Love Is in the Airship

by Catherine Stein

  “No.” He scurried along the rail on hands and knees, Effie right behind. “I need you to fly the ship.”

  “What? Me?”

  He didn’t answer until they had reached the helm and he had yanked on several levers, sending the Kestrel on a rapid and bumpy ascent. “We can’t outrun them. But if I board them, I can disable them. All you need to do is keep her moving so the pirates can’t board her.”

  “Board them? Are you mad?”

  “Probably.”

  Effie grabbed his shirt. “You could be killed!”

  “I know airships. If I do this right, they’ll never even see me.” He took her hand and squeezed it. “Do you trust me?”

  She shouldn’t. Who would trust a man who had abandoned her without a word? And yet she did. With her entire being, she did.

  She didn’t even answer. She just tugged harder on his shirt until their lips collided and kissed him with everything she had.

  “I love you, Charlie.” She pushed him away. “Now, go.”

  ⏣ 6 ⏣

  Charlie opened valves, turned knobs, and loosened screws almost at random, doing as much damage with as little noise as possible. Fluid puddled at his feet. Escaping steam clouded the air around him. On the opposite side of the engines, he could hear Redbeard shouting commands at his remaining pirates, his fury evident even in the phrases that weren’t English. Every angry word lightened Charlie’s heart. Every angry word meant Effie was safe.

  I love you, Charlie.

  Her words echoed in his mind, an unending litany of joy. He’d never thought to hear those words again. He’d been so certain that they’d been no more than a lie, or at best a passing fancy. He’d been a fool.

  He opened another valve, and then paused. Something about this boiler was off. He made a closer examination, brushing his hands against the metal, picturing the design in his mind.

  Yes. It was off. Fatally so.

  With a few, quick turns of his wrench, he disabled the faulty failsafe mechanism. He spun dials, flipped levers. Turned everything up to the highest setting.

  “Bang,” he whispered.

  He moved as far as he dared toward the rail, looking for the Kestrel. The little ship maneuvered better than the pirate ship in such a tight space, but Effie’s hour-long stint as pilot was sorry preparation for the task he had left her. The ship rose and fell as he watched, making boarding difficult for the pirates, but making no progress toward escape. Waiting for him.

  “Ready on the ropes,” Redbeard commanded. “He knows he can’t escape. Hold her steady, and when he drops again swing over.”

  Damn. Charlie had to go now. Not only did he need to be off this ship before the boiler blew, but if those pirates made it across, he couldn’t leave Effie to fight them alone. He inched closer to the rail, eyes locked on the bottom of his ship, waiting for her to descend again. He flipped his monocle to the special filter that helped him judge distance.

  For an instant he thought he must be seeing incorrectly, even with the mechanical assistance. The ship was far too fast, the hull tipped too far forward. He cursed aloud. The numbers didn’t lie. She’d put the ship into a nose-dive. A brilliant tactic, but a wildly dangerous one to a novice pilot. It was also his best and perhaps only chance to escape. He raced for the rail, knowing the pirates would hear him and turn, knowing he had only one chance to make the leap to his own deck. The tiny dial in his lens spun, flinging numbers into his mind that he could only pray he was interpreting correctly. He ran, leapt to the rail, and launched himself into the air, pulling his body into the tightest streamline he could.

  He hit the deck with a bone-jarring crash. He would feel that tomorrow, he was certain, but now the pain was only a mild inconvenience. He scrambled for the helm, shouting for Effie to keep going.

  “Charlie, something’s wrong. The gauges have gone crazy.”

  He hopped up beside her and flipped one switch. The wind whipped through their hair and stung Charlie’s uncovered eye. “This is good!” he hollered over the rush of air.

  “Good?”

  “Insane, but good!” Cables creaked, and the ship groaned in protest. No airship was made for this sort of wild descent, but Charlie knew exactly how much she could withstand. He stepped beside Effie, taking the wheel and pointing at the controls, showing her what to do and when. Little trembles of fear shook her body, but she kept at it, doing everything he told her as he righted the little dirigible and steered her as far from Redbeard’s craft as possible.

  Whether it was minutes later or tens of minutes, Charlie couldn’t say, but when an explosion in the sky above them buffeted their ship, he let out a sigh of relief.

  “Ship’s dead. They’ll either have to land or crash. We’re safe.”

  Effie stared at him for a long moment, then flung her arms around him. He held her close, relearning her body, her warmth, her scent. “Time to go home,” he murmured.

  * * *

  Charlie fought to keep from dozing off as he landed the Kestrel in a secluded field in northwest France. He’d flown all day, with only a brief stop to drop off their unwanted captives. Every muscle in his body ached to lie down and sink into a deep slumber. Preferably with Effie in his arms.

  After their escape, she’d diligently tidied up the ship, even making a careful record of all damage done during the pirate attack. He was in awe of her quiet efficiency and resilient spirit. His lips still tingled when he thought back to the way she’d kissed him. Fierce. Passionate. Ravenous.

  “The couch down below is comfortable if you prefer not to sleep on deck,” he said, pulling his bedding from the chest and spreading it out. “But it’s a pleasant night and the blankets are warm.”

  Effie pressed up against him. “So am I.”

  “I remember. You didn’t think I was really cold all those times I shivered so you would snuggle with me, did you?”

  “I didn’t waste time thinking about it.”

  He wrapped an arm around her. “Come snuggle with me, love.”

  He took off his monocle, she removed her corset and unwound her snake from around her waist, and they settled onto the pile of bedding. Their bodies fit together more perfectly than Charlie remembered. He rubbed a lock of red hair between his fingers. The time apart had only made her more beautiful. More desirable. More everything.

  “You’re incredible, Effie,” he murmured. “I could lie here with you forever if you would have me.”

  She shifted to look into his eyes, studying his face in the darkness. “You could have had me. Three years ago. Why didn’t you? Why did you leave?”

  “Halston refused to let me marry you. Threw me out of the house.”

  Her dark-blue eyes narrowed. “He told me that you refused to marry me.”

  Charlie gaped at her. “And you believed him?”

  “No. Not at first. But then you never answered my letters.”

  “I never received letters.”

  “Never? I wrote you every day for three months! I left them at your parents’ house because I thought my stepfather might not send them on.”

  “I sent all my letters there, too, for the same reason.”

  “Drat. I mean, damn. He must have bribed a servant. I had no idea he was so devious. Or hated you so much.”

  “He didn’t want even a vague family connection with a milliner.”

  “Your mother is a milliner who had enough money to move her family away from London’s unhealthy air and allow her husband to leave his factory job to pursue his passion for botany. Her goods are worn by the most fashionable people in the world! I’ve designed dresses just to match her hats.”

  “Halston doesn’t care. He told me if I said anything or came back he would disown you and smear your name so badly that you would have no choice but to walk the streets. ‘Like the harlot she is.’ That’s what he said. I was terrified for you, Effie. And I was stupid. I should have done something more. I should have fought harder for us.”

  She laid a hand aga
inst his cheek, the tips of her fingers running along the transition from flesh to metal. “And I shouldn’t have doubted you. I won’t again.”

  Charlie pressed a kiss to her forehead. “I never stopped loving you. From now on, I’m going to prove it.” He yawned before he could say more.

  Effie brushed her lips against his. “Goodnight, Charlie. Sleep. I’ll keep you warm.”

  He pulled her tight to his chest and let his eyes drift closed. No command had ever been sweeter.

  ⏣ 7 ⏣

  Effie popped the last bite of orange into her mouth, licking the juice from her lips because Charlie was watching.

  “Fruit and cheese is a very piratey sort of breakfast.”

  He neither moved from where he lay beneath the blankets nor looked away from her mouth. “Is it?”

  “It seems it to me. I think you’re a rather dashing pirate, Charlie.”

  “I’m an airship designer.”

  “With wild tattoos and a riveting night-vision eye.”

  “True.”

  “What about me? Do I make a good pirate wench?”

  “Absolutely. The wenchiest wench to ever set foot on my pirate ship.”

  Effie couldn’t help but grin. “Where are we going today? Your home in Scotland?”

  “We will stop wherever you wish, Effie. You deserve the freedom to choose your own life. You don’t have to do what your mother wants. You certainly don’t have to do what Halston wants. And I won’t pressure you to do what I want.”

  Effie set the last of her breakfast aside and burrowed underneath the blankets to snuggle against Charlie. “I thought we wanted the same thing.”

  His hand skimmed along her waist. “I like to imagine that we do, but…” He shrugged.

  Effie nuzzled his neck and slid a hand between his legs, stroking his cock until it hardened beneath her fingers. “It seems we want the same thing. Just as we wanted the same thing that day beneath the apple tree.”

  He winced. “Oh, God, Effie, I was so awful and awkward that day. I think I did everything wrong.”

  She giggled. “Yes. We were fumbling and incompetent. But it was exciting and magical all the same.”

  “You were so covered in mud afterward that I had to carry you to your house and pretend I had found you injured and lying in a puddle.”

  “And I laughed so hard Mother thought I was hysterical and summoned a doctor.” Effie pressed her face against Charlie’s chest, her body shaking with laughter at the memory. “Fortunately, we did improve our trysting skills.”

  Charlie’s dexterous fingers found the row of tiny buttons in her bodice and popped them, one-by-one. “Drastically.” He peeled the dress from her body, gazing admiringly at her naked form. “Extraordinarily, even.” He pressed a kiss to the hollow of her throat and she sighed. “Let’s see if we can remember all we learned together.”

  Effie tugged at the buttons of his trousers. “Yes, let’s.” She swiftly undressed him, pausing to examine the changes three years had made to his body. He was harder, more muscular. All man. “Your tattoos only go up to your shoulders.” She ran a finger along the edge of the design.

  He nuzzled her breasts. “Mmm. Yes. Plenty of room for more. Perhaps you might pick your favorite location for my next one.”

  Her eyebrows twitched. “I will consider every option.”

  She wrapped her arms around him and brought them together, skin-to-skin—moist lips meeting, tongues tangling, hands exploring bodies too long untouched.

  “Remind me again why I left you for three years?” he asked.

  “Something about my stepfather calling me a harlot and us both being too insecure to believe we were truly wanted.”

  “Let’s never do that again.”

  “Agreed.”

  He moved over her, and she lifted her hips to draw him in, matching the rhythm of his thrusts, riding with him toward the peak of bliss. Flying.

  “My sky pirate,” she murmured. “I should have known. Should have known we would always fly together.”

  Her eyes slid closed, her head lolled back, and she let the climax take her, clinging to him, unwilling to part until they were both fully spent. He groaned her name and went limp, rolling over to avoid squashing her.

  “Damn,” he murmured, pressing his lips to her temple. “That was Effie-ing fantastic.”

  She poked him. “Did you just use me as a euphemism for ‘fuck?’”

  “Euphemia-ism.”

  “Well, Chuck you, too.”

  They both burst into laughter, hugging one another close. “Whenever you wish, love. Whenever you wish.”

  * * *

  The sun hovered low in the west, heralding the end of the most glorious May Day that Effie could remember. Pretty white blooms adorned her hair, collected during their brief stop for a romantic picnic lunch. More flowers decorated her décolletage. Charlie had arranged them most particularly. Then crushed them with his amorous attentions. He’d picked her a new bouquet, but even the replacement blossoms now looked a bit squashed.

  Which made them no less beautiful to Effie. This was a day of new life. Of new beginnings. She didn’t know what tomorrow would hold, but she was up for any adventure that included embracing both Charlie and her newfound freedom.

  She fished Rusty out of the dark corner where he’d crawled again and went to join Charlie at the helm. The joyful smile he’d worn all day had been replaced with a tight frown. He looked over his shoulder, adjusting something on his monocle.

  “What’s wrong?” she asked.

  “What color did you say Halston’s dirigible was?”

  Effie looked off into the distance, but couldn’t see more than a blurry dot on the horizon. “Green. Why?”

  “Damn. There’s a green ship back there. Just at the edge of my telescopic range. Been following us for the last hour at least. There’s a regular spyglass in the box of tools, if you want to take a look.”

  Effie fetched the glass and peered at the dot behind them. Bright green balloon. Highly polished hull painted a darker color of green.

  “Drat. That’s him.” She snapped the glass closed and looked at Charlie. “What are we going to do? I won’t go back, no matter what they say.”

  “And I won’t let them take you. I’ve been going over the calculations in my head and I don’t think he can catch us. We’ll be on the ground in under half an hour.”

  “Are we so close to your home already?”

  “No, my home is about another half-hour beyond that. But I wanted to stop for dinner. And your next adventure.”

  Effie peered over the side of the ship. “What’s here that’s so adventurous? It looks like all fields and more fields. Sometimes houses.” She spun back toward him. “Unless you mean to duel with my stepfather? You’re not going to duel him, are you? You’d better not. You’ll either die or go to prison, and I won’t stand for that.”

  “No dueling. A quick stop at the blacksmith’s shop. A nice dinner. A comfortable bed in an inn.”

  “Ooh, will we register at the inn as husband and wife under a false name? That does sound like an adventure. And did you say the blacksmith? Do you think he would be able to repair this switch on Rusty’s back? It keeps getting accidentally flipped and then he crawls off into the nearest hiding place. Which is fine on a small ship or in a closed room. But outside he almost got away from me. If he were to crawl under a rock or down an animal hole, I could lose him for good.”

  Charlie chuckled. “We’ll have him fixed. If not tonight, then I know craftspeople at home who have all the right tools and knowledge.”

  “Excellent. Just keep away from my stepfather and this can be the perfect day.”

  “That’s my plan.”

  She turned back to the rail to watch their slow descent. By the time they touched down and had all the moorings secure, the distant dot of her stepfather’s ship had grown into a large, green, clearly-dirigible-shaped dot.

  “Charlie, Halston is gaining rather rapidly. I
don’t think we’ll have time for your adventure. Perhaps we might do better to continue on. Or is there a good place to hide here?”

  Charlie grinned at her. “No need to hide. He’s too late.”

  “Too late?”

  “Very much so.” He held out a hand to her. “Effie, my love, will you join me on the adventure of a lifetime?”

  She laced her fingers through his. “I think so, but to be absolutely certain, you’ll have to tell me what this adventure entails.”

  “I’ll give you two hints. One, this is Gretna Green. And two, you’re wearing a wedding dress.”

  Effie laughed with joy, then did a little dance, pulling Charlie along with her. “You’re right. He’s much, much too late. Let’s go get married.”

  ⏣ Epilogue ⏣

  Two years later

  “I can’t believe we were invited to this.”

  Charlie took Effie’s hand and helped her onto the roll-away staircase that had been pushed up to the Kestrel’s rail. “Don’t be silly. Of course we were invited. It’s the royal debut of your dress.”

  “I’m sure we’re only here because of your airships. This is the king’s Spring Airship Gala, after all.”

  “True. But while my airships are nice, none of them are owned by royalty. Yet.”

  They descended together to the great, wide field packed with ships of all sizes and colors. Pilots in goggles and engineers in stained tunics mingled with lords and ladies in their grandest finery, talking of the latest innovations, the newest fashions, and grand plans for the future of air travel. Effie took it all in with wide eyes and happy smiles, another adventure for her ever-growing list.

  She dazzled today in her floor-length blue gown. As always, the bodice was daringly low, and the skirts were full of hidden ties and hooks, ready to be cinched up should she need extra freedom of movement. Or if she merely wanted to show off her bright pink boots and mismatched stockings. Charlie’s mother had made her a hat to match—a newsboy cap in the same color as the dress, with a big, pink rose on one side. As cute and unconventional as the woman who wore it.