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Sophronia stepped back and let out a sigh

Her stoood deal of tier to conte sounded at the door When she opened it, aa tray of food Sophronia took it gratefully, and the maid trundled off without ceremony Sophronia closed the door with her foot and, in the absence of chairs, balanced the tray precariously on one section of the oddgob

She assessed the food Nothing s ofcurrant jelly sauce and the Bakewell pudding and ate only the plain boiled potatoes and broccoli Better to assu was still a test until Lady Linette returned to tell her otherwise Sad, because she loved Bakewell When nothing else happened, Sophronia put the tray down and exas autocratically in front of her

It was a fascinating apparatus She wondered if Vieve knew of its existence at the school Genevieve Lefoux was a dear friend, alike a boy and a habit of inventing gadgetry If Vieve didn’t know of the oddgob, she would want to, and she was certain to ask all sorts of questions Sophronia took mental notes in anticipation of conversations to come When tired of that, she used the scissors to extract a small part from the machine It was a crystalline valve, faceted, and awfully familiar in shape and style It looked like a smaller version of the prototype Monique had tried to steal last year This valve appeared to have been only propped in, so Sophronia was certain that reob When they’d first discovered the prototype valve last year, Vieve had prattled on about point-to-point transraph machine had recently proved a dismal failure If this was a new version of that same prototype, Vieve would want to see it

The door behind Sophronia creaked open, and she hastily stashed the oda style allowed for secret pockets

"Miss Temminnick, have you finished?"

"Isn’t everyone finished at the saob cycle seems to be prescribed," replied Sophronia

"No, h she did feel as if she had been abandoned for longer than necessary

"I had to assess Miss Plunmott first Technically, she was admitted ahead of you If you’ll recall, you went for tea with Mademoiselle Geraldine before you were formally allowed into the school"

Sophronia recalled it quite vividly, as a matter of fact All those fake cakes

"Now for your report" Lady Linette re round and mechanical fro happened

"They said it orking Oh, bother" Frustrated, Lady Linette ob and jerked a few cranks and switches on the underside of the mechanical’s carapace In response, the mechanical turned a smaller, hidden crank at the back, well out of huob, a massive roller ratcheted down, dipped into a pan of ink, and rolled across a series of letters These then beat down in a sequential blur onto a taut piece of parche pink blotter rocked back and forth across the finished text

Sophronia was iob contained a printing press

So rattled in the machine and then whined

"Stop that," said Lady Linette to the oddgob, shaking the ain

Oh, dear, perhaps the ob whined louder and began to shake

"Stop cranking," Lady Linette instructed thethe object harder "Miss Teestured for Sophronia to precede her froob exploded with a terrific bang Hair ribbons fluttered up into the air, the tea service shattered, the fake tea cake bounced like a rubber ball, and ink squirted out fro press

Sophronia and Lady Linette flattened themselves on the floor, heedless of crushed dresses and flipped petticoats

"My goodness," said Lady Linette into the resulting silence "What did you do?" She stood and walked to the oddgob, now tilted to one side as if it had a li up

Lady Linette tutted as she brushed ink spatter off her well-powdered cheek with a handkerchief "Where’s the new valve gone?"

"What valve?" Sophronia blinked wide, confused eyes at her

Lady Linette gave her a long look "Probably rolled free during the explosion I told Professor Lefoux it wasn’t tight enough in the cradle And I said it wouldn’t work properly regardless" Sophronia didn’t say anything "I e could have tested it on a less valuable ot your results" Lady Linette waved the oddgob’s printed paper

Sophronia stood and innocently offered her teacher the additional handkerchief she’d acquired during the test Lady Linette took it absently, then paused, pondering it She did not apply it to the re it back with a little sood indeed!" She exain your review The painting, tihteen fourteen, by attire," said Sophronia "Give or take a year Evening party"

"Dress color?"

"Blue on the central subject, green and crearound"

"Bonnet style and decoration?"

Trick question! "None of the ladies earing hats The subject had cornflowers in her hair As I said, it was an evening party"

Lady Linette arched an eyebrow over her spectacles "And have you any additional thoughts?"

Sophronia straightened "A great , Miss Te that Lady Linette had said only yesterday that there was always ti ell executed, but the artist was probably poor"