Pistons and Pistols (12 page)

“I am sorry about that,” he said. “But I’m still afraid it’s just not possible.”

“Friend,” Jax said, impatient to have her turn at the man. “It’s not as though we want to take it for nothing. We are willing to pay for it.”

The professor smiled over the rim of his teacup. “I wouldn’t expect anything less from such fine entrepreneurs. Yet the fact remains, it’s quite impossible.”

“We will give a good price,” Jax insisted.

“Look around you,” the professor said. “Money is not a concern of mine. You could offer me the moon and I wouldn’t consider it. Not for long anyway. The fact of the matter is that even if I were willing to sell you a load, which as I have said is quite out of the question, you have nothing I want.”

Jax, obviously tired of the negotiations, slammed her full cup on the table before her and stood. “This is going nowhere. If we want coal, we should speak to the men who take it from the ground, not this little grumbler.”

“Grumbler?” the professor asked as he sat on the edge of his seat. “I’m not a grumbler. Am I?”

“Jax,” Rose said after a tired sigh. “Please behave.”

“Actually,” Dot said, “she has a point.”

“Dot?”

“He relies on those men to mine it for him. So if he won’t sell us any, let’s see if they will.”

“Ladies, please,” the professor protested. “You will find the men of Ironstation do not like to deal with…well…”

“Women?” Rose asked. “Because if they’re the same men we ran into on the way here, they seemed all too ready to deal with us.” Rose placed her cup beside Jax’s and stood, nodding at Dot to join them. “Come on, girls. I think we are done here.”

“Ladies,” the professor begged. “I’m sure you can appreciate my problem.”

They ignored him as they made their way to the door.

Thaddeus was waiting for them with the door open. He nodded at each woman as she passed. Before Rose could slip through, he grasped her wrist, pulling her back with a gentle tug. “I would give him twenty minutes. Thirty if he is feeling particularly put off.”

Rose smirked. “I don’t have that kind of time.”

“There is more going on here than you understand.”

“I could say the same thing. He isn’t the only one with pressing problems.”

Thaddeus’s eyes implored her for compassion. “Please, give him a chance to explain before you belittle him in front of his men. They already hold such slight respect for him.”

As much as she would have loved to see the professor suffer, Rose was touched by the servant’s loyalty. “He has an hour, then I’m asking around town for help. Understand?”

The servant dipped his head. “Jack makes a mean cup of coffee. If one is looking for someplace to pass the time, the tavern would be ideal.”

Rose thanked him, then joined Jax and Dot on the porch.

“What was that about?” Jax asked.

“Nothing,” Rose said. “Are you two in the mood for some coffee? Because I hear tell that our barkeep friend makes a mean cup of tar.”

With a new spark of hope, Rose led her girls back to the rowdy miners below.

Chapter 9

Underhanded Handlings

In which the Madame is forced to enjoy herself at our expense

Ruby sat at her desk, working a line of ever-increasing figures that should have made her happy to see. Money was one of the few things in which she took pleasure, and according to the column of numbers, she should have had pleasure in abundance. But nothing made her happy these days. She used to be in control, moving her pieces across the board of life with deadly precision. And now? Now she was left sniveling in the dark while that accursed ship carried her prize to devil knew where.

How could those men lose an entire ship?

Incompetent baboons. One could hire a crew of monkeys and get a better job done. She supposed having a man as unscrupulous as Mr. Black in her pocket would guarantee Rose’s capture, yet no. He was no wiser than any other man, unable to think past his own limp dick. But he would serve his purpose soon enough. She just had to string him along until that moment came.

A knock sounded at her door.

“Enter,” Ruby said.

Beatrice, one of Ruby’s older women who had long since given up the bed in favor of maid service, slipped inside, clearing her throat before she said, “Madame, there is a Mr. Black here to see you.”

Ruby looked up from her papers. “He’s here?”

Beatrice nodded.

“This late?”

The maid nodded again.

Ruby couldn’t imagine what brought the reclusive cripple to the upper levels of the bordello when it was well past dinnertime. She suspected it concerned important news about the ship. “I see. Give me a minute, then see him in.”

“Yes, ma’am.” The maid slipped out in silence.

Ruby pulled on her robe and adjusted her hair in the mirror until she was satisfied she was presentable. The man, while a stickler for decorum, must understand that visiting a woman in her boudoir at such an hour granted her certain allowances.

After a full sixty seconds, the door opened to the gruff voice of Mr. Black.

“I said I don’t need pushing!” he shouted. “I can do it myself.”

“Yes, sir,” Beatrice said from behind him. Her voice trembled with fear. “Sorry, sir.”

Gripping the oversized wheels on either side of his chair, Mr. Black rolled himself into the room. He came to rest just alongside the bed, red in the face and wearing a sneer that would make even the most courageous men shudder. “Ruby! Tell your blasted whore to leave me be.”

Ruby took the shaken woman by the shoulder and led her from the room. “Bea, go and fetch us a spot of tea. There’s a good girl.” She watched the retreating form of the maid, trying her best not to laugh at the older woman’s distress. Closing the door, Ruby turned to face the man.

Though broken in body, he still cut an impressive figure. Over six feet of hulking bulk glowered at her from the chair. Ruby had known the man long before he lost the use of his legs. Where most men would have given up on themselves, Mr. Black seemed to relish his suffering. If anything, the accident had hardened him, and considering he was pretty harsh beforehand, the result bordered on terrifying.

“To what do I owe this pleasure?” Ruby asked

“Pleasure?” he snorted. He turned his gaze to the bed beside him, licking his lips a moment before he added, “I’m sure this place has seen far greater pleasures than the likes of me.”

“True, but not many were greeted as warmly.” Ruby sat on the edge of the bed, facing her guest. “Now, what news do you bring me today?”

Mr. Black faced her with a grin. “We found her.”

Ruby’s eyes widened. “You have her?”

“No. I said we found her. Or at least we know where she has gone.”

Ruby slumped against the mattress. This wasn’t what she wanted to hear. “And upon what information is this based? Your men’s drunken observations?”

“I told you my men were sober when the Widow left the island. They just didn’t expect her to haul ass the way she did.”

Cringing, Ruby prepared her false contrition. She sat up, her lip stuck out in a practiced pout. “I’m sorry, Mr. Black. I forget you’re someone I can trust.”

Mr. Black narrowed his dark eyes at her. “Cut the act, Ruby. We both know we can’t trust each other. That’s why you’re paying me, so let me do what you pay me for.”

“Certainly. Go ahead. Tell me everything.”

“She went to see Jebediah.”

Ruby gasped. That was a move she hadn’t thought Rose would make.

Mr. Black grinned as if pleased by her surprise. “He sent her to a mining town north of Tuluca. She should be there now, possibly for a few days.”

“How did you find this out?”

“She took a straight shot from the island to Tuluca. It didn’t take long to figure out who she was there to see. It didn’t take much longer to convince him to tell us everything we needed to know.”

Ruby shuddered, having seen Mr. Black’s men ‘convince’ others before. She hoped the ship’s old first mate thought helping the bitch was worth it. That was, if he were even still alive.

“There’s more,” Mr. Black said.

“Yes?”

“She’s low on fuel. Practically begged him for a load. If she does make it to the mine, she will have to load up there or go on sails. We should have her inside of a day. I’m just waiting for your word.”

“What is there to wait for? By all means, tell them to go and get her!”

“We will, but first you’re going to answer some questions for me.”

Ruby cocked her head, doing her best to look confused. She’d wondered how long he would work without getting nosey. “What kind of questions?”

“Who’s this new passenger? The one who carries this weapon you want so badly?”

Ruby reached across the wheelchair to caress the man’s limp legs. “He’s the answer to both of our prayers.”

“There’s talk that he isn’t natural. Something about him isn’t right.”

“Do you believe such talk?”

“No, but I learned long ago not to discount it either. There is always a kernel of truth in even the most unbelievable story.”

Ruby pushed her hand farther up his thigh, rubbing just inches from his cock. “Let me set your mind at ease by saying that while he isn’t a threat, he is very important to my plans. And yours.”

“Is he the one that’s going to fix me?”

Ruby couldn’t help but smile. “You could say that.”

“Who is he? You keep insisting he’s your nephew. Why lie?”

Again it took everything she had not to laugh. How little he knew. A giggle surfaced against her best efforts.

Mr. Black batted her hand away as he frowned, angered by her good humor. He wheeled himself across the room, facing the wall as if he couldn’t stand to look at her or to allow her to look at him. “You promised me I’d walk again, woman. You said I’d have new legs. Better legs. Now, can you make good on it? Or should I just roll out of this little whorehouse of yours right now and sell the news of your precious weapon to the highest bidder?”

Ruby fought the urge to snatch up the nearest vase and put the man out of his misery. And hers. Instead she sauntered up behind him, slipping her hands across his shoulders then down his chest as she said, “Why would you want to throw away your one chance at being normal again?”

“Normal? I’ll never be normal.”

“That’s right. You won’t.” She lowered her lips to his ear and added, “You’ll be better than normal. You’ll be powerful. You’ll be a superman compared to the average slob. Dare I say…you’ll be a god?” She slipped her hands lower, leaning over his shoulder and chair to grab a handful of his hardening cock. The thing twitched to life in her hands. It amused her to know that, much like her, he grew aroused at the thought of wielding unspeakable power. In another time, perhaps, the two of them might have made quite the pair.

“What about my life? My business?”

“You’ll get everything you’ve ever wanted.”

“And my wife? What of her?”

Mr. Black hissed as Ruby clutched his cock harder in surprise. She hadn’t expected him to speak with desire of the woman so soon. “If she’s what you want, then it can be arranged. Is she what you want?”

The man was silent, his focus shifted from the conversation to her busy hands.

“What do you want?” Ruby asked.

Mr. Black nuzzled his face against her arms as he cupped her hands with his, grinding her palms rougher against his cock. “I want you.”

“That can be arranged as well.” Ruby tried to untangle herself from his grip, but he wouldn’t set her free. “Please, let me see when I have time—”

“I want you now,” he said over her.

Ruby struggled, but she was no match for his strength. “I have clients waiting for me—”

“Now!” he roared.

Ruby gave up the fight, knowing it was better to give him what he wanted than make an issue of it. “Yes, but you’ll have to let me go so I can call for help.”