Her Own Devices by Shelley Adina

Author:Shelley Adina [Adina, Shelley]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: victorian fantasy, scott westerfeld, steampunk romance, steampunk, gail carriger, steampunk adventure, spunky heroine, airship, cookie429, Kat, Extratorrents
Publisher: Shelley Adina
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

*

Since they were to dine en famille in the conservatory, there was no need for evening clothes. All the same, Claire looked through the dresses in her closet since tomorrow they were to go to Sir Richard’s and she had nothing suitable. Everything looked impossibly young, not to mention short in the hems. She had grown since she was down last summer—grown and changed in mind as well as body.

The fact that she could carry a point with her mother and actually win was proof of that.

After the fresh-caught fish, salad, and ham, the hour grew late. A tour of the house and grounds was enough to exhaust Willie, and the girls began to fade as well. Claire put them to bed, said good night to Tigg and Jake, and girded her mind to return to the music room, where Lady St. Ives was entertaining James at the piano.

“Ah.” Her mother ceased her cheery runs up and down the keys, and settled herself on the sofa. She patted the cushion next to her. “Come here, dear. We have much to discuss, and if I know you, you will go to visit Polgarth in the morning and that will be the last I see of you.”

James leaned on the mantel, a thin cigarillo between his fingers. Rather pointedly, Claire crossed the room and opened the window, then seated herself and prepared to face the music.

“Dear James tells me that you are planning to go to The University of London in the fall, and your engagement will be a long one. Claire, you astonish me.”

She ignored the last bit. “James is quite correct. That is why the announcement went in the Times without a wedding date.”

“But why?” Her mother’s eyes were genuinely distressed. “I cannot understand why you would not marry within six months, especially when you are living from hand to mouth—where are you living, exactly, if it is not with your great-aunts Beaton?”

“I have a cottage on the river, Mama, that is quite comfortable and meets the children’s needs. I school them in chemistry and physics, arithmetic and reading, as well as outdoor pursuits such as climbing, walking, running, and gardening. We even have a chicken.”

“And how did you come upon this ... cottage?” James inquired, turning the cigarillo in his fingers as if its incendiary properties interested him.

“I bought it,” she said bluntly. “My income is quite up to the task, I assure you.”

“You bought a cottage?” Lady St. Ives, who as an heiress had never done such a thing in her life, stared at her incredulously. “What income?”

“Really, mother, do you expect me to discuss such things in front of a gentleman?”

“Since your income is partly financed by me, I find the subject very interesting,” James said. “I certainly don’t pay you enough to buy cottages.”

She lifted her chin. “Be thankful I don’t ask you for a pay rise, then.”

“Claire! I find this most distasteful. One does not accept pay from one’s fiance, much less joke about it. It’s just not done.

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