The Wild Adventure of Jasper Renn (The Steampunk Chronicles) (4 page)

Chapter Five

His Aether pistol dug into his hip.

Jasper was hard-pressed to care, however. The reason the weapon dug into him was because Cat was pressed up against him, watching the performances with wide eyes and a smile on her lips, showing just the slightest hint of fang. She was a strange girl, a peculiar creature, and he adored every unusual inch of her. No one could make him as happy or drive him as mad as she could. For the first time since returning to London, he felt as though the pieces of his life finally fit together like a completed jigsaw puzzle.

Maybe he’d go to hell for it, but he hoped they didn’t find Sparrow at the circus. The longer Cat stayed in London the harder it would be to say goodbye, but he didn’t want to say goodbye just yet, either. More time—that was all he wanted.

But fate was cruel, and just when he thought he might get his wish, the second-to-last act of the night began. It was Sparrow. He knew it even from a distance, because she looked very much like Cat, even in a brightly decorated mask that covered the upper half of her face. Her costume was snug—somewhat revealing but not outrageously so.

She climbed up the tall ladder on the right side of the stage, while a young man climbed the one on the left. The platforms they stepped onto were so high that a fall would surely kill them. Jasper realized this just as the fellow wrapped his hands around a trapeze swing and jumped.

A few gasps rose up, but that wasn’t the exciting part. The man swung over the stage, building momentum, and then Sparrow grabbed a swing on her side and swung out, as well.

Cat’s fingernails—which were also sharp claws—dug into his leg. He winced and put his hand over hers. Immediately she relaxed, and the pain in his thigh eased. At least she hadn’t ripped through the fabric of his trousers.

Sparrow swung and swung and then...she let go. She spiraled and twisted through the air like a leaf on the wind, and then, just when it seemed she might plummet to her death, she reached out her arms, as did her companion, and their hands locked together.

The audience gasped loudly. Cat actually made a little noise in her throat that sounded like a meow. God, she was strange.

God, he loved her.

That realization was like receiving the butt of a pistol to the head, no denying that. He loved her? Loved Cat? No, that was impossible. It was ridiculous. It was foolhardy. It was...

It was true. And it had been true since the first time he met her. That empty feeling he’d carried around with him when he came to London wasn’t about losing Mei or escaping Dalton, or leaving his family and life behind. It had been about losing the one person who understood and accepted him just as he was. And it was why he hadn’t felt right since returning from the States this last time, because the only time he felt right was with her. He should have stayed in New York with her and not come back to London, but Dalton would come for him, and he couldn’t let Cat be another casualty of the outlaw’s hate, like Mei had been.

What was he going to do? He tried desperately to come up with an answer, but then Cat’s hand was on his and she squeezed hard.

“Oh, lord,” she whispered.

Jasper turned his attention to the ring. Sparrow was by herself, spinning and twirling through the air between two swings that were anchored in place. She threw herself between them with wild abandon, swooping and diving, somehow seeming to defy gravity and death itself with her graceful and awesome daring.

Of course he should have known that any girl named Sparrow could probably fly—or give the illusion of it. There was no denying she was more than human, though it could be passed off as extraordinary talent and not an evolutionary mutation. No one in this audience cared why she could do these things—they just appreciated and were in awe of it. They’d talk about it and say it had to be a trick, maybe. Or they’d say that she was just incredible, but no one was likely to call her a freak, not like they would if she was anywhere but inside this building.

Maybe Pick-a-dilly was a little safe haven for the evolved people of the world.

Sparrow and her partner did a couple more insane stunts, and then the girl did one final bit on her own. She wound herself around the swing as it sailed through the air, drawing gasp after gasp from those watching. Then she landed back on her platform. Just when it seemed as though the act was all done, she backed up, stepping as far back on the opposite end of the platform as she could. Then she ran toward the edge, and when she got there she launched herself into the open air high above the ring.

Cat’s breath caught in her throat—Jasper heard it.

The girl glided through the air—flew. That was the only way to describe it. She soared like a bird buoyed by the wind.

There were several large fans beneath her. He had thought they kept the performers cool and dry so they didn’t sweat and slip, but maybe they were also there to give her lift? It didn’t matter, and it didn’t make what she did any less dangerous. He held his own breath until she hit the opposite platform and somersaulted across it.

The audience went wild. Cat jumped to her feet and clapped for her sister. She hooted and cheered, as well. Sparrow stood on the platform and beamed as though she was made of pure light. Once, maybe twice in his life had Jasper ever seen joy like that.

“She’s amazing,” Cat enthused. “Did you see her, Jas? Wasn’t she amazing?”

He put his arm around her waist and gave her a little squeeze. “She sure was. Must run in the family.”

She rolled her eyes at him, but didn’t argue. He grinned.

They sat again for the final act, which consisted of a young girl dancing with fire. It was a wonder she didn’t go up like a roman candle.

Afterward, they made their way backstage along with a large group from the audience. The area was packed.

“How are we going to get in?” Cat asked.

“Easy,” he replied, and stopped an older woman he recognized as someone in charge.

“Oi,” she said sharply. “What do you want, cowboy?”

So she knew who he was. Interesting. He gestured at Cat. “We’d like to see Sparrow.”

The woman wasn’t stupid. She recognized Cat as soon as she looked. “I’ll be jiggered. You’d be Cat! We’ve ’eard so much about you, darlin’! So very much. Right proud is our girl of her sister. You two follow me.”

Jasper grinned triumphantly and leaned down to whisper in Cat’s ear as they followed the woman. “I think she was flirting with me.”

He got an elbow in the ribs for his teasing.

The woman led them to a room at the end of a wide hall. There were a bunch of younger girls gathered out front.

“What are you lot doin’ out ’ere?” the woman demanded.

One of the girls, who he recognized as a performer from earlier in the show, looked nervous. In fact, they all did. They traded helpless glances with one another.

“We were told not to say anything,” one piped up. Jasper noticed that she and the girl beside her were actually twins, and that they were joined together at the hip—literally. They were the Siamese twins who had performed earlier, as well. “But I don’t care. Sparrow’s in there.”

Beside him Cat stiffened.

“With ’oo?” the woman demanded.

The girls traded more looks. And the same one confessed again, “Lord Blackhurst. He told us to wait out here and he’d give us all twenty pounds. He said he just wanted to talk to her.”

Oh, no.

Cat turned to him. “Jas?” She wasn’t stupid. She knew what was going on. Blackhurst. Damnation. That man was bad news.

Jasper tried the knob. The door was locked. “Do you have a key?” he asked.

The woman nodded. “In my office. I’ll go get it.”

That wasn’t time they had to waste. He knocked on the door. A man’s voice said, “Go away!”

Cat leaned in. “Sparrow?”

“Cat!” came the answering cry—and it was a cry.

Jasper didn’t think, he simply acted. He drew back his foot and kicked it into the door as fast as he could.

The door exploded inward as pain drove up his leg. Cat immediately ran in. Wincing, Jasper looked in as the girls gathered in front of him.

Sparrow stood by a desk, her costume torn, watching her sister stalk her would-be attacker with eyes that were wide and dark in her pale cheeks.

Lord Blackhurst was said to be handsome, but then so was Satan. He smirked at Cat, as though amused by her. He wouldn’t be amused when she laid open his face.

“Sisters,” Blackhurst said rather mockingly. “Had I known there were two of you I would have waited.”

Cat hissed at him. The man arched a brow. Then he looked down and saw her claws—which had extended from her fingers.

“Cat!” Sparrow cried again.

Cat turned her head to look at her sister. Jasper saw the earl draw back his fist.... He leaped into action. He didn’t care who saw him move. He thought only of Cat. Blackhurst wouldn’t hesitate to hit her, or any other woman. And he’d hit her hard. She was a scrapper, his girl, but Blackhurst also had a walking stick with him, which Jasper recognized as the kind that concealed a sword. He wouldn’t think twice about injuring her, or perhaps killing her. And he wouldn’t go to jail, because he was a peer of the realm and he’d say she attacked him.

Everything around him slowed as he moved—as though everyone became a statue. One second he was at the door and before the next one was up, he had inserted himself between Cat and Blackhurst, grabbed the man’s wrist with one hand and pulled his pistol with the other. He shoved the muzzle of the weapon under Blackhurst’s jaw.

The man blinked in confusion as time caught up with Jasper.

“Don’t.” Jasper shoved a little harder on the pistol. “Move and I’ll blow your damn head off.”

“You’d hang,” the earl sneered.

Jasper tilted his head. “You’d still be dead.”

A strong, slender hand curved around his forearm. “Jas, don’t.”

He didn’t look at her. “He’d deserve it, Cat.”

“He surely would, but you wouldn’t deserve to hang for doing the world a favor.”

“Is Sparrow all right?”

“She is.”

And he knew that it had to be truth, because if it wasn’t she would have already torn the bastard to shreds. Still, he held the pistol where it was for a few seconds longer. Sweat trickled down the older man’s brow and fear shone in his dark eyes. That was going to be all the satisfaction Jasper would get from the altercation. He wasn’t going to let him go because it was the right thing, or even because he might hang for it. He was going to let the man go because Cat asked it of him.

He lowered the gun. “Time for you to leave,” he informed the earl through clenched teeth.

Blackhurst glared at him, all traces of fear gone. “You’ll pay for this.”

Jasper smiled at him. “Someday, when there are less witnesses, so will you.” Cat grinned, as well, revealing her fangs. They both stepped back to let the man leave.

“Oi,” said the woman who had brought them there. “From now on, if that bastard shows ’is face round ’ere again, you don’t let him alone with anyone. Understood?”

The girls, who were all clustered around Sparrow, nodded.

The woman gave a curt nod. “Good.” Then she turned to Jasper. “You owe me a door, mister.”

He gave her his card. “Send me a bill.”

“Don’t fink I won’t,” she warned and tucked the card into her corset. Then she walked out, leaving them alone with a bunch of girls as she yelled for everyone clustered around the door to stop ogling and get back to work.

Jasper put his arm around Cat’s shoulders. “Are you all right?”

She frowned at him. “Me? Yeah, I’m good. If he had hurt her I wouldn’t be fine at all.”

And neither would Blackhurst. He’d seen firsthand what Cat’s claws could do to someone who deserved to feel them. “You want me to take you and the girls home?”

Cat nodded. “Thanks.”

She was pulling away from him already—he could feel it. She’d done what she set out to do and she wouldn’t be staying in London any longer than she had to. She’d probably have them on the first dirigible out tomorrow if she could book passage.

It hurt to breathe. Hurt to think.
This is what a broken heart feels like.

Cat gathered up the girls once they all got their coats, and led them outside. They stuffed everyone into the carriage and then she and Jasper climbed up to sit on the bench with the driver. Cat gave the driver the address of the boardinghouse where the girls lived.

It was a cool night, so Jasper took off his tailcoat and put it around Cat’s shoulders. They didn’t speak, but they held hands for the short drive. When they stopped in front of a respectable-looking redbrick house, he turned to her.

“Are you staying here with Sparrow?”

She nodded. “I’ll get her packed up and then go back to the hotel tomorrow. We’ll probably fly out tomorrow night or the next day.”

She seemed to be looking for something in his face, but he didn’t know what. He nodded. “So, this is goodbye, then.”

“Yeah, I guess so.”

He lowered his head and kissed her forehead. “Goodbye, Cat.”

She removed his coat and handed it to him. “Goodbye, Jasper.”

He watched her hop down from the carriage and walk with the girls up to the door of the house, the skirts of her pretty gown swaying with every step. One of the girls opened the door and they all filed in. Only Sparrow stopped at the threshold and turned to wave at him. Jasper waved back. Her sister, however, didn’t even look. She just closed the door, and was gone.

Chapter Six

“I’m not leaving.”

Cat wasn’t surprised to hear these words tumble out of her sister’s mouth. What did surprise her was her own disinterest. Of course she cared what happened to Sparrow—she’d chased the girl across the Atlantic to make certain she wasn’t being harmed in some way, or taken advantage of—but she wasn’t worried about it.

“I like it here, Cat. I have friends—real friends, who don’t think I’m odd because I can make myself stay in the air for longer than most. They like me. I like them. I like Mrs. Rhodes. She’s like a mother to us. I like Mr. Anders, who owns the circus. It’s like a family—sort of like Five Points, but without all the fighting and blood.”

If ever she needed a reason not to force her sister back to New York, that was it. Five Points might be on its way out, but the people would go elsewhere in the surrounding area. There would always be poor people, gangs and hate. The same could be said for any city, but London was a fresh start for Sparrow, and it was obviously a place where she felt wanted and safe, despite having been attacked by Lord Blackhurst.

“This is really where you want to be?”

The girl nodded. “I never planned to stay with Lord Canton. I just wanted to see London, you know?”

No, she really didn’t. She didn’t understand being romantic with someone you didn’t love, but then, she’d had the advantage of seeing her parents’ relationship. Sparrow had been younger still when their father died, and she’d grown up fast. When she talked about her friends at the circus—which she had been doing for the past hour—her face lit up and her eyes brightened. She looked like a fifteen-year-old girl, not an old woman in a young body.

“If you’re certain this is what you want, then all right.”

Her sister grabbed her hands. They were sitting on Sparrow’s neat little bed at Mrs. Rhodes’s boardinghouse. The room was prettily done in creams and blues, perfect for a young lady. “Really? You mean it?”

Cat cocked her head to one side. “Do I ever say anything I don’t mean?”

The girl snorted. “You said goodbye to Jasper Renn. Seriously, Cat, I think there’s something wrong with you.”

“Excuse me? You did
not
just say that to me.”

Sparrow obviously wasn’t worried about her sister’s temper. She laughed. “He’s gorgeous! And, as the girls say, he’s absolutely mad for you. You’re mad for him. It’s simple.”

“It’s not simple, Row.” God, she wished it was. “He’s a flirt and a charmer. He’d get bored with me after a while.”

“Yeah, because that’s why he keeps coming back to you, because he has no one else to flirt with or bring a little excitement into his life.” She made a rude noise. “Lie to him if you have to, or yourself if you must, but don’t lie to me. It makes us both fools.”

Cat’s jaw slackened. When the hell had her baby sister gotten so smart? “Fine, I like him, but I’m scared that once he gets to know me he’ll leave, just like everyone else.”

“Everyone else?”

“Da left.”

“Da
died.
There’s a difference.”

“Ma’s been partially gone for years.” Ever since her father’s death, Cat’s mother had been withdrawn and distant. “Rory Sullivan left me to become a fisherman in Canada. Jasper’s already left me twice. You left me.”

“You’re insane. Do you hear yourself? Insane. Good lord, pull your boots up, stop whining and go get your claws into that fella before someone smarter does.”

“I’m still old enough and big enough to beat you.”

Sparrow dismissed the threat with a wave of her hand. “You know I’m right. You’re just a coward, and yellow doesn’t suit you.”

Cat’s mouth dropped open in disbelief. “Thanks, sis. Really. Thanks so much. I feel so much better now. I’ll go back to New York by myself and die a cowardly old woman alone in my bed.”

“I won’t be surprised to see it happen.”

“All right, that’s enough.” Cat’s temper was good and stoked now. “You’ve no right to call me a coward, a girl who couldn’t even tell me what you were planning to do.”

“Because you’d try to stop me.”

“Did it ever occur to you that I might have helped you? Hell, that maybe I would have taken you to London if I’d known you wanted to go.”

“You can’t afford to do that.”

“I’m here, aren’t I? I can afford it. I have more money than you’ll ever know. It’s money for us. For our future. I did some things I’m not proud of to get that money.”

“So, what? Now you go back to New York, where everyone knows who you are, and try to live a fancy life? No one will want to socialize with a Five Points gang leader, Cat. And it will get out. The coppers will still treat you like dirt. Your old connections will still expect favors, and you’ll never get out from under that stink. Or, you could start a new life here. Think about it. No one in London knows Wildcat McGuire. You could just be Cat again. You could be whoever you want.”

The girl should be a politician. “You really believe that?”

Her sister nodded. “I do. You won’t know until you try. What’s the worst thing that could happen if you stay?”

“I could be miserable.”

“Why?”

She looked away. “I don’t like this game.”

“Why would you be miserable, Cat?”

“Because Jasper and I might not work out.”

“At least you would know. At least you would have tried.”

This was ridiculous. “We shouldn’t even be wasting time talking about this.”

“You’re right, because obviously you don’t want to hear the truth. You should have seen the look on his face when you walked away from him tonight.”

“Really?”

Sparrow rolled her eyes—an annoying family trait. “Please go see him. I’d love to have you in London, too, and I just want to see you happy. You’ll never get that if you’re always wondering what might have been.”

“I’m not sure I like that you’re giving me all this sage advice.”

“I learned from the best.”

And that was the heartbreaker, right there. Eyes burning, tears threatening to spill over, Cat wrapped her arms around her sister and squeezed her hard. “I love you, Row.”

“I love you, too.” She sounded as if she might be a little overcome, as well.

Cat pulled back. “All right, wish me luck.”

Her sister’s entire face lit up. “Are you going to see him?”

“You told me to, didn’t you?” She smoothed some of the wrinkles out of her gown as she stood. “And I hear you had an excellent teacher.”

The two of them just smiled at each other. There was really nothing else that needed to be said. Cat hugged her sister and promised to come see her the following day regardless of what happened with Jasper. Then she gathered up her wrap and left the boardinghouse. Fortunately it was a somewhat busy neighborhood, so it wasn’t difficult to hail a hackney. She had a small stash of money pinned to the underside of her skirts for exactly this sort of situation.

“Where to, miss?” the driver asked, peering down at her from under the brim of his hat.

“Mayfair,” she replied, giving him the directions. “And please hurry.”

* * *

They said if you made a wish on a falling star then the wish would come true. Lying on his back on a blanket in the center of the garden maze, Jasper saw a falling star and wished that he could find someone who thought he was worth sticking around for.

Then he realized what a pathetic request that was, and he wished for a sandwich, because he was hungry and tired of feeling sorry for himself.

There was only one thing for him to do—go to Cat and tell her that he’d like her to stick around for a while. She’d understand that going back to the States wouldn’t be possible for him. Along with the possibility of Dalton’s revenge, there was the fact that if she was involved in some criminal behavior, it would be foolishly easy for him to fall back into those old ways. He didn’t want that to happen.

But he just might risk it for her.

He rubbed his hands over his face. He was tired in addition to being hungry. He should go inside and go to bed and try not to dream about Cat. She’d be leaving in probably the next twelve hours or so.

Oh, this was more useless than teats on a bull. With a frustrated sigh, he sat up—and realized he wasn’t alone.

“Hey,” she said, skirts rustling as she walked.

“Hey.” Was this a dream? He gave his forearm a little pinch just to be certain. No, sir. Not a dream.

She came forward until she could simply drop onto the blanket beside him. She was still wearing her gown, still looking gorgeous.

“Mind if I join you?”

He shrugged. “Guess not.”

Gracefully, she lowered herself to the blanket, arranging her skirts in the process. “So, I’ve been thinking.”

“About what?”

“Houses.”

Out of all the things he might have imagined her saying, that was not one of them. “Why?”

“Well, since I’m going to be staying in London for a while, I thought it might be a good idea to find a house or a flat rather than stay in a hotel.”

Any pretense of trying to play cool and remote evaporated like a puff of smoke. He sat up—they were only inches apart. “If this is a joke, it’s a mean one.”

“No joke.” She smiled faintly. “Sparrow wants to stay and I think I will, too.”

“Sparrow. Right.” Not for him, then. Had he really expected her to give up her life for him?

“It’s not like there’s anything left for me in New York. I left the gang, and Five Points is going to be razed. Sparrow pointed out that London might be a good place to start fresh.”

“Smart girl.”

“Family trait,” she replied with a grin. “How would you feel if I stayed?”

He shrugged. “Fine.”

She cupped his face, holding his head still so he had to look at her, just as he had done to her. “Jasper Renn, I’m telling you that I think I might stay in this city for a reason—because I want to know if you’d like to be with me.”

“I always like being with you.”

“No.” She gently knocked her forehead against his. “
With
me—and only me. I’m askin’ you to be my fella. What do you say?”

What did he say? God, he wanted to shout yes from the very rooftop. “Are you sure?”

She kissed him. “I’ve never been more sure. Finding Sparrow was only part of the reason I came to London. I can admit it now. I came for you, because I haven’t been able to stop thinking of you.”

Since she was being honest, he figured he could do the same. “I can’t stop thinking about you, either.”

Her feline gaze bore into him, as though she could peer into his very soul. “I love you.”

Jasper went completely still, except for the feverish pounding of his heart. “You do?”

God, she looked so nervous and brave. “I do. And I would like to be with you.”

He brought his hands up to cup her face, as well. “I love you, and I—” The rest of his speech was cut off when she covered his lips with her own. He came up on his knees, as well, so it was easier to hold her. His fingers curved against the back of her skull as her hand slid between them and up his torso to settle over his heart. He dropped his right hand to her chest, and felt the beat of hers against his palm. Their hearts beat in unison.

Looked as though he didn’t need to say anything else, after all.