Read Online Her Own Devices by Shelley Adina - Free Book Online Page B

top of his desk. “I hardly dare leave a piece of paper out in case I get a lecture in the morning.”
    “You are her employer,” James said dryly. He went to the table by the window and poured himself a finger of Scotch. “You could tell her to dispense with the lecture.”
    “Ah, but then I would be deprived of the pleasure of it. How did it go at the Midlands Railroad?”
    James took a healthy sip before speaking, and grimaced as the liquor went down. “Not so well, I am afraid. They appreciate the possibilities of what we’re doing—in fact, they’re quite enthusiastic about it. But they are not willing to promise to buy one of our devices without having seen it in action.”
    He’d told James he was premature, but when had James ever listened when it came to his vision for their partnership? “You can hardly blame them for that. You and I would both do the same.”
    “Perhaps. But we need a large railroad to back our efforts and give us legitimacy. Rail men are notorious for presenting a united front, competitive as they might be behind it. If we can crack only one, we’ll have them all.”
    “I told you it was too soon. We must have a working prototype before we approach anyone.”
    James merely shrugged. “How are the experiments coming? Any progress?”
    Andrew had to shake his head. “I have given up on permeating the coal with gases and have turned my attention to augmented electricks. Hence a little research.” He indicated the paper. “Claire seems to think that—”
    “Claire? What does she have to do with anything?”
    Andrew raised an eyebrow. James was too well bred to interrupt ... usually. But Claire had been the clinker in his coal box ever since the day they’d met. “You know she aspires to be an engineer.”
    “I do, to my very great dismay.”
    “I have promised to help her get into university in any way I can. And that usually means talking over problems together.” James merely snorted and emptied his glass. “Don’t you have any confidence in her?”
    “My confidence or lack of it is irrelevant. The girl was hired to shuffle paper, not offer uninformed opinions on a great work.”
    “Her opinions are far from uninformed. She came up with a theory that I feel I must explore, in fact.”
    “Ridiculous. Next you’ll be holding her yarn for her while she knits.”
    “I don’t believe the lady does knit,” Andrew said coolly. “And I must say I don’t understand your attitude toward her.”
    “Yes, you do. I’ve told you before.”
    “That you had honorable intentions and now cannot bear to see her in a position of dependence on us—on you?”
    “That would sum it up, yes. And the fact that I seem completely powerless to stop her.”
    Andrew was not a man who normally pried into his friend’s private life, but this was too much for him. “Why should you want to stop her, James? If she has declined your attentions and yet is a valuable addition to this venture, what has it to do with you any longer?”
    James appeared to be struggling with himself. “You’re going to find out anyway,” he muttered.
    “I beg your pardon?”
    He raised his head and lifted his empty glass in a toast. “Congratulate me, Andrew,” he said in a tone that approximated good cheer. “I am going to embrace the proverbial ball and chain in, oh, four years or so.”
    Perplexed, Andrew stared at him. “For the love of heaven, James, what on earth are you talking about?”
    “Simply this. Much to my astonishment, and without quite knowing how it came about, I have somehow found myself engaged to your laboratory assistant.”
    Was James so exhausted that a single finger of whiskey had addled his brain? “I don’t understand you.” Andrew’s lips felt frozen, his tongue barely able to form the words.
    “Let me rephrase. This afternoon I believe I proposed to Lady Claire Trevelyan, and I am nearly perfectly certain she accepted.”
    Andrew felt his jaw unhinge—and his mind as well.