“I know you didn’t.”
She winced at a sharper pain in the wound and pressed into him, closing her eyes. His thumb brushed her cheek, leaving a line of tingling warmth in its wake.
Tomoe stitched and bandaged the wound with steady practiced hands. What felt like an eternity of tension and pain finally ended. Without those things, it became impossible to fight the floating drowsiness of the laudanum. Maeko remained curled against the warm body next to her. The heaviness in her muscles kept her there and the trembling that plagued her while her mother worked subsided. Peacefulness stole over her. She was aware of Ash moving her hand off the table and setting it in her lap. He left his hand resting on top of hers and she smiled drowsily, pleased to let it stay.
Chapter Fifteen
Fingers brushed Maeko’s cheek. She opened her eyes to find Tomoe gazing down on her. She lay under a blanket on the small couch, though she didn’t recall how she’d gotten there. Lucian’s bloodstained shirt had disappeared and she now wore a light blue blouse, probably something of her mother’s. It fit better than Lucian’s shirt, though the feminine pleats and ruffles, while understated, thwarted her efforts at not drawing attention to her gender. That got more difficult with every passing month anyhow. Age had an annoying way of emphasizing the wrong bits.
Someone had set plates and food out on the little table. Lottie sat in one chair. Ash sat in another, staring at his plate as if it held the answers to all the secrets of the world in its chipped surface. She remembered him holding her while her mother tended the wound and until she fell asleep. It wasn’t the extraordinary pain of the experience that stuck in her mind and brought a vivid flush to her cheeks, but rather the care in his touch and the comfort she’d taken from it.
So much for trying to pretend she didn’t like him.
Tomoe shifted her position, screening Maeko’s embarrassment from the view of the two at the table. “You must eat, Maeko-chan, to regain your strength.”
Maeko-chan? The affectionate address crashed up against years of rejection and hurt, chipping away at it. Her throat tightened with memories of a loving if unusual home, a life that ended with screaming and blood. She glanced at her hands, remembering them covered in red.
I couldn’t help. Couldn’t stop the bleeding or take away the pain. Perhaps, if I could have done something, things would have been different.
She squeezed her eyes shut. Tomoe placed a hand on her arm. It made the misery sharper, but she faced the pain and found something new within it. A whisper of what could be. She opened her eyes and let Tomoe help her up, guiding her to the table with a steadying hand cupped under her elbow. When she was seated, Tomoe took her hand away, leaving a spot of warmth behind.
A shroud of awkward silence hung over the group.
Maeko glanced around at them, puzzled. Perhaps Ash’s father wasn’t doing well. “How’s Captain Garrett?”
“He ate a good meal just a bit ago.” Lottie dished pork pie onto her plate as she spoke, as if the question had broken some dining stalemate. “I think he’s feeling a bit better.”
The serving of the pie released its savory aroma, not an unpleasant thing, but right then Maeko felt weak more than hungry. Laudanum on an empty stomach killed her appetite as sure as a bullet killed a fox.
Several seconds passed in silence. No one other than Lottie took anything to eat. Ash and her mother were watching Maeko.
“What’s with you two?”
Ash heaved a sigh and almost met her eyes. “I didn’t keep up my end of the deal with your mum, did I? I ditched you and you got hurt.”
Tomoe’s lips pressed into a thin line, a subtle confirmation.
“Oh rubbish!” Maeko snapped. They both sat back in their chairs and she turned on her mother. “You should know better than to blame Ash for that. I’m not any easier to get along with now than I was when I lived with you. Besides, I’m not a child anymore. It’s my job to take care of myself, not his.”
A smile tugged at her mother’s lips and Maeko was shocked to see pale rose rise in her fair cheeks. Without a word, Tomoe proceeded to serve Maeko and then Ash before serving herself. Ash looked confused. When he glanced askance at Maeko, she started to shrug, but another flash of pain cut the motion short. He cringed in sympathy and the hang of his shoulders said he still felt guilt for her injury, unwilling to accept that he deserved no blame.
“Do you need more laudanum?” Tomoe asked.
Maeko hesitated, blinking back tears the pain brought to her eyes, then shook her head. “No. It makes me tired and I’ve wasted too much time already.”
Tomoe pursed her lips and focused on eating, stabbing at her pie with disturbing ferocity.
Ash swallowed a bite. “What are you planning now?”
She chewed at the bite she’d taken, afraid to swallow while her stomach still threatened to send it back up. How much did she dare say in current company? It was odd enough having her mom here. She’d been on her own too long to abide someone else trying to discourage her from doing what she wanted and, in this case, needed to do, even if only out of concern for her safety. Besides, the more information she gave Tomoe, the more concerned Tomoe would be, and the more likely they would end up in a row about it. She didn’t want that.
She finally swallowed the bite, figuring it would gain her no ground to spit it up on the plate. When it didn’t come rushing back up, she said, “I need to find someone.”
Ash licked at his split lip and stared at her. Rather than press for more information, he set down the hearty bite he’d been lifting to his mouth. “Can I help?”
She looked at him, at his bruised face and swollen lip, injuries he’d suffered following her around. Then she met his eyes and admired the willingness she saw there. Regardless of what she had to do or where she had to go, the look said he wanted to help. She held back a smile. No point offering too much encouragement, though going in search of Em with him at her side had considerable appeal, especially now that she had her wounded shoulder to consider.
Something of her thoughts must have come through in her expression, because Ash grinned in triumph. “It’s settled then. We’ll get going after you’ve eaten something.”
Settled?
What if something else happened to him because she let him come? She opened her mouth to object, then noticed that Tomoe had stopped attacking her food like it still needed killing.
“It would be nice to have some help,” Maeko said, watching her mother.
Tomoe smiled at her plate.
Maeko got up and walked over to the satchel still sitting in the corner, feeling the eyes of the others follow her until she slipped behind the curtain. She knelt next to the camp bed and started to set the satchel beside it. Garrett’s eyes opened, clear and bright. He would heal well.
She dug into the satchel and pulled out the blueprints, holding them up for him to see. “Are these what you wanted?”
Bright enthusiasm lit his eyes. Like a man in thrall, he reached up with one hand and began to run a finger over the first drawing. His finger paused occasionally, his eyes moving across the page as he read over notes on the document.
“This is amazing,” he whispered, his voice thick with awe. Then his gaze shifted to look at her over the drawings and his brow furrowed. “How did you get these?”
She smiled for his sake. “It’s a long story. I’ll tell you all about it when I find out how it ends.” Actually, she might not see him again after that, but it sounded nice. “These are only copies. I was hoping to leave them with you along with this satchel for safe keeping until this is resolved.”
His smile faded and she sat back on her heels, lowering the drawings down to rest on top of the satchel.
He lifted himself on one elbow with a low groan and looked her in the eyes. “You need to stop this. I know you’re trying to help, but this isn’t a game. You’re in over your head and you’re going to get hurt.”
As if to reinforce his words, a sharp pain shot thr
ough her wounded shoulder. She forced herself not to react. Like Chaff, he was being too protective. She was doing this to help his family. He at least ought to have the decency to thank her.
“You should talk. You’ve been shot once,” she hissed, keeping her voice low so the others wouldn’t hear. “At least your family needs you. Nobody needs me.”
Her throat tightened. She pushed aside the satchel and the blueprints and stood before he could respond, darting back around the curtain.
How long had she survived on the streets, never thinking back on what she had left behind? How long had she been content living among thieves with no one controlling her life? Wasn’t that better?
The longing for a home and a family stabbed through her chest, a serrated blade sawing through hard-earned indifference. She balled her hands into fists and willed it away.
You’ve always had Chaff.
But that wasn’t the same. As important as he was to her, he wasn’t blood family, and now the almost brotherly role he’d played in the past had become confused with something less…familial.
Ash and Tomoe were watching her, both wearing looks of concern. Maeko schooled her expression and pushed away those thoughts. She met their eyes and said, “Let’s go.”
Tomoe scowled, her gaze going to Ash, who sank as if he meant to sit back down. Maeko gave him a stern look and turned toward the door. She would leave him there, and if he hadn’t known that before, he knew it now. He straightened again.
Tomoe said, “Maeko-chan, your injury needs to heal.”
“I know, but I have to go.”
Tomoe nodded, as though she’d expected the answer. “Then if you must go…be careful.”
Maeko stepped toward the door and put her hand on the knob. There, she paused and turned a little so she could see her mother in the periphery of her vision. Her throat clenched. “Thank you for your care, Okaasan.”
She heard Tomoe start to cry as Ash followed her out the door. He placed a hand on her arm, stopping her before they reached the street.
She spun on him, letting frustration overpower the ache in her chest. “What now?”
He let go and lowered his gaze. “I wanted to thank you.”
Irritation guttered like a windblown flame and went out. “For what?”
He looked up, his pale eyes drawing her in. “For trying to help. For…” His eyes locked with hers and his mouth hung open as if the words had become stuck upon his lips on the way out.
Butterflies fluttered in her stomach before his riveting gaze. She shifted her feet. “I really didn’t mean the things I said outside the orphanage. I was just narked.”
Ash looked away again. “That bloke, the one that helped us, is he…important to you?”
“Chaff?” When he nodded, she shrugged. “Of course he is. He taught me how to survive and he’s helped me out of…” She trailed off, noticing the slight souring of his expression. All she could do was stare in slack-jawed wonder. Then she giggled and he gave her an irritable glower. “You can’t be jealous.”
“Of course not,” he snapped.
Liar. It was hard not to smile. “We should get moving.” She started to walk away.
“No. Wait.” He hurried after her and caught her arm again.
When she turned, he was very close this time. She knew she should back away, but something held her there.
“I was angry and afraid for my family before, but none of that’s your fault. Your mum and I talked a long time. I know why you want the money.” Alarm bells went off in her head, but he continued before she could speak. “I didn’t tell her. That’s between the two of you. But I misjudged you, Mae. You’re not just a rat. You’re so much more than that. You truly care about the people in your life.”
His hand came up, hesitating between them. Then he touched her cheek, brushing his thumb over the skin there. Her heart beat triple time and she almost held her tongue, afraid to break the spell. It felt incredible to be the object of such attention, but he was wrong.
“I’m a street rat, Ash.”
He drew a breath and met her eyes. “Maybe you are, but you’re also beautiful, inside and out.”
He leaned in and she almost did the same. He would kiss her if she let him. It was a shocking revelation, and part of her wanted to let him so bad it hurt inside. They stood facing each other, the silence lengthening while she tried to think of something to say. His gaze drifted to her lips. She almost relented, almost shifted closer…when Chaff’s smile came unbidden to mind.
What? Why do you have to confuse things?
She glanced away, cheeks warming. Running for her life and dodging capture were things she could do. Things she understood. This was new and scary territory.
“We should get going,” she said.
Ash released a soft, disappointed exhale, his hand dropping away, and nodded.
When they had been walking for a few minutes, he asked, “What is okaasan?”
“It’s Japanese for mum.”
He nodded approval and his gaze drifted to her shoulder. “Will you tell me how you got hurt now?”
Their relationship had changed some, but not that much. Besides, Hatchet-face was dealt with. There was no point in upsetting him with that story now. “No.”
He looked taken aback by her answer, but he adjusted. “Can I at least know where we’re going?”
Maeko kept walking, not wanting to talk about it too close to Tomoe’s house. She shifted her arm carefully to see how mobile it was. The shoulder stung with most movement and she couldn’t lift it without considerable pain and pulling on the sutures. She almost wished she had given in and asked for more laudanum before leaving, but she had to be alert.
When they were well out of earshot of the house, she answered him. “We need to find Detective Emeraude.”
“What!” Ash stumbled, tripping over his own foot when he turned to look at her. His mouth hung open. She kept walking and he righted himself, matching his pace to hers again. “Why would we want to do that?”
“I found the man she’s looking for.” Ash’s brows popped up, giving him the look of a startled puppy. Fighting back a smile, she said, “He can convince her that your family is innocent. We need to find Em and take her to where he’s hiding so he can explain things to her.”
He responded with a slow admiring smile and she stared forward, chewing at her lip.
“I can’t believe you’ve done all this to help my family. You really are incredible, you know.”
She caught herself before shrugging this time and kicked a pebble in her path instead. It rebounded off the window of a sagging brown house. A dog barked inside.
Noisy buggers.
Would he feel the same if he knew all the things she’d done to survive on the streets? Stealing, fighting, begging, and even digging through the clothes of a dead vagrant once in a moment of desperation. She didn’t think she could tell him now.
She scuffed her heels along the pavement and regretted cutting her hair again when a warm flush rose in her cheeks.
“Was it just the money for your mom or did something else make you decide to help me?”
“I just felt like helping. Don’t make a storm in a teacup out of it.” She tried to underplay the situation, hoping he would lose interest in that line of questioning.
Ash responded with a haughty grin and it took considerable willpower to resist the urge to kick him.
“You know, you almost look like a real girl in that blouse.”
Maeko swung out with her good arm and punched him in the shoulder. He ducked away, lessening the impact of the blow, though not quite escaping it the way Chaff usually did. His pale eyes sparkled with delight. A lady across the street, walking with her gloved hand resting on the arm of an older gentleman, wrinkled her nose at them before a passing carriage blocked the view.
“You’re not much of a young gentleman,” Maeko grumbled.
“Oh?” He raised his eyebrows and looked around as if searching for s
omething. “Should I be? Have you seen some young ladies around?”
This time she struck out faster, catching him a solid blow to the upper arm. He winced, rubbing his arm and laughing. She had to struggle hard to hold back a grin. Her mother’s voice popped into her head.
“Never smile at a boy who teases you, it will only encourage them.”
It was a little late to worry about that. “Why did I let you come along?”
“Because you find me irresistibly charming,” he replied with a wink and a handsome smile.
She shook her head. What could she say? It wasn’t like he was wrong. Let him read what he would into her silence.
Using the tin Lucian had given her, she paid omnibus fare to a number of markets around the city. At each, she went to the usual haunts and sought any of Chaff’s boys out working the afternoon crowds. Not surprisingly, every one of them refused to approach the detective on her behalf. She gave them all a thorough description of Em and her companions and told the boys to come find her around Cheapside in the late afternoon if they had any information as to the detective’s whereabouts.
Given that she had run into Em there recently, Cheapside seemed as good a place as any to spend time hunting for the detective or someone who might have seen her. It would probably mean running into Chaff with Ash in tow, but she had to trust the boys to behave themselves for the sake of more pressing concerns. What worried her more was the chance of running into Joel again, though she didn’t think him mad enough to pull a gun on her in the open. If she wanted to find Em, she had to risk it.
By the fourth stop, Ash was getting used to the measuring looks the street boys gave him and had started to return the scrutiny, picking up his own haughty flair. He warmed to the process as soon as he earned a few acknowledging nods instead of the usual disinterested dismissal and Maeko had to fight hard not to giggle as she watched his progression.
When they finally arrived at Cheapside, she led Ash to a quiet corner and told him where to find Lucian Folesworth. She had him repeat the location back to her several times to be sure he would remember.
His expression darkened with each insisted upon repetition. “Why are you making me memorize this?”
The Girl and the Clockwork Cat (Entangled Teen) Page 20