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She closed the door and leaned back against it As soon as he was in the workshop, she darted to the ht But no--it was still on the rack She had al, not to mention the risk, as Bluder Plucking her topper from a tentacle, she buttoned it to the back of her jacket collar and set it at just the right angle

In one afternoon, she had lain beside a man in the dark, felt the brush of his hand on her face, and then spent hours working with hi with theelectricity If her father had known, he would have been furious Well, had he not already disowned her Perhaps for soressive views as herself, a clockwork caravan was not so race as an exit froard hat a woman could expect of respected scholars and businessnity and kindness by Henry, and she had known him for only two days

A asped and then burst out laughing His outfit was even more outlandish than Vil’s His wide-bri black coat Goggles with smoky lenses obscured his eyes The beard and uised the bottom half of his face were covered by a mask of leather and brass His nose was the only part of hihting the chuckles

"Perhaps But please bear in mind that there’s only one reason I would enter into thatcrowd Madam Morpho, would you be so kind as to accompany me to Criminy Stain’s Clockwork Caravan?"

He held out his arladly

"I hear the clockworks themselves are quite masterly," she said

"I wouldn’t know about that," he answered, "but I understand that the enius And they’re soon to have an arresting new act in which a beautiful woman of much mystery commands a band of exotic butterflies"

He opened the door and helped her down the stairs to the ground She could feel the tension in his arm and looked to his face, but he simply shook his head and said, "Now or never"

To the left was the engine, and to the right, a crowd had gathered around Veruca the Abyssinian Sword Ser With Iainst his side, Henry drew her in that direction, and she gave Veruca a small wave The powerfully built wo one dark eyebrow at the en’s arm So it was true, then, that no one in the caravan had ever seen the Mysterious Mr Murdoch Although she had not doubted his word or that of Emerlie, who had certainly been happy to blab, it was still surprising to know that solimpse of the famous mechanist Of course, to the crowd of amazed Pinkies, they were just one ilded and wired cage of the huge, overcrowded city

I before the London ith her self-faked papers, as if the guards would see through her ruse to the rebellious soul within But the guard had barely looked at her, and as soon as she had settled herself beside her trunk in the conveyance, her heart had seehter the further she came into the countryside

"Where are the bludbunnies?" she asked as they strolled toward the crowd

Henry leaned over to whisper, "We can’t keep them out completely, but we try If carnivalleros see one, they’re supposed to kill it They get a copper for every ten bodies they bring to Cook And there are several clockworks designed to kill the nasty little creatures, too No ets, there are just so ht and the number of Bludainst hi so coenius And yet he didn’t share the hubris of the scholars she had known I out truths equal to those she had revealed earlier But before she could find the right words, he led her past Veruca to the clockwork between the engine and the red caboose

"This is one of ator was beautiful, so cunningly crafted that she could i on its riveted teeth It sat upright,sleepily Across its great brass stomach were starinned and released her arerous Not if it was part of the carnival, and not if he was urging her toward it Still, Ie auto teeth She still remembered the clockwork horror stories fro metal lion in the London Zoo and the ill-fated Royal Carousel that hadcereistrate Even after it had been proven safe, she had never wanted to visit it and ride themetal monsters But surely automata had come rather far since then, and surely a man as talented and careful as Henry would know exactly how to craft his h, she stepped firround The love, and she rubbed the smooth brass in a circular an to h that verged on beco a purr With a hiss, a strip of paper curled out from between his teeth When it stopped, she reached to rip it off, but for some reason she couldn’t nas are in store for you Bravery is its oard

"Is it a good fortune?" he asked with a grin

"Cryptic but positive Would you like to read it?"