The Girl and the Clockwork Conspiracy: Clockwork Enterprises Book Two

by Nikki Mccormack

  “What about the clothes you promised?”

  Em shook her head. “I’m already giving you a ride back to the Tower and my word not to tell the Lits about the hideout. You’re little excursion is cutting into time that should have been spent on other jobs. I’ll need something more in exchange for the clothes.”

  Fair enough. “The only will I could find has everything going to his wife and daughter. It must be the one he wrote while he was hiding in the warehouse, before he knew they were dead. If he has another, I couldn’t find it.”

  Em sat back, her expression becoming lost in the shadowed interior of the coach. “That doesn’t help me, but you did what I asked. Did you come across anything else of interest?”

  “There were a lot of curious sketches in the bottom of one cabinet. Weapons, I think.”

  “Just sketches, not actual patent drawings?”

  Maeko nodded.

  “Fascinating. I’d love to get my hands on those.” She chewed at her lip for a moment, her gaze turning inward. “I’ll bet a lot of people would,” she murmured. Her eyes refocused on Maeko. “I’ll drop you around the corner from the Tower. I’d like to meet up again tomorrow. Same time and place, if you think you can be bothered to show up.”

  The jab had no effect. The weight of Maeko’s guilt muted her temper for the moment. “If I can get out of the flat after what happened today.”

  “That’s your problem. I may need you to get in touch with your contacts on the street to help me find someone.”

  Her hand tightened on the coin purse. She should have let Chaff keep it. “Chaff was my best contact,” she snapped.

  “Looked to me like he was on board for all kinds of contact. You’d be better off avoiding him if you ask me.”

  “Did I ask you?”

  Em leaned forward, resting her elbows on her knees. Her eyes drilled into Maeko. “I’m sure Mr. Folesworth would be interested in hearing about your relationship with that street rat.”

  Maeko matched her posture. “Almost as interested as he would be in you dragging me into your investigations. I bet he’d love to know what you’re investigating too.”

  Em sat back again and, to Maeko’s surprise, she grinned. Probably the first grin Maeko had ever seen make it into the grouchy detective’s eyes. “I don’t suppose I’ll ever like you much, Rat, but I respect your spirit.” The coach rolled to a stop. “I’ll have some proper street clothes for you when we meet next time.”

  That’s a relief.

  Maeko drew Macak in to her chest and climbed wordlessly out of the coach. The grit-covered pavement was cold and damp under her feet from a recent rain. Several pedestrians gave her bedraggled countenance long startled stares. One woman went so far as to ask if she were okay. Maeko waved her off. She smelled the bakery when she came around the corner of the building. The rich aroma made her stomach growl. Her hand tightened on the coin purse and she stopped to consider. She could still get bread for dinner if they would even serve her in her current state.

  A light touch on her hand caught her attention. She looked down into deep brown eyes staring up at her out of a dirt-smudged face. The boy wore tattered, stained clothes and smelled of something from out of a dumpster. She’d smelled that way herself more than once. She wasn’t far from it now.

  He stared into Macak’s eyes as he spoke. “Could ye spare a copper, Miss. Me mum is real sick.”

  Maeko smiled. The boy had a lot to learn if he were selecting someone in her disheveled condition as his mark. She gathered her skirts and crouched in front of him, letting Macak’s feet rest on her thighs. The boy started to reach toward the cat then shied back a step, uncertain. She crooked a finger at him. After a long pause, he inched closer, eyes darting about for any sign of a trap.

  “You can pet him.”

  Wary, he held a finger out. Macak touched his nose to it and the boy smiled. He inched a bit closer to stroke the cat’s head.

  “You working for Chaff?” His eyes widened. Confirmation enough. Chaff had been a busy bloke over the last month, branching out into new areas and drawing in new recruits. She took the hand that was petting Macak and put the coin purse in it. “Can you take this to him for me?”

  The boy nodded and closed his small fist tight around the purse. Maeko put a hand on his shoulder to keep him from running off and turned to skim the street. It only took a few seconds to find what she wanted. She turned back to the boy and smiled conspiratorially.

  “See the woman in the light blue dress leaving the bakery?” He nodded. Not much for talking, this one. Probably for the best. “I bet she’ll give you something to line your pockets before you head back.”

  He glanced at the woman then gave Maeko a dubious look.

  “Give it a try.” She nodded encouragement.

  The boy pocketed the purse and Maeko got up, going to watch from outside the entrance to the Airship Tower. The woman in the blue dress was walking past the boy now. He touched her hand and she stopped, bending down to listen to him. After a brief exchange, she dug into her bag and handed him a few coins, smiling at him sadly before moving on. The boy glanced around, spotted Maeko and grinned. She winked back and stepped on the panel to open the steampowered doors.

  Now to face Lucian.

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  It took all Maeko’s persuasion skills to convince the desk attendant and guards in the lobby that they didn’t need to summon an officer, she didn’t need medical attention, and it wasn’t necessary for someone to assist her up to the tenth floor. What she needed they couldn’t provide and that was a way to explain it all to Lucian. There was only one explanation that wouldn’t get her into trouble and it wasn’t far off the truth, but she was likely to end up with even more restrictions on her freedom no matter how she presented it.

  Standing outside the white door to the flat, with its elaborate floral carved frame and shiny brass numbers, Maeko stared down at her dirt-stained stockings and considered going back downstairs and leaving this prosperity rubbish to those more suited to it. Lucian might be upset for a little while, but maybe it would be better in the end. He didn’t need her making his life more difficult. It would be hard to leave the certainty of regular meals and warm nights behind. Still, a month wasn’t enough time to get used to that kind of thing. She would reacclimatize to her old life fast enough.

  A soft head butted against her leg.

  Macak.

  Her chest ached at the thought of leaving the cat. She took a deep breath and pressed down the thumb lever on the fancy brass handle. The door swung in. She picked Macak up, hoping they hadn’t noticed the cat’s absence and would think that he had come to the door to greet her. She held his warm body to her chest like armor, then took a deep breath and entered the flat. The unexpected sweet smell of pipe smoke wafted around her. As soon as the door clicked shut, Lucian strode into the front room from the kitchen… twice.

  Maeko stared, aware her mouth was hanging open, but unable to fix it as the first Lucian hurried over to grab hold of her shoulders, taking in everything from her bruised eye down to her bare feet with an expression of rising alarm. The other Lucian stayed back, leaning against the doorframe, and shook his head at them before taking a long draw on the pipe in his hand. The two men wore different suits and the one by the kitchen had a haughty scowl under his neatly trimmed moustache, but the differences ended there.

  “Good heavens! What happened to you?”

  Maeko forced her attention to the concerned Lucian still gripping her shoulders. “Someone nicked my coin purse.”

  “And then what, you were run over by a hansom?”

  The snide comment came from the Lucian in the doorway and concerned Lucian gave him a sharp warning glance. The man by the kitchen shrugged and resumed sucking at his pipe.

  “I ran after him. I had to take off the boots. I couldn’t run proper in them. I caught him, but he got away from me again and someone nicked the boots while I was gone.”

  “It looks like t
he thief had quite the right hook too.”

  This time concerned Lucian turned fully around to face his double. “Thaddeus, if you don’t have anything constructive to contribute then perhaps you could give us a moment alone.”

  The other Lucian, Thaddeus apparently, shrugged again and tugged a watch out of his pocket to check the time. He didn’t leave. Constance peeked around him in the doorway and made a small choking sound before ducking back into the kitchen.

  Lucian turned back to Maeko. “Are you hurt?”

  “It looks worse than it is,” she muttered.

  He squeezed her shoulders. “I appreciate your courage, Maeko, but proper young ladies leave the tackling of thieves to men. I had hoped to introduce a lovely young lady to my brother.” Thaddeus chuckled, the sound turning to a cough at Lucian’s irritated glance. “Go to your room and Miss Foster will help you clean up. Then we can handle proper introductions.”

  Twins. At least she wasn’t hallucinating. “Yes, sir.” Maeko lowered her gaze, still clutching the purring cat to her chest, and started down the hall to her borrowed room. She felt Thaddeus watching her, his haughty superiority pressing in on her like a giant vise.

  “You’ll never take the street out of that one, Lucian. She’s worse than the cat.”

  “Don’t be disparaging, Thaddeus. She has a good heart. She just needs opportunity and proper guidance.”

  Her chest felt heavy when she slipped into the room and set Macak on the bed. Why did Lucian have to defend her? Anger or disappointment she could handle. Although, now that she thought about it, she’d gotten about as much as she could handle of that from Chaff today.

  Getting changed and cleaned up required suffering through Constance’s ongoing declarations of dismay at the state of her clothes. The maid was almost in tears over the various tears and snags in the fabric. When she was once again properly dressed, she emerged to find Captain Garrett also there and had to suffer his smirk of amusement while Lucian awkwardly explained the black eye and split lip. After proper introductions were made between her and Thaddeus Folesworth, dinner was served, giving her the opportunity to sit and fade silently into the background.

  Thaddeus, it turned out, had arrived unannounced to offer support to his brother in his time of loss, though he didn’t strike Maeko as the supportive type. More than anything, he appeared to be there to tell Lucian how he should go about his mourning and express his disapproval of Maeko. Garrett, on the other hand, was there to discuss business. He was now working with Lucian on a human variation of Macak’s clockwork leg, with the intent of using his disabled younger son as an eventual recipient for the prosthesis. Thaddeus expressed keen interest in the monetary potential of their work.

  “You believe you can construct the parts to adapt Lucian’s design for human use without adding significant bulk or weight?” Thaddeus leaned on the table, his attention keenly tuned to Garrett’s reply.

  Garrett’s short, spiky hair and the flair of Pirate eccentricity in his attire—brass accented epaulettes on his jacket and leather bracers peeking out under the cuffs—looked markedly out of place at that table, but it didn’t appear to bother him. His good-natured smile never faltered. “I don’t believe it. I know it.”

  Thaddeus smiled, polite enough on the surface, though there was a certain sharpening of his interest that struck Maeko as curious. “Could it be adapted it to other things, say a human arm or something along those lines.”

  “I’ve heard whispers on the streets that someone has already been experimenting in that area, though I haven’t seen anything myself,” Garrett started. “Hands are complicated, but now that I understand how the leg works, I’m sure I could figure it out.”

  Garrett began to go into detail on the technology and science involved and Maeko felt her eyes glazing over. She was happy her efforts had introduced him to Lucian and that both were getting what they wanted out of the arrangement, but she didn’t have the education or technical experience needed to keep up with their enthusiastic discussion of complex engineering.

  Unexpectedly, Thaddeus was the one who came to her rescue. “I think this is a bit deep for the young lady. Perhaps she would like to go up to the airship landing for some fresh air and take a look at a true marvel of science.”

  Lucian considered her a moment and managed a slight smile. “Yes, Maeko, you should have a look at the new airship Thaddeus arrived in. It is lovely to behold.”

  Thaddeus sat back in his chair and crossed his arms. “What he isn’t telling you is that it’s his airship. I’m only borrowing it. You see, Lucian has all the real money in the family.”

  Maeko shifted in her seat, unsettled by the searing jealousy in his voice. Lucian didn’t seem to notice, or perhaps the scathing tone was so familiar he no longer let it ruffle him. If anyone spoke of her in such a tone, she would sleep with one eye open and keep a knife under her pillow whenever they were around, but maybe that was paranoia born of living on the streets.

  “Perhaps Miss Foster would accompany you,” Lucian suggested.

  Thaddeus waved a dismissive hand at his brother. “Really, Lucian. Must you smother the girl? I’m sure she can handle a stroll to the rooftop without an escort.”

  Maybe Thaddeus had a few redeeming points after all.

  Thaddeus smiled at her then and it wasn’t a nice smile. “You’ll be safe enough, dear girl. I’m sure there aren’t any nasty pickpockets up there.”

  She smiled back acidic sweetness. “Only this one.”

  Garrett choked on a laugh, but Lucian didn’t look at all amused, nor did his brother.

  Thaddeus sneered, his nose wrinkling as if he’d caught wind of a night soil deposit. “Charming.”

  Lucian stood, giving his twin a stern look. “If you’re done giving Maeko a lesson in childish bad manners, Thaddeus, perhaps you would like to join the adults in the sitting room.”

  Thaddeus lowered his gaze, though he didn’t look at all sorry for his conduct.

  Lucian met her eyes over the table. “Maeko, you may go up to the dock if you wish, but do take a shawl, there is quite a chill in the air this evening.”

  “Yes, Sir. Thank you.”

  In her room, she wrapped an ivory shawl around her shoulders and gazed into the vanity mirror for a moment. The swell around her eye wasn’t that bad. There was a small puff around the split in her lip too. She’d had far worse. The boy had been fast enough, but there wasn’t much force behind his punches. Chaff needed to teach him some of the moves he’d taught her to help counter the size disadvantage.

  Chaff.

  She touched a finger to her lip, surprised by a swell of disappointment for that interrupted kiss. Would the coin purse do anything to quell his anger? Would the boy even give it to him?

  Macak jumped to the vanity and up onto her shoulders, balancing himself there. She smiled and scratched his head.

  “So you think I need a chaperone to go upstairs after all.” She left the room, comforted and warmed by the cat’s presence. “If only Lucian would let you be my chaperone all the time.”

  She padded through the kitchen, avoiding the sitting room on her way out. Lucian might not want her taking Macak up to the dock and she’d already dodged one bullet in regards to the cat today. Macak was the only one not upset with her for one reason or another and she needed a little of that kind of company. By the time she stepped out onto the airship dock, her strides relaxed to normal, or as normal as they ever were in heels, and Macak shifted with her movement like an extra appendage.

  Captain Garrett’s patched up airship loomed like some vast behemoth over a sleek, silvery airship with a comparatively narrow body and a gondola half the size of the other. It looked rather like a fish. She approached the smaller airship cautiously, aware that Macak might not like the airships up close. She wanted to be able to catch him if he started to spook.

  Macak, however, stared at the contraption with wide curious eyes, not even startling when she moved under the edge of the main
body to peer in a gondola window. The inside gleamed with polished metals of brass, silver, and bronze. The controls, a wide array of levers, switches and gauges were set in a console that wrapped around one large plush chair. An airship designed so that it could be flown by a single person. Several comfortable looking chairs were positioned in the body of the gondola for passengers. The floor had short pile carpeting over it and fancy red and gold brocade curtains were tied back from the windows with braided gold cord.

  She heard footsteps approaching. A glance in the window’s reflection showed Ash walking up beside her, his hands tucked in his trouser pockets and his broad shoulders hunched. She shifted her gaze back to the interior, focusing on the bright brass Clockwork Enterprises symbol on the control panel.

  “Makes ours look like a junk heap, doesn’t it?”

  “Seems kind of stuffy and presumptuous to me. I’d rather ride in something with a little more character.” She glanced at Ash’s reflection in time to catch a glimpse of his fleeting smile.

  “Maybe I can talk Dad into taking you up sometime.”

  “I’d like that.” She drew in a breath and faced him.

  He avoided her gaze and reached up instead to scratch Macak on the head. The cat pushed into his hand, increasing the pressure on her healing shoulder. She dropped the shoulder a touch and the cat adjusted his stance, moving his feet off the tender scar.

  Better.

  Ash turned to stare into the gondola. “I’m sorry about last night. I—”

  “Please don’t apologize.”

  He finally looked at her, then did a double take. “What happened to you?”

  She exhaled and looked away. Macak head-butted her cheek, demanding more attention and she automatically complied, earning an enthusiastic purr. “I got in a tussle with a pickpocket.”

  “Oh.” He managed to look almost concerned for a few seconds, then a smile jerked its way across his lips and he started to laugh. “I can just see you all done up in a nice dress tackling some thief. How surprised must he have been?” He laughed harder yet.