Scarlet Devices by Delphine Dryden

Author:Delphine Dryden
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: Penguin Group, USA
Published: 2014-02-04T05:00:00+00:00

FOURTEEN

JENSEN HAD DECIDED to continue despite the dark and rain, and he wasn’t the only one who paid for that choice dearly. When the hail had begun, he’d run off the road toward what he thought was a crofthold in the distance. The small, square light he’d seen turned out to be a storm lantern hung under a tree branch at the hastily erected encampment of the Watchmaker and Mr. Jones.

Jensen cut a swath through the sodden wild grass, and plowed straight into the delicate structure of the Watchmaker’s vehicle, which in turn had flipped over onto Jones’s steamer, taking out the canvas roof and most of the windows before rolling off again.

When Eliza and Matthew pulled up, the Watchmaker’s folly lay on its back, extendible wheel struts collapsed over its undercarriage, looking for all the world like a giant dead spider.

Fortunately, aside from the bump on the head Jensen had taken, nobody was hurt. The Watchmaker and Jones had used their two tents to construct one large shelter against the storm, and the three men seemed to have spent the night in relative comfort despite the obvious ill feelings over the wreck.

“The two Frenchies are ahead of you,” Jensen volunteered. “They’ll get word to the rally authorities in Dodge City that we need rescuing. But if one of you were to get there first and take the lead back for the Dominions, I’m sure we’d all appreciate it.”

“Not I,” the Watchmaker grumbled. “I don’t care who wins.”

“Not the Watchmaker. But Jones and I would appreciate it.”

Matthew eyed Jones, wondering if he were in line for praise or punishment for the night’s events. Surely if he were working for Orm, he’d have been meant to stay in the race as long as possible, to be the last man standing no matter what was required to achieve that goal. On the other hand, this crash was certainly no fault of his, and had eliminated two other competitors. Yet Jones himself showed no particular emotion other than regret at the empty bottle by his bedroll.

He let Eliza take the lead as they set out again, not out of chivalry but because the wagon track had narrowed somewhat and somebody had to go first. The landscape was more of the same: rolling grasslands and occasional cultivated fields, small outlying holdings guarded against pirates and endless sky that had cleared overnight to a pristine robin’s-egg blue. Lovely, but hostile. It grew less lovely as the road widened in late afternoon, signaling they were nearing Dodge City.

Still, Matthew was glad for the drive, and for the time to think. He had let Eliza set the pace even before they were on the road, taking his cues from her when she woke that morning. He’d been up for some time, working on a new modification for his vehicle, culling makeshift parts from his own supplies and from a rack of tools in the corner of the barn. He was just leaving some coins in their place when he heard her stirring.

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