The Girl and the Clockwork Conspiracy: Clockwork Enterprises Book Two

by Nikki Mccormack

  Cheeky little jackanapes! She couldn’t let him get away with that. Maybe she was high society at the moment, but who knew how long that would last. Nothing good could come of letting a junior pickpocket get the better of her.

  Maeko lifted Macak and tucked him under her arm as she hurried back to the attendant in the Airhsip Tower. “Might I take one of those coaches after all?”

  “Certainly, Miss.” He hailed a coachman loitering by the door.

  “Thank you.” She hurried back outside with the coachman and pointed down the street at the retreating omnibus. “I need to follow that bus.”

  The coachman frowned at the heavy traffic, but he opened the door for her, also offering a nod to Macak as she climbed in. “As you wish, Miss.”

  Taking his task to heart, the coachman worked his way through the press, shouting at those who dared dally in his path. She leaned out the window to watch ahead, keeping an eye on the bus in case the thief disembarked. She wrung her hands, chewing at her lip as they worked their way farther from the Tower. This wasn’t the way to please Lucian, nor was it likely to make Em overly happy with her, but she couldn’t let the thief go.

  The chase led them over to Cheapside and she began to wonder if the little sneak had gotten off without her seeing, then he appeared at the door, leaping off while the bus was still in motion. The conductor shouted after him and he ran.

  Skipping the fare.

  The steamcoach slowed with traffic and she opened the door, stepping out and almost doing a face plant because of the silly heels. The coachman continued on, unaware of her departure. Just as well. She didn’t need him telling anyone where she’d been.

  A plaintive meow drew her gaze to the pavement. She snatched up Macak, tucking his clockwork leg against her body to hide it. “Sorry mate, forgot I had help,” she murmured, scratching his head.

  She followed the boy, keeping enough distance between them so as not to be too obvious about it, though he didn’t look concerned. The little rat thought he’d gotten away with it. They turned several more times, moving into poorer streets where the smell of waste still permeated the air despite the advent of sewers. In her fine clothes, she began to get shifty glances from ragged locals and her skin prickled with unease. Still, she focused on her quarry. Ahead of her, the boy paused to look around and she pressed back against the wall of a building behind a listing barrow with a missing wheel. After a hasty survey of the area, the boy ducked between two boards into an old closed up building.

  Maeko smiled to herself. She didn’t recognize the boy, but she knew the building. It was one of Chaff’s primary lurks, down the street from a rowdy gin palace. That meant the boy was working for him. If he expected to lose her now, he was in for a surprise.

  She set Macak in through a low opening then ducked between the same two boards nailed over the door only to be caught up halfway through because of the ridiculous layers required to get the proper hang in the skirt. It took a few precious minutes, filled with muttered curses the occasional impatient comment from Macak, to work her way free without seriously damaging the material. As it was, she emerged with several snags that would require repair and difficult explanation.

  Inside, she took off her hat and the heeled boots, leaving them next to the entrance. She’d had to navigate the building barefoot several times in her years on the streets and the boots would be too loud on the old wood floors. Not to mention awkward for climbing around debris, something that already promised to be difficult in these clothes.

  She gestured ahead. “Let’s go find ourselves a rat,” she murmured to the cat who dutifully trotted off in the direction the boy had gone.

  The smells of dust and mildew filled her nose so she had to fight back a sneeze. The building was a shambles inside. A low cost housing unit that partially burned at one point, though heavy layers of dust and cobwebs in the unused front rooms hid much of the black char, muffling the old burn stench. Many walls and floors in the front rooms had collapsed over time. Macak’s precise footsteps didn’t stir the debris and she knew where to step to make the least noise and leave the least evidence of her passage.

  She didn’t have to go far in before she heard the soft chink of coins. Peeking around the corner, she spotted the boy sitting on a chair so thick with grime that it blended with the sickly greenish-brown staining the walls. Stuffing poured out of holes made by nesting rodents. The boy held her purse up and jingled it, grinning to himself. Now that she got a better look, she thought he might be eight, but certainly no older, and the mop of brown hair sticking out from under his worn cap needed a trim.

  Macak’s ears perked. She didn’t try to stop him when he continued into the room. The boy started when the cat entered, his expression switching from relief that it was only a cat to amazement when the clockwork leg came into view. After a few seconds, he grinned and held a hand down to the cat.

  Taking advantage of his distraction, she padded into the room. When the boy noticed her, his grin vanished and he crammed the purse in a pocket, springing to his feet. He bolted for the next doorway and Macak leapt up to the back of the chair, settling in to watch the action. Maeko lunged after the boy. The skirt of her dress caught a nail in the floor, pulling her over, but her hand caught his trouser waist and she dragged him down with her. The boy cried out. He twisted around, flailing like a wild animal. She rolled away to dodge a flying fist and ended up on her back in a thick carpeting of dust and rodent droppings. The boy pounced on her and began swinging, striking her in the right eye then the left side of her mouth.

  Struggling against the restricting clothes, Maeko finally caught the third flying punch in her hand and sat up, swinging her elbow out like a chicken wing in front of her and landing solid blow to his nose. The boy reeled back, throwing his hands over his nose, and she twisted, bucking him off. She jumped to her feet to the dreadful sound of tearing fabric and poised to go after him again when someone caught her by the arm and swung her around into the wall. The impact stunned her. She sucked in a startled breath, inhaling some of the dust and debris that rained down. A fit of coughing overtook her.

  “Who the bloody hell do… May!”

  “Ma-eh,” she spat, sending a fine spray of red from her bloodied lip onto Chaff’s shirt font before falling victim to another fit of coughing.

  “Lousy bird bloodied my nose.” The boy’s voice sounded muffled behind his hands. He was glaring at Maeko over grimy fingers.

  Macak, deciding the excitement was over, lay down and started to clean one paw.

  Chaff stared at her, a bemused smirk curving his lips and the shine of humor brightening his blue eyes. “I’m not surprised. You’re lucky she didn’t do worse.” He looked her up and down then and the expression darkened. “Are your cogs rusted, Pigeon? What are you doing wandering around here dressed like that? You’re lucky some bludger didn’t have a go at you.”

  The coughing fit finally passed. She ignored Chaff’s comment and returned the boy’s glare. “That miserable scamp nicked my tin.”

  Chaff lifted one brow. “He nicked your tin?”

  She glowered in silence at the young boy, aware that shame now burned her cheeks like a brand. Yes, the accomplished thief had her purse nicked by a mere boy. Not a proud moment.

  Chaff barked a laugh. “That’s a fine thing. My star pupil robbed by a new recruit.”

  “Yeah, well he didn’t do so splendid making his getaway. Maybe if his hair wasn’t in his eyes he’d have noticed I was tailing him.”

  Chaff contemplated the boy over his shoulder for a moment then held a hand back to him. The boy tossed him the purse. “Go find Diggs and have him take a look at your nose. And do something about that hair.”

  With one last hate-filled glare for Maeko, the boy got to his feet and scampered deeper into the ruined building.

  Chaff’s eyes narrowed in puzzlement as they homed in on Macak then he turned to her and grinned like the charming scoundrel he was. He tossed the purse in his palm, weighing t
he value of the coin with an experienced hand. “I’ll be keeping this to replace those lock picks you nicked off me.”

  “You can’t keep that, Chaff, it ain’t mine.”

  “Isn’t.” He corrected and reached out to run his fingers through her hair, brushing away bits of debris. Then he took her chin between his thumb and forefinger and tilted her head back a little. “Looks like you’ve earned yourself a bit of a shiner and a split lip.”

  He was right about both. She could feel the sting, but as she looked up at him, those things faded before the memory of that kiss he had stolen before she went to save Lucian. A giddy warmth spread through her, making her feel almost as silly as the way she was dressed. She tried to shove the feeling away. “That money belongs to Mr. Folesworth.”

  He glanced over his shoulder at Macak again, eyes widening as he noticed the metal paw poking out from under the cat. “I’ve had my boys scouting work houses and orphanages for you. I didn’t know the inventor took you in. Blimey Pigeon, when you move up in the world you don’t mess around.” He tucked the purse in a pocket. “I’m sure he won’t miss this scant bit, though I imagine he’ll be missing that cat quick enough.”

  With the money tucked away, he put one hand against the wall alongside her head and leaned closer. His voice dropped to a captivating purr, flowing over her like a gentle caress. “I was worried about you. I should have known you’d be fine.”

  Some of his dusty brown hair fell forward, shadowing his eyes, but she didn’t need to see his eyes to feel his intent. The awkward moment with Ash on the rooftop danced to the forefront of her mind. She didn’t need this confusion right now. She pressed back into the wall, ready to duck away. Maybe she hadn’t discouraged him the last time he kissed her, had perhaps even encouraged it a little, but that didn’t mean…

  He put his other hand to her cheek and she froze, her train of thought careening off its tracks. Her gaze drifted to his lips before it occurred to her that he might take that as permission. He slid his fingers under her chin. The feather light touch sent a shiver through her. She gave in to his gentle pressure, tipping her head back. A wash of anticipation melted away her resistance and perhaps her better judgment. The heat in the room quadrupled when he moved his lean body closer still. His breath warmed her lips. She closed her eyes.

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  That’s about enough of that.”

  Maeko started and Chaff jerked away, turning toward the speaker. Em stood watching them, her expression anything but charitable. Visions of blackmail danced in Maeko’s head when she met the shrewd woman’s eyes. If Lucian found out about this, she would be forever confined to the flat at the top of the Airship Tower.

  Em stepped one foot forward, hands resting on her hips, pushing back her long coat so that her underarm holster peeked out. “I was under the impression we had an appointment. Imagine how insulted I was when I saw you taking off in that coach. I had to follow and see what was so blasted important. That is what I do, after all.”

  Maeko felt her cheeks growing hot. She’d been so busy tailing the boy that she hadn’t noticed someone else tailing her. Chaff was going to be seriously brassed off.

  Em’s gaze swept over Chaff. She dismissed him with bitter smirk and focused on Maeko. “I imagine Mr. Folesworth would appreciate my timing.”

  Chaff turned on Maeko, a different kind of passion flashing in his eyes now.

  Prepare for a storm.

  “You led her here. What’s wrong with you?” He made a rough gesture to her skirt. “You get some coin and fancy togs and your wits seep out your ears?”

  Oh how she hated it when he was right. Maeko the street rat wouldn’t have been that careless. Maybe she could blame it on the corsets, not enough oxygen to the brain or something. She started to draw on that pleading look he could never resist. “Chaff—”

  “No. This isn’t something you get to sweet talk your way out of.” He pointed toward Em and the exit. “Get out.”

  Sensing the new tension in the air, Macak laid his ears back and sprinted over to leap up on her shoulders. His landing was less graceful this time, striking off a painful spasm in her healing shoulder. She flinched and reached a hand up to adjust his feet.

  Em gazed on with a smug smirk and raised her eyebrows at Maeko as if to say, ‘I saw this coming.’

  Maeko drew in a breath, struggling to fight back the sudden heat of her rising temper.

  I’m angry at Em and I’m angry at myself, not him. If I yell at him now, I’ll regret it later.

  “Now!”

  The demand shattered her tenuous composure. Frustration and rage burned high, blazing red at the edges of her vision. Crouching low on her shoulders, Macak hissed at Chaff, his upset adding fuel to the fire. “Fine then. I don’t need this ash heap and I certainly don’t need any help from you.” She turned and started to stalk away.

  His soft reply stopped her mid-stride. “You never did.”

  She spun, nearly throwing the cat off, but Chaff ducked under a fallen timber angled across the hall and vanished around the corner. She stared after him. How strange that it hurt to breathe now, as if someone had driven a dagger into her chest. Her shoulder and arm throbbed, the older injuries there upset by the tussle with the boy and Macak’s bad landing, but that was a different and far more tolerable pain, one she welcomed the distraction of now.

  First she’d turned Ash away and now she’d let Chaff down. This privileged life was starting to feel very lonely. Lucian would be pleased.

  She turned and stormed past Em to lead the way out of the building. The fancy boots and hat she had left inside the entrance were gone, snatched by some opportunistic thief. She should have expected as much. Adding that to the torn dress, the black eye and the bloody lip, she didn’t think Lucian was going to be so delighted to see her this evening.

  Would Em tell him what she’d seen? Probably not, since it would require the detective admitting that she’d been in contact with Maeko. But if she did…

  Lucian had already given her one warning about being alone with boys despite how ridiculous that was. She had spent many a night camped out in lurks like this one where she was the only girl and nothing terrible had come of it, though there had been a near incident or two. Of course, that had all been before Chaff expressed a more intimate interest in her.

  How did things get so complicated so quickly? When had he decided that he liked her in that way?

  She stopped, resting a hand on one of the rough slats that boarded up the front door. The wood was coarse, the upper boards ragged with splinters and thick with dust. More dust danced in spears of grey light creeping in between the boards from outside. Life on the streets was hard and miserable, but she’d felt more at ease since stepping out of the coach and coming in here than she had yet to feel for even a second in the fancy flat at the top of the Airship Tower. Only she had worn out her welcome here with lighting speed.

  She dug her nails into the old soft wood.

  Em cleared her throat and Maeko climbed through the slats, adding a few more snags to the damaged dress, then stomped down the street until she saw the familiar coach. She jerked open the door and preceded Em into the shadowed interior, dropping sullenly onto the seat. Unbalanced by her angry motions, Macak leapt down and curled in the far corner, giving her a sullen glower.

  Splendid. Now even the cat’s brassed off at me.

  She examined a tear in the skirt of the dress with feigned interest, swallowing against the tightness in her throat. Em rapped on the roof as she sat across from Maeko and the coach began to move.

  “I really can’t fathom why you were going to let that street rat kiss you.”

  “I don’t see where it’s any business of yours. Besides, it let me get close enough to take this back.” Maeko held up her hand and dangled the coin purse.

  Em nodded approval. “You are a clever rat. Remind me to keep my valuables in hand when you’re around.”

  Maeko dropped the purse into her lap. A
hollow victory. After what had happened, it would only make Chaff that much more upset with her.

  “What did you learn about the will?”

  “You have to promise me something before I tell you anything.”

  Em pressed her lips in a tight line and sat back, crossing her arms in a show of stubborn resistance, but Maeko wasn’t about to let the woman discourage her. Stubborn was a game they could both play.

  “Promise me you won’t tell the Lits about that place or you get nothing from me.”

  Em uncrossed her arms and began to pick absently at the bandage on the side of her neck. “Means that much to you does he?”

  Does he?

  Maeko said nothing. She waited, staring into Em’s eyes with bleak resolve. Chaff had been mad at her before. That she could live with, though forgiveness wouldn’t come easily for this one, if ever, and that left her feeling gutted, but if the Lits raided his primary hideout, he and all of his boys would pay for her carelessness with their freedom at the very least. She would never be able to forgive herself if that happened.

  Macak hopped up suddenly and walked over to nudge his head under one hand, curling next to her when she started to pet him. It lifted her mood a fraction and she managed a small smile for the cat.

  Thanks, mate.

  Em touched the center of the bandage and winced. “All right. I’ve got a few reasons to suspect that the people behind the shooting the other night might be higher ups in the Literati structure. Since it nearly got me killed and laid Rueben up with a bullet in the arm, I’m in no hurry to do the Lits any favors. They aren’t on my list of favorite people right now.”

  Maeko couldn’t stop a sneer. “Is anyone?”

  Em glanced at the black ceiling of the coach as if the answer were written there. Her smile was empty, bitter. “No. Not really.”

  “Why do you hate so much?”

  The smile faded. Em exhaled and looked down at Maeko’s dirty stockings poking out below the hem of the damaged skirt. “The will?”