Clockwork Blue (84 page)

"
Thank you, brother.
"
She glanced at
Nicola
, her pale face drawn with worry.
"
What a woman you have found,
Malcolm
. She is the epitome of strength and stubbornness to force us together. I
pray
she
'
ll re
cover…
"
She ended in a sob. Biting her lip, she turned to him.
"
Malcolm
, you look awful. Let me sit with her while you get some rest.
"

"
No!
"
The hoarse panic he heard in his voice merely underscored his terror. He took a deep breath and rubbed the stubble on his chin.
"
I can
'
t leave her.
"

"
All right,
"
she said in a soothing tone.
"
I
'
ll be in the drawing room, and I won
'
t leave until…"
She
faltered.
"
I
'
m here for you, dear brother.
"

The door clicked shut and he was alone with his love. His
eyes
burned from lack of sleep, his throat ached from torment. All he could do was stare at
Nicola
'
s ashen face. How could such
a lively face look so lifeless, so absent? A strange shaking attacked.

"
Any change?"
Ramsey asked from the doorway.

"
No.
"

"
It
'
s my fault. If I hadn't participated in the riot, t
his would have never happened.
"
His eyes were bleak.

"
And I should have never gone hunting with my brother all those
ye
ars ago.
"

Ramsey stepped farther into the chamber.
"
Hunting? That seems innocent enough. How were you to know that he would fall?
"

"
And how were you to know that
Nicola
would be at the coaching inn to be caught in that riot?
"

"
What was she doing there, anyway?
"

"
Running from me.
"

"
Nicola
? Running? Not on your life.
"

"
Oh
,
ye
s. You must understand, the day I tried to send you away, I also told
Nicola
that I could never love her. I have been so eaten up with guilt that I couldn
'
t even accept the purity of
h
er love. Whatever happens, if she…" He
couldn
'
t voice his worst fears.
"
Don
'
t live your life in remorse an
d regret. Incidents happen
beyond our control. She wouldn
'
t want you to live in darkness.
"

"
You
'
re right, she wouldn
'
t,
"
Ramsey agreed,
eyes
moist.

"
My lord?
"
Mrs. White said from the doorway.

"
What is it?
"

"
This stockinger insisted on seeing you. I tried to stop him—
"

"
M
'
lord.
"
A man stepped into the room, pulling on his forelock.
"
Pardon my impertinence, but I wanted to give this to you.
"
He held out a swatch of the most beautiful
yellow
hue that
Malcolm
had ever seen.
"
Lady
Nicola
named it Forsythia. She said her love for you inspired the creation of it. That you were brightness and joy. She wanted me to weave a cloth with the Forsythia and the
Clockwork Blue
, since the color so matches your brother William
'
s
eyes
. I thought... I thought mayhap you would want to see it.
"

With numb fingers,
Malcolm
took the cloth. The bright shimmering
yellow
contrasted with the rich blue and symbolized all that was important to him. By the time he looked up, the stockinger had left.

"
How can she be on the brink of death, Ramsey, when she still lives in so many people
'
s hearts?"
She was in his heart, and he realized too late that she had been for a long time.

Ramsey squeezed his shoulder.
"
Don
'
t worry. She knows you love her.
"

He wouldn
'
t argue, but neither would he believe in such a miracle. As he watched her still chest, he knew that any sunny optimism he might have ever had would be forever gone in the darkness that had enveloped his beloved.

Glissando
hid in the
drawer
that had become his home during the mission and watched
Nicola
lie near death. It had been a week since the fateful accident.
Malcolm
sat nearby, the shadow of stubble on his cheeks giving him a sinister
look. His
eyes
were hollow, desperate, and he continued to cling to her hand.

He had underestimated the
Mrasek
. They had
discovered the
true nature of the mission, and had let loose the specters onto Malcolm soul. If there was any dark doubt in Malcolm's heart,
the specters would enhance the feelings.
Now the Clockwork Blue would weaken. The color would fade into obscurity and the English soldiers would not be able to reap the power of its magic during the upcoming war.

Glissando
glanced down at his wings. They were charred, and he
could still fly, but
the aching hole
in his soul indicated his magic was gone
.
Although his magic would have been gone anyway because he had broken another rule, the Mrasek had been the ones who stole it. Tom Ryder had reaped his revenge. Now, all he could do was hide, and hope they never found him.
Thank goodness the drawer had been slightly ajar. He stood by helplessly as he watched
Nicola
slumber in a deep sleep from which she would never awaken.

"
You look pretty good for a
pixie
who
'
s lost his magic,
"
Allegro said behind him.

"
Allegro!
"
Glissando
cried. Before he realized what he was about to do, he threw
his arms around his dear adversary.
"
What are
you
doing here?
"

"
Someone had to come rescue you and
Nicola
.
"
After returning the bear hug, Allegro pushed away and
gave him a solemn look.
"
I
'
m sorry I didn
'
t listen to you. Somehow I missed all the signs of a pending catastrophe. You were right.
"

Surprise momentarily froze Glissando.
"
You
'
re admitting
you
were wrong?
"

"
Stars
,
ye
s, I was wrong. Tell me what happened.
"

"
She got knocked in the head while saving Ramsey.
"

"
I know that much—after all, we saw the prediction in the crystals. What happened after that?
"

"
She...
passed out.
"

"
Yes
,
ye
s, go on. What happened next? Who found her?
"

"
Well, Ramsey was already there, and I helped
Malcolm
locate her.
"
At the impatient wave from Allegro, he continued,
"
Then, at
Malcolm
'
s instruction, Ramsey lifted her into the saddle with him before running for the doctor, and that was it.
"

"
You
'
re forgetting something.
"