Lily of the Valley (The Gents, #2) by Sarah M. Eden

Author:Sarah M. Eden [Eden, Sarah M.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Covenant Communications, Inc.
Published: 2022-04-10T18:30:00+00:00

Chapter Nineteen

Kes wandered toward his workroom on the ground floor of his house the next day. His thoughts were a jumbled mess. Discovering that the mysterious strongbox had, in fact, belonged to Stanley, of all people, had dealt a blow. Julia and Lucas had already come to think of the box as something of a gift, a bit of their brother and friend that they’d been unexpectedly given after a decade. Kes, though, was struggling to see it in such a positive light.

He stepped into the workroom and, to his utter delight, found Violet inside. Her presence was soothing in a way she likely didn’t even realize. That she had sat by him for a time during the picnic the day before had done more to lift his spirits than anything else he had tried since opening the strongbox. She hadn’t attempted to force him to join in the activities going on around them. She hadn’t scolded him for not participating. She’d simply let him sit and think and breathe.

When she looked up at him upon his entrance, however, she looked anything but peaceful and at ease. There was no mistaking the frustration in those beautiful eyes of hers.

“I had hoped you would make a visit to this room,” she said.

It was quite possibly the best way he had ever been greeted. “I’m glad I chose to wander in this direction.”

She motioned with her right hand toward the small pegboard on the tabletop and the gears and wires she had arranged on it. As always, her left arm was tucked under her shawl and was well hidden beneath her long undersleeves. “I’ve been experimenting with this. Turning the crank lever with it connected to the gears like this does make the gears turn, as I had hoped, but as near as I can sort, when it is attached to the fingers, making them bend would require wire from the fingertip back toward the crank. I couldn’t wear gloves, and I wouldn’t be able to hold anything because the wire would get in the way. I’ve found a means of bending the fingers, but they would still be entirely unusable.”

He sat in the chair next to hers. “It likely isn’t a great deal of comfort, but discovering the failure in this approach is a good thing.”

She looked at him with clear doubt in her eyes. “How is it a good thing?”

“We know that using a metal wire to bend the fingers is not the right approach. You discovered that without having to alter your prosthesis first.”

Some of the tension in her posture eased. “I suppose that’s true,” she conceded. “Though I do wish I had discovered a solution rather than having merely eliminated one.”

“If the Royal Society accepted members based on how often they have spoken that exact phrase, I would have become a member long ago.”

“Have you been petitioning for membership?” Violet sounded excited, but she was about to be disappointed.

“I have been making the attempt for years now. Thus far, my efforts have proven unsuccessful.

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