A Riddle in Ruby #3 by Kent Davis

Author:Kent Davis
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HarperCollins
Published: 2017-09-19T04:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 15

Treat others as you would have yourself treated: with grace, charm, and respect.

—Bethilda Fwallop, A Young Tinker’s Guide to Polite Society

“One moment, pleeeease.” Ruby’s chin wobbled. It actually moved about on her chin, like a mouse under a handkerchief. She wrapped her fingers around it. It shifted. And then her elbow puffed up to half again its size. She grabbed it with the other hand. Perhaps no one would notice. “How bad?” she whispered.

Across the compartment, perched on a velvet cushion and awash in a storm of lace, Athena mouthed, “Bad.”

Remember what Gwath said. Think Reggie thoughts. But between the strangeness of the new body and the panic she could barely keep her own self straight. Her sails were in tatters, and the hungry rocks awaited.

This was the time when Athena would draw her sword.

This was the time when Athena would kick open the door, knocking the soldier down into the street, and they would thunder off straight through the barricade with the redcoats on their tails.

Instead, Athena flounced up to the window, pannier hoops flaring out to fill the center of the compartment.

Oh, Providence. She was preparing to flirt.

Athena unveiled her teeth in something resembling a smile—the way a baboon would bare its fangs at an enemy—and pulled the curtain open. She unlocked the little window with a snick, and the sounds of night and street flooded in.

“Well, hello there,” she purred. But her purring was more like she had a nut stuck in her throat and her eyes were too wide and she fluttered her eyelashes with military precision and—

The redcoat took a step back. “Gah,” he said.

“Miss . . . Evallina Puddledump, at your service, my good sir.” She flipped her fan at the soldier. Where had she found a fan?

“Ahem,” said the redcoat. “Ah. Miss . . . Puddledump—”

“Of the Virginia Puddledumps.” Somehow, impossibly, her smile had grown larger. Like a sinkhole.

“Yes. Well. Terribly sorry to disturb you, but your papers, please?”

Athena reached out without a glance at Ruby, trying to keep the focus on herself. Was Reggie’s eyebrow still attached? Ruby handed over the papers and invitations, one for him and one for a guest. They were miracles of clockwork, more the thickness of a school slate than a piece of parchment, and embossed with all manner of gears that actually moved inside little crystal windows.

“Reginald Shackleton?” His mouth made an O of respect. “Of Shackleton’s Shackle Town?”

Ruby risked it. “The same.” Reggie’s voice was close to his warble.

The man’s eyes flicked over for a moment. “Well, milord, we do love your chains and manacles. Best quality in the colonies for keeping prisoners trussed up.”

“Thank yoo. So much.”

“And thank you for your patience. You are cleared to pass!” As he leaned forward to pass back the documents, he said, “Best to make your stay a short one? Dangerous night. There are rumors abounding. Good citizens like yourself most likely should stay in with doors locked and barred. I’m not certain it will be safe for anyone in the streets tonight.

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