Epilogue
THREE WEEKS OF WEDDED bliss later, Olivia’s first group of students—three girls placed in her care to learn the basics of zoetomatic programming—assembled around the end of a dining room table capable of seating sixteen. Strewn across the remaining surface area was a motley collection of scribbled notes and various clockwork mechanisms in different stages of construction.
“This is called an arithmetic logic unit,” Olivia said. “It allows us to perform all four arithmetic operations.”
A hand shot in the air. “And comparisons! And square roots!” Mildred had a tendency to shout out facts and figures as if she were answering a question even if one had yet to be asked.
“Exactly,” Olivia said. “We will begin with these paper cards and punch a—”
Watson whistled, then spun in a circle before darting toward the door where Ian beckoned. She stood and smoothed her skirts, doing her best not to rush from the room and into his arms. It wouldn’t do to let impressionable young minds witness anything improper. There was public behavior—she smiled—and there was private behavior.
“Girls, please attempt to punch cards that will allow Watson to calculate a simple mathematical operation,” Olivia instructed. “I must speak with my husband.”
“May we use the Franconian multipunch, Lady Rathsburn?” Anne inquired.
“Not yet,” she replied, ignoring the manner in which Anne sagged in her chair and stuck out her bottom lip.
Wei rolled her eyes at the behavior of these upper class young ladies, but she was no angel. The gliding lessons she provided the other students ended, more often than not, in twisted ankles and scraped elbows.
Ian’s shoulders were unusually stiff and tense, and her smile fell away as she followed him into the hallway. “What’s wrong?”
He lifted a piece of paper, his face pinched with concern. “Our first assignment arrived. Elizabeth will supervise the girls. You need to pack a trunk.”
She nodded. “Where to?”
“We’re meeting Black in Glasgow. He needs me to vet a temporary undercover agent. If his skills are sound, he’ll insert him into the laboratory of a scientist under suspicion of working for CEAP.”
“It’s true then?” Her eyes widened. “Selkies have been found off the coast of Scotland?”
Ian shook his head. “None have been spotted yet, but that doesn’t mean they’re not there.” A faint smile twitched his lips. “If it’s excitement you’re after, we can lurk about the rocky shores, peer out across beaches and stormy seas through a spyglass.” His voice grew rough. “It’ll be cold, but I promise to keep you warm.”
“And my presence is necessary, why?” she asked, tracing the brocade pattern of his waistcoat, wanting to hear him speak his desire aloud.
“Your insight and expertise are always indispensable. But,” he drew her close, sweeping his hands down her back as she melted against the warm planes and angles of his body, “I want you with me. I wouldn’t be able to sleep without you.”
She shivered in anticipation. “We scarcely sleep at all.”
He pressed a kiss to the edge of her jaw. “Exactly.pinterest
~~~~~
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You’ve just read Book Two in The Elemental Web Chronicles. The first book in this series, The Golden Spider, opens with Olivia's sister, Amanda, as she catches the eye of her medical school professor.
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A promise. A poison. A race to save a love balanced on the edge.
On the night they were to elope, a spurned lover returned. A gift, she claimed. But the clockwork contraption unwound a poisonous bloom, sending Lady Emily and Luca, her gypsy love, on a desperate race to reach the cure.
Next up: the opening chapters of The Golden Spider