by Gwynn White
He offered another smile with those very nice lips. “Maybe I like your physical form.”
From any other man, she would have taken insult, yet when he said it, it warmed her more than the tea.
“I should slap you,” she told him, striving for some semblance of normalcy.
“You should,” he agreed. His expression turned serious, yet the new look upon his features did not detract from them. How strange that she’d never noticed what a handsome man he was.
“You should command me to go,” he whispered.
“I should.” But she didn’t. A part of her mind insisted that she was no longer thinking straight, but she ignored it. Pushing all logic aside, she leaned up and brushed his lips with hers.
For the briefest moment, he hesitated, then his mouth was moving against hers.
It seemed he must have breathed life into her because her body came alive in a way she had never felt before. Then he opened his mouth and trailed his tongue along her lower lip in a shocking, yet deeply intimate gesture.
“Open for me,” he said against her lips. “Let me in.”
He licked her lower lip once more, and she opened her mouth. His tongue slipped inside, but it wasn’t as disgusting as she would have expected. After a brief moment to overcome the strangeness of the situation, she copied him. She liked the way he tasted—which was really bizarre.
He groaned, the sound sending another wave of heat through her body. She didn’t protest when he pushed her back against the pillow, his mouth still deeply engaged with hers. This time, she groaned.
“Briar,” he breathed her name against her lips. “We must stop.” His words didn’t match his actions as he continued to kiss her.
“Why?” the question was muffled against his mouth.
“You don’t know what you’re doing.”
“You could teach me.”
“I was referring to the fact that you’re drunk.” He lifted his head, but he remained braced on his hands above her, his eyes shadowed, but his wonderful mouth damp and flushed.
She didn’t want him to stop. Reaching up, she attempted to wrap her arms around his neck, but the pain in her right shoulder made her stop.
He pulled back. “Don’t. You already have too much power over me.”
She frowned, not understanding what he meant by that.
“Tomorrow, we will arrive in Columbus where you will learn that those plans contain no ferromancy. You will return them and the construct, and we will go our separate ways.”
Her addled mind tried to make sense of what he was saying. “You’re leaving.”
“Yes,” he spoke the word firmly as if convincing himself more than her.
“This is just another role to play,” she said.
He neither agreed nor disagreed. Getting to his feet, he gave her his back. “Construct,” he said to Lock. “Watch over her.”
Without another word, Grayson climbed the ladder and disappeared through the hatch.
Lock sprang from the table to the bed and crawled up the blanket until he reached her pillow. He rubbed his cheek with hers, his soft coo questioning.
“I don’t know,” she answered. “Maybe I’ll wake up and this will all have been a dream.” Whether it would turn out to be a good dream or bad, she wasn’t certain.
13
Briar woke to the smell of bacon and the awareness that the boat was moving.
She sat up, clutching the blanket to her chest. It was full daylight beyond the cabin windows, and through a gap in the curtains, she could see the banks slipping past at the usual speed.
“Good morning, Captain.” Jimmy sat at her table, a mug in hand.
“We’re moving,” she said.
“Aye. We knew you wanted to make Columbus this afternoon, but we didn’t want to disturb your healing slumber. Are you feeling better?”
“Yes, I think so.”
Jimmy smiled and got to his feet. “Good, but if you’re head’s a thumping, Mr. Grayson makes an amazing tea that will take care of that.” He gestured with his mug.
“Careful with that. He gave me some last night, and it knocked me out.”
“Really?” He looked into his mug. “This is my second cup.”
“There’s rum in it,” she explained.
“Yeah, but just a little.” He looked up. “Maybe he made yours stronger since you were injured and all. I bet it would have been hard to sleep.”
She frowned, wondering if that had been Grayson’s motive.
“Are you upset that we’re underway without your command?” Jimmy asked, misinterpreting her frown. “It was my idea.”
“No, Jimmy. Thank you for getting us moving. I really made a mess of things yesterday.”
“Nah. You did great. It wasn’t your fault that Darby cow had a knife.”
She sighed. That wasn’t exactly the event she was referring to, but she couldn’t go into that with him.
“Would you give me some privacy so I can freshen up?”
“Sure.” He got to his feet. “We saved you some breakfast. It’s in the covered pan on the back of the stove. Mr. Grayson made something he called om-mu-lets. You need to hire him.”
“I’m afraid he has other plans.”
“A shame. That man would make someone a good wife.” Chuckling at his own joke, he left the cabin.
A questioning coo broke the silence, and she noticed movement beneath her pillow.
“Yes, you can come out now, Lock.”
The little dragon crawled from beneath her pillow. He gave himself a shake, his silver scales shimmering in a glittering wave over his body as the sunlight caught on the shiny metal.
“Goodness, you’re beautiful.” She held out a hand, and he hopped into her palm. “I’m going to miss you when Mr. Grayson takes you away.”
Lock moaned, his silver wings drooping.
“But maybe I can arrange a way to meet you again.” Once the boat was hers, perhaps she could write Molly and get Mr. Martel’s address. But first, she needed to know if he was a ferromancer.
She set Lock down on the table and headed for her room to change. Today, she would go see Uncle Liam and determine once and for all if Grayson was telling her the truth.
Briar took her time getting ready. She even sat down to eat breakfast. Jimmy had been right about the egg concoction Mr. Grayson had prepared. It was wonderful.
When there were no more excuses for her to remain in her cabin, she went topside.
Jimmy was mopping the crew’s bunkhouse, while Benji cleaned the stables. She found Eli at the tiller, but before she could ask him where Mr. Grayson had gone, she saw him out on the towpath, walking with Zach and the mules.
“Morning, Miss Briar,” Eli greeted her. “Jimmy said you were much improved.”
“I am.” She took a seat on the rail beside him.
“You seem a bit out of sorts, though.”
She glanced over, and he lifted his bushy brows in question. In the past, she could always share her troubles with Eli and he could help her work through them. But she knew he’d be furious if she admitted that she’d kissed Mr. Grayson. It was times like these that she wished she had a woman to talk to.
“I’m still a little groggy from yesterday’s beating.” That did stick in her craw as well. It just wasn’t as vexing as this issue with Grayson.
“It happens, Miss Briar. You’ll whip her next time.”
Briar smiled at his optimism. “I guess I better get to work, especially after lying around all morning.”
“Don’t over do it. That wound needs a good day or two to get the healing well started. Me and the boys will do the big stuff.”
She sighed and, well aware that he wouldn’t relent, went off to find some little things to do.
She was oiling a mule harness when they reached Four Mile Lock on the Columbus Feeder Canal. The lock was so named because it was only four miles from Columbus. They should be there in a little over an hour.
After helping Zach and
Benji swap out the team, Grayson came aboard.
“Shall I lay out a midday meal?” he asked her. “I had planned a simple repast since we’ll be docking this afternoon.”
He didn’t seem to have any trouble speaking to her. Maybe the whole exchange hadn’t left him uncomfortable. She, on the other hand, grew annoyed with the way her gaze kept dropping to his mouth when he spoke. She needed to have this out.
“I’ll help you,” she said, then continued before he could refuse. “The crew has assigned me light duty until this scratch is healed.”
He smiled at that. “Very well.” He walked to the hatch, then held it open for her. She climbed down and he followed, the hatch thumping closed behind him.
“You’re getting the plans back today?” he asked before she could speak. He stepped past her and walked to the stove.
“Yes. My friend, Mr. Liam Adams lives in Columbus.”
“Ah.” He pulled out the cutting board and unwrapped the ham.
She frowned at his back a moment.
“How’s the shoulder?” he asked.
“Fine.” She took a breath. “About last night—”
“My wits abandoned me. I apologize.”
She spread her hands, though he didn’t see the gesture. “This is awkward as hell,” she complained.
“You’ve never kissed a man before, have you?”
“What does that have to do with—”
“You would know that the easiest solution to avoid the awkwardness is to pretend nothing happened.”
She guessed that was what he’d been doing. “You are the one with the experience.” She stepped up beside him. “How can I help?”
“Slice the bread?”
“What bread?”
“Oh.” He took down a basket and unwrapped a crusty loaf.
“Where did that come from?”
“I made it this morning.”
“Damn, that tea of yours must have knocked me out cold.”
He didn’t comment, probably because that tea had led her to kiss him. Pretending it didn’t happen. Right.
She carried the loaf back to the table and began to slice it. Lock crawled out of her pocket and hopped down onto the table to inspect what she was doing.
“What about Lock?” she asked. “Will I ever see him again?”
The little dragon sprang up onto her shoulder and huddled against her neck.
“Probably not. The railroad is expanding westward. That’s most likely where I’ll go.”
“Those are Mr. Martel’s plans?”
“Yes.”
She glanced over, but he still had his back to her. She considered asking more, but returned to her task. The silence stretched, becoming uncomfortable. Finally, she couldn’t stand it any longer.
“What does Mr. Martel have on you?” she asked. “Is he the one keeping you from your freedom?” She remembered well his envy of her life, even though a lot of other details were hazy.
“It’s no concern of yours.” He carried over the baskets, one already filled with sliced ham and a round of cheese. He began to gather up the bread she’d sliced. “Do you want to get the plates?”
She huffed, but did as he asked.
Looping the baskets over his arm, he started to climb the ladder, but she caught his sleeve.
“My freedom wasn’t just given to me,” she said. “I had to fight for it.”
“And I admire that in you.”
“Then let me help you.”
“You can.” His gaze held hers. “By letting me and your Lock go.” He climbed the ladder and left her standing there.
She noted that it was the closest he’d ever come to calling Lock by name. But it seemed a hollow victory.
She left Eli and Jimmy to oversee the unloading of the lumber, and walked with Zach to the Columbus canal office. Her silent companion glanced around as they walked, and she wondered if he was taking his bodyguard duties a little too seriously. Ever since the assault in Chillicothe, the crew had been insistent that she venture nowhere alone.
“I saw Mr. Grayson on the towpath with you this morning,” she said as they walked. “You seem to have befriended him.”
Zach nodded.
“That’s nice.” She wished Zach could tell her what Mr. Grayson spoke of—if anything. Most people fell silent when they spent any time around Zach.
“I’ll certainly miss his cooking when he goes.”
Zach glanced over. A considering look, then he nodded and faced forward once more. He went back to scanning their surroundings, and she glimpsed the scars that ran down the right side of his neck and disappeared beneath his shirt.
She sometimes wondered what he’d been like before the accident. Did the silence bother him? She always made a point to speak to him and not to imitate his silence, but it was hard to hold a conversation when she was the only one talking.
“Ah, here we are,” she said as they reached the canal office. “I’ll pay our tolls. Hopefully, the boat will be unloaded when we return.”
Zach nodded then took a seat on the bench beside the front door. She left him there and walked inside.
“Captain Rose.” Mr. Baker gave her a wide smile from his place behind the counter. “This dreary old room just got a whole lot brighter.”
She forced a smile and walked over to greet him. It seemed people either sneered at her captaincy, or used it as an opportunity to flirt with her. There wasn’t a whole lot of in-between.
“Good to see you, as well, Mr. Baker.” She handed over her manifest, then waited while he took his sweet time tallying up the toll she owed. Before he was even halfway finished, she wanted to jerk the pencil and paper out of his hand and tally the numbers herself. As Uncle Charlie had told her frequently, patience was not one of her virtues.
Mr. Baker finally gave her a total, dropping a not too subtle hint that dinner with him might lower her fee. She managed to politely decline instead of punching him.
“Oh, and before you go, I have a letter for you.” Mr. Baker pulled out a small beige envelope.
She recognized the stationery and the curly monogram on the back. An A for Adams.
Her heart beating faster, she accepted the letter. “Thank you, Mr. Baker.”
If he had more platitudes, she didn’t catch them. She was already out the door.
Zach started to get up when she stepped outside, but resumed his seat when she dropped onto the bench.
“Adams left me a letter,” she explained, already ripping open the envelope. A single sheet of matching stationery had been folded once and tucked inside.
My Dear Briar:
I will be departing Columbus on the sixteenth. I promised to take Agatha to see her sister, and I dare not disappoint her. If you should arrive after the sixteenth, I must ask you to visit me in Millersport. I will have your schematics with me.
I hope I have not inconvenienced you.
Your Friend,
Adams.
Briar turned to Zach. “Today is the fifteenth, right?”
He nodded, and she released a breath.
“Good. That will save me some trouble.”
He gave her a questioning look.
“Oh. Sorry.” She would have passed the letter to him, but he wouldn’t be able to read it. “My friend will be leaving the city for Millersport tomorrow. Unless I wish to visit him there, I must go see him now.”
Zach rose to his feet, then gestured for her to lead the way.
“You don’t need to escort me. They live only a few blocks from here.”
He shook his head, refusing to abandon his guard duty.
Briar sighed and got to her feet. “Since when did my crew become a bunch of over protective ninnies?”
Zach simply held her gaze, his jaw set in determination.
“Fine,” she muttered. “You can play bodyguard a little longer. But unless I get attacked by an overzealous pigeon looking for a few bread crumbs, you’re going to have a dull time of it.”
Zach
just shrugged.
14
They reached Mr. Adams’s modest townhouse a short time later. Zach refused to accompany her inside, so Briar left him sitting on the curb and climbed the steps to Adams’s front door. Agatha must have been watching because the door opened the moment Briar stepped up on the front stoop.
“Briar Rose! I had hoped you would arrive today.” The elderly woman pulled her through the door and into a tight hug. Briar returned the gesture as the door swung shut behind her.
“I’ve missed you,” Briar admitted.
“And I, you.” Agatha kissed her cheek, then released her. “Look at you. More beautiful every time I see you.”
“You say that every time you see me,” Briar answered.
“Well, it’s true.” The older woman winked. “Have you found a husband yet?”
Briar gave her a loving, but exasperated head shake. “Aunt Agatha, please.” Briar hoped her blush wasn’t too noticeable.
Agatha was watching her, then without comment, reached up and touched the silver necklace around her throat. “What’s this? A gift?”
“No, it’s…” Briar stopped, not sure how to answer that. She couldn’t tell Agatha the truth, but she couldn’t lie to the woman who was the closest thing she had to a mother. Grayson’s words from this morning came back to her. If he had his way, she would be parted from Lock very soon.
Agatha took her hand, quickly picking up on her uncertainty. “Come talk to me.” She tugged Briar toward the parlor.
“That isn’t necessary.” Briar pulled her to a stop.
“Nonsense. I saw that look in your eyes.”
“What look?”
“Uncertainty, hurt, frustration. What’s his name?”
Briar sighed. “Really, it’s not—”
“Come now.” Agatha gave her hand a squeeze. “You know you can tell me anything.”
“Yes.” Briar fumbled for some excuse. “It’s complicated.”
“Of course it is, dear. These things are always complicated.” She patted Briar’s hand. “I won’t pry, but I’m here if you need me.”
Briar gave her another hug, wishing she could tell her about this mess she had created, but she couldn’t quite bring herself to admit that she’d kidnapped a man.