Authors: Gloria Harchar

Clockwork Blue (5 page)

BOOK: Clockwork Blue

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How strange that he was at a ball so far beneath his social status. He stood half a head taller than the rest of the guests in the chamber. His dark breeches and matching waistcoat were in sharp contrast to the clothes worn by the ladies around him. Although the women
eyed
him with fascination from behind their fans, none of them conversed with him.

A falcon among parakeets.

Unable to look away,
Nicola
experienced a shiver of apprehension creeping down her spine. Polite society didn
'
t quite know how to cope with this wild bird of prey that had rece
ntly alighted among them after his
te
n-
ye
ar exile to India. She didn
'
t know, either, and she didn
'
t care to learn.

"
Mis
s, your undergarments are gone.
"

There it was again. For a moment she wondered if the Black Falcon had
conveyed
his thought
s to her through some sort of
mind
power, and then rolled her
eyes
over
that
idea. As
if she believed anyone had a sort of telepathy
.
Perhaps it was due to lack of sleep. She had spent most of the night type-setting the pamphlets in Mr. Campbell
'
s print shop. It must be ringing in her ears that sometimes happened when she became exhausted.

A whirring stirred her nape, causing
Nicola
to
whip around to see only an innocent potted plant and a portrait of a Campbell with his hunting dog
.
Was somebody throwing something at her? She inspected the floor, hoping to find a rubber band, a paper airplane—something. But she could only
detect
a couple of deep scratches in the wood treading
, and a piece of s
tarfish
dyed
in her
Clockwork
Blue
. C
heeks as hot as a steaming vat of
dye
, she
stooped and picked up the
crumbs
. As she rose, she
pretended to smooth down the back of her gown as she
groped for the small rolls of fa
bric
. The stitching
had
held.
Of course it had.
T
ime to go to the ladies
'
re
tiring chamber.

She must
regain her composure—if anything, splash a water on her face.
If that didn
'
t help, she might as well find Ramsey and force him to go home with her. More and more she discovered she couldn
'
t trust him to stay out of trouble.
She would have to servants keep an
eye
on him if this voice in her head didn
'
t go away and she was forced to retire.

Nerves humming down her spine,
she turned from the
Earl
'
s disconcerting stare
and strived for what she hoped was a serene expression
. She ventured
down the hall, breathing a sigh of relief as she slipped through the ornate mahogany doorway
that led
into the ladies
'
retiring chamber. When she saw no one occupied the room, she chided herself for her fanciful notions.

"
B
etween mythical voices a
nd imagining men as falcons, it
'
s a wonder I can get out of bed in the mornings. What a ninny
I
am.
"
With a shake of her head
, she made her way to the
wall with the
looking glass
and
wash basin
. She looked at her reflection and frowned. M
ost of her impossibly straight hair had slipped fro
m the pins. What was worse,
the quill to her feather had
bent and only two of her starfish remained whole. The rest were a crumbled mess
. With a sigh, she plucked the accessories free, leaving only the gold and black striped hat with the matching black netting
.
"
Pitiful.
"

"
Pitiful, indeed,
"
a tiny voice replied.

A
bright
yellow
insect
buzzed
about her he
ad. If it
was a bug,
it was
a very
strange
bug.
Why, the creature resembled a miniature human. Shocked, she froze. A mist gathered along the edges of her vision
. T
he counter tilted
.

A
pixie
, no bigger than her
pinkie
finger, flew in front of her.
"
Y
ou are about to discover your true love and here you are, looking quite shameful.
Your skirts are too short.
No bu
stle and hardly any petticoats
. And
bloomers
of all things.
What manner of dress is this for your Coming-Out ball, the place where you are to meet your future husband?
"

Nicola
'
s
stomach somersaulted as if she were falling out of a tree.
"
Not real.
"
Blinking hard, she tried to dislodge the strange creature from her vis
ion
.

As
dragonfly-like-insect
hovered close to her face, she saw the creature
had a nose with a mischievous tilt.
Yellow
wisps of hair fell about his pointe
d ears. His wings were like a rainbow
in motion, all bright light as he hovered in the air. He wore a golden dress coat with a waistcoat underneath, sported a white cravat, snug-fitting breeches made of deep chartreuse velvet, and gilded shoes
that curled at the toes.
"
You d
on
'
t believe in your own
grandmother
'
s
teachings
about the Diderots
,
"
he said. His miniature face puckered
with disapproval.
"
This is the first time in centuries a daughter has questioned the Way. What is this generation coming to? I must te
ll
Glissando
.
Glissando
! Where are you?
"

"
Over here.
"

Nicola
jumped at the sound of another tin
y voice. Close by, a wiry,
diminu
tive figure with tufts of silky-orange
hair covering its small head
,
sat on the edge of an abandoned wineglass. Pastel
wings
the colors of a fading rainbow, fluttered behind his back. He
wore similar clothing
as his companion
, but his coat was
silver
w
ith a green waistcoat and matching
breeches.

Had she been whis
ked to a fantasy world? A make
believe world her mind had c
onjured up?

The one called
Glissando
g
la
nced over his shoulder.
"
Don
'
t
scold her so, Allegro.
Surely you
noticed all the ladies were dressed as she. Some adorn themselves with even less
of a bustle
. It must be the fashion now—which is an improvement, in my opinion, just as the food. The true question is
, has the liquor gotten better?
"

"
I mu
st be coming down
with
fever.
"
Nicola
rubbed her
eyes
. Carefully, she opened them to look again, disbelief washing over her.

The pixies remained.

The
pixie
called
Allegro h
overed about a foot from her. He beat his wings to twirl and face his companion.
"
First it
'
s books, now it
'
s spirits.
"
He shook his finger at the other pixie.
"
If you think you can do a better job at this mission, then g
et yo
ur nose out of the wine and have a go.
"