Last Orders by Laura Strickland

Author:Laura Strickland [Strickland, Laura]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: Romance, Fantasy, steampunk
Publisher: The Wild Rose Press
Published: 2018-04-18T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twenty-Two

“Miss, you have callers,” Millie announced softly.

Ginny, sitting alone in the gloomy parlor, looked up with sudden interest. Brendan? Might he have stopped by after all?

Not likely, since she’d made it clear things between them were over. Only it wasn’t over, was it? Likely it wouldn’t be till she kicked the dust of this town from her heels.

Impossible to deny, at the moment, that she sat brooding. A bright, beautiful day outside, yet since returning from Ballister’s office she’d been sitting here with the draperies closed, an artificial dusk. She didn’t want to see anyone.

Well, she wanted to see one person.

“Who is it?” she asked Millie.

“A gentleman called Patrick Kelly, and his wife.”

That got Ginny to her feet. “Please show them in. And—and bring tea, Millie, if you will.”

“At once, miss.”

Ginny crossed to the window and flung the drapes open. Sunlight flooded in, making her narrow her eyes. Pat Kelly’s wife, the woman who’d married an automaton. What might she be like?

They came into the parlor arm in arm, Kelly barely recognizable out of his uniform. The woman beside him—tall and with a quietly regal bearing—had strong, even features and soft, light brown hair styled in a loose chignon. She wore a pale green gown and a matching hat with a clever little brim.

They looked like any respectable couple out for a stroll on a fine afternoon.

“Officer Kelly, it’s good to see you again.”

“Miss Landry.” He presented the woman at his side as he might a priceless jewel. “I would like you to meet my wife, Rose.”

“Mrs. Kelly.” Ginny shook hands with Rose Kelly and met her gaze. What sort of woman married an automaton—even one of Patrick Kelly’s caliber? “To what do I owe this pleasure?”

“We wanted to stop in and thank you personally. We’ve just signed the papers purchasing your interest in the charity hospital on Ellicott Street.”

“That was swiftly done.” She’d left Ballister only a few hours ago.

“We were anxious to make it official. Actually, the purchase is in my wife’s name, as ownership legalities for automatons are still questionable, though I do own my house, as do many other members of the Irish Squad.”

“Please, will you sit down? May I offer you some refreshment?”

Still arm in arm, they perched on the sofa, though Kelly said, “We are unable to stay long. We are on our way to a rally at The Park.”

“Rally?”

Rose Kelly spoke. “All available non-human citizens of the city are meeting to demonstrate their desire for their rights, and to protest those who blame them for the recent murders. For the most part, automatons are nonviolent. Representing them differently has whipped up ill feeling that should not exist.”

“I see.” Ginny wondered if Brendan would be at the rally. Of course he would. He’d likely be in the very thick of things. “Forgive me, but you say for the most part automatons are nonviolent. Officer Kelly, you and I are aware of at least one notable exception.”

“I believe your mother’s death was just that—an exception.

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