company, but also the military." The conversational tone only barely covered the excitement in Jeffrey's voice.
"Is that so?" Evie inquired politely, knowing the information would soon gush out.
"Lord Weatherly's interests hold the majority of military contracts for the construction of mechanicals and other weaponry for the defense of England. There are some who feel the progression of technology is moving too quickly, changing society." Jeffrey snorted his opinion of that sentiment. "The man your sense detected carried technology from the Germans. They've been developing unmanned mechanicals. The question is, if he and his cohorts were so against the progression of technology, what the dickens were they doing with German technology?"
They descended the staircase, considering the mystery. Angelica skipped ahead a few steps and saw the surprise first as she entered the ballroom. Several houseguests stood in conversational groups, slowing Evie and Jeffrey as they paused to give polite greetings. By the time they neared the ballroom, Angelica could barely contain herself.
The little girl rushed to Evie's side to take her hand and pull her forward. "Evie! Look, oh look! It's the Christmas tree!"
"Oh!" Evie stopped in her tracks just inside the ballroom. Her eyes drank in the sight of the huge evergreen, strung with gold and lit with warm candles of fine beeswax. Drapes had been drawn across the huge windows of the ballroom so the beauty of tree could glow softly in the shadows.
"Merry Christmas, Evie!" Angelica sang out, happily.
Laughing, Evie returned the greeting, even though it was a day or two early. "Merry Christmas."
"And as an early Christmas gift, I have another surprise for you, Miss Dunn." Lord Weatherly joined them.
"Lord Weatherly, really, a gift isn't necessary..."
The portly man waved off her protest. "You did a great service to not only this household but also the crown in helping us find the saboteur last evening. It is the very least I can do, and, I think, also the beginning of a very interesting adventure. I'll be quite amused watching to see what you do in the future with your gift, Miss Dunn."
The way Lord Weatherly emphasized the word gift, Evie wasn't certain if he meant the surprise he had in store for her or her metal sense. Considering the twinkle in his eye, it could have been both.
"I'll be refitting the mechanical you so handily disabled last night," Lord Weatherly continued. "It will be upgraded with a biosensor similar in design to the one you have with your little mechanical friend. I've decided you will be the test pilot for it. God help us all. Merry Christmas, Miss Dunn."
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The End
Afterword
Thank you for reading EVIE’S GIFT!
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About the Author
Piper J. Drake is a bestselling author of romantic suspense and edgy contemporary romance, a frequent flyer, and day job road warrior. Wherever she goes, she enjoys tasting the world and embarking on foodie adventures. Dogs—and horses—have been known to spontaneously join her for a stroll and she enjoys pausing for a nice chat with cats of all sizes, from domestic to tiger size and beyond.
Piper aspires to give her readers stories with a taste of the hard challenges in life, a breath of laughter, a broad range of strengths and weaknesses, the sweet taste of kisses, and the heat of excitement across multiple genres including science fiction and fantasy.
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