Table of Contents

  Title Page

  Book Details

  A Matter of Disagreement

  About the Author

  The rise of mechanical animation, and its popularity at court, is threatening to end Andrea's scholarly pursuits of spell craft and literature—and force him to let go of his assistants, who depend on him to support their families In retaliation against the field that is ruining his life, Andrea begins to campaign against it. The efforts gain him notoriety, but do not solve his financial dilemmas.

  When he is dragged to a party by his brother, he comes face to face with the man who pioneered mechanical animation: Leon Gregory de la Marche VI, Marquis de la Marche. And he is not at all what Andrea expected.

  Book Details

  A Matter of Disagreement

  By E.E. Ottoman

  Published by Less Than Three Press LLC

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner without written permission of the publisher, except for the purpose of reviews.

  Edited by Michael Jay

  Cover designed by Aisha Akeju

  This book is a work of fiction and all names, characters, places, and incidents are fictional or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual people, places, or events is coincidental.

  First Edition March 2014

  Copyright © 2014 by E.E. Ottoman

  Printed in the United States of America

  ISBN 9781620043301

  Andrea scowled at himself in the mirror. The suit he was wearing was the latest fashion: dark green silk waistcoat and jacket, fine black breeches, white silk stockings, linen shirt and cravat. Embroidery was the trend this year, and his jacket and waistcoat were embroidered with a motif of leaves and vines in black and silver. His shirt had wide ruffled cuffs of silk and he straightened them a little and then reached up to straighten the gold-rimmed spectacles that perched on his nose. He frowned at his reflection again. Andrea had never been a particularly tall man, and the last few years of hiding in his library and avoiding the regimen of horseback riding, weapons training and hunting his brother loved so much had given him a decidedly round figure. 'Husky' he told himself, but husky or no, what he was not was the tall and slender build most in vogue at court.

  Which was just great. Not only would people spend the entire evening gossiping and dropping barely disguised barbs about his refusal to marry and his life of scholarship, but they would also get to poke fun at his appearance as well. Poor, ugly, foolish lord Ashcroft de Bourbon, not the soldier his brother was and not the politician his father had been.

  Andrea turned away from the mirror and stalked across the room.

  *~*~*

  The party was the second of the season, after the gala ball at the royal palace. It was hosted by the House de la Marche. Andrea watched the huge three story building, its two wings extending out from the main body of the house with immaculate lawns and gardens stretching out around it. He wondered who the Marquis de la Marche had needed to kill in order to get second slot on the season's social roster. Andrea hoped it had involved groveling. The man was the most condescending and arrogant bastard … His fists clenched in his lap and Andrea forced himself to relax. He was here as a guest, to support Mathis in whatever scheme he was trying for this time. He was also going to be one of hundreds at this party; the idea that he'd end up even in the same room as the Marquis was laughable. It was probably for the best. The only thing that had kept Andrea from punching him this long was that they had yet to actually meet face to face.

  Why had he allowed Mathis to talk him into this?

  The carriage stopped and Andrea climbed out. The gravel courtyard in front of the house was full of servants wearing the colors of the House de la Marche, mixing with footmen, drivers and manservants from different noble houses and newly arrived guests.

  "Ash."

  Andrea turned to see Mathis striding across from the house towards him. Mathis cut a handsome figure in dark blue and black, enhanced by the crisp whiteness of his shirt and cravat, high around his throat. His dark hair was swept back from his face with a little bit of a wave, unlike Andrea's tangle of curls.

  "I was expecting you twenty minutes ago." Mathis settled his hand heavily on Andrea's shoulder. "Primping in front of the mirror, were we?"

  Andrea snorted. "Hardly."

  "Well, come on." Mathis pulled him in the direction of the house. "I want you to meet Lady Amélie de la Marche."

  So this was the reason Mathis had made such a fuss out of both of them attending the party. They were the sole remaining members of the House of Bourbon-Maine and an alliance of marriage between the illegitimate noble branch of Bourbon-Maine and the House de la Marche would be a great thing, especially for Mathis' career. Mathis was a fine soldier, well thought of at court; he could go far on his own, but much further if Andrea would also be willing to ingratiate himself with the House de la Marche.

  Andrea stifled a sigh. He hated politics, and parties.

  They stepped into the front room of the house, through which servants rushed back and forth and guests meandered with drinks in hands and Mathis turned right, pulling Andrea through the double doors thrown open into a ball room overflowing with people. Tall windows looked out into the gardens, and at the far end of the room, double glass doors had been opened, allowing the guests to wander outside. Servants circulated the room, holding trays with drinks and food on them, and the room was filled with the sounds of people laughing and talking to each other. Andrea wished he were anywhere else.

  "My Lady," Mathis called. "I would like to introduce you to my brother, Lord Ashcroft de Bourbon. Ash, this is Lady Amélie de la Marche."

  She was tiny, thin and with a fine bone structure that made her look much younger than she probably was. She was wearing a pretty, light blue silk dress with a neckline just low enough to be fashionable but not so low to be revealing. Cream lace paneled the front, encircled by embroidered pink flowers, with more lace at the sleeves. Her fine blond hair was swept up with silver pins in the shape of songbirds.

  She curtseyed. "Lord Ashcroft."

  Andrea bowed. "Lady Amélie."

  Mathis looked at them. "You both should speak a few minutes. I am going to get us drinks. I will be but a moment."

  He darted off, both Amélie and Andrea watching him retreat before turning back to each other.

  "You teach, do you not?" She took a sip from the champagne flute in her hand.

  "I … yes." Andrea resisted the urge to reach up and fiddle with his glasses, but only just. "Mostly, though, I write and look after the library."

  "At Colline?"

  "Yes, at the University at Colline."

  The conversation lapsed into awkward silence.

  "It must be fascinating working at such a place, for a learned gentleman such as yourself."

  "I enjoy it. It is the perfect place to do my research on historic languages and literature."

  "And that must be … " Amélie hesitated for a brief second before pushing valiantly on. "Fascinating. What do you focus on in particular for this book?"

  "The use of magic to animate. You see, it is commonly believed that only through combining spell craft with machinery such as clockwork can we achieve true animation with things such as message birds, but I hope to show through a close reading of ancient texts—"

  A hand fell heavily on his shoulder. "Talking about your research again?" Mathis smiled at Amélie. "He does like to go on and on if you let him." He pushed a glass of wine into Andrea's hand.

  "It was quite interesting." Amélie did look a little relieved at Mathis' interruption though.

  "If I can steal you away from my brother for a moment …" Mathis took her hand. "I would love the honor of a dance, my lady."

  She glanced over at Andrea and then smiled up at Mathis. "I would love to dance, my lord."

  Mathis whisked her off, back the way he had come, where, Andrea assumed, another ball room had been set up for dancing. Left alone, Andrea sipped his wine and scanned the room for anyone he knew and at least didn't hate.

  The only people he spotted though were the Countess de Chalon and Godefroi de Challant, both of whom he made a point of dealing with only under duress. He scanned the room again, but no other faces jumped out at him. Had he really been away from court so long that everyone was a stranger? Draining his glass, Andrea went in search of another.

  Hailing down a servant with a tray of drinks in hand, Andrea swapped out his empty glass for a full champagne flute and headed out toward the gardens. Maybe he could find a quiet corner to tuck himself away and drink in peace.

  Men and women strolled across the lawn chatting with each other, and a group of young ladies ran giggling towards the hedge maze which lay at the bottom of a small hill away from the house. Andrea took several sips of his champagne as he turned in a slow half circle, looking for some place secluded to sit.

  Off to his right, a small building caught his eye. It was a little ways from the house and made of stone with a domed metal roof. Andrea squinted at it, taking several unconscious steps forward. It looked a bit like an observatory.

  The building was circular and two stories tall. There was a small wooden door set into the side. Andrea tried the handle, expecting it to be locked, and was surprised to find it opened under his hand. After a moment's hesitation he ducked inside. He stepped into a large, rather bare round room, a few tables set up here and there piled with machinery and crates stacked to one side. There were a few small windows, slits set high up that allowed a little of the fading sunlight to seep through, pooling on the floor. In the center of the room was an iron spiral staircase, leading up.

  Andrea took a sip of his champagne, debating on what to do next. This was likely not an area of the Marche estate open to partygoers. At the same time, the door had been unlocked. Andrea started for the spiral staircase. He'd just take a quick peek up at the second floor and then go back to the party, or at least go back to the gardens. Maybe there would be some place in the maze he could hide.

  The steps were steep; Andrea gripped the railing with his free hand and wished he was in better shape. Maybe he should get out of the library more often and start going horseback riding again. He'd enjoyed that a lot back when he'd been in the habit of doing it. Maybe after he finished the book …

  His head cleared the opening of the second story floor, revealing another large circular room, this one dominated by the lower half of the biggest telescope Andrea had ever seen.

  There was quite a large one used for research at the University, but this one was huge, gleaming brass set on top of a pillar of interlocking cogs and levers so it could be turned and adjusted. Just looking at it from the top of the stairs, Andrea could tell it was incredibly sensitive, to be turned or adjusted down to inches or maybe even less. The rest of it pointed up towards the domed ceiling, which could be opened up via cranks and pulleys attached to the far wall.

  Andrea tore his gaze away from the massive telescope and surveyed the rest of the room. There were two glass doors leading onto a balcony he hadn't been able to see from the front of the building. Next to the doors was a large desk overflowing with papers and charts.

  Bending over the desk was a man. He was dressed in dark brown breaches and matching dark brown vest over a white shirt, nothing very fine and everything rumpled enough to make Andrea think he hadn't changed recently, maybe not even today. Not a party guest then; a research assistant by the look of him.

  Andrea climbed the last few steps up into the room.

  The man turned and stared at him for a moment as if not really seeing him and then shook his head. Green eyes focused and the man smiled, warm and friendly. "I'm sorry, my lord, can I help you? Are you lost?"

  "Just looking for someplace to hide and admiring your telescope." Andrea smiled back but then hesitated. "I hope I'm not intruding. I don't mean to snoop, but the door was unlocked."

  "It's fine." The man's smile widened in response to Andrea's own and he reached up, undoing the leather tie that held back his hair. Andrea watched deep brown curls with dark red highlights fall across the man's shoulder before he pulled them back and tied them more firmly in place. He was taller than Andrea with just the outline of a beard along his jaw and chin that hovered somewhere between goatee and really thick stubble, as was fashionable right now. His skin lacked the pallor of most scholars, including Andrea himself, and was instead dark enough to mark him as someone who spent some time out under the sun. He looked to be about Andrea's own age except for the fine laugh lines around his eyes when he smiled.

  Andrea looked away, focusing on the telescope. "It really is magnificent." He took a step towards it. "I've never seen one so large before. The one at the University is considered state of the art, but I think it falls several paces behind this." He reached out to run his hand across the tiny knobs on the side of the eyepiece that would adjust that as well. They must have used the technology from mechanical clocks to design it, he thought.

  "It is unique."

  Andrea could feel the other man's eyes on him although he didn't look around.

  "Are you an astronomer, my lord?"

  "No." Andrea could feel his lips quirk up in a grin. "Just curious by nature and all the new sciences fascinate me."

  "It is a pity that it's not quite dark enough out for me to give you a chance to use it."

  "Oh, would you?" Andrea looked up at that, meeting the other man's amused eyes and easy smile. "The professors at the university never allow me to play with any of their toys."

  The man laughed at that, a rich deep sound that made Andrea smile in return. A thought occurred to him though, making his smile fade. "But I don't want to get you into trouble."

  "I can't image I would." The man reached up to scratch along his jaw in thought. "Just another ten minutes and it should be dark enough. I can let you have a little look and then you can get back to the party."

  Feeling a mixture of excitement at getting to use the telescope and disappointment that he'd have to leave afterwards, Andrea nodded. The man bent to fiddle with some of the leavers at the base of the telescope before straightening up and turning back to Andrea, a look of chagrin on his face.

  "I'm sorry, I've been horribly rude. I do not know your name, my lord."

  Andrea hesitated for a split second before holding out his hand. "Andrea," he said. "And you don't have to call me 'my lord,' just Andrea is fine."

  "Andrea?" The man's hand was larger than Andrea's and rough with calluses, the feeling of which Andrea liked more than he probably should have. "That's a very old name, is it not?"

  Andrea blinked at him. "Most people say it's a girl's name. I very rarely meet someone who knows that at one point, many hundreds of years ago, it was more common to give it to a boy."

  The laughter lines crinkled around the man's eyes as he smiled. "I studied fairly seriously when I was younger."

  "My mother loved history." Andrea released the man's hand with some reluctance. "She always thought it was a beautiful name for a boy."

  Of course his father had hated the name and forbade her from giving it to either of her sons. His father had stopped having any power over Andrea's life the day he kicked him out, though, and thus Andrea could take any name he wanted.

  "It is a beautiful name," the man agreed. "Gregory." He placed one hand on his own chest. "Or Greg, if you like, but generally people only call me that when they are feeling especially exasperated with my bad behavior."

  "I can't imagine you behave all that badly." Andrea raised one eyebrow. Was he flirting? He was, wasn't he? Oh God.

  Gregory laughed again. "Not often, or at least I try. My mother would probably tell you a different story, but then, to her I will always be a little boy getting into trouble. It will be dark enough soon, I think." He stretched his arms over his head and then sighed. "Would you like to go out on the balcony in the mean time? It's a little stuffy in here."

  "Of course." Andrea nodded, and then followed after Gregory as he opened the glass doors and stepped out onto the balcony. "I wish I had known you were up here. I would have brought you some champagne."

  "It's all right. I'm not overly fond of it anyway." Gregory leaned against the balcony railing, tilting his face up to catch the cool breeze that was ruffling the leaves of the trees a little way off, further from the house. Andrea could hear the faint sound of people laughing and talking, with the distant notes of music coming from the house. He took a sip of his own champagne.

  "So what do you do when you're not attending fancy parties?" Gregory turned to him, with that easy smile Andrea was beginning to associate with him. "You spoke of the university? Where you referring to the University at Colline? Do you teach?"

  "I don't teach as much as research." Andrea leaned against the railing, resting his elbows on the cool stone, and toyed with the stem of the champagne flute. "I study ancient languages and literature, and work as something of a librarian at the University library. I'm writing a book, actually. On the use of magic to animate."

  "Really?" Gregory raised his eyebrows, turning to watch Andrea. "I work on spell craft and mechanical animation."

  A bitter taste snuck into the back of Andrea's throat, and he swallowed it down, taking a long gulp of his champagne. Of course Gregory worked on mechanical animation; he worked for de la Marche, after all. Still, they'd been having such a nice conversation, and he'd been enjoying himself for once.

  "Yes, well, I want to argue that the use of spell craft to animate objects far outdates our use of machinery." Andrea looked down at the glass in his hands instead of at Gregory. "As a close reading of such volumes as Livre de la Sorcière reveals."

  "You are Ashcroft de Bourbon."

 

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