Howls and Hallows: A Steampunk Fairy Tale (Steampunk Red Riding Hood Book 5)

by Melanie Karsak

  “No. I’m fine.”

  “Ah, there she is,” Edwin said, motioning with his chin to the other corner of the room. “Shall we?”

  “Of course.”

  I should have gone to London with Harper.

  Edwin and I crossed the room to join an aged matriarch who was bedecked in heaps of silk and jewels, her hands resting on a cane. She looked up at Lord Samson with bored exasperation written all over her face.

  Well, at least we had one thing in common.

  Catching sight of Edwin out of the corner of her eye, the grey-haired woman rose, steadied herself with her walking stick, and pushed around Lord Samson without another word. The Lord, who looked a bit confused at being dismissed so out of hand—no doubt he’d been so lost in his pontifications that he hadn’t realized he didn’t really have an audience—tottered off to find another mark.

  “Edwin,” the woman said warmly, approaching him with her arm extended.

  Edwin went to her, kissing the woman on her soft, wrinkled cheek. “Godmother, I am so pleased to see you doing well.”

  “Well? Well? Well enough, I suppose. But I am here all the same, and glad to see you. My goodness, how much you look like your late grandfather with each passing year. You know, had it not been for the vulture, your grandmother, we would have married.”

  “Yes, Lady Chadwick, you have told me many times.”

  “Oh, dear Edwin, just look at you. You must come to see me more often. You work too much—like a commoner, my dear—it’s obscene.”

  “I work for Her Majesty. Is that not noble?”

  “Oh, well, I suppose. Now, where is this woman you told me—” she began then looked around Edwin at me. For a moment, her brow flexed as she took me in from head to toe, her eyes lingering on my gown then on my face. She frowned heavily, shook her head, then looked behind me. She was looking for someone more suitable. I couldn’t possibly be the girl.

  “Godmother, may I introduce Miss Clemeny Louvel?” Edwin said, gently reaching for me.

  My heart thudding in my chest, I stepped forward.

  Lady Chadwick froze, the expression on her face showing that she could not believe what she was hearing, then looked back at me. “Oh,” she said.

  I swallowed hard then curtsied—awkwardly. “Lady Chadwick,” I said.

  “Oh. Yes. Oh my. So, this is your…friend?”

  “Yes. Miss Louvel works at the Agency.”

  “A subordinate?”

  “Well,” Edwin said then shifted uncomfortably, lacing his hands behind his back. “Miss Louvel is in line to be promoted to my level. She is the head of her division.”

  “Of her division. And what is it you do, my dear?” she asked, looking at me.

  “Law enforcement.”

  “Oh. Oh my. Just like Edwin.”

  “For the crown, Godmother. Like me, Miss Louvel works at the behest of Her Majesty.”

  “Yes. Well. I suppose one must make money somehow,” she said then eyed my dress. “Pity when it’s not spent where it should be,” she added under her breath. “And what does your family do, Miss Louvel?”

  “It’s only my grandmother and me, My Lady. My grandmother is active with our church.”

  “Louvel. That’s an unusual name.”

  “It’s French,” I replied.

  Lady Chadwick recoiled. “French. You’re French?”

  “Not exactly. My grandmother is French.”

  “That makes you French, my dear.”

  “My grandmother and I are not related. I am adopted.”

  “From where?”

  “The doorstep of a church.”

  “Edwin, help me back to my seat,” Lady Chadwick said then, reaching out for him.

  Good lord, I’d knocked the woman off her feet.

  “Shall I get you some water?” I asked.

  “Yes, yes,” the woman called lightly, shooing me away with a wave of her hand.

  I went to the sideboard where I found Niles serving.

  “Water, please,” I told him.

  “How is it going with the dowager?” he asked as he poured me a glass.

  “Not well. I just nearly made her faint.”

  He chuckled then motioned to a panel at the side of the room. “Servant’s stairwell. Down and to the left if you need something more than water to get through.”

  “Can’t you just slip me a flask?”

  He chuckled. “Chin up, Agent. Didn’t you just thrash some monster out on the fen?”

  “So to speak,” I said then took the drink from his hand. “Thanks,” I added then headed back across the room.

  Edwin was sitting in the chair beside Lady Chadwick who appeared to be haranguing him in a whisper.

  “Completely unsuitable. Absolutely not. It cannot happen,” Lady Chadwick was telling him in a low, but earnest tone, when I returned.

  I hesitated.

  No need to guess what that was about.

  Edwin turned to me. He looked pale and shaken, but he smiled nonetheless.

  “Here you are, Lady Chadwick,” I said, handing her the glass. To my surprise, my hand was trembling. Inhaling, I steadied it.

  “Thank you, Miss Louvel,” she said, taking the cup. She sipped but gave Edwin a hard look at the same time.

  “I’m terribly sorry. I’ve forgotten something I need to attend to. Lady Chadwick, if you’ll please forgive me, I need to attend to a matter at once. I’ll see you both at luncheon,” I said then moved to go.

  Edwin rose. “Clemeny?”

  “Let her go,” Lady Chadwick hissed under her breath.

  “It’s nothing. I just need to take note of something for the case before I forget. I’ll see you soon,” I said, then turned and left the room.

  As I went, I felt Lady Charlotte’s eyes on me. I didn’t have to look at her to see her smug smile. I could feel her gaze burning a hole in my back.

  I exited the parlor then headed toward the small library. Halfway there, I paused.

  I turned and went to the back of the house. Pushing open the doors, I exited onto the veranda. At once, I could breathe. The air was thick with mist. Even though it was daytime, the fog snaked around the angels and statues like it was alive. Setting my hand on my stomach, I breathed in and out.

  Coward. I was a coward. I had let that old woman have the better of me in an instant.

  Exhaling deeply, I stepped down into the garden until I found a bench in front of one of the reflecting pools. The water was still and grey. There was nothing to reflect here, no light, no color, just the grey hue of this place.

  I really, really should have gone back with Harper.

  Closing my eyes, I listened to the soft calls of the marsh birds and the song of the croaking frogs. It was so still, so peaceful and authentic compared to the artifice inside the house.

  I stayed outside for a long time. The gong for lunch came and went. When I finally felt confident everyone had adjourned for luncheon, I sneaked back inside and headed up the servant’s stairwell back to my room.

  Slipping inside, I found my red dress draped over the end of my bed. On the bed sat a mask, a note lying beside it. I picked up the paper. The note was from the Emma, the maid. She’d found a mask for the ball for me. I lifted the mask and studied it. It was made of red satin and trimmed with black lace. There were black rosettes at the temples. It was perfect, except for the fact that my mooneye was going to shimmer like a gaudy bauble in the midst of all the perfect opulence, reminding everyone—including Lady Chadwick—of just how unsuitable I was.

  I sat down on the bed and pulled out my knife. I cut long slashes along the left side over the left eye, mimicking the scar on my face. When I was done, I held out the mask and looked.

  Now, it was perfect.

  Now, it was me. Flawed. Common. Not good enough for the likes of Edwin.

  I’d felt more at home among the elementals on the fen.

  How ironic.

  What was it Afwyn had said to me? That it was the l
ight inside me that had shielded me from the druids’ spells. Maybe my comfort around the preternaturals wasn’t just a figment of my imagination. There was something different about me. And it truly was time for me to find out what.

  I just didn’t want to face it alone.

  My dream came to mind once more. I remembered how vivid the image of Lionheart and me at Glastonbury had been, the feel of his hand in mine, and despite the fact that his eyes had flickered ruby red, I’d felt comforted by his presence. In the dream, I’d been scared. Until Lionheart had taken my hand.

  I closed my eyes. To my great frustration, tears burned the corners.

  I didn’t belong here.

  I didn’t fit here.

  Dammit. I didn’t want to be here. What was I going to do now? Lionheart hadn’t given me any choice. He’d just up and left. After all that, he’d left me behind.

  I squeezed my eyes shut.

  Richard, come back.

  A knock on the door startled me.

  “Agent Louvel?” a voice called.

  It was Emma.

  I quickly dashed the tears away. “Come in.”

  “Here you are. I checked for you in the small library, but it looked like all your things had been collected. Sir Edwin asked Niles to check on you, but the footmen are very busy. I think you’ve missed the lunch. Are you unwell?”

  “No. I was just busy. I had to… I went back on the fen for a bit,” I lied.

  “Oh, I see. Can I bring you a tray?”

  “No, thank you.”

  “I see you found the mask. It was among some old things downstairs. I thought it matched your dress—oh,” she said, seeing the cuts I had made on the item.

  “I needed it to match,” I said, motioning to my eye.

  She chuckled. “Shall I come back later and help you with your gown? I think they’ll begin at seven.”

  I paused. Should I bother? Edwin hadn’t even checked on me. He’d sent a servant. What the hell did that mean?

  “I’m not sure.”

  “I’ll come back. Just have a rest. I’ll see that Sir Edwin is informed you’re still busy with your work,” she said then left.

  I went to the window and looked outside.

  “Clemeny Louvel, why are you still here?” I whispered to myself.

  Edwin.

  I was here for Edwin.

  Where was he?

  Chapter 24: Red as Roses

  Emma returned—no sign of Edwin—later that day to help me dress for the ball.

  I had packed and unpacked my bag about six times in the interim, feeling stupid and silly. After the sixth time, I decided to clean my guns while I decided whether to go to the ball or not.

  And wait for Edwin.

  Who never came.

  I had about made up my mind to leave—I had cleaned all my weapons and sharpened my blade—when the time to decide finally came.

  Emma eyed the weapons lying on the spare bed, gave a little shake of the head, then turned to the red dress which I’d hung on the wardrobe door. “Pretty frock. Dare say, it must have set you back a pretty penny.”

  “It was a gift.”

  “Oh, well, you must have a very generous family. Or a gift from a friend, perhaps?”

  A werewolf.

  “Friend.”

  “Shall we get you dressed?”

  I stared at the dress. Why had I brought it? It wasn’t for Edwin. That dress didn’t belong here, and neither did I.

  That dress was for someone else.

  Sensing my hesitation, Emma said, “Don’t let them intimidate you, Agent Louvel. Just look at all this,” she said, motioning to the weapons I had laid out on the bed. “People like that don’t live in the real world. We do. Don’t allow them to make you feel less. Let’s get you into that dress and give them something to see.”

  She was right.

  Maybe.

  “All right,” I acquiesced.

  “Good. We’re all rooting for you downstairs,” she said with a grin. “Oh!” she exclaimed then dipped her hand into her pocket, pulling out a flask. “Niles sent this,” she said, handing it to me.

  I uncorked it and took a sniff. “Mead?”

  Emma nodded. “Liquid luck, he called it,” she said then laughed. The maid set her hands on her hips and looked at me. “Now, sit down, and let me at that hair.”

  Lifting the flask, I took a swig of the strong spirits, then another, then sat.

  One way or the other, tonight I was going to learn who Sir Edwin Hunter really was.

  For good or for bad.

  * * *

  Music emanated from the ballroom as I made my way down the steps toward the grand entryway. Below, the elegant lords and ladies in their fine gowns and suits, with a startling variety of masks, swirled in a torrent of silk, diamonds, and lace. I felt for a moment like I was at a carnival. If it wasn’t for all the candles, corn stalks, jack-o-lanterns, carved gourds, wheat shafts, bunches of colorful fall leaves, and other signs of autumn, that could have easily been true. My first masked ball. Somewhere, Grand-mère was beaming with pride.

  As for me, I felt anything but pride. After all, I was no one—as Lady Chadwick seemed so pleased to remind me. I was an orphaned child turned werewolf-hunting brute. What was I doing in a room full of people who had Sir, Lord, or Lady before their names? Maybe I should tell them to call me Little Red.

  I glanced around the room for Edwin. It was dreadfully hot for an autumn night. I tried to take a breath. Emma had a deft hand at dressing a lady. I looked beautiful, but I could barely breathe. Or maybe I was just nervous. Edwin hadn’t come upstairs. Perhaps he didn’t want me here anymore. I didn’t care for the Cabells, or Lady Chadwick, or any of the rest of it, but I did care for Edwin. I had failed him in my first meeting with Lady Chadwick. I didn’t want to embarrass him again.

  Maybe it would just be better if I left.

  Honestly, I wasn’t sure what to do.

  But I did know one thing. The red dress Lionheart had purchased for me was beautiful. If I was ever going to impress anyone, it would be tonight. More than the dress being stunning, wearing it made me feel beautiful. Lord knows, Lady Chadwick had rendered me the opposite in a single glance. But the dress made things right again.

  My hand, covered in a long red satin glove, drifted up to my perfectly curled and bunched hair. Aside from my mooneye, I looked the part.

  I was still scanning the room for Edwin when my mooneye spotted something in my periphery. A shadow passed out of the corner of my eye. At once, the palms of my hand started to tingle.

  Wonderful.

  I was going to have to slay something. It was bad enough Phillip Phillips had to ruin my blue dress. If some preternatural marred this gown, there would be hell to pay.

  A figure wearing an elegant tuxedo and sporting a plague doctor’s mask and hat moved through the crowd toward me. I didn’t need to see his face to know it was Edwin. I had engraved the man’s posture in my memory. But tonight, I could see in his movements that Sir Edwin was on display. And I wasn’t yet sure how I felt about Sir Edwin.

  Edwin stopped at the bottom of the stairs and looked at me.

  “I… Clemeny, you look beautiful,” he said. “I wasn’t sure if you were going to come.”

  “I wasn’t sure if I should come.”

  The mask, which only covered the top portion of his face, didn’t hide Edwin’s frown. “I’m sorry for earlier,” he said then walked up the steps to me. “I was stunned by Lady Chadwick’s rudeness. To be honest, I didn’t know what to do.”

  “To be honest, I expected more backbone out of you,” I said, shocked by my own words as they tumbled from my lips.

  All day, I had been stewing in my emotions. Things with Edwin had been progressing, and I had been considering what I might say if Edwin proposed—even with the added complication of Richard just disappearing on me. But Edwin had stood by while Lady Chadwick sneered at me. And he had stayed with her throughout the day, leaving me forgott
en. I was beginning to question his nature. Had I mistaken Edwin Hunter, demon slayer? Was he really Sir Edwin Hunter, baronet? Now I wasn’t so sure. One man I loved. The other? Not a fan.

  “That’s fair,” Edwin said. “I expected more out of myself. I hope you can forgive me. I can’t tell you how pleased I am you’ve come down. You look so very beautiful.”

  “Looking rather dapper yourself,” I said.

  At that, Edwin smiled, a tremor of nervousness playing on his lips. He extended his hand once more. “Will you come in?”

  “Yes. But I hope we don’t have to mar our perfect attire,” I said, scanning the room once more for whatever was lurking.

  Edwin paused. “What do you mean? What is it?”

  “I thought I saw… Well, I don’t know what I saw. But there is something afoot.”

  “I’m not surprised. Half the aristocracy—and mostly unbeknownst even to them—carries faerie blood.”

  I stared at Edwin. “Is that true?”

  He nodded. “The preternaturals are always drawn to the sophisticated set. Just ask Agent Rose. But we must also keep in mind that it is Samhain.”

  “Agent Rose? It could have easily been a spirit. I didn’t see anyone, per se. Just a flash and a feeling.”

  “Your flashes and feelings are better than most people’s facts,” Edwin said.

  “And what about you? Any hunches tonight?”

  “I confess, having Lady Chadwick here has me all off kilter. I don’t think I’ve ever been less certain of my hunches before.”

  “Well, then I’ll do my best to guide you.”

  “Please. I’m quite lost without you, Clemeny Louvel,” Edwin said with a nervous laugh, and the two of us headed toward the ballroom.

  I exhaled deeply, feeling myself fall into an easy familiarity with Edwin once more. I was making too much of all this. Edwin hardly ever bothered with this life. This world was wholly disconnected from our day-to-day work. Hell, Edwin had even leant his massive estate, Willowbrook Park, to the Pellinore Division of the Red Capes. Edwin lived in my world now. Whether Lady Chadwick approved of me or not hardly mattered. Not really. What mattered was how I felt about Edwin and him about me. And I really, truly cared for him.