Steel Kisses

by Laura Strickland

  “I do not see how. I wish I were her. At least then I would once have been human.”

  “Being human is overrated. Now let’s go fill this pail with coal so we can get away from here. It’s not safe.”

  She followed him obediently, head bowed. He shoveled coal into the pail wildly, only to be brought up short when someone spoke from behind him.

  “Well, well—and what do we have here?”

  Reynold spun, his stomach sinking with sickening speed.

  Sasha. Oh, hell, not him.

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  “Belsky,” Rey said.

  Lily, now well attuned to his moods and inflections, heard all kinds of things in his voice. Anger, dismay, disgust—all those emotions she shouldn’t be able to feel yet somehow did.

  She had felt disquiet when any of the clients besides Rey touched her. She felt the backwash of his dismay now.

  Exactly who or what was this Belsky who so disturbed him? She turned her gaze on the man—human—noting his details with mechanical speed: light hair, sharp features, with a pointed nose and eyes nearly as pale as her own. His lips wore a sneer, and in those eyes she saw a look she’d sometimes seen in those of her clients right before they hurt her.

  Cruel.

  The word flashed through her intelligence even as Rey seized her wrist and pushed her behind him. A human shield.

  “Stealing from your employer, is it?” Belsky had an odd accent, and Lily, curious, tried to peer around Rey’s shoulder at him. Then she comprehended Rey did not wish the man to see her, and she withdrew again.

  “Just borrowing some coal,” Rey muttered.

  “Without Liam’s permission.”

  “I’ll pay him back.”

  “What else do you borrow from him? Supplies? Money? I do not think he would like it. And who is she?” Now Belsky leaned around in an effort to get a better look at Lily.

  For an instant Rey didn’t speak. He reached back and steadied Lily before he said, “I took your advice—she’s a lightskirt I picked up last evening. We spent the night together.”

  “Here?”

  “Didn’t want anyone at my rooming house to see, did I?”

  “You fool. But I suppose it is better than mooning over that fancy steamie.”

  “She’s gone, ain’t she? Burned up in that fire.”

  Belsky laughed, a low sound that contained very little humor. “So let us have a look at your new piece.”

  “No, Sasha. I won’t let you embarrass her.”

  “Ever the gentleman, are you not? But maybe I will want to try her also. That is the thing about whores—she will lay on her back for whoever has the coin.”

  “Leave it alone, Sasha. Leave her alone.”

  Belsky grunted. Lily would have liked to steal another look at him but had discerned Rey did not wish to afford Belsky the chance to identify her. She dropped her head and sheltered behind the brim of her hat.

  “So why are you taking Liam’s coal?”

  “Just helping her out. She’s got a shitty little room and no coal for a fire.”

  “In this heat? Who needs a fire?”

  “She lives with another girl who’s sick.”

  Belsky uttered a word Lily didn’t recognize and took a step back. “And you brought her here? You will most likely catch the pox from her.”

  “We were just leaving.”

  “I think Liam needs to know about this. You banging her in the coffins?”

  “Of course not!”

  “I still believe he needs to know.”

  “Go ahead and tell him. I’m not asking you to keep any secrets.” Now Rey’s voice became hard. “Tell on me—like a girl.”

  Belsky snorted. “Run off with your little whore—at least this one’s human.”

  Rey’s fingers tightened on Lily’s wrist hard enough to leave marks—a warning. She remained silent.

  “I knew you were hooked on it,” Belsky jeered.

  “That’s my business, isn’t it? Come along.”

  Lily realized the last two words were directed at her and jerked into motion. Still with Rey’s hand clamped to her wrist, she let him lead her out, virtually treading on his heels.

  “Damn it all,” he said when they reached the outdoors.

  “I did not like him,” Lily whispered. Suddenly she knew Chastity had done the right thing getting them away from the Crystal Palace, even if it had subsequently burned down. Otherwise, Belsky might have come in as a client, and she would have been forced to accommodate him despite her dislike.

  “No one likes him. Let’s get out of here.”

  “But what about Chastity?”

  He began hurrying her along the street, the coal pail in one hand, her wrist in the other. “I don’t know where to look for her.”

  “Do you think she is safe?”

  “I don’t know that either. If the authorities pick her up, they may just think she strayed from the Crystal Palace during the fire.”

  “But then they’ll return her to Dr. Landry, will they not?”

  “I expect so.”

  “She will no longer be free. All her planning and the fire will be for nothing.”

  “Not for nothing.” He stopped walking and faced her. His hand released her wrist at last and cupped her cheek in the gentle way she loved. “At least it got you away. What concerns me now is whether Sasha had a good look at you back there.”

  “Belsky?”

  “Belsky, yes. Because he’s seen you before—when you got off the tram.”

  “I looked much different then.”

  “Yes, and I hope he believes you’re just what he called you—a little whore.”

  “I am.”

  “No, Lily. Not any longer. Now you belong to me.”

  “I like that. But I think you are right not to trust that Belsky.”

  “No flies on you, then.”

  Lily looked herself over carefully. “I do not see any.”

  She didn’t really understand why Rey laughed, but it pleased her very much.

  ****

  “Reynold has replaced his little dove with another. Only this one is soiled and much easier to afford.”

  Everyone looked up, and Liam, who’d been whistling cheerily, fell silent. The four men had worked companionably all morning, Reynold lost in his thoughts.

  He’d been forced to leave Lily back at his room alone, having extracted from her a strict promise to stay there until he returned. He feared if she began worrying about Chastity or thought of some place the automaton might have gone, she’d go out searching.

  When he left, she’d been reading one of the books he bought her. He only hoped it kept her occupied.

  Now Pete and Liam exchanged glances.

  “That was awful quick,” Pete commented.

  Reynold shrugged with what he hoped looked like careless disinterest. “A man needs what he needs. And she’s a sweet little thing—not like the others.”

  “I told you he was stupid,” Sasha smirked. “Take it from me, Rey. They are all the same.”

  “And you’d be an expert, would you?” Reynold edged out from behind the coffin he’d been sanding. For once he didn’t feel like backing down from the other man just to avoid trouble.

  “Not an expert, but I have poked my share of whores like your little friend.”

  “I don’t think so.” Lily wasn’t like anyone else—Reynold knew that for certain.

  “Oh, she is different, is she? Only had a hundred men instead of a thousand? Liam, you better ask him what he was doing here with her this morning.”

  “Here?” Liam repeated.

  “Da—early, when I came in.”

  Liam looked at Reynold.

  “I just brought her by to borrow some coal. She had none at home—can’t afford any—and her roommate is sick.”

  “Not sure I’m comfortable with that, lad. This place is my livelihood.”

  “I’ll give you the money for the coal. Take it out of my pay.
I just filled a lunch pail.”

  “’Tisn’t that. I’m the first to sympathize with the plight of the poor in this city. But I don’t like you letting just anybody in here.”

  “I understand. It won’t happen again. I just wanted to help her out.”

  “If you really want to help her, lad, take her to see Mrs. Gideon. She’ll get your friend out of the life if she can. She runs that Haven for Disadvantaged Women over on Ellicott Street.”

  Not a bad idea. But as he’d wondered before, would Mrs. Gideon—that woman he’d seen at the tavern—have sympathy for a non-human?

  “Then Rey can marry the soiled dove,” Sasha said mockingly. “No doubt a whore’s the best he can do.”

  Not a bad idea either.

  “Leave him alone, Sasha,” Pete said unhappily.

  Reynold returned to his work. Sasha wasn’t as smart as he thought—he must have failed to recognize Lily this morning, because he surely wouldn’t miss the chance to throw that in Reynold’s face.

  Applying himself to the coffin with care, he smiled.

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  “Have you heard the news?” Pete asked Reynold excitedly when he arrived for work the next morning. “They found one of those mechanical Ladies floating in the river. Fished her out late last evening.”

  Reynold stopped like a steer hit between the eyes, and his stomach fell so fast he thought he might lose his breakfast. Every other worry—and he had a boatload of them—temporarily fled his mind.

  He’d had no sleep due to those worries. Well, that and Lily being bent on reenacting the last of Miss X’s adventures. Aside from that part of it and his ever-growing tenderness for her, he lived a nightmare. Fear over the possibility of Lily and Chastity’s discovery, over the fact that Lily quickly ran through her vital nutritional supplies combined with struggling over how and when to get her to Mrs. Gideon’s, and dodging messages from Vern, who wanted him to steal yet more cabs—his brain ached.

  Now the thing he’d feared ever since Chastity disappeared seemed to have come about.

  “Dead?” he choked out.

  Pete eyed him questioningly. “Not as if she was actually alive, is it? I mean, they’re steamies, aren’t they? Just a lot higher quality than most.”

  “They seem alive, though, don’t they?”

  “They do,” Pete admitted. “I live under the same roof as Clara’s steamie, Dax. I remember when she brought him home from her grandfather’s. The grandfather was a mean old sod, God rest him, and Dax was all dented and battered and scared—terrified—the old man would send him to the scrap heap.”

  “You believe they have feelings, then?”

  “Some of them sure seem to. Dax does. But I’ve been around others that just seem like machines. Not sure what makes the difference.”

  “This Patrick Kelly Liam’s always talking about—you’ve met him?” Reynold thought of the hybrid he and Sasha had met in front of the Crystal Palace.

  “Sure, a bunch of times. He’s got a personality—a quirky one, at that. I’d swear he has a sense of humor, too.”

  “And he’s the same kind of hybrid as these Landry’s Ladies?”

  “Yes.”

  “So”—Reynold wanted to glean as much information as he could before Sasha arrived—“what do you know about the one found last night?” Was it actually Chastity? His stomach turned over again.

  “Found floating, as I say. They fished her out down at the foot of Ferry Street. They say that Dr. Landry was called and took possession of her.”

  Not good. If it was Chastity—and who else could it be?—and Dr. Landry pressed her for information, would Chastity talk? Tell where Lily was and that he’d been sheltering her?

  That would be considered theft, just like stealing a steamcab. He’d be thrown in jail. And what would happen to Lily?

  “Do you know if the—er—unit they picked up was operating? And what she looked like?”

  Pete eyed him still more closely. “Why all the interest? Oh, that’s right—you went down there, didn’t you? Had a visit with one of the Ladies.”

  “Right.”

  “You wondering if it’s the same one?” Not giving Reynold time to answer, Pete leaned closer and asked, “What was it like, being with a machine?”

  “Well, I’ll tell you—it didn’t feel all that different from a woman.”

  Pete flushed scarlet. “I’ve only done it once. Scared to death I’ll catch the pox and my fella will fall off.”

  Or he’d wish it would.

  “You worried the unit they pulled up is the one you watched for every morning—the one Sasha rags you about?”

  “Yeah.”

  “They said she had brown skin and long black hair. That sound like yours?”

  “No, not mine.” Reynold’s stomach heaved violently. Somehow he choked the sickness back. “But you don’t know if she was operating?”

  “No. They have boilers just like other steamies, right? Wouldn’t the water put the fire out? Though I expect Dr. Landry, who’s supposed to be some kind of genius, could get her started up again.”

  God, Reynold hoped not.

  And how would he ever break the news to Lily?

  ****

  Lily heard Rey’s step on the stairs, her hearing being very acute, and leaped to her feet, letting her book slip through her fingers.

  As reading matter, it had proved quite interesting, though perhaps not as interesting as Miss X’s tale. This story contained no lover, but there were several dead bodies and a number of clever humans striving to determine how they got that way.

  The subject matter distracted her, but made her remember the humans and automatons killed in the fire at the Crystal Palace. That in turn made her think—worry—about Chastity. And how very little of the enzyme wash remained.

  What was she to do?

  Then Rey arrived, entering the flat with a flurry, and everything became right again.

  She went immediately into his arms. “Rey! You were gone so long. I do not like it when you are away.”

  “You missed me?”

  “Missed. That is a good term.”

  She kissed him, using every skill she’d ever acquired and luring his tongue into her mouth. She felt her boiler flare within her, begin to heat up as if Rey’s presence gave her a reason to be.

  He groaned—which, she’d learned, was a good sign.

  She stopped kissing him and looked into his eyes. Soft and brown, they made up her world.

  “Now that you’re here, come to the bed.”

  “No, Lily. Not yet.” He seized her shoulders. “We need to talk about something.”

  “We can talk in the bed.” She enjoyed that, especially afterward when she felt…content.

  “Wait, I need to tell you something first. It’s about Chastity. Not good news, darling.”

  “Chastity? My sister? You have found her?”

  “Not me, but she has been found—at least an automaton was picked up floating in the river and returned to Dr. Landry.”

  “Floating in the river? That cannot be Chastity. How would she get there?”

  “I don’t know, honey. What I need you to tell me is this… Could Chastity survive a drenching in the river? Would it ruin her?”

  “I am not certain.” Lily stepped away from him and engaged her artificial intelligence. “It depends on how long she was submerged. Do you know?”

  Rey shook his head. He looked deeply troubled.

  “The fire in her belly would go out. Whether anything else would be damaged, I cannot say. I think she could be dried out and restarted.”

  “Restarted? That means she could tell Dr. Landry where you are.”

  “She could. But she will not. I trust Chastity’s loyalty.”

  “I know you do, but if Dr. Landry gets her hands on her…”

  Lily thought about that. Dr. Landry was cold and could be cruel. If she believed Chastity and Lily had been together, she might attempt to take the information fr
om Chastity by force.

  Rey could be in danger. Lily cared far less for herself than for him.

  She turned and regarded him. “What will happen to you if I am found here?”

  “Jail.”

  “What is jail?”

  “The police would come, arrest me, and lock me up in a cell for theft.”

  “Theft of what?”

  “You.”

  “But I wish to be with you. I choose to be with you.”

  “I think Dr. Landry would have something to say about that.”

  “Oh.” Lily sat on the edge of the sofa, her intelligence clicking furiously. “If you went to jail, would I be able to see you?”

  “No. I’m pretty sure you’d be returned to Dr. Landry.”

  “We cannot let that happen.”

  “Do you think I should move you out of here, hide you somewhere Chastity doesn’t know about? Just to be safe.”

  “Perhaps.” Lily didn’t believe Chastity would betray her, but Dr. Landry did have access to her deepest knowledge, and as her new book Red Herrings in a Sea of Red had taught her, the most unexpected things happened in dangerous situations.

  She was now in danger, as was Rey.

  “I would like to know how Chastity got into the river, Rey.”

  “So would I.”

  “Do you think she jumped in? She had a large amount of guilt over the loss of life at the Crystal Palace.”

  “Yeah, but can she truly feel guilt? I mean—”

  Lily turned her eyes on him. He looked miserable and uncomfortable. At least, she thought, he had a right to those emotions.

  The thought stung.

  “She should not be able to experience emotions—nor should I. Yet we do. She felt guilt. I feel love for you.”

  He sat beside her and seized her hand. “Just as I love you. I’m sorry, Lily, I didn’t mean to imply you have no feelings.”

  “You truly love me?”

  “I must have said so before now.”

  “I thought they were just words. Anyone can say words.” Though she had also felt it in his touch, in the tender way he kissed her.

  He drew her into his arms, close against him. “Let there be no doubt. I love you, Lily. For better or worse.”

  “Will there be worse, Rey?”

  “I’m afraid so.” He inhaled a big breath. “Lily, I’m not sure how best to protect you. With Chastity in Dr. Landry’s hands and Sasha having seen you with me, we better not stay here.”