Fields of Gold: A steampunk adventure novel (Magnificent Devices Book 12)

by Shelley Adina

  “With all my heart.”

  Ella kissed her. “Then I will wait for that day, and in the meantime be happier than I have ever been.”

  Gloria’s tears spilled over as Ella joined Honoria at the door and they stepped out into the sunlight to where their family and sisters were waiting. When Gloria looked back, Evan stood beside her.

  “Senora Fremont.”

  “Senor Douglas.” She smiled through her tears. “Congratulations on the post the Viceroy has offered you. Shall you take it, or come home with us?”

  Evan’s face turned a little bleak. “I cannot tell you yes or no until I ask a certain party a certain question.”

  “And when shall you ask it? If it were me, I should take the party concerned out into the gardens and have it out with him forthwith.”

  “Do you think so?” Evan’s gaze found Ignatio de la Carrera y Borreaga, who was laughing with the Viceroy and the bishop. “Should I not wait for a more appropriate time?”

  “What better time than at a wedding? Seize your chance, Evan, and take the helm of your own ship. Your days of drifting in the shadows of others ended in Resolution, the moment you climbed into the behemoth to do what you thought was right.”

  He straightened his shoulders under the short black wool jacket that Gloria privately thought became him better than any tweedy English garment. “You are right, as always.” He bent to kiss her on the cheek. “I shall go at once. Wish me luck.”

  “That—and every happiness afterward.”

  Evan stepped up to Senor Ignatio, acutely aware of Isabela’s gaze as she talked and laughed with Alice and May Lin and tried not to look at him. “Senor, might I have a word with you outside?”

  Senor Ignatio’s brows rose, but since he was not at present conversing with the Viceroy, whom one did not leave unless granted permission, there was no reason for him to refuse. Evan had chosen his moment carefully. “Certainly. Let us see if the roses have bloomed yet. The bishop insists on planting them on the east side of the refectory and not the south side of the church, despite all my advice.”

  They strolled outside, where Senor Ignatio seemed to be doing his best not to stare at the sight of witches within the very walls of the mission. The roses were indeed blooming, so he bent to breathe in their sweet scent. “So, will you go with your friends back over the sea? I understand they prepare to leave immediately in that airship that came to fight with us.”

  “That depends on you, Senor. For I must ask you a question.”

  He straightened to give Evan his full attention. “A gentleman need not ask.” Understanding and sympathy glinted in his eyes. “If you are out of pocket after such brave acts, a friend can only ask if he might be of assistance. Do not fear—my pockets are deep enough to fund a ticket on the train and perhaps even a steamship over the sea.”

  Evan blushed at the vast chasm of misunderstanding this represented. He and Isabela had hidden their feelings from her family very well indeed. “That is very kind of you, sir. But I am in no need of that sort of assistance. You see, I do not intend to return to England. The Viceroy has offered me a post on his privy council—as minister of what he calls magnificent devices.”

  Had de la Carrera been wearing the spectacles his wife urged him to use, they would have fallen from his nose, so slack with astonishment did his face become. “Is it true?”

  “It is, sir. Which brings me to my question.”

  “To be sure, whatever it is, one does not refuse a privy councilor. Such a man holds more authority even than a cabinet minister.”

  Evan’s heart felt as though it might beat right out of his chest, and go flying up over the bell tower. “Then it is simply this—I wish to court your daughter. Will you allow me to do so?”

  A full ten seconds of silence ticked by as Senor Ignatio stared. “My daughter? You wish to court Beatriz?”

  Now it was Evan’s turn to stare. “No indeed. I am in love with Isabela, and I would like your approval before I attempt to win her heart.”

  “Isabela? La mariposa, who probably never had a single rational thought of you or any other man in the whole of her life?”

  Evan thought of the kiss under the olive tree, and of her flashing dark eyes as she stole a horse and cart and did what she could to save her prince’s life. He thought of the women like her, strong and brave and utterly magnificent, banding together under the rose to do what must be done so that a tyrant and a usurper should not take the place that was not his.

  “Yes,” he said with a smile that he could no longer hold back, so much did the thought of her delight him. “Isabela. She is the most precious thing in my life, and I should like the chance to see if she feels the same way.”

  “Why—Madre de Dios—upon my soul,” her father sputtered. “Who would have thought of such a thing? With San Gregorio’s boy out of the picture, I suppose one must begin from the beginning. But … a privy councilor, of all things.”

  “Does that mean you approve, Senor?” Evan persisted. He was of a logical and practical turn of mind, and liked the answer to a question to be clear—particularly when the rest of his life depended on it.

  “Why, yes. I can think of nothing I would like more.” De la Carrera took his hand and shook it rather violently. “Isabela. Her mother will be delighted. Yes, indeed, Senor Douglas. You are welcome to your chance.”

  “Thank you, sir.” Smiling, Evan freed his hand, bowed, and went to find Gloria to give her the answer he owed her.

  Once that was done, he would end Isabela’s suspense, and take the helm of his life once and for all. Or perhaps it would be better said that they would steer their ship together. At the thought of Isabela’s bravery and good sense, and of the Viceroy’s trust in him, Evan walked a little faster.

  He could see joy and clear sailing ahead—and could not wait to begin.

  At the helm of her ship, Alice, Lady Hollys, gave the last commands to the automaton intelligence system in preparation for lift. Ian turned from the viewing port, where Captain and Mrs. Fremont were standing together, their arms about each other, and joined her.

  “Is he really not coming?” Ian indicated Evan Douglas below, whose smile seemed to engulf his thin face, his arm around the dark-eyed beauty with whom he now had an understanding. The two of them stood at the forefront of the waving, chattering crowd.

  “His life is here now,” Alice said. “Isabela seems to be the one for him, and with his new post and his friendships in high places, I can see him being a gentle but driving force behind change and progress in this country. He will be happy here in a way he never seemed to be in England, from all accounts.”

  “Then I wish him the best. For I am ready to go home with you, and look about us, and perhaps plant a few crops before we decide to go adventuring again.”

  Alice felt her throat close, and she swallowed back the ache of happiness. “I have never been so thankful for anything as I have that we have been together. Can you imagine one of us sitting in England while the other endured what we have endured?”

  He kissed her hair and slipped an arm around her. “I cannot. Let us promise each other—even if it is only to fly a cargo to Bristol, we will not be separated.”

  “You may get tired of that.”

  “Of flying with you?” Ian smiled. “Never.”

  “Shall I give the order, then?”

  “You are the captain, my darling.”

  Alice grinned and kissed him.

  Then—

  “Up ship!” she called.

  Evan and the witches on the ground released the ropes, Jake and Benny reeled them in …

  … and Swan fell joyously into a sky so bright and clear they could almost see forever.

  Epilogue

  July 12, 1895

  Lt. Robert van Ness

  Commander, Texican Rangers

  Santa Fe, Texican Territory

  Dear Sir,

  I am writing to request your renewed assistance in the matter of a missing perso
n. Over a year ago, my father, Rudolf Linden, RSE, vanished under mysterious circumstances, and has never been found, alive or dead. As you may recall, we were traveling as a family to Victoria in the Canadas so that he might take up a post at the new university there. My mother searched for weeks with the Rangers’ assistance, and finally returned to England, where she succumbed to influenza and grief.

  Now that I have reached my majority and am independent, I am renewing the search. I have taken passage aboard the packet to Paris, where I will board Persephone to New York, departing on Tuesday next. I will take the transcontinental airship from New York to Denver, and thence to Santa Fe. I shall present myself in your office at the barracks shortly thereafter.

  Would you be so kind as to renew inquiries for me into whether anyone, in the airfield and railyards, or in the town, remembers a man of Prussian descent, five feet ten inches tall and of a substantial build? He was a professor of engineering at the University of Bavaria, and speaks with a Prussian accent, though like most men in the Royal Society of Engineers, he took his advanced degree at the University of Edinburgh. He was last seen wearing a Homburg hat, tweed trousers, and a tweed hunting jacket with patches of loden green at the elbows. Loden green, as you may be aware, is a very particular and distinctive color, not to be confused with hunter green. I say this to reduce confusion and to provide a detail that may assist in our further inquiries.

  I look forward to meeting with you and renewing our necessary acquaintance.

  I remain, sir, sincerely,

  Margrethe (Daisy) Linden

  Bath, England

  THE END

  Afterword

  Dear reader,

  All good things must come to an end … or must they?

  For we seem to have a loose end, and for Daisy Linden and I, such a thing is maddening. Daisy is a young lady of intelligence that only the adventures of life may transform into courage and good sense. She is also a watercolor painter of some skill, which means she is possessed of powers of observation that many a Texican Ranger or frontier-town sheriff might envy. When a maddening loose end is nothing less than her missing papa, then clearly something must be done—and she is determined to do it.

  I hope you will enjoy Daisy’s adventures in a series of clockwork cozy novels set in the Magnificent Devices world, launching in late 2017. The working title of the first is The Bride Wore Constant White, though that may change. I envision each title as the name of a watercolor pigment that would have been found in a lady’s paintbox at the end of the 19th century … and, sadly, a hint as to the unfortunate circumstances in which Daisy becomes embroiled through—it must be confessed—her stubborn but affectionate nature and an unflinching sense of justice.

  You may find a number of familiar friends coming to her assistance … to say nothing of a number of villains determined to prevent her from succeeding, including a snake-oil salesman who is certainly not what he is allowing Daisy to believe …

  I hope you have enjoyed reading the adventures of Gloria, Lady Claire, and the gang in the Magnificent Devices world as much as I have loved writing them. It is your support and enthusiasm that has been like the steam in an airship’s boiler, keeping the entire enterprise afloat and ready for the next adventure.

  You might leave a review on your favorite retailer’s site to tell others about the books. And you can find print and electronic editions of the entire series online, as well as audiobooks and translations into German and French. Do visit my website, www.shelleyadina.com, where you can sign up for my newsletter and be the first to know of new releases and special promotions.

  May you find joy on the horizon! It has been an honor sailing with you.

  Shelley

  About the Author

  Shelley Adina is the author of 24 novels published by Harlequin, Warner, and Hachette, and a dozen more published by Moonshell Books, Inc., her own independent press. She writes steampunk and contemporary romance as Shelley Adina, and as Adina Senft, writes Amish women’s fiction. She holds an MFA in Writing Popular Fiction from Seton Hill University in Pennsylvania, where she teaches as adjunct faculty. She won RWA’s RITA Award® in 2005, and was a finalist in 2006. When she’s not writing, Shelley is usually quilting, sewing historical costumes, or hanging out in the garden with her flock of rescued chickens.

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  Shelley loves to talk with readers about books, chickens, and other interesting things!

  @shelleyadina

  magnificentdevices

  www.shelleyadina.com

  shelley@shelleyadina.com

  Also by Shelley Adina

  STEAMPUNK

  The Magnificent Devices series

  Lady of Devices

  Her Own Devices

  Magnificent Devices

  Brilliant Devices

  Magnificent Devices: Books 1–4 Quartet

  A Lady of Resources

  A Lady of Spirit

  Magnificent Devices: Books 5–6 Twin Set

  A Lady of Integrity

  A Gentleman of Means

  Devices Brightly Shining (Christmas novella)

  Fields of Air

  Fields of Iron

  Fields of Gold

  ROMANCE

  Moonshell Bay: The Men of CLEU

  Call For Me

  Dream of Me

  Reach For Me

  Also in the Moonshell Bay series

  Caught You Looking

  Caught You Listening

  Caught You Hiding

  The Wedding Scandal (a Four Weddings and a Fiasco novella)

  PARANORMAL

  Immortal Faith

  YOUNG ADULT

  The Glory Prep series (faith-based):

  Glory Prep

  The Fruit of My Lipstick

  Be Strong and Curvaceous

  Who Made You a Princess?

  Tidings of Great Boys

  The Chic Shall Inherit the Earth

  Praise

  “This is the first in a series of well-reviewed books set in the steampunk world. For those who like the melding of Victorian culture with the fantastic fantasy of reality-bending science fiction, this one will be right up their alley.”

  ―READERS’ REALM, ON LADY OF DEVICES

  “An immensely fun book in an immensely fun series with some excellent anti-sexist messages, a wonderful main character (one of my favourites in the genre) and a great sense of Victorian style and language that’s both fun and beautiful to read.”

  ―FANGS FOR THE FANTASY, ON MAGNIFICENT DEVICES

  “Adina manages to lure us into the steampunk era with joy and excitement. Her plotline is strong and the cast of characters well interwoven. It’s Adina’s vivid descriptions of Victorian London that make you turn the pages.”

  ―NOVEL CHATTER

  Copyright © 2017 by Shelley Adina Bates. All rights reserved.

  No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law. For permission requests, write to www.moonshellbooks.com.

  This is a work of science fiction and fantasy. Names, characters, places, and incidents are a product of the author’s imagination. Locales and public names are sometimes used for atmospheric purposes. Any resemblance to actual people, living or dead, or to businesses, companies, events, institutions, or locales is completely coincidental.

  Cover art by Claudia McKinney at Phat Puppy Studios, with images from DepositPhotos.com, used under license, and Mike Jimenez of Vanity Force Images. Cover design by Kalen O’Donnell. Author font by Anthony Piraino at OneButtonMouse.com.

  Fields of Gold / Shelley Adina—1st ed 4-1-17.

  ISBN: 978-1-939087-68-3

  Created with Vellum

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  Shelley Adina, Fields of Gold: A steampunk adventure novel (Magnificent Devices Book 12)