Steam & Sorcery (13 page)

Caroline swallowed hard as her employer pulled her close into the required embrace for the dance. Even though his hands never touched her bare skin—her long evening gloves saw to that—she could feel his closeness in a much more visceral way than she had when dancing with Gideon. As always, there was that flutter of nervous reaction the moment they touched. By the time the song had ended, Caroline was breathless. At least Merrick appeared to be affected, too. A fine sheen of sweat dampened the dark hairs at his temples.

“Shall we step out onto the terrace to catch our breath?”

There were other couples outside the open French doors, so she nodded, not trusting her voice to speak. Merrick paused at a chair where she’d left her shawl, and draped it over her shoulders before leading her out into the night.

Surely there would be stars visible, if only they weren’t hidden by fog and coal smoke. It was such a fantasy of an evening that somewhere inside, Caroline had expected stars. Still, the evening air cooled her overheated skin and she breathed deeply.

“It’s a lovely house, isn’t it?” She tried desperately to maintain a polite conversation.

“It’s all right,” he agreed. “A shame that someone used the wrong color brick when they blocked the cellar windows, but other than that, it seems in good repair.”

Caroline laughed. Of course Merrick would notice such things—he saw everything around him. Caroline had been too busy admiring the flowerbed out front to even note that there were cellar windows. “I’m sure it just lends a touch of character to the exterior.”

“Someday, Miss Bristol, you shall have to tell me where you learned such perfect manners and how to dance like a lady born.” His murmur, pitched so low only she could hear, caused his breath to puff warm against her ear, setting up sympathetic vibrations in much lower portions of her anatomy. His hip pressed against hers, further addling her senses. Her heart raced erratically, her lower belly began to ache, and her breasts felt so swollen she feared they’d pop right out of the low décolletage of her gown.

“I was raised in a noble household,” she admitted. “But times change, and suddenly I needed to work. It’s a common enough story.”

His chuckle tickled the side of her throat and intensified the ache in her womb. She’d never felt physical desire before, but she was too honest with herself to deny that she certainly was experiencing it now. “Somehow I doubt that anything about you is common.”

“Pointed ears and all,” she agreed, trying to keep her spine stiff when she desperately wanted to melt and lean back against his broad, solid strength.

“Assuredly.” He brushed his hand along her bare upper arm, causing her to gasp. Then he opened his mouth as if to say something, but before he could, Sir William was there, tapping him on the shoulder.

“Something’s come up, Merrick. His grace needs us immediately.”

Even in the dim light filtering out from the open doors, Caroline could see that the older man’s face was set in grim lines. She stepped aside from Merrick. “Will you need to leave immediately, Sir Merrick? I can fetch your aunt so we may be off at once.”

“No need.” Merrick snapped immediately into his predatory demeanor. “I’ll go along with Sir William. You and Aunt Dorothy can stay as long as you like, then return home in the carriage.”

“As you wish.”

Moments later, Merrick was gone and she was back in the ballroom, dancing another waltz, this one with Gideon. Why did it seem as if the magick had been drained from the evening?

Finally, after nearly a week of delays, Caroline was able to take the children on their promised outing to the Zoological Garden at Regent’s Park the morning after the dinner party at Gideon MacKay’s. She’d tried to convince Mr. Berry to let Tommy join them, but to no avail, so their spirits were a trifle subdued as they set out in one of the Hadrian’s larger but less comfortable carriages. Soon, however, the adventure of the trip and the promise of a stop for an ice cream on the way home had boosted their youthful spirits back into place. Caroline only wished it worked on her own muddled senses.

They chatted excitedly in the coach, with George in the opposite corner from Caroline. Nell’s lark and Jamie’s monkey had been left behind. Nell preferred to leave Lark as a guardian for her “family” of dolls, while Jamie was too entranced with the idea of seeing real monkeys to worry about Jojo, his mechanical one. To him, Jojo was a favorite toy, while George, to Wink, was nearly a living, breathing pet. He was such a part of the nursery that sometimes even Caroline forgot the large dog was a machine, and stopped herself just in time to refrain from petting him. It was still beyond her comprehension that her negative effect on all things mechanical might be a hereditary failing that stemmed from faery blood. How she wished her mother was still alive to ask.

Once they reached the zoo, even Caroline forgot about her worries and gave in to the excitement of the adventure—though it took a good bit of herding to keep all four children from running in four different directions. Without Sally’s able assistance, Caroline wasn’t sure she’d have been able to manage. Wink had brought a sketchbook and was making notes and drawings regarding shape and proportions of various species. Jamie delighted in feeding peanuts to the elephants, Nell was engrossed in watching a mother gorilla nurse its young, and Piers seemed to be absorbing and memorizing—well, everything. After a little while the boys grew restless, while the girls wanted to see the Botanic Gardens nearby, so they determined to split up. Caroline would go with the girls to provide a botany lesson, while Sally would take the boys for a ramble along the canal towpath on the other side of the zoo. They’d meet in an hour back at the carriage for their picnic luncheon.

The gardens were just beginning to bloom, and Caroline let her senses fill with the shades of green, the sound of the soft breeze, the warmth of the sun and the fragrances of rich soil and budding blooms. She’d missed spending time outdoors in the last few days, and by themselves, Nell and Wink were relatively easy companions. As they walked, she explained some of the different families of plant life to the girls.

When it came time to return to the carriage, the only thing that kept them from lingering were growling stomachs, their appetites having been heightened by the exercise and fresh air. Cutting through a small grove of trees, she found herself lifting her skirts and running alongside the girls—well, behind them, at any rate. Her corset and more extensive petticoats hampered her speed, if not her enjoyment.

Perhaps twenty yards ahead of Caroline, Wink let out a shriek as she tumbled to the ground. Almost simultaneously, dark shapes emerged from behind the trees on either side of the path, closing in on both girls. Caroline counted four as she ran forward, brandishing her umbrella like a weapon.

“George, attack!” Wink pointed at one of her two attackers and kicked the legs out from under the other in a move so swift, Caroline barely saw it. George’s bronze jaws clamped down on a leg as he pulled one man away from his mistress, and that man emitted a howl of pain while he used a small object to beat at George’s metallic head.

Nell elbowed one of her opponents in the solar plexus, and then kneed the other in the groin. Both men swore, but both had moved to limit damage and neither was disabled. Caroline reached them and brought her umbrella down on the head of the nearest man, mangling the flimsy wire ribs and cracking the oaken shaft. If she were going to use it as a weapon, she’d need a much sturdier instrument.

Still, the man wavered, allowing Nell to get in a head butt, knocking him to the earth. Both girls clearly knew how to fight, and Caroline had studied enough tactics to keep her from the mercies of her employers. George had already rendered one man unconscious, and was closing in on a second. As soon as they realized they were losing, the biggest bruiser threw the unconscious man over his shoulder, and they fled just as Caroline heard the shouts of Jamie, Piers and Debbins, the coachman, approaching. The sound of hoofbeats racing away obviated any thought of having Debbins pursue them. Besides, he only carried one single-shot pistol.
Pity, that.

“Anybody hurt, miss?”

Caroline spent a moment to be certain the girls were bruised and shaken but otherwise unharmed. One of the thugs had gotten a few blows in on Nell, causing a knot at her temple and a sore shoulder. It looked as if Wink was liable to have a black eye to go with her scraped hands and twisted ankle from the steel wire the thugs had stretched across the walking path and anchored with a small hand winch on each side. Caroline herself was hopeful that her wrist was merely wrenched rather than sprained and she seemed to have taken a blow to the ribcage, leaving her slightly short of breath.

“Miss Caro, you’re bleeding!” Nell tugged on Caroline’s sleeve. Sure enough, the blow to her waist had done more than dent the stays of her corset. The gray serge of her bodice showed a slit perhaps two inches wide, and the fabric around it was slowly turning black.

“Bloody hell.” Caroline hadn’t even noticed one of the men had a knife. “I never even felt it. Thank heavens George chased that one off.” And thank heavens this was one of her old frocks, as it was clearly ruined.

Caroline found herself being herded toward the carriage along with Wink and Nell. Without asking for permission, Debbins started for home, and no one complained. All thoughts of a picnic had been completely forgotten.

“Miss Caro, please, let’s get you seen to before you bleed out on the nursery floor. I’ve no mind to clean that up.”

“I’m fine,” Caroline insisted to Sally for what felt like the thirtieth time. “I can tend myself once the girls are taken care of.” In the adjacent bathing room, Becky worked on cleaning Nell’s cuts and scratches. Wink sat in the nursery rocking chair, with Caroline at a stool, Wink’s swollen ankle across Caroline’s knees. She poked the inflamed joint, wondering whether it required a surgeon, but after a moment, she shook her head. Keeping her hands on the injury, she wondered if it would make any difference, if she really did possess some kind of ability to heal. “Sally, it’s just wrenched. Please fetch me something to wrap it with.”

Wink snorted. “Told you so.” Given the pain the girl had to be in, Caroline was in no mood to correct her manners.

“I’ll wrap it, miss.” Sally knelt beside Caroline’s stool with a roll of linen bandage. “Then can we take care of that cut? You’re still bleeding, and your face has gone awful pale.”

Before Caroline could protest further—her head did seem to be a little on the fuzzy side—Sir Merrick himself strode into the nursery. “Miss Bristol, what the bloody hell is going on here?” So much for last night when he’d called her Caro. “Debbins tells me you were attacked by footpads in Regent’s Park.”

“Then you’ve just answered your own question.” Lord, she sounded like an eight-year-old, even to herself. She drew in as deep a breath as her dented corset would allow and spoke carefully. “We’re all a bit battered, but there were no serious injuries, thank heavens. No—thank George, and whoever taught these girls how to defend themselves. There were four of them.
Four.
”

“Let’s see that ankle, then.” He squatted down, probed a little, and nodded for Sally to finish wrapping it. Using one gentle finger, he tipped back Wink’s chin and grinned. “That shiner’s going to be a beaut. Good thing I scheduled the photographer for later this week rather than tomorrow. Is that the worst of it?”

“I believe so. Nell has a lump on her head, but her pupils aren’t dilated and she isn’t dizzy.” Caroline’s world was beginning to fuzz around the edges again. What was that about a photographer? She couldn’t be bothered to ask.

“Miss Caro’s been cut.” Sally tipped her chin defiantly when Caroline scowled at her. “She won’t let us see to ’er till the girls are dealt with. Her wrist is swellin’ up right nice, too.”

“Caro?” He turned his critical gaze on her. “Damn, woman, you are pale. Why didn’t you say something?”

“I’m fine. It’s only a small cut and a twisted wrist.” Though both were starting to throb rather mercilessly. “Where are Piers and Jamie?” Though she was glad they weren’t complicating matters in the nursery right now, she wasn’t at all comfortable having them out of her sight.

“Debbins and the grooms are teaching them to curry a horse. They’re well guarded and happy as clams—whatever that means. Now sit still for a moment. I’ll be right back.” He stood and strode over to the open door of the lavatory. “Nell, how are you feeling?”

“Right buggered that they got away, sir,” the younger girl replied. “The burly one landed a punch on my shoulder, but it’ll just be a bruise.”

His expression softened. “Good. And good on you girls, both of you, for taking care of yourselves. Now let Becky and Sally finish cleaning you up, while I see to Miss Caro.”

“Sir Merrick that’s hardly—ack!” Before Caroline could say “proper,” he’d scooped her up into his arms and carried her toward the door.

“I’m told I owe you a new umbrella,” he said as he carried her through to her own room. “Apparently the girls weren’t the only ones defending themselves. My thanks for protecting them.” Instead of carrying her through to the bathing room as she’d expected, he laid her atop the coverlet of her bed. Pulling a spring-loaded knife from the pocket of his frock coat, he calmly flicked out the blade and enlarged the slit in her bodice until he could peel it back to reveal her corset cover.

“Sir Merrick,
please.
” She couldn’t lie here and let him undress her. “I’m not bleeding to death, I promise. There must be a female servant who can help me out of my stays?”

“Hold still. I don’t want to accidentally add to your wounds.” He utterly ignored her plea for modesty, cutting through her plain cotton corset cover and peeling it back as well. Her corset itself had front hooks allowing her to dress without assistance, so that he just opened it with nimble fingers rather than cutting further and having to deal with the stays. Once she was down to her muslin shift, he used the knife again, slitting it horizontally this time, so he could reveal her ribcage while leaving her breasts covered, if only in the thin fabric. Again, she thanked heaven it was one of her old, sturdy ones, and not one of the new, practically transparent undergarments Dorothy had purchased for her. Still, she lay with her arms crossed over her chest. His touch soothed, making the pain just a little more tolerable.

Finally, he had her skin bared. His hands were amazingly gentle as he examined the wound. “This should be stitched. It’s still bleeding, albeit sluggishly.”

“Nonsense. I’ll clean it up, put a bandage on it, and I’ll be fine. My corset will hold the gauze in place quite nicely.” Though it would also hurt like hell, having bone or metal stays pressing on the wound.

Merrick raised one eyebrow. “You really are delusional, aren’t you? You won’t be getting dressed for a day or two at the least.” He walked over to the speaking tube in the corner—something Caroline had never dared use. “Somebody send for Mr. Wallace, please. And if Mrs. Granger could please come up to Miss Bristol’s room, with the medical kit and some ice, her assistance would be appreciated.”

“Thank you.” Though what that devout lady would think when she came in and saw Caroline stripped nearly bare, Caroline had no idea.

“Now hold still while we put some pressure on that until the surgeon arrives.” He ducked into the bathroom and came back with a small linen towel which he folded into a pad, perhaps three inches square. “Which is your undamaged wrist?”

“Right.” Why did she sound so weak and tired?
This is ridiculous—buck up, girl.

“Then hold this in place with as much pressure as you can manage with your right hand, while I take a look at your left.” He laid her hand over the linen pad, pushing down firmly to show her what to do. Next, he sat on the edge of the bed and laid her sore arm across his lap.

“The swelling isn’t too bad—doesn’t look broken.” He rotated her hand to find the extent of her mobility and nodded. “Just a mild sprain, but we’ll need to wrap it for a day or two.”

Footsteps sounded in the hallway before Caroline could say anything—not that she had any idea what to say. Mrs. Granger bustled in with a basket under one arm and an ice bag in the other.

“We’ll be fine now, Sir Merrick,” the housekeeper said bluntly. “Run along and send Mr. Wallace up when he arrives.”

“I’ll wait.” He sat in the chair in the corner, as if defying either woman to argue with him. “She needs the ice on her right wrist.”

“I can see that.” The older woman shook her gray head, a few frizzy curls having escaped her cap. “You’ve also left the poor girl practically bare.” She pulled a frayed blue shawl from the bedpost and draped it over Caroline’s upper body. Finally, Mrs. Granger laid the ice pack alongside Caroline’s hip, with her wrist resting on the blessed coolness.

For the first time since the attack, Caroline let herself close her eyes. The children were being taken care of. The surgeon was on his way to stitch her up. Perhaps the world wouldn’t end if she fell asleep for a moment or two.

She woke when another man entered her room. “Seems the more people you get in this house, the more business for me, eh, Sir Merrick?”

Caroline opened her eyes to see a gray-haired man with bristly mutton-chops smiling down at her. “Had a bit of a dust-up, did we?”

“Knife wound in the ribs, sprained left wrist.”

At the sound of his voice, Caroline let her gaze drift to the corner of the room where Merrick still sat in the room’s single easy chair, while Mrs. Granger sat beside the bed on the small chair from the writing desk, still pressing down on the bandage.