Read Online The Dark Unwinding by Sharon Cameron - Free Book Online Page A

plunged his hands beneath the surface, breaking the reflection of the gaslights into rippling sparks, and out came a metal fish, some two and a half feet long, painted a luminous green and blue. “Your uncle calls this object a toy, Miss Tulman. And, indeed, the action of swimming, though clever, is no great mystery. The fins wave, the tail swivels, the casing does not allow the leaking of water. And like a fish, when this toy swims, it does not sink, and nor does it float. That all is simple mechanics. But this fish also holds its course, not just in forward motion, but in depth. What, Miss Tulman, gives this machine the ability to swim parallel to both the surface of the water and the surface of the earth?”
    I ran a finger over the slick blue fin. “It looks too heavy to do anything but sit on the bottom.”
    “Ships much heavier than this sail the oceans every day.” It was the challenge of a schoolmaster.
    “But they are wood,” I protested. “This is different.”
    “Ah! But at this very moment the emperor of France is building a ship completely encased in iron, Miss Tulman, an iron ship impervious to cannon fire, and he expects it to float very well. But you are right, this is different, because this fish does not float or sink like a ship. It swims its course underwater in a straight line, right, left, up, or down. How I long to know how it would fare against current or in surf! I would take it apart if I did not fear my own inability to put it back together again, and the loss of your uncle’s hard-won favor.”
    I watched him place the fish reverently back in the water.
    “We live in a fantastic age, Miss Tulman. At the edge of a time when nothing will be denied us, not the moon or stars or even life itself. Your uncle is a genius. It would be … a crime, you know, to lock it away, to let it rot in a lunatic’s cell.”
    “That is not my choice,” I said. “I only do what I am … compelled to, just as you.” Suddenly I felt very tired. “But all knowledge aside, do you not think my uncle is a danger to others or even to himself?”
    “No, I can’t say I believe that. He is easily upset, and he has his own set of rules that he feels compelled …” His gaze slid to me on the word. “… to follow. His works are like his own children. He is protective of them, frightened of having someone take them away. He finds it extraordinarily difficult to trust another human being. It has taken me weeks to be allowed in this room on two consecutive Saturdays, and then I still cannot ask questions or even see Mr. Tully’s drawings.” He turned to look at me again. “He trusted you almost immediately.”
    I thought of my uncle’s face the last time I had seen it. “I doubt that is the case now.”
    “You should try again, Miss Tulman, indeed you should. As I shall keep trying to understand this fish.”
    “If you come in here when my uncle is asleep, Mr. Aldridge, why do you not simply find the drawings for this fish?”
    “Because they do not exist, or do not exist that I know of. No more than the drawings of that dragon you saw yesterday exist.” He smiled again. “Mostly your uncle finds written plans unnecessary. His drawings are for the foundry, and are generally piecemeal or incomplete.”
    “And what about ledger books, Mr. Aldridge?”
    He frowned slightly. “It would surprise me greatly if your uncle has ever kept a ledger book in his life.” He wiped his hands on his trousers. “We should be bobbing off, Miss Tulman. Mr. Tully’s guard dog will be along soon.”
    “His guard dog?”
    He took my elbow, steering me to the door. “Surely you’ve noticed your uncle’s guard dog? Dark, moody, and prone to an angry expression?”
    I smiled at this description of Lane, but removed my arm. “I’ll risk a few more minutes, if you don’t mind. I haven’t done what I came to yet.”
    Ben’s brows lowered for a moment, but then he smiled and inclined his head. “I hope to see you again,