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.”“I see.And the others are, of course, aware of his abilities.So part of my task is to keep them from inadvertently revealing anything to the outside world.”She was taking this rather well.He nodded.“And helping them adjust to their new position in society, which will take a good bit of work.”“Not in every case—Wink, at least, has had some formal education.Though getting her to wear frocks instead of trousers may prove difficult.”“I suspect you are up to the challenge.” He rose to his feet and held out his hand.“Welcome to my household, Miss Bristol.If you need anything, please don’t hesitate to ask.”“Thank you, Sir Merrick.” She stood and shook his hand.Once again, even through their gloves, he felt a frisson of…something.Was it true power or simple attraction? He rather hoped for the former.“Have a good evening, sir.I’m off to check on the girls.” With a swish of her biliously ugly brown skirts, she was out the door.Caroline straightened the covers around Nell, who’d fallen asleep in the rocking chair with one of her dolls in her lap.Fortunately, the girl hadn’t truly woken when Caroline lifted her and put her to bed.Each of the eight dolls had, if not a cradle or toy pram to sleep in, at least a hatbox or carton that had been lined with scraps of cloth for blankets.With her exotic looks, Nell might have the most difficulty fitting in to British society, but she was sweeter natured than some of her cohorts, which would help ease her path.Caroline tucked the covers in around the girl, then went out into the playroom where Wink was quietly tinkering with a bit of bronze and tin, her faithful companion, George, by her side.“What are you building now?” Caroline sat in a chair well removed from any mechanism and folded her hands in her lap.“It’s a spaniel,” Wink answered without looking up.“For Piers.I’d made him a kitten while he was ill, but it was destroyed by a cart horse.”“From what I’ve gathered, Piers is a very lucky boy to have had the rest of you to look after him last winter.” Caroline had managed to discover that Piers’s bout with pneumonia had been a close call, and that he’d just been back on his feet for the past few months.Wink shrugged, not looking up from her work.“When their mother died, their landlady sold him to a chimney sweep, and Nell was placed in an orphanage.Her mother and some other ghosts helped her escape.The governors of the orphanage were going to sell her to a brothel as soon as she had her first…” Her fair skin flushed and she stared intently at her work.“Menses,” Caroline suggested, horrified but not terribly surprised.In that business it was probably considered a kindness to wait that long—many girls were sold off even younger.Though it took some effort, she kept her voice calm and even.“The scientific term is menses, though among women, even society women, you’ll also hear the words courses and flux, along with silly phrases like ‘monthly visitor.’ None of them are considered ladylike to mention in company, but of course women discuss such things with one another.I should hope you could come to me with any questions of that nature.”“Aye, miss.” She picked up another piece of metal and screwed it to the growing pile on the table in front of her, which still bore no resemblance to a dog.“Mrs.Miller—she ran the teashop I lived above in Wapping—she explained things to me when it first happened.I used to fix things for her, and her friends, for food and a room.She wouldn’t let me share my room with Tommy, and she had to explain why.I didn’t believe her at first; it seemed so silly.”“Yes, it does at first, doesn’t it?” Caroline couldn’t remember not knowing the differences between boys and girls, but she’d been raised on a country estate, spending much of her life watching the farm animals.“How old did you say you were when your father died?”“Nine.He had consumption.We were in London when he died, so in London I stayed.If Tommy hadn’t found me, I’d have starved to death that first month.He taught me…”“To steal? You’ll hear no complaint from me about doing what you must in order to survive.”“Yes, miss.Then he showed me where people threw out their broken machines.I started taking bits and putting new ones together.Soon enough, I made more selling those than I could picking pockets.”“Didn’t you have any family to help when your father died? What about your mother?”“Mum died when I was born,” the girl replied.“She had nobody.My da’ was a toff, but they threw him out when he married a serving girl.So he traveled, inventing things and fixing them wherever he went.”The story wasn’t that different from Caroline’s own, except she’d been older when her mother had been disowned.And her mother hadn’t been strong enough to earn a living, so the onus had fallen on Caroline to support them both.There but for the grace of God… Except she wasn’t sure that God or any deity, for that matter, had anything to do with it.“Tomorrow, I’d appreciate it if you’d put on a dress when we go outside the house,” Caroline suggested gently.“Actually, that’s something I forgot to ask Sir Merrick about.I’m certain he’ll want to make sure you all have sufficient wardrobes.”Wink grimaced.“Aye.The dressmaker was here, though she left in a hurry.Then Miss Dorothy marched us one by one off to the shops to buy ready-made.I’ve a frock or two, if I must.With pinafores.” She said the last word as though it was a curse.Caroline didn’t even try to smother her laugh.“Fifteen is a difficult age, isn’t it? Not quite a girl, not quite a woman.When do you turn sixteen?”Wink had to think a moment.“Midsummer.That’s in June, right?”“June twenty-first,” Caroline agreed.“That’s a typical age to start allowing girls to wear longer skirts and put their hair up.Perhaps we can move that up a month or two if the pinafores truly annoy you.” Birthdays, though—that would be something else that most of these children probably didn’t know.“Do you mind my asking—how did you come to be Sir Merrick’s wards?”Ten minutes later, Caroline shook her head in wonder.Vampyres?This delicate-looking girl wielding a sword?Part of Caroline’s mind wanted to scream, “Preposterous!” but another part recognized that Wink’s explanation—improbable as it was—was the only one that made any sense at all.Dear God, how was he even going to arrange the legalities of the situation? Surely one couldn’t just scoop children up off the street and claim them as his wards? Then again, he was a baronet and he worked for the Crown.Perhaps he could.“We should both be off to bed now.” She stood and turned toward the door.“Thank you for explaining the situation.”“You’re welcome, miss.Here, want to see a trick? Shake, George.”The mechanical mastiff, which had been perfectly still during their conversation, lumbered to its feet and moved to sit in front of Caroline.Obediently, it lifted one paw, which accidentally grazed Caroline’s wrist, just above her glove.With a horrible creak, the clockwork dog stopped moving, one ear spinning wildly.“Oh dear.” Caroline yanked her hand back.“George!” Wink lunged over to her automaton pet, staring up at Caroline.“What happened?”“You’ve told me your secrets, now here’s one of mine.” Caroline backed cautiously away from Wink’s workspace.“I seem to have a negative effect on machinery.It’s not intentional, but that sort of thing always happens when I touch anything mechanical.I can’t even carry a pocket watch, and I practically hold my breath when I’m on a train.I hope it’s not too serious
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