Silas shot a glance at his tickerkin. “It was a spur of the moment decision.”
“I’m sure it was, sir.” Nelson turned silently on his wheels, and headed for the door “But in anticipation of your ‘spur of the moment decision’ I had already tided up the guest room. However, I will accompany the ladies and make sure they have everything they need.”
“Coggleblasted impertinent tickerkin,” muttered Silas.
“I heard that.”
Stifling a laugh, Silas stood, wondering what on earth he had just done, and why, on the devil’s forge, he’d done it.
Certainly he had an admitted weakness for blue eyes. Especially those that had a touch of steel in them which Miss Whatever-her-name-really was certainly possessed.
And she had a chin to go with that inner core of strength he sensed lay just beneath her simple exterior. ‘Determination’ could well have been flesh-pressed onto her forehead. Certainlyan unusual and attractive woman, a pleasure to look at, and well-versed in intelligent conversation.
And, he reminded himself, she had an intimate knowledge of sophisticated Exchange equipment, not to mention a steampass which he was convinced bore the Renslow insignia.
And that was something he could research.
Heading to his office again, he closed the door behind him this time, and sat at his desk. He took a few moments to scrawl a little drawing, then pushed his chair back a little. One touch of a certain carved rosette, and another piece of the desktop swung upward, bringing with him his Archivo’scope. Untangling the mouthpiece connection, he turned it on and waited for the little screen to brighten.
It was indeed a nifty gadget, and one of Silas’ favourite toys, truth be told. The first one had been purely experimental, but the consequent developments had turned it into a very valuable tool for record keeping. Almost all factories and companies had one.
Silas’s was, of course, a modified version of the original. His not only spewed out his company’s records, it had a hidden connection to all the other Archivo’scopes in Arcvale. Silas did not underestimate the power of this little device, and had kept those “adjustments” completely secret for obvious reasons. In fact, he’d rarely used it for anything other than its intended purpose.
But tonight...well, he had an intriguing puzzle in his guest room, and this might help him find a few answers. He pressed a few buttons, rotated a gear or two, and then leaned forward, speaking clearly and quietly into the voice horn.
“Information request. Miss Thea Smith, affiliated with Renslow in some way, including a steampass. Capture image.”
The system buzzed, hissed slightly, then settled to a soft hum as he held up his rather quick and wiggly pencil rendering of what he’d seen on her steampass. Within a minute or so, the little screen flickered red, then white, and a green button flashed beside it.
“Aha.” Silas leaned forward, eager to read the information that was already appearing in front of him.
“Individual not identified by name. No THEA SMITH affiliated with the Renslow dynasty. The inclusion of a steampass, however, indicates a member of the Renslow family, since the pass thus described is restricted to top levels only.”
“Really,” mused Silas. “This is interesting indeed.”
He leaned toward the voice horn once more. “Information request. Renslow family female member, age perhaps early 20s, blue eyes, first name or other names similar to Thea.”
That took a little longer, and he shot a glance at his office door, just to make sure that nobody might catch sight of anything they shouldn’t.
The lights flickered again. This time, Silas was ready, close to the screen, wondering what had been discovered.
“One individual found. Possibility of match 85%. Lady DOROTHEA LANGLEY, age 23, Renslow family female, only daughter of the Duke and Duchess of Renslow. Older brother Lord Randolph Renslow. No other siblings. Resides in Renslow House, Upper Level Six. Is listed as out of residence at the current time visiting friends. No other female with name resembling THEA found.”
He leaned back in his chair, staring at the words on the little screen. “Well, well, well. You’re way out-of-place down here in the Undercroft, aren’t you, Lady Langley? Did you come here on your own initiative, I wonder? Or were you sent?”
He pursed his lips in thought. It wasn’t out of the question that someone from the upper levels might have thought sending a spy would be a good idea. Especially given the disaster that now faced the furnaces. Could these two events be linked? Was her Ladyship here in disguise to root out conspiracies?
He snorted. If that was the case, then she was completely out of luck, since there weren’t any, as far as he knew.
It was, he thought to himself as he shut down his Archivo’scope, a most interesting conundrum. And one he couldn’t wait to solve...especially since those blue eyes were incredibly appealing...
Chapter Five
Dorothea found herself in a cogblastedly awful spot.
It was not her intention to use a stranger’s guest room; she’d planned for something in a small local inn. But Gen put a whole different face on the matter. Keeping the little girl safe was her number one priority.
As she looked around the lovely space, she knew she’d not find better at any inn at all. So she lifted her bag onto the large bed and unpacked what she needed.
