Clockwork Blue (57 page)

"
Then what the hell are you doing wallowing in the mud?
"
So much for patience.

"
Not now,
"
she muttered,
and then
intently stared at the soil before stabbing again.

The conversation wasn
'
t going as he
'
d intended. Frowning, he decided to try once more, this time no tiptoeing around.
"
I caught two women carting off a lot of your hat-making supplies.
"

"
I know. I told them to take what they wanted.
"

"
So, it
'
s true. You are quitting your hobby.
"

"
Yes
.
"

"
And you
'
re upset about it.
"

"
No, I
'
m not.
"

He scowled, surprised. She had been so adamant about hat making from almost the moment he met her. Nobody could release hopes for their dreams so quickly. At least a dozen holes dotted a three-yard radius; obviously, she
'
d been at her quest for grubs for a while. Worry flooded him.

He tried to take the digging tool away from her, but she snatched the spade against her chest.
"
What are you doing?
"

A different approach was obviously needed.
"
Nicola
, I
'
ve been thinking about your …
pixies.
"

That got her attention. She stilled and looked up.
"
You have?
"
she asked, her expression
wondering.

The look made him uneasy.
"
You said you had a discussion with one of them.
"

"
Ye
s, with
Glissando
.
"

"
The
"
—he couldn
'
t quite bring himself to say the name—
"
pixie
told you that your hats were awful?
"

"
Ye
s, that was the gist of it. And?
"
Her intent gaze fixed on him.

And what?
"
I was wondering if perhaps y
our subconscious took over and
... ah, told you that making hats was not your talent.
"

She was scowling again.

Rushing his explanation, he thought he
'
d better say
what was needed before she shut him
out. Pacing, he began.
"
You probably started talking to your imaginary friends when you were young, since you didn
'
t have any siblings. There
'
s nothing wrong with that—not at all. And your pretense is the best way to understand things that don
'
t fit into your plans. You are very strong-willed,
Nicola
.
"

She didn
'
t say a word. He tried to determine how she responded to his statement, but her face looked made of wood.

Slowly, she rose.
"
Let me get this straight. You think there
'
s no such thing as the pixies, but rather I
'
ve made up imaginary people? Or that I talk to another person who lives in my head?
"

He gave her a wary look, watching her neck flush, then her cheeks, a delicate pink that rose from beneath her dress. Did it start from her saucy breasts, or lower?

"
Or maybe a combination of the pair,
"
she continued.
"
I
'
m also bullheaded because I can
'
t accept facts as they are, so I have to make up this population of otherworldly beings to help get my facts in order.
"

"
You
'
re beginning to understand, I see. It
'
s nothing to be ashamed of,
Nicola
.
"

"
Well, I won
'
t give you an easy way out of this marriage by committing suicide.
"

The idea sent a cold splash of water icing his veins.
"
You
'
d bloody hell better not.
"
Now he was scowling.
"
Don
'
t even consider it.
"

She gave him a pert look.

Irritation nettled the back of his neck.
"
So, if you
'
re not talking to yourself or an imaginary being, just what in damnation
are
you doing out here?
"

She placed her hands on her hips and her lips quirked sassily.
"
Talking to imaginary grub worms.
"

He grimaced.
"
Hell, I would rather you were talking to
pixie
s.
"

She grinned suddenly.
"
Remember that the next time you catch me talking to them.
"

"
Woman, are you going to tell me what you
'
re doing or not?
"

"
I
'
m looking for a special grub worm, perhaps not even a grub worm, but one I saw that was prettier. It was sort of a burgundy color with a hint of bright raspberry. You see, I want to extract the color for a d
ye
.
"

"
How will you do that?
"

"
I
'
ll put the worms into boiling water and prepare a d
ye
bath—twenty at a time, I think. I always like to use a little vinegar and salt to bring out the
color
...
and I think I
'
ll try the phosphates again since the
Clockwork
Blue
turned out so well, and I predict the color to be the same strength as the Blue—so I
'
ll use the same formula for calculating the number of skeins to use.
"

He stared at her, shocked.
"
You
'
re the mastermind behind all these colors at your father
'
s d
ye
house.
"

She looked him in the e
ye
.
"
I am.
"

"
If you created these d
ye
s, why did you let your father take the credit?
"

"
Because men wouldn
'
t take a woman seriously. Only wh
en Papa marketed the dyes, claiming that he created them,
did we find success.
"

"
Tell me, what was it like for you to be sold off, basically, for the
Clockwork
Blue when you were the one who created the color?
"

"
As far as my father sacrificing me to this marriage?
"
Slowly she straightened,
and then
gave him a long, slow perusal.
"
Ask me after we experience the nuptials.
"

Her boldness heated his blood, made his fingers tingle with anticipation. The knowledge that she was the artistic one,
ye
t had allowed another to claim her creations, merely defined her strength of character, which attracted him to her more, made her damn near irresistible.

She kicked at a clump of dirt.
"
Does it bother you that I
'
m the one behind the d
ye
s?
"

"
No,
"
he replied, irritated that she had been forced to suffer.
"
If a hobby of making hats didn
'
t bother me, why would your making of d
ye
s?
"

"
I knew you were a man of sound judgment, a man to lead all others.
"
She threw her arms around him.

His body instantly reacted, even as he caught her in an embrace.
"
Please, no more gushing. I already got a bellyful from the rooster woman and her cohort.
"