Echoes, p.28
Echoes, page 28
part #2 of Aether Chronicles Series
One of the trio who had gathered around Amethyst yesterday, a fact Jenson didn’t want Amethyst to know. He didn’t want her too scared. Physical persuasion had been necessary to bring the man in, but he knew what he was doing. The bruising he saw now was not a result of his actions. He carefully placed the lamp safe on the steady heap of coal.
“Looks like you’ve been trying to bash your way out with your face.”
The torrent of abuse that spewed out of the man was neither original nor shocking. Jenson let it run for a moment, then kicked the man across the face. With his hands tied behind his back, there was no way for the man to protect himself. Coughing, spitting blood across the coal stored here, the man turned and said nothing more.
Last night Blanchard swore that all the gates, doors and windows had been locked, yet they had seen that the rear gate had been open and this man had still managed to get in. He’d checked with Arthur who swore that all was locked up when he’d left Gargery in the quadrant.
“Who let you in?”
No response.
“I will have an answer.”
Lips tight, the man looked up at Jenson with nothing short of loathing.
Jenson shrugged. “I’ll find that one out from the staff anyway. Beat it out of them if I have to. They’re only servants.” He’d do no such thing, but it wouldn’t hurt if this man believed what he said. He stamped on the man’s foot for emphasis, overstretching the ankle tendons and crushing toes. No permanent damage, but enough to ensure a pained grunt. “So let’s move on to your paymasters. Where are they?”
Sullen eyes glared at him.
“Silence won’t protect you.”
The split lip twitched up and sneered at him. “You don’t scare me.”
Jenson shrugged and stepped closer to the door.
The man’s swallow echoed around the room.
“No?”
Now wide eyes moved from the door to the man, a rough lip curled higher.
“You won’t kill me.”
“I won’t, no.” He put his hand on the doorknob.
“Not far.” He was told hastily.
Jenson sighed and looked at the man. “I can’t find them on that.” His hand twisted the knob.
“They move.”
Jenson pulled his hand away from the door. If he knew where they were last night, finding them tonight could be achievable. “Every night?”
“Most.”
“Where were they last night?”
“Deeping Hallows.”
Jenson had no idea where that was, but he would find out. He vaguely remembered seeing the name on a direction sign as they’d come to the house. “Now the rest.”
“No.”
The petulant schoolboy look really didn’t impress. A hand on the door.
“Blan-”
“All right!”
Chapter Fifty
“Maker?”
Maker stopped his stroll down the corridor. Jade was looking at him from the workroom doorway.
“Can you stay with Amme for a few minutes?”
The pleasure would be a mistake. “Why?”
Jade grinned. “Twin sister or not, there are some things I don’t want to do in front of her.”
Ah yes, nature called for everyone eventually. He nodded and moved into the room as Jade moved out. For a moment he didn’t think Amethyst was there, then her head appeared at the edge of the desk. She wore some heavy looking magnifying glasses he hadn’t seen before and she was concentrating on the heart of the DMAC mechanism.
He walked over, and the sound of movement caught her attention. She turned her head, smiling as she removed the glasses and looked up at him as she continued to kneel on the floor.
“It worked,” she declared. “Thank you so much.”
He assumed she meant the quieting of the mechanism with the rubber blocks he now saw in the mechanism. Whatever she meant, her joy was infectious, the way her eyes sparkled, her eagerness to share, it was a heady mix. Being alone was something he enjoyed but being with her always made the day better. Her eyes flicked to his groin - the two were at the same level. The effect of her presence was growing ever more obvious. The way her eyes dilated only increased the problem. He should get out of here, only she wasn’t to be left alone because of the very real threat of someone trying to take her.
“I‒”
“Ben.”
The pleasure of hearing this woman sigh his name that way enthralled him, robbed him of the ability to move. Her breathing was deeper, louder, her lips parted, she looked up at him with darkened eyes that pulled him in. His sweet girl was more seductive than the most practiced escort. And she had sweeter lips. Once she knew she had his attention, she deliberately looked back at his growing erection. Then her head tipped up to face him, offering him a perfect view of her charming cleavage. Clothes felt even tighter.
“Stop that,” she said gently.
“Can’t.” The struggle was constant around her, and this was especially bad.
She started to stand up, so close he could feel her warmth skim up his body despite the inch that separated them. Once she was upright she was so close, he just wanted to grab her to him, close that gap.
“What I mean,” she said, her voice hardened, “is stop looking at me like I’m some innocent angel.”
Suddenly she moved away, fiddling with the goggles on the desk because she couldn’t quite face him, and he couldn’t move away from her.
“Ben, just because I don’t know the heat of a luxurious bed, doesn’t mean I don’t know what goes on. I shared a room with Jade until we were eleven, so I know what the male body can do.”
She didn’t know what his body wanted to do to hers, or she’d be running a mile.
“I have a married sister who… Well, who frankly, tells me more than she should about the pleasures of the marital bed.”
Oh Lord! The pleasure he’d love to share with her. The enjoyment he could take and give. His need throbbed, strained for her. He could lean her back on that desk, pull up her skirts and find his heaven inside her in a moment. But after so long, a moment was all it would take, and she deserved so much more than that.
“Monty only offered because he wants my money. If Jenson weren’t a good enough friend to be painfully honest with me, I’d think I have no hope.”
The idea that Jenson was a close enough friend that they could speak that intimately meant it was probably more than friendship, but he couldn’t dwell on that fact or alert Amethyst to it. Or maybe he should. It wasn’t as if others weren’t interested in her.
“Sanderson?”
She swallowed and turned to face him, her expression one of resigned acceptance. “Sanderson wanted to get married, but he didn’t convince that he wanted to get married to me.”
He understood what she meant. Sanderson was of the age when marriage was expected, even if the right partner had not yet been found. Unfortunately, Amethyst was also at that age. She stepped closer.
“Tell me this is real.”
Her softly voiced demand, the need in her eyes begged him. She was so close, so inviting, but still giving him the choice. He’d choose her in a second – were he free to do so.
“Please, Ben.”
He wasn’t sure how much longer he could hold out against this invitation.
“I need to know that this, whatever this is between us.” She was so close she only had to whisper. “That it’s not just me. It’s not just my imagination. Tell me this isn’t some girlish flight of fantasy.”
“Not.” Drawn by the undeniable weight of the temptation that was her, his head started to dip, bringing her lusciousness close. “It’s real.” Her breath fluttered over his mouth, her eyes were dark with desire. He closed the gap, that sweet taste of heaven, of her. Her hands were on his chest, his hands gathered her to him, one hand on her back one on her head. A small push and her lips parted for him, welcomed the invasion. He had to have her.
Positioning her to his pleasure, he pushed her to sit on the edge of the desk, her knees automatically parted, he moved closer ‒
The world froze around him as he was hurled back, forced away from his desire.
He stumbled to a halt. Jade stood glowering between him and Amethyst, she stood at her brother’s shoulder, bereft and wanting, but trapped, just as he was. He was married and she too innocent.
“Get out.”
Jade’s words thundered around them, but all Maker cared about was the pleading look on Amethyst’s face. She tried to move, but Jade’s arm went out, stopped her. Only when she broke their gaze to scowl at her brother did Maker understand what he had to do. He fled.
“Oh!” Amethyst slapped the heel of her hand against her forehead. “Why didn’t I think of it sooner?”
Jenson had gathered with the rest of the party in the drawing room ready for dinner. Amethyst had been sitting quietly, her bottom lip between her teeth, a slight frown on her forehead. Jade was sitting with her and Great-Aunt Flora, explaining to those showing an interest that they were making progress, but they had hit a problem none of them could work out, so it just wasn’t coming together. Like the rest of them, Jenson could only watch speechless as Amethyst shot to her feet and rushed from the room.
“Amme, we missed lunch!” Jade called after her. “Don’t make me miss dinner too.”
“No need. Don’t wait for me,” she called back.
“I’ll go,” Jenson said, waving the younger man to sit. He still wanted to ensure Amethyst was never left unprotected, but that didn’t mean Jade always had to be with her.
That lilac dress was just turning the corner behind the stairs as Jenson stepped out of the drawing room and broke into a trot to catch up with her. He just reached her arm before she disappeared again.
“Don’t do this.”
Recovering from the gasp, the surprise of his taking hold of her arm, Amethyst frowned up at him. “Don’t try to work out how to bring Stephen back?”
For a moment he closed his eyes, but he didn’t let go of her arm. Her skin was warm under the thick lace. He wasn’t happy that she was wearing the amethyst heart Maker had given her, but he couldn’t stop her, and he had to respect her choices. He opened his eyes. “Don’t run off alone. I don’t want you getting hurt.”
Her eyes widened, her jaw loosened. The hackles that had risen when he’d grabbed her fell. “I didn’t think.” She offered a sweet smile. “But do you really think that this is all necessary? Nothing happened last night, or all day.”
Retaining his hold on her arm, he moved them to the workroom door and opened it wide. The August days were long enough that there was still enough light coming in, though the corners were darker than he’d like. He guided her inside, closed the door and indicated that she should stay there while he moved to the desk, switched on the second aetheric lamp and checked the windows. They were locked solid, the shutters closed securely. He pulled the blinds. Anyone outside now wouldn’t know if the lights were on or not, if the room was occupied or not. He turned back to Amethyst.
“Dean,” she said as she stepped towards him, her hands twisting together in front of her. “Tell me you’re just being overcautious.”
He’d love to, but he wasn’t that good a liar and she deserved to know the truth. “There’s a prowler locked in the cellar who would love me to agree, but no, I’m not being overcautious. And I’ve worked protection assignments before, believe me, if anything I’m being under cautious. I really should get you away from here to some other safe location.”
Her expression was an endearing mixed of fear and worry. “I don’t want that. I don’t want to be made to feel like a prisoner just because someone else should be locked up. I need to do what I need to do here faster, so then we can move on and maybe they won’t want me anymore.”
There was the steel inside her. The courage. All he could do was smile and agree.
This time her smile was lighter. “You’d best move then because if I’m going to do that, I need to check the calculations.”
He stepped aside, but not far and she sat down, slipped a metal sheet into the slot on DMACs side and switched the thing on. A minute later, the glass panel began to glow, and words began to form on the white background.
“My god! How does it do that?”
“Each tiny reservoir within the glass has a wire going to it, and the frequency of the power it gets determines the color it glows. I’ve worked out a mechanism that allows me to plot a figure on the screen with a certain number of dots. There’s another routine that tells the mechanics what that symbol does mathematically.”
It was incredible. Looking at the screen was like looking at a printed page. Most of it was black on white, but every now and then a symbol was colored. He had no idea what it meant, but it was incredible. “Genius. You are a genius.”
She looked up at him. “I’m not sure about that, but thank you.”
She typed a few things on the keyboard and the screen changed. She found an area by directing a flashing black bar with the directional arrow keys and then she typed some more before hitting the big red button on the side marked CALC.
Sitting back, she watched the machine.
“That’s not making the infernal racket it did yesterday.”
“That’s because Maker had a good idea.” She pointed to the bottom of the brass cog and gear holder. The cogs and gears were whirling in sequences that made no sense to Jenson, but at the bottom, where Amethyst pointed, he could see rubber washers. “The vibration of the tripping mechanism was feeding directly into the bottom plate and back up into the power and program stores.” She indicated the two brass boxes. “Those were acting like resonators and echoing out the sound. The vibration was clanking the keys too, so they were striking one another. With the buffers, that stops and all we can hear is the ticking and tapping of the actual cogs and gears. It’s surprisingly soothing, don’t you think?”
“Not really.” They both laughed at that. “But definitely an improvement.”
“What did I miss?” Shifting his position, he sat on the desk next to her, looking down at her.
“I don’t know what you mean.”
“Then why are you now staring at that screen instead of looking at me?”
She sighed and gave him her annoyed-but-not-too-much look. “I give up. Does every man just read me like a book?”
“Who else has asked you this question?”
Her gaze slid away from him. “No one.”
“There you are then. What happened?”
“I made a fool of myself again.”
“Maker?”
She nodded. “Last time though. I get the message. His marriage is more important to him than I am. In fact, I think I’ll just have to accept that marriage is never going to happen for me.”
He laughed. “Amme, you’re only twenty.”
“I’m nearly twenty-one.”
“Great. You’re nearly half my age.” That was a bitter pill to swallow and if it weren’t true, he’d prove that the men she knew were showing an interest weren’t the only ones interested. “Just don’t be in such a hurry. If it’s meant to‒”
“Yes! I was right!”
His breath caught at the brilliance of her smile when she looked up at him. “Look,” she declared, pointing at the screen, which told him nothing. “If I can do this, the chances of getting Stephen back increase to 98%.”
“That’s good.”
“Good?” She hit another key on the pad as she stood. “It’s wonderful!” She threw her arms around him in a fierce, brief, hug. “Thank you.” She stood back. “And before you feel you have to finish the whole, ‘If it’s meant to be, it’ll be’ speech, you should know that I had that lecture forced on me earlier, by Jade. He thinks I’m too emotionally immature to know what I want yet.”
“Seems a little harsh.” Though not entirely wrong either. “I mean, you are an absolute genius when it comes to machines, aether, and solving logic problems. But you have a great deal still to learn about people, especially men.”
She nodded and switched off DMAC. “Jade said as much.” She shrugged. “I suppose, in this area, I’ll just have to be guided by those older and wiser than me. And accept that I need some time before I make a fool of myself again.”
“Sounds like a plan.” He stood and offered his arm. “Shall we go to dinner?”
“Yes please – I’m starving.”
Chapter Fifty-One
“Well, tough,” Amethyst told Jade. “We have to. Well, I have to. You can stay here tomorrow if you’d rather.”
When they’d joined the others at dinner, the first course was still being served. Jenson led Amethyst to a chair at the lower end of the table, the smile Great-Aunt Flora had given her was smug and happy and she had no idea what the older woman was trying to convey. Now she and Jenson sat side by side opposite Jade, while Willemina looked overly proud of herself to be sat beside Montgomery.
Lady Garrington-Smythe looked down the table then across to Great-Aunt Flora. “Are dinner conversations always this lively in the Forester household?”
“With seven determined young people around the table, there’s usually at least three sides to every discussion.”
“There’s only six of us, Great-Aunt Flora,” Jade pointed out.
“It’s eight with both your parents and eleven years between them, I was counting your mother. Besides, you’re all very young to me.”
Amethyst laughed. “You’re not quite Methuselah yet, Great-Aunt Flora. And this isn’t a lively discussion, Lady Garrington-Smythe, this is simply an example of Jade being wrong.”
“I am not!”
“No, he’s not.” Jenson cut across Amethyst’s objection. “Not entirely anyway.”
