Jeremy’s heart was pounding as he reached the river edge, desperate to claim the last teammate so they could get away. But as Ffip rose from the water he froze in shock at the sight.
Baggy overcoat dropped into the water, sopping clothing clinging to the figure, turban hat floating gently away in the current- the person who rose small and delicate was not the fellow they’d all seen earlier. Every graceful line of slender ankle and miniscule waist under tiny ribcage left no doubt whatever to what he was seeing. His eyes couldn’t help but rise to finish the sight.
Ffip had her arms crossed over her chest- not a full bosom by any means but a respectfully pretty one nonetheless, revealed by her sodden and thin shirt. There was no help for it and he frowned as he reached her side. He pulled off his magnificent coat and draped it over the girl’s small shoulders. Ffip was not a man at all but a woman, and one that shouldn’t be discovered in this state by the thugs that were rousing to capture them. He pawed in the water and grabbed up her turban cap, shoving the wet pile of material onto her head.
“Come on,” he commanded, dragging her across and messily to the other side of the river. His coat got wet but at least the thugs were still defeated by the darkness. His extra memory of the surroundings came to his aid one last time. He found the opening of the green passage and pushed the stumbling girl down it. By the time they were clearing the thorny lane and entering the road she’d fumbled with her head and got the turban cap into place. His coat hid the rest. They ran up to the carriage, Kannikey and Mars got into the positions they’d sat in before, and Jeremy took Ffip’s weight onto his lap without complaint.
“Ya!” Kannikey cried, and Jeremy was thankful they’d thought to turn the team around before they’d followed him into the disastrous green passage to the fields behind. The horses startled at her scream and buckled the carriage forward. They got on the road and picked up more speed, just in time to leave behind the two gesturing, furious thugs who’d burst from the curtain wall of vines to pursue them.
They all shivered with excess excitement as the carriage ran through the night back in the direction of Tonturin. But Kannikey had one more surprise for them.
“Here,” she said, getting a good hold of the reins with one hand and reaching into her coat with the other. “I plucked one of these while the rest of you were so occupied fighting with those two hired thugs back there.”
Jeremy tried to calm his heartbeats as Mars took what she was handing him. It was a long green string of a plant, from bulbous gray berry to leaf to stem down to root. She’d stolen a sample of the crop.
“What is it?” Mars asked. “I don’t recognize this plant and my parents are farmers! What about you, Ffip? Can you tell us what this plant is?”
“Let me see,” Ffip said, reaching out a damp hand to inspect the plant. “I’m afraid I’m not as experienced with Botany as I should be… I know a man who can identify this plant anyway. This berry; it doesn’t look edible.”
“Well don’t sample it!” Mars barked as Ffip lifted the plant.
“I wasn’t going to; we need the full specimen in order for it to be recognized,” she replied.
Jeremy sat fuming as the two of them talked, Mars who was scrunched back in the seat so Kannikey could lean forward, and Ffip speaking down to him from her perch on Jeremy’s legs. Now that he knew the truth he was amazed that he hadn’t seen it earlier. Ffip, despite the clothes she was wearing, appeared feminine in every way to him now. Her small hands had short nails and were unadorned. Her hair was tied firmly back under the turban cap. Her cloth boots were of thin sole and torn material. But still it seemed impossible that Mars didn’t comprehend the obvious.
He glowered out the window and considered what he should do with this new information. He was tempted to kick the girl off the team but she’d been chosen, had accepted by her own free will, and hadn’t technically done anything wrong. As the streets of Tonturin absorbed the carriage back into the city limits, he found himself rubbing his eyes. He was exhausted.
“There’s one thing I should point out before we go to our various homes to sleep,” he said to his companions. “Although it must be obvious after what we’ve just been through. Please remember there’s real danger here and to keep all of this a secret. Tell no one that a new Time Mechanic has arisen. If anyone asks we’re just a group of friends. Give nothing away, not even to someone close to you.” He saw them nod in acknowledgement. “Kannikey, take us to our various homes, if you please,” he added. “And take Ffip home first.”
“All right,” the girl agreed.
He glanced at Ffip.
“We’ll leave it to you to store the plant until the morning when we can take it to your friend to be identified,” he said to her.
“I will,” she replied.
He grunted out an acknowledgement, and waited out the minutes until they got across town. Down the poorer streets being directed by Ffip until at last Kannikey pulled up to the shack they’d seen in their vision. It seemed smaller now. Ffip climbed off his lap and lifted a hand to say good night. But Jeremy pulled himself out of the carriage after her.
“I’ll be right back,” he said to Kannikey and Mars. “I have something I want to say to Ffip in private.”
If they were curious they didn’t protest. He gestured forward and Ffip stumbled a bit as she led the way to the door and he followed. In a moment they were in her small shack. She lit a candle with trembling fingers he could see. He spared the space a glance. He saw boxes that stood for a place to sit at a rickety table, a sink with a rusting metal bowl in it, and a narrow cot with a thin pillow and a scratchy blanket- made tidily at least. Everything seemed very clean. His gaze came back to settle on her and he saw she was biting her lip.
He started in on her without delay.
“I saw what you were at the river,” he accused.
“I figured,” she said.
“You made me think you were a man!”
“I never told any of you that I was a man.”
“You said your name was Fillip.”
“Oh all right then. My parents actually named me Fillipi.”
He glared at her.
“You knew what we thought,” he insisted, bringing her back to the main point.
Her chin came up in defiance.
“So what if I did? I’ve let people think I’m a man since I moved here to Tonturin!”
“Why?”
She sighed, took off his damp coat and handed it to him and then ripped the turban cap off her head. Her hair was still wet as she ran her fingers through it to lie flat. Her nose was thin, her chin was firm and the bottom half of her face was average. But those eyebrows arched over clear, bright, long-lashed eyes; expressive eyes. They were churning now.
“Try survival!” she gasped. “Do you know how difficult it is to support myself in my line of work? It’s far worse for a woman to be recognized as an engineer than for a man!”
He didn’t like what she had to say about his society, or that a part of him understood her motivations.
“You may have lied to Tonturin so you could support yourself,” he said. “But that’s different than what you’ve done with us. We’re a team, you know. Our lives may depend on each other from here on out. If you choose to come with us I won’t turn you away. But I expect something out of you— tomorrow when we come pick you up.”
“And what’s that?” she asked, her voice raspy.
“You’ll tell the others the truth so I don’t have to,” he growled. “That’s one secret I don’t care to keep.”
His eyes were hard as he waited for her answer. When she nodded he turned on his heal and left her shack. Outside Mars and Kannikey didn’t seem any warmer towards each other than they had been before. Jeremy climbed into the carriage. In fact he thought his new team was cold on every side.
“Let’s go,” he said, telling the two of them nothing.
Kannikey clicked up the horses taking them first to drop off Mars, who live
d in a roomy house he’d bought in a nicer part of town, and then outside of town towards the manse. But Jeremy sighed as the carriage was about to leave the last populated street behind. He put his hand on her arm and got her attention.
“Stop the carriage, I can walk from here,” he told her.
“What? But it’s so far!”
“It’s a mere mile and I’ve traveled it so often it’s as familiar to me as air. For you on the other hand, it might be daunting to ride back alone to Tonturin in the dark after you dropped me off.”
“I’m not afraid of the dark,” she said in a stubborn voice.
He chuckled and climbed down to stand in the road.
“I’ll say goodnight here,” he said, pulling on his coat. “I’ve kept you long enough for one evening. Go home and get some sleep, but return, if you don’t mind, to my house early in the morning.”
She grimaced.
“Yes, sir,” she sneered. Then she turned the team, clicked up her horses, and left. He shook his head as he started walking. The sooner he covered that mile, the sooner he’d arrive at his room where he could fall into his bed and sleep.
Chapter Ten - (In Which Jeremy Uncovers Roots and Mysteries)
When they arrived at Ffip’s house the next morning and she came out of her shack the difference in her looks was startling. Jeremy was just as amazed as the others, although he already knew the truth. She was carrying her turban cap and her blond-brown hair was untied. Loose waves of thick, honey-gold, shoulder-length hair transformed the lines of her face from non-discriminate to pixie-delicateness. She wore the thin shirt of yesterday and the same baggy pants. She put on an oversized vest as she walked up to the carriage, but this outfit no longer disguised her femininity because of the way she carried herself.
He wondered if she were an actress as well as an inventor. Her attitude, her walk, the way she paused and gave them a timid smile, it turned out that she didn’t have to make a word of confession to Mars or Kannikey. They knew the second they saw her.
“What is this?” Kannikey demanded, followed by a “Jeremy, the fellow’s a female!” from Mars, and then Ffip was at their sides.
“Good morning,” she said.
Three people stared at her with wide eyes and open mouths. Jeremy saw the pink color wash into her cheeks.
“I… I’m sorry I pretended to be… that which I wasn’t,” she added.
“Humph,” Kannikey said. Jeremy looked over. Mars was, in this new and uncomfortable situation, as silent as a block.
“To be honest I’ve been pretending to be a man so long that I just… well, you see its…to be an engineer in Tonturin and try to sell my designs, you must understand, it’s difficult enough… and I get so hungry…”
Ffip fumbled to a stop.
“All right,” Jeremy said, for he’d had enough of it. “Get in.”
She seemed relieved to climb in the carriage that Kannikey had brought. In fact this carriage was larger and the four of them fit inside better than the one she’d brought last night.
“So where are we going?” asked Kannikey.
“Yes, where to, Jeremy?” added Mars. “It’s too early to be visiting any botanists, I’d say, unless the breed likes to court the sunrise.”
“You’re the one who demanded this early hour. You insisted last night when we dropped you off,” said Jeremy.
“That’s so I can get to my shop before it opens. I hope you understand if the rest of us have responsibilities that we carry. Not everyone can just unload their jobs and take off on a journey at a moment’s notice,” said Mars.
“Follow me as you will. The choice is yours,” Jeremy said. He was sitting in the back row of seats in the carriage with Ffip and Mars and Kannikey were in the front. Mars turned around to glare at him.
“Blast it!” he said. “Let me make some arrangements at least! I’ve got employees that I can’t leave with no word!”
Jeremy sighed.
“As far as I know for now, there’s no urgency. You should be able to spend some time in your shop today.”
Mars grumbled and leaned back in his seat.
“Meanwhile the botanist I know is on the north side of Tonturin,” Ffip leaned forward to say. “He’s attached to the big school there. He’s a professor. I think he’ll be awake by now.”
The ride to visit the botanist was a quiet one, except when Ffip gave directions. On the way she put her hair back and the turban cap on her head. She'd already handed a slim bucket to Jeremy as she got in the carriage. It held the plant Kannikey had stolen last night, placed in some dirt, with the soil moistened, and the whole covered with a damp cloth. Mars was sitting on the driving bench next to Kannikey.
“Where’d you get this carriage?” Mars asked her. “It’s bigger.”
“My stepfather’s stables have several carriages,” the girl answered. “I took the one I wanted.”
There was a tone to her voice of defiance.
“I guess you always take what you want,” Mars said.
“That’s what the Time Mechanic wants me for, right? To be a thief?”
“Just don’t steal from us,” he growled.
"It's coming up," interrupted Ffip. They'd journeyed across town and Jeremy saw the large buildings that housed the College classrooms, offices and living quarters. Kannikey turned on the road that meandered through the grounds, past restful lawns and aged oak trees. "The office we need is to the left, at the back of the college,” Ffip went on. “Halbernon comes in early every morning. I know this because I assisted him for a while."
"So you went to school under him?" asked Jeremy.
"My father knows him. He asked Halbernon to give me a job."
"And you no longer work here?"
"I had my own projects I needed to complete," Ffip said, her voice going firm.
“You mean those little contraptions you make that don’t work?” Jeremy blurted, and then realized he’d sounded boorish. She didn’t say anything, but the way she sat stiff as she looked at the scenery passing on her side of the carriage spoke for her.
“There’s no need to be rude to the girl, Jeremy,” Mars rumbled.
Jeremy apologized and felt his cheeks heat. He still felt awkward around her. The carriage fell silent again but it wasn’t very long before Ffip was pointing out a good spot under some trees to tie up the horses.
They all followed her not into the huge college hall, but to a greenhouse shed that bordered a large garden plot. Ffip knocked on the door of the shed and after several seconds opened the door and put her head in.
“Professor Halbernon?” she called. “Are you in there?”
She stepped inside.
Once they’d filled the space by the door an older man stood up from where he’d been working at the back of the greenhouse. He had long white hair and wore spectacles. He came forward and he was peering at them as if he could barely make them out.
“Professor, it’s me.”
“Ah,” he said at last, enlightened. “Ffefferpip! It’s been a long time, boy!”
“Only a few weeks, I saw you at Malorka’s unveiling.”
“Bah! Such a fuss she made over yet another strain of rose bush. How many differing shades of pink can she produce?”
“You know that rose wasn’t pink at all. It was mauve,” said Ffip.
“Bah!” The professor came within inches of Jeremy’s chest. “So who are these people then, my dear?” he asked.
Jeremy looked at him in confusion but Ffip stood shaking her head.
“Halbernon, you aren’t supposed to call me ‘dear’ in front of people, remember I’m pretending to be a man?”
“Well stop looking like a girl at odd moments!”
“As if you could see anything that wasn’t a foot in front of you anyway!”
“I can see you’ve let three strangers into my planthouse. Who are they?”
“We’ve brought you something to study, sir,” put in Jeremy. “It’s a plant none of us recognize
. We were hoping you could identify it for us.”
“A plant Ffefferpip didn’t recognize?” the man demanded. “Now that is interesting! Bring it along to the back- we need pure sunlight for analyzing. Ffefferpip, get these people a drink of something, and then you can introduce us.”
“Yes, sir,” she said, and for the first time Jeremy saw that she had a dimple that appeared high up on her cheek when she smiled. He watched her as she entered a tiny kitchen in the corner and began tinkering with glasses and cups.
“Never mind that, boy,” put in Halbernon, waving his hand at her to come back a second later. “Come over here and show me what you’ve brought!”
Ffip abandoned the dishes in the kitchen and came back, only now she was grinning. Jeremy sighed. No matter how offended he’d been that she lied, he couldn’t hold onto annoyance if she was going to smile like that. The turban cap over her forehead hid the brightness of her eyes but that dimple was like a child’s. He supposed that it must’ve been easier, drawn to the Time Mechanic’s house like she was, to hide behind those large over shirts and baggy pants she wore. She came up to him and took the pail with the stolen plant from his hands and then carried it over to a table near the back wall of the shed.
“Here, man, whoever you are,” Halbernon commanded to Mars, clicking his fingers. “Open this door so we can see.”
Mars hastened to obey. Jeremy saw that Kannikey was grinning too at the sight. With impatient instructions and a great deal of the old man getting in the way Mars had the doors unlocked and folded back in partitions to let in the early morning sunlight. It was warm in Tonturin this time of year and the air was not chill. Ffip put the pail on the table and removed the damp cloth that covered it.
“Now let me see the specimen,” Halbernon said, striding up to it in eagerness. But as his fingers picked it up to examine it the animated expression on his face went somber. He lifted a purple-gray berry and rubbed a leaf. Then he put the plant down with a sigh.
The Time Mechanic Page 7