The Rebel Heir by Elizabeth Michels

Author:Elizabeth Michels
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: Sourcebooks
Published: 2016-07-08T04:00:00+00:00

Eleven

Oliver Dean had never given up on a project. On the other hand, he considered all of his projects works in progress and thus never quite complete. He settled back on his heels, listening to the ticking of twenty different clocks—none of which offered the proper time. He’d looked at the portable steam contraption from every angle imaginable. It simply wouldn’t function.

St. James, who’d commissioned the work, didn’t care either way. The head of his club in London, the Spare Heirs, had only asked for a prototype that appeared to function, but Ollie needed it to work. For once in his life, he knew he was close to creating something world-changing. He was so terribly close, if only the blasted thing would function. He hit it with the wrench in his hand, frowning when it didn’t sputter to life.

“I’ve brought you something to eat,” a voice called from the door, making him smile. “Your grandmother is concerned you might waste away in here if not fed regularly.”

“I have tea,” Ollie said, rising to his feet and moving toward his desk near the door where his new wife stood. “Surely that will keep me alive until this evening.”

Mable set a tray on top of a pile of diagrams and touched the teacup with one elegant finger. “Ollie, this tea is stone cold and untouched. I don’t believe the thought of tea is enough to keep your grandmother’s concerns at bay.”

“Really?” He grinned, watching her pick up one of his drawings and study it, her face screwed up in concentration. Even if every one of his inventions failed, he would continue to try, just so Mable would make that adorable face while she attempted to work out what he was building. He prowled closer to her. “I find thoughts of you rather filling.”

“Flattering, but not helpful at the moment.” She tossed the plans aside and shoved a biscuit at him when he neared.

“A biscuit? How am I to eat when you have me so distracted?” he asked, wrapping his hands around her and pulling her close.

“You need some distraction. You’ve been in here for weeks.”

“Ten days,” he corrected. “If I could only determine the proper alignment of the gears in this assembly… Let me show you.” He tugged her hand and pulled her across the room, weaving between stacks of abandoned instrumentation and broken bits of clockwork of various sizes. Finally, he stopped before the blasted steam contraption he couldn’t get to work.

“What does it do?” she asked, reaching out to poke at it with a finger.

He scrubbed a hand across the back of his neck as he considered the function of the machine again. “At the moment? It spews water across the floor in a most wondrous display.”

Mable reached out and turned one of the gears with a finger. “It seems complicated.”

“I had to cross belts and gears in more directions than you can imagine to get it to this point.”

She giggled. “It reminds me of my attempts at knitting, yarn darting in every direction.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.