The Shameless Flirt (Regency Love Book 3) by Nichols M.A

Author:Nichols, M.A. [Nichols, M.A.]
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Published: 2019-02-04T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 16

Bristow was truly a beautiful corner of the world. Though Ambrose had visited many times, the landscape around his sister’s home still awed him. The rolling hills dappled with trees, the long stretches of grass dotted with wildflowers. Sitting atop his borrowed mount, Ambrose breathed in the scent of fresh earth and clear air. In this place and at this moment, Ambrose was hard pressed to understand why he spent so much of his time in dirty, crowded London.

Just over the hill to his right was Buckthorn Manor. He would much rather ride there, but Mina had asked for his help, and he was not about to throw her over. This may be the only time his family had ever or would ever ask him for anything, and Ambrose was determined to do it justice. He nudged Sheba into a trot, and the mare launched after Simon and Mr. Thorne, who had gotten far ahead as he had been daydreaming. She was a rather good mount, and Ambrose loved the feel of the wind pulling at his hair and coat as he pulled up beside them at the new barn.

Workers grabbed the reins when the gentlemen dismounted. Stepping through the doors, Ambrose halted at the sight of the massive machine. It was not the most intricate he had seen, but it was one of the largest. The size of it was quite extraordinary considering its simple purpose, but threshing grain took significant effort, and Ambrose knew this would be a boon to Simon’s workers.

To one side there were horses lashed to a wheel, which provided the propulsion for the gears. The sounds of the other gentlemen faded from Ambrose’s mind as he stepped closer to the behemoth, his eyes following the line of the machine, picking apart the various pieces and seeing exactly how they worked together. Arriving at the heart, he threw off his jacket to squeeze through a tight space to examine the gears. The machine was dormant, but his mind saw the parts working together to create the desired outcome.

And there it was. Two misaligned wheels. He had seen similar situations in his clocks and automata. Ambrose rolled up his sleeves and reached inside.

“What are you doing?” asked one of the workers, drawing the attention of the others.

Ambrose did not bother to explain and simply tugged at the smaller wheel.

“Leave it be, Ambrose,” came Simon’s voice. “It is broken enough without us mucking about in it.”

Popping back out, Ambrose motioned for his brother-in-law. “I can see the problem. Two gears are misaligned.”

Simon crouched beside him but said, “I see nothing wrong.”

Guiding Simon’s gaze, Ambrose pointed it out. “Just there.”

“It looks right to me.”

When Mr. Thorne joined them, neither gentleman could see what Ambrose was referring to.

“You’re right,” said the foreman. “It’s ever so slight, but I see it.”

Simon and Mr. Thorne stood back as Ambrose and the other man wrenched at the gear until it shifted into its proper place. Moments later, the foreman had the horses moving, which set the gears turning, and everything was running exactly as it should.

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