“What is a drone?” she asked, realizing Jack had used that unfamiliar word.
“I believe you call them hoverbirds. They’re the high-flying silver so-called birds you often see circling the island but never landing there. They’re actually machines used to take pictures,” Jack explained.
Deliverance considered this. She and her mother had always assumed the high-flying shiny, grey birds were similar to the hummingbirds that liked to nurse the honeysuckle and trumpet vines that blossomed on the island. Narisis would have no knowledge of what a machine was and the birds were too high to see very clearly.
But they were…spying on them!
“Listen, love. This is a good thing! They are safe for the time being and we will be able to get a hold of Lord Asher. I’ve been planting seeds all throughout the political elite in Lontown to accomplish our aims. It is coming together,” Jack said, taking her hands in his. “Look, you can even control taking my powers. No flames!”
Deliverance looked down at their joined hands. It was true. They were making strides.
Jack cleared his throat. “Also, I wanted to bring you this.” He reached into the pocket of his coat and pulled out a small clasped box. Thinking better of it, he pulled the entire coat off and wrapped it around her. She pulled it closer gratefully.
He creaked the lid of the box open and inside was an exquisitely designed moonstone ring.
“My mother never was much for convention. She insisted my father buy her something other than a diamond. ‘It’s just wasted money on a lump of rock,’ she used to say. My father picked the moonstone because it is said to represent feminine power, and he always said my mother had an eerie amount of power over him,” Jack said, his voice becoming hoarse with emotion. He took her right hand and gently slid the ring over her ring finger.
Deliverance looked into his eyes, alarmed. “I can’t wear your mother’s engagement ring!” she exclaimed, horrified.
Jack laughed at her expression and replied, “People will expect you to be wearing one, especially at the ball.”
“Can’t you just find any old ring? Does it have to be your mother’s? What if I damage it or lose it!?” Deliverance cried, looking at the ring like it was a leaden responsibility, dropping her to the bottom of the sea.
“’Fraid not, Love. Those old society buzzards have been on the lookout for this ring and the girl who will be sporting it for a long time. Can’t disappoint,” Jack said carelessly. “Besides, I like the idea of you wearing it.”
At that, his pupils dilated with something Deliverance thought looked like hunger. He firmly grasped the lapels of the tweed coat and pulled Deliverance against him, his mouth finding hers. He kissed her deeply, and Deliverance felt a small, traitorous groan of pleasure wheedle its way up her windpipe and escape before she could tamp it down. This was her first kiss…besides Effie. And it was warm and searing at the same time.
He pulled away for a brief moment, searching her eyes for permission. His expression asked, was that all right?
Her reply came in the form of crashing back into him, wrapping her arms around his neck and finding him again. She felt insatiable cravings in places she never knew there could be cravings, blood coursing through her body.
She pulled away suddenly, panicked. “I…” she stammered and looked around her. She suddenly felt a very immediate need to escape.
“Shhh,” said Jack with a warm smile, which slowed her down. “It’s all right, love. That’s all I wanted. It will go no further than that, I promise.”
What had come over her? Deliverance realized she must have been reacting to the nature of the embrace. Jack was right…she only wanted a taste for now. Thank the Gods he was a gentleman. Effie’s stories of men overcome with lust must have spooked her subconscious. But looking into Jack’s gentle face, Deliverance calmed. He would not take forcibly what was hers to give, regardless of what the men on Nar were like.
Seeing she had stilled, he wrapped her back up in his arms again, warming her with his body. His chin rested lightly atop her head. She buried into him further, smelling the pine-and-salt scent of him, letting it wash over her like a relaxing bath.
“You are the most singular woman I have ever met,” Jack murmured into her now decidedly shorter hair.
When he bid her good night, he said over his shoulder, “Wear the ring. You will breathe new life into it. My mother would have liked that.” And with that, he clicked the door softly behind him.
CHAPTER 17
Deliverance
Deliverance stretched languidly as sunlight poured through the floor to ceiling windows. She had slept well, and a small smile could not help but affix itself to her mouth. Someone had brought a tray with coffee and biscuits in, unbeknownst to her. She must have either been dead asleep or it was one of the servants who, Deliverance had learned, had the gift of stealth. They could slip in and out of places almost entirely unnoticed. Mrs. Potter told Deliverance she insisted on thorough background checks for anyone in her employ who had this type of gift. Deliverance could see why…but also how it could be useful as well. She dressed quickly, starting to get the hang of petticoats and the various layers. Grabbing a scone from the tray, she nibbled a bit as she made her way downstairs.
As she drew near the morning room, she picked out the voices of Mrs. Potter and Jack. At first, she was going to announce herself, but the raised pitch of Jack’s tone made her hesitate.
“Damn the bloody parliament and damn those stodgy aristocrats who fill its halls. To hell with them all!” Jack fumed. Deliverance paused, listening, although a small voice in her conscience twitted she ought not to.
“I am just saying do not lead the poor girl on. It is not fair to her. Or to you,” Mrs. Potter replied, even keeled in contrast to Jack’s raging.
Lead her on? Was he just fooling with her last night!?
“I…I am not leading her on. I care for her deeply. I intend to give her the world.”
“Intentions and delivering on those intentions are two separate matters,” Mrs. Potter pointed out, though her tone was kindly.
“Christ…I know,” Jack relented, sounded despondent.
“She has a heart of gold. Try not to put it through any more heartbreak than she is already in for,” Mrs. Potter gently advised.
Deliverance heard a noncommittal grunt from Jack, and decided it was probably time to pretend she had just come down. She backed up a few steps, as if that would aid in her pretense of not overhearing their conversation, and then went forward again, knocking and entering. She arranged her face like nothing was amiss.
“You heard the whole thing,” Mrs. Potter said after one glance at her.
Damn! Was she so easy to read?
“I’m afraid you have an honest face, love. Never play poker,” Jack advised, whisking by and planting a small kiss on her cheek. What did fire pokers have to do with her face? Nothing Deliverance wanted to know. The Arcantons had such odd expressions.
After he left, Mrs. Potter said to her, “I’m sorry you had to hear that.”
Deliverance schooled her face, trying to tamp down the emotions bubbling within. “It’s all right. I know…we’ve a long road ahead of us, and I must fix my at
tentions exclusively on my friend and mother’s welfare. It is hard not to get distracted in this world though…there is so much to discover!” she admitted.
“My Jack has never been able to combat what his heart believes is right,” Mrs. Potter answered, then held out her hand to Deliverance. “Come. We shall clean up that hasty haircut of yours.”
Deliverance took the sun spotted, callused hand, a gardener’s hand no doubt, and focused on blocking her gift from prodding into Mrs. Potter’s.
“Ah, the missus’s ring!” Mrs. Potter exclaimed, laying eyes on the moonstone creation resting on Deliverance’s ring finger. After a pause, she added, “It suits you, my dear.” Deliverance felt a swell of affection for the elderly lady.
They set about dealing with her hair next. Over the next hour or so, Mrs. Potter, with Eleanor supervising, was able to shape Deliverance’s hack job into something Eleanor assured Deliverance was quite fashionable.
“All the girls at uni wear their hair like that…well, not ALL of them. But a lot,” Eleanor bubbled. Apparently, Stevens had taken the braid and commissioned a wig maker that morning. The girl was over the moon over the whole ordeal. Deliverance could see the beginnings of the girl’s eyebrows attempting to reclaim their place upon her face. The stubble seemed a bit longer atop her head too. It might seem like a long time to a fourteen-year-old girl, but Deliverance knew it would not be long until she had no need of a wig. Still, she smiled at the girl’s enthusiasm.
“There, that’s better,” Mrs. Potter announced, setting down her scissors and comb. She handed Deliverance a looking glass.
It did have much more of an intentional shape now. Deliverance had no concept of what short hair on a woman should look like, and she really did not much mind as long as it stayed out of her face. Lush waves fell past her cheekbones, with the back cropped in shorter wisps.
“You have the most gorgeous eyes!” Eleanor declared. “This cut makes them stand out even more. Speaking of making your eyes stand out—your gown has arrived, pressed and ready to go for tonight!”
Deliverance felt a flutter in her stomach. The dreaded charade was closing in on her. She was not looking forward to spending an evening in a den of vipers like those she had met at the dressmaker’s.
“But we have the whole day before you must get ready. What shall we do?” Eleanor mused, but did not pause to wait for an answer. “I know! I shall take you to the museum! Wait until you see what a dinosaur is!”
***
Eleanor was a master at getting Deliverance to forget her anxieties. She had been right, too, about the dinosaurs. She gave a bone-deep shudder. She was thankful those monsters were not alive today, although she had no wish to encounter something called an alligator any time soon either.
Despite Effie’s bubbly nature, she was intuitive. She was careful not to overload Deliverance, letting her wander the exhibits slowly, touching display plaques and glass enclosures, absorbing, taking in everything at her own pace.
When Deliverance told her as much, the girl preened. It was like watching a flower blossom in the sun when Deliverance praised her. How amazing it was to have such an effect on another person, especially one so young and promising. It was truly validating.
“I would like to volunteer and help the others too, when they get here or we go there.” Eleanor remarked as they took in a display about pirates. It struck Deliverance as funny, now, that she had thought Jack was one…although Finley most definitely was about some nefarious business or another.
Deliverance considered the girl’s comment. “I suppose I did not think of what was next other than freeing my mother and my friend Effie. But you are right. Changes are coming.” She admired the girl for wanting to be on the forefront and to help people.
“Come along! I want to show you the mummies!” Eleanor squealed, quickly changing gears.
***
Mummies, it turned out, were not mothers. Deliverance could not stop shuddering about them, even after they left the exhibit and returned to the manor to get ready for that evening. She could not stop picturing those gauzy corpses wrapped like solstice presents and on display for all the see. Lurid!
“You must hold still, madam.” The lady’s maid behind her had spent the better part of an hour pulling various substances through Deliverance’s hair and dabbing concoctions on her face. She felt like a painting. A painting with very stiff hair.
Eleanor lounged on a chaise nearby, adding comments as she saw fit while Mrs. Potter fluttered around, messing with the dress on the hanger. The dress…it was more ornate than anything Deliverance could have imagined. Its silk was a deep emerald green, brocaded with gold-threaded lace in intricate flowery patterns. It had long rows of decorative buttons like little candies in lines all the way to the floor.
After the lady’s maid helped her into the infernal contraption called a corset, Mrs. Potter advised the maid to not tighten it so bindingly. “It’s inhumane. And she has such a lovely figure anyway.”
There was much ado in rustling and lifting and lacing and fastening, but finally Deliverance was ensconced in the lavish dress.
Eleanor clapped her hands in delight. “Go and look in the full-length mirror!”
Deliverance toddled over, still becoming accustomed to dancing shoes on the soft carpet of the bedroom. She was almost afraid to look. After so much pasting and primping and preening and plumping, she was certain she would look like a trussed-up cupcake. Unwillingly, she slit one of her eyes open to take a peak.
No. Not a cupcake. Where she was expecting to see an awkward girl playing dress up with her mother’s extra fabrics, she instead saw a woman. A tall, graceful, lithe woman. The lacey shoulders of the dress came just below her collarbone in a sweeping line across her chest, exposing milky décolleté. At the dressmaker’s she had expressed concern it would be too bawdy or inappropriate, but the dressmaker assured her it would be tasteful. It was. Deliverance smoothed her hands down the rippling planes of jade. For once in her life, she felt…beautiful. It was rather nice, although in hindsight she was not sure it was worth the hours of effort.
“Here, Miss. Do not forget these,” Mrs. Potter said, handing her a pair of satin, elbow length gloves dyed to match the green of the dress, and of her eyes. “It would not do to have a…transgression when you are not on guard.”
Eleanor hopped up once Deliverance had donned the gloves and took her mother’s engagement ring from the dressing table. She slipped it over the appropriate gloved finger and beamed her approval.
“Okay, now you wait a few minutes for us to get downstairs first before you come down,” Eleanor instructed her. “I want to see the look on my barmy brother’s face when he sees you in that dress.”
Deliverance acquiesced, hoping she would not tumble down the stairs while everyone was watching her.
And watch her they did. Deliverance paused at the top of the main stair landing. The whole household had apparently turned out to see her butterfly-like transformation. Jack, messing with a cufflink at first, did not notice her until she began to descend the staircase.
“Oh, it’s like a movie!” Eleanor sighed romantically. Jack rolled his eyes at his sister, but then stood transfixed. They locked eyes, and Deliverance could see
the heat in his stare.
“Ladies and gentleman, I give you the first ever sight to render our Master Jack speechless. Lady Deliverance Von Hattern,” Stevens drawly announced.
Jack did not take his eyes off her, ignoring Stevens and the ensuing titter of laughter, but came forward to meet her at the bottom of the stairs. She took his arm, self-consciously, heat blossoming in her cheeks.
Eleanor came up and tumbled along in their wake. “Remember every detail! Every single one!” she instructed Deliverance and added wistfully, “Oh, to be a fly on the wall!”
Deliverance regarded her. Being a fly did not sound pleasant, nor very safe. Especially from ponytails and frogs. Such odd turns of phrase they had here.
Jack still had not said anything as they both took their seats in the back of the motorized coach. Apparently, these were relics of the past, but it was traditional for the elite to break them out for special occasions such as balls. Stevens sat in the drivers’ seat, fiddling with the controls.
Intensity pooled in Jack’s eyes as he finally broke the silence between them. Deliverance sighed in relief. It was becoming quite awkward.
“You look stunning,” he said, but then added after a beat, “You always look stunning, though. You do not needs all these bits and bobs to distract from your true beauty.”
Deliverance Page 17