I sniffled, and he tossed a clean cloth to me for a handkerchief. I dabbed at my nose, trying to be ladylike in spite of everything. “I wish I had behaved better.”
His face shone with compassion. “I know. But you already took steps to make things right. And be honest—she is equally responsible for the bad blood between the two of you. All you can do is learn from it and move forward. It’s all any of us can do.”
I knew he was right, but the regret still hung heavy like a counterweight on my heart.
Later, when the TAR had finished its healing cycle and my leg boasted slightly-scabbed, pink scars instead of open wounds, Dietrich helped me off the table. Putting weight on the leg still hurt, a dull ache that spread upwards through my body. It would take a real healer, not a machine, to fully remove the effects of the alligator attack. I was just grateful to have the pain lessened and to not be bleeding all over the floor.
I insisted on using more of the solution to clean Dietrich’s scrapes and wounds. As he sat on the exam stool, it didn’t seem appropriate for me to notice, much less enjoy, the fact that my hands were all over his lovely back. But I couldn’t help my cheeks heating and my heart beating faster as I sopped the medicinal solution carefully over the torn flesh.
Silence fell between us. I thought I could see the pulse in his neck quicken. I limped around him to work on his front, but when I reached toward him, he gripped my wrist.
“I should do it myself.”
I tensed. “Was I hurting you?”
“No, but…” He swallowed and looked away. “It’s highly improper for me to let you—that is, there’s a mirror there. I can tend to the rest.”
I let him have the cloth and tried not to smile.
When we emerged from the exam room, Nadine, Thea, and Raymond were waiting for us in the parlor. They stared at our ruined clothing and injuries until Nadine broke the shocked silence by hurrying toward us in a rustle of satin and clicking of boots.
“Oh my dears!” She pulled me into her arms and I was only too willing to let her hold me. After a moment, she pulled back, hands on my face and worry in her eyes. “Come, sit.”
She took off her beautiful velvet-lined shawl to wrap around me, but I leaned away.
“No, you’ll ruin it. I’m filthy.”
“As if that matters. Stop fidgeting,” she scolded, fussing until I allowed her to encase me in the soft warmth.
It smelled like her, and I was tempted to burrow into its depths and hide from the rest of the world.
Raymond gallantly offered Dietrich his coat, but I had a feeling it was more to stop Thea and me from ogling Dietrich’s naked torso than it was from any pressing concern for his comfort.
Dietrich and I filled the others in on all that had happened, and when there was nothing more to tell them, a somber quiet descended on us.
Finally, Lucy emerged from her exam room, looking pale and exhausted. Nadine stood, clasping her hands tightly at her waist. Dietrich and Raymond also rose, as it was impolite for a gentleman to sit when a lady was standing.
Lucy approached Nadine and placed a hand on her arm. “She’s going to live.”
Nadine’s shoulders slumped, and her face slackened in relief. “Thank you.”
Lucy spoke to all of us. “I was able to heal her physical injuries. She’s resting now, and I will keep her here the rest of the night for observation.”
Lucy gave my leg a quick examination, nodding approvingly at the work the TAR machine had done. She said I’d need to have our healer at the theater finish healing it in the morning. She also took a quick look at Dietrich’s injuries and called to her assistant to bandage a few of them until he, too, could see our own healer in the morning. Then she drew Nadine aside. “Dame Fairchild, there is one more thing I must address regarding Delphine.” She glanced beyond Nadine at Dietrich and Raymond, then frowned. “Could I speak with you privately, please?”
Nadine turned to me, a question in her eyes. “If it’s to do with Delphine, then Claire ought to hear as well. The two have been working closely together recently.”
“Very well.”
She took us both to the hallway and spoke quietly. “I didn’t want to say this in front of the lads, but Delphine’s attacker did more than beat her. He assaulted her in a most intimate way.”
Nadine closed her eyes, grief washing over her face.
“You mean, he raped her?” I said.
“I believe so.”
Memories of the way Jensen Cornelius had forced himself on me flooded my mind. I swayed, and Nadine wrapped her arm around my waist.
Lucy’s mouth tightened in a compassionate grimace. “I’m sorry. We’ll know more when she wakes, but I wanted you to be prepared.”
I thought back to my first few months after Nadine had rescued me. Once my mind processed that I was free, it had shut down in a way. “Will…her magic still work—once she wakes up?”
Lucy took my hand, sympathy in her touch. “That you know to ask that question—I’m sorry. To answer, we simply won’t know until she is awake and strong enough to try.”
I shot Nadine a hard stare. “If she can’t, then I—”
“Hush.” Nadine tightened her hold on me. “No use even discussing it until we know for sure.”
Nadine didn’t want to talk about it, but as we prepared to leave, my mind was made up. If Delphine couldn’t use her magic, then someone would have to take her place as bait for the Peacock.
That someone, I was determined, would be me.
Chapter Thirty
I did not expect leaving Delphine at Lucy’s house would be so hard. I didn’t like her, but as our carriage pulled away, my throat tightened and I fought back unexpected tears. She’d been my nemesis for three years, but she was one of us. Leaving her behind to return to the theater felt wrong and strange.
Perhaps the others felt the same for it was a quiet trip.
Back at the Alchemy, Nadine kissed both my cheeks and patted Dietrich’s face fondly. She thanked Raymond and Thea for assisting her earlier in the day, and then she urged all of us to get some sleep. It was only ten at night, but it felt far later than that.
After she left, Dietrich started to remove Raymond’s coat, but Raymond stopped him.
“Keep it—I’ll stop by your apartments later to get it.”
“Thank you.” He bid us a brief good night, weary shadows under his eyes.
I watched him leave, my leg aching and my emotions raw. I expected Thea to hurry me off to bed like the mother hen she often was, but instead, she and Raymond exchanged a sober glance, like they had something they needed to say.
“What is it?” I said, wearily. “And whatever it is, may I sit before you tell me?”
Before Thea could answer, Wallace Shelby rushed up to us. “Miss Mellor, I’m so glad you’ve returned…er, in one piece, at any rate.” He glanced at my exposed leg and his face reddened.
I slid partly behind Thea. “Dog attack. I spent the whole evening at a healer’s.”
“My god.” Mr. Shelby looked horrified. “The city must do something about the strays overrunning the streets. They are a menace to society. Shoot them all, I say.”
My mind flashed to Dietrich’s little sister, shot in the form of a dog. I felt sick. “I was fortunate not to be seriously injured. But I am rather exhausted, so if you’ll excuse me—”
His eyes widened and he swiveled his head to Thea. “You haven’t told her yet?”
“I was just about to.”
“Tell me what?” I glanced around for a chair, but there were none handy. I gritted my teeth and tried to ignore the ache in my leg.
“Minx, dear,” Thea said, putting her hand on my arm, “you know how you asked me to put away your project in the tech studio?”
I arched one eyebrow, but didn’t say anything.
She hurried on. “Well, there was a sort of problem.”
Oh lord. As if this day could get worse. “Define ‘sort of’—and ‘problem.’�
�
Raymond came to stand on the other side of me. I could tell from his face that he already knew as well. What I couldn’t tell is whether he was next to me as support or to keep me from harming someone.
“It was completely my fault, Miss Mellor.” Mr. Shelby swallowed, blinking rapidly. “Two of the new maids have been lax on their duties, so I ordered them to clean out the tech studios.”
“They feel terrible,” Thea added.
“I should have been more clear in my instructions,” Mr. Shelby rattled on. “But I threatened to ask for their pay to be docked if they failed me again.”
The muscles in my leg burned, and my stomach lurched. I leaned toward Raymond, who obligingly cupped a hand around my elbow.
“Just tell me what happened,” I said.
“They followed my orders.” Mr. Shelby withdrew a handkerchief and swiped it under his jaw and across his forehead.
“What happened to my project, Mr. Shelby?”
He couldn’t look at me.
I turned to Thea. “My devices—where are they?”
She winced. “The maids…threw them out.”
The room tilted. Raymond had to steady me.
Panic exploded in my chest. “Did anyone check the trash bins?”
Mr. Shelby nodded. “We tried. But the trash cart came just after it happened. They were in the incinerator before anyone realized the mistake.”
No. This could not be happening. “All of it? Everything is gone?”
Thea’s arm crept around my shoulder. “I’m so sorry.”
I yanked away from them, pain shooting through my leg. I took a step toward Mr. Shelby, not sure if I was going to collapse at his feet or punch his nose. “Do you know what you’ve done? How could any maid be that stupid? You never, never throw out student work!”
“As I said, these maids are new and incompetent. I will make sure they are properly punished. They may even be sacked without a reference.”
“That won’t do any bloody good for my project.” My voice was shrill. I shouldn’t yell, I knew that. Especially not at a Guild member.
But all I could think of was the Peacock—without my devices how would Delphine, or anyone else, defend against him?
“Can you redo the devices by your due date?” Thea studied me, her tone careful. We couldn’t let Mr. Shelby know it was anything more than an apprentice project.
I reined in my anger. Having a tantrum would raise suspicions. “I don’t know. But I see I have no choice.”
“I am terribly sorry, Miss Mellor.” Mr. Shelby’s eyes were large and contrite. “Is there anything I can do to help you? I’m no technomancer, but I do have some small technical ability, if you’d like help.”
Oh swell. “No, thank you. That’s very kind, but this project I’m required to do strictly on my own.”
He bowed. “Again, if you think of anything I can do.”
“Thank you, but I’ll figure something out.”
He bid us a mournful goodbye, and I was glad to see him go. Raymond and Thea watched me carefully for a reaction.
“You should get some sleep, Minx,” Thea said, finally falling into mother-hen mode. “Everything will seem better tomorrow, I promise. We’ll figure out how to get your devices replaced.”
It wasn’t just that. She and Raymond didn’t yet know what had really happened to Delphine. They didn’t realize there was a good chance Delphine wouldn’t be able to use her magic for awhile. The entire operation was blowing up in my face, and Thea wanted me to get a good night’s sleep.
Bloody hell.
More than anything, I wanted to escape to my pagoda in the park, but there was no way I could walk that far on a still-injured leg. The day’s disasters crowded in on me, and I just needed to breathe.
“I’m not going to bed yet. I am going to take a walk. Alone.”
Raymond and Thea looked at me and back at each other. Raymond held out his arm to her. “I’ll walk you to the door of the girls’ wing.”
Thea rested her hand on his jacket sleeve. “Will you be all right, Minx? Don’t stress your leg.”
“I’ll be fine. I just need to be by myself for awhile.”
She nodded. Raymond gave me a brief hug, and then escorted Thea down the hall.
When they were out of sight, I limped the opposite direction. I had fibbed a little. I didn’t want to be alone—not entirely. But there was only one person whose company could make me feel any better. The one person who had been through it all with me today.
I made my way slowly and painfully to the other side of the theater complex—toward the Guild member apartments.
Chapter Thirty-One
I glanced around, hoping no one would emerge into the quiet corridor. Drawing a breath, I knocked on the door carefully, willing the sound to be small in the silence.
I shifted on my feet, trying to ease the discomfort of my leg. My still-bare foot was cold against the marble floor. This was madness. I would be in huge trouble if I was caught.
Or if I wasn’t welcome.
Still no answer.
Knock again or slip away while I still could?
Before I could decide, I heard the slide of a lock and the turn of a doorknob. Wishing I could vaporize, I slid back, ready to run. What had I been thinking?
The door eased open.
Dietrich stared down at me, a mix of confusion and worry on his face. He wore a dressing gown of indigo embroidered with silver thread. The shirt and trousers beneath appeared to have been hastily donned, and there was no waistcoat or necktie. His hair was damp and messy, and he smelled of sandalwood and vanilla soap. “What happened? Is it Delphine?”
“No. Nothing like that. I just—it was too much. I needed…” I held his gaze through exhausted tears, swaying on my feet. “Please,” I whispered.
His eyes filled with tenderness. He only took a quick glance down the hall before wrapping his arms around me and drawing me inside. The door clicked shut behind us.
I clung to the thick silk of his dressing gown, my faced pressed against his shoulder. Suddenly, I felt dizzy, disoriented—as if all the horrors of the day swirled around me in a thick sludge. Tremors shook me, even though I wasn’t crying. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t be here. But Delphine was raped and the maids threw out all my devices, and—”
My words jolted him. He held me tighter. “Oh god,” he murmured. “Shh. I’m glad you came. It’s all right. It’s going to be fine.”
“I can’t stop shaking.”
He guided me further into the room, toward a plump, comfortable-looking settee covered in wine and brown striped velveteen and matching pillows.
I pulled back. “I shouldn’t sit—I’m too dirty. And I smell like blood and alligators and sewer water.”
He brushed back the hair along my temple, his fingers gentle and warm. “I’m afraid you do.”
“Thanks. You certainly know how to charm a girl.”
He grinned. “You saved a life and wrestled an alligator. That odor?” He waved a finger at me. “That’s the smell of brass. Fierce, red-hot brass. You should be proud.”
“All right, now I’m charmed.” The tremors still hadn’t stopped.
“And probably exhausted. It’s been a horrible day.”
“I’ve had worse.”
He gave me a sympathetic frown. His expression shifted, and he studied me a moment.
“What?”
“I know something that would help. But—” He looked shy. “—it’s rather inappropriate for me to offer.”
My eyes bugged out wide, and it was as if all my jitters zinged straight into my stomach like an arrow.
“Good lord—not that inappropriate!” His voice croaked like a third year apprentice’s, and his face reddened.
I giggled.
“Just come with me.” Avoiding my eyes, he took my hand and walked me through the parlor to his bedchamber.
Though he’d said it wasn’t that inappropriate, as I walked into his room, my gaze
fell on the bed—gleaming brass frame and thick mattress piled with several quilts. And out of all the thoughts crowding my mind at the moment, not one of them was anything close to appropriate.
He followed my gaze and swallowed hard. “Yes, well—” He cleared his throat. “This way.”
He led me past the bed and through another door into a lovely bathing room. A deep claw foot tub stood in the corner, a scaffold of copper pipes surrounding it like ribs, and a brass shower head the size of a dinner plate crowning the top. Oiled canvas curtains draped around it, reminding me of sails on a ship.
“A bath!” I clasped my hands together. “We only have showers in the apprentice wings, but when I stayed with Nadine after she rescued me, she let me use the bath as much as I wanted.”
“I thought maybe it would ease your leg and help calm your nerves.” He blushed again, and dragged a small wooden bench next to the tub. “Here, sit, and I’ll draw the bath and bring you a towel. And then I’ll leave you to it. If that’s all right with you, I mean. I won’t invade your privacy—you’ve nothing to fear.”
My heart flip-flopped at the adorable uncertainty in his eyes and voice. I sank onto the bench, groaning. “I trust you, Dietrich. This is perfect. Thank you.”
He nodded tightly again and crossed the small room to a wooden armoire. He pulled out a thick bath towel, washcloth, and a metal basket and arranged them neatly on a tray next to the tub. He started the water, then stepped out of the room and returned a moment later with another dressing gown in a deep wine color.
He hung it on a wall peg near the tub. “For when you’ve finished. I imagine you don’t wish to put on your current clothing again.”
I stared at the dressing gown, my pulse racing. “That’s…yours.” I couldn’t. Couldn’t wear his dressing gown—and nothing else.
Oh, but I rather wanted to.
“I’m sorry. I don’t have anything else that would come close to fitting you.”
Chains of Silver: a YA Theater Steampunk Novel (Alchemy Empire Book 1) Page 27