Gwynn Place, page 1
Gwynn Place
A short steampunk adventure
Shelley Adina
Copyright © 2019 by Shelley Adina Bates
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law. For permission requests, write to the publisher at moonshellbooks.com.
This is a work of fantasy and science fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are a product of the author’s imagination. Locales and public names are sometimes used for atmospheric purposes. Any resemblance to actual people, living or dead, or to businesses, companies, events, institutions, or locales is completely coincidental.
Art by Seedlings Online. Images from Shutterstock, used under license.
Gwynn Place / Shelley Adina -- 1st ed.
Created with Vellum
Contents
In This Series
Introduction
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Also by Shelley Adina
About the Author
In This Series
The Magnificent Devices series
Lady of Devices
Her Own Devices
Magnificent Devices
Brilliant Devices
Magnificent Devices: Books 1–4 Quartet
A Lady of Resources
A Lady of Spirit
Magnificent Devices: Books 5–6 Twin Set
A Lady of Integrity
A Gentleman of Means
Magnificent Devices: Books 7–8
Devices Brightly Shining (Christmas novella)
Fields of Air
Fields of Iron
Fields of Gold
Magnificent Devices: Books 9–12
* * *
Carrick House (novella)
Selwyn Place (novella)
Holly Cottage (novella)
Gwynn Place (novella)
* * *
The Mysterious Devices series
The Bride Wore Constant White
The Dancer Wore Opera Rose
The Matchmaker Wore Mars Yellow
The Engineer Wore Venetian Red
The Professor Wore Prussian Blue
Introduction
Dear reader,
I hope you enjoy reading the adventures of Lady Claire and the gang in the Magnificent Devices world as much as I enjoy writing them. It is your support and enthusiasm that is like the steam in an airship’s boiler, keeping the entire enterprise afloat and ready for the next adventure.
You might leave a review on your favorite retailer’s site to tell others about the books. And you can find print, digital, and audiobook editions of the series online. I hope to see you over at my website, www.shelleyadina.com, where you can sign up for my newsletter and be the first to know of new releases and special promotions. You’ll also receive a free short story set in the Magnificent Devices world just for subscribing!
A life-changing surprise is in store for the family at Gwynn Place ...
The winds of change are blowing—Lady Claire is a big sister again with the arrival of little Caroline, and eight-year-old Nicholas is preparing to go to Eton. In an effort to make up for his less than heroic conduct at Holly Cottage, Nicholas's tutor Alden Dean offers to see the boy safely along his journey.
But Nicholas never reaches Eton, and Alden Dean never returns. Old enemies have not forgotten old slights, and they’ve chosen the perfect moment to strike. Their aim: To force Claire and Andrew to give up the Helios Membrane, an invention that can change the fortunes of an entire country.
The Lady of Devices is not the only Trevelyan with wits and courage. As the danger mounts, can this ingenious and courageous family tip the balance between power and love, and save more than one life?
If you like old-fashioned adventure, brave women, clever children, and strong-willed chickens, you’ll love this novella set in the Magnificent Devices steampunk world. Fangs for the Fantasy says, “The backbone of this great series is and has always been the characters. Their issues, their layers, their complexity, their solid relationships and their loyalties all elevate a good book to a really great one.”
For my mother
Praise for Shelley Adina
“It’s another excellent chapter in this ongoing epic adventure of this series. I love this world and the story of these excellent women and the saga will never end. No. It will not.”
Fangs for the Fantasy, on Fields of Iron
“I love how we can have several capable, intelligent, skilled women who are happy to work together without competing, without hating each other, without unnecessary dislike or conflict, without jealousy, without rivalry but with genuine friendship and respect. … All of this comes with some excellent writing.”
Fangs for the Fantasy, on Fields of Air
“Shelley Adina adds murder to her steampunk world for a mysteriously delicious brew! You’ll love watching her intrepid heroine (and unexpected friends) bring justice to the Wild West while pursuing a quest of her own.”
Victoria Thompson, bestselling author, on The Bride Wore Constant White
Chapter 1
February 1896
London
Why did no one warn me when I fell in love with you that I would be required to spend so much time hobnobbing with royalty?” Dr. Andrew Malvern frowned down at his spotless shirt front. “Or wearing cufflinks and gold buttons, for the love of heaven, and a silk top hat?”
“Do stop moaning, dearest.” Lady Claire, his loving wife of slightly more than a year, affixed the cufflinks and straightened his white tie. “You are being knighted, not put on trial.”
“It amounts to the same thing,” he grumbled. “But I say, Claire, you look every bit the knight’s lady. Gloria will be pleased to know that her wedding gift is seeing so much use.”
“If I am to be Lady Malvern by teatime, the Worth is the only gown I have that does my new title justice.” She went up on tiptoe and kissed him. “Now, come along. We must not keep the Prince Consort waiting.”
While Andrew—and no doubt the Prince himself—was far more comfortable in shirt sleeves and a pair of magnifying goggles, bent over some steam contraption, one must observe custom. Normally it would have been the Queen’s office to bestow a knighthood, but with Andrew and Claire being members of the Royal Society of Engineers, and the Prince its royal patron, it was his especial pleasure, as the engraved invitation had said, to bestow the honor upon one of his colleagues himself.
So it was that she and Andrew, dressed in their finest, and Andrew’s widowed mother, who had stayed in Wilton Crescent the night before, waved good-bye to Lewis, Chad, and Sophie on the steps of Carrick House, and departed in the steam landau to attend His Highness at Buckingham Palace.
The only cloud on Claire’s horizon was that her mother, Lady Flora Jermyn, and her husband could not be with them. For Claire’s little half-sister had just made her appearance in the world, and Lady Jermyn could not attempt the journey from Cornwall to London. Lady Jermyn had sent a lovely letter of congratulations to Andrew, however, and they planned to take Athena to Cornwall as soon as the ceremonies were over.
“Claire, my dear, how do you manage to look so calm?” Mrs. Malvern whispered as they stood together in the audience chamber among the august company, the lace at her throat practically fluttering with agitation. “I am quite certain I shall faint with excitement.”
“You mustn’t,” Claire whispered back. “For then you would miss this honor to your son, and we cannot have that.”
“Goodness me.” Mrs. Malvern smoothed her hands down the front of her black taffeta skirts. “I see Countess Dunsmuir. She is coming over. Am I presentable?”
“Indeed yes.” Claire resisted the urge to smile at the thought of Davina causing such a flutter. Then again, had they not been friends of many years’ standing, Claire might have had a flutter or two herself at being approached by the Queen’s closest confidante and advisor.
Mrs. Malvern dropped a curtsey. “Your ladyship,” she managed.
“Mrs. Malvern, you must be so proud.” Davina, dressed in biscuit-colored silk, with tawny diamonds in her hair and at her ears, embraced Andrew’s mother and then took her cold hand in both of hers. “I am ready to burst my buttons with pride, so I can only imagine how you must feel.”
“It is the greatest day of my life, ma’am,” Mrs. Malvern whispered. “Fancy the son of a policeman and a cook becoming a knight. Ma’am, how is his little lordship?”
Davina’s face glowed at the mention of her eldest, who had been returned to his family at the age of five thanks to the powers of observation of this same Mrs. Malvern. “Willie is a delight, as always, and very much enjoying the role of big brother to Lady Clarissa.” She folded Mrs. Malvern’s hand over her arm. “You must come and join our party, the two of you. The presentation line is forming—how handsome Andrew looks!”
Claire could hardly disagree. No matter her company, she would always think her husband the most attractive man in the room. After all, the most beguiling thing about him was the fact that even after a year of marriage and an
There were five to be knighted today, Andrew being the last. How proud she was as he knelt upon the crimson and gold stool before the Prince. How straight his shoulders were as they suffered the light tap of the sword. And how irrepressible his smile as Prince Albert draped the gold medal about his neck on its crimson ribbon.
“For services to the realm in advancing the borders of human endeavor and technology,” the Prince said, “and for defending Her Majesty’s peace abroad, I name you Sir Andrew James Malvern, knight of the realm.” Then he broke into a smile as broad as Andrew’s own. “Well done, old chap. Well done.”
“Thank you, Sir,” Andrew said with a gulp, and rose, backing away the requisite three steps before he turned to rejoin his ladies. To Claire, he whispered, “I am glad that’s over without my making a fool of myself.”
But no one among the assembled guests seemed to be breaking ranks and moving toward the room containing refreshments. Instead, the Prince reached over and took up the last item on the cushion, a gold and white enamel cross on a bow of scarlet. “I am pleased to present one last honor,” he said, “to Lady Claire Elizabeth Trevelyan Malvern.”
Claire gasped, and felt her knees go weak. A man in uniform appeared at her side and offered his arm. Oh, thank heaven she had chosen to wear her Worth wedding gown today!
She wasn’t quite certain where her feet were, but the military man indicated where she should kneel upon the stool. She was quite certain she was as white as the Prince’s shirt front as she looked up at him in shock.
“I am very pleased to bestow the Order of St. Michael and St. George upon you, Lady Malvern,” he said clearly as he pinned the ribbon and cross to her shoulder. “You are the first woman to receive this honor for extraordinary and important services to Her Majesty, both abroad and within the realm. I declare you to be a Dame Grand Cross, and invest you with all the honors and consequence that appertain to a knight.”
I must not burst into tears. I must not. “Thank you, Sir,” she whispered as he raised her and kissed her on both cheeks. “I hope I shall be worthy of such a very unexpected honor.”
“You already are,” he said in a low voice meant for her ears alone. “My wife wished me to say on her behalf that the empire needs more women like you. She and I are pleased to bestow what honors we may upon you.”
Claire could not help it—the tears got the better of her. “Please convey my gratitude to Her Majesty. I—I—oh dear, I do beg your pardon, Sir, but I seem to have come without a handkerchief.”
“Allow me.” He handed her his own from his pocket, and she curtsied and dabbed her eyes. And then, thank goodness, she was escorted back to Andrew and Mrs. Malvern, the royal handkerchief crumpled in one hand.
Her husband beamed, not the least shocked or reduced to tears. In fact, he looked suspiciously as though it had all played out exactly as he expected. “Andrew Malvern, did you know about this?” she whispered under cover of “God Save the Queen.”
“I did,” he said brazenly. “I was sworn to secrecy by Davina on pain of death. I do not think she meant it facetiously.”
“Ooh, I will have it out with the two of you when we return home,” she said, but could only manage half a frown on lips that still trembled, so close was she still to tears of gratitude.
Dame Grand Cross! Who would have thought such a thing could ever happen, back in her miserable school days at St. Cecilia’s? An announcement would be in the court circular this week … and she dearly hoped that both Julia Mount-Batting and Catherine Haliburton would read it over their tea and toast.
An hour later, when the honored guests and others in attendance had enjoyed their refreshments and were beginning to take their leave, Davina Dunsmuir joined Claire, Andrew, and Mrs. Malvern. “My dears,” she said, “may I have just a moment in private before you return home?”
“Of course,” Andrew said promptly. “Mother, will you excuse us?”
“Indeed not,” Davina said with a smile. “I have nothing to say that both the women who saved my son’s life may not hear.”
Slightly mystified as to why they might not have the conversation right where they stood, Claire took her husband’s arm and followed his mother and the countess down the gallery to a small anteroom, where a pair of gold and white upholstered armchairs looked out upon the parade ground at the front of the palace.
Davina closed the double doors. “I will be brief. It is in regard to the Helios Membrane.”
Claire stared at her a moment, mentally revising the list of every subject upon which she had been imagining Davina might possibly want a word. The Helios Membrane, their recent invention that harnessed the rays of the sun in order to power an airship’s engine, had not even been on it.
Andrew, clearly doing the same thing in his mind, recovered first. “And what may we do for you in that regard?”
“Oh, not me,” Davina assured them. “The Prince. He has asked me to inquire of you on his behalf what your plans might be for the invention.”
Claire and Andrew exchanged a glance. “As you know,” Claire said slowly, “we presented our joint monograph to the Royal Society of Engineers in the autumn, which was subsequently reprinted in several technical journals.”
“In the Fifteen Colonies, the Kingdom of Prussia, in Paris, the Canadas, and I believe even in the Russian Empire,” Andrew added.
“Hence the royal interest,” Davina said, clearly already in possession of these facts. “His Highness and Her Majesty are both keenly interested, as you know, in promoting England’s technological development. In short, they wish to know if you plan to sell or license the Membrane either here or abroad, and if so, whether England will have first crack at it.”
Now Andrew was entirely bereft of speech. Claire gathered her wits. “We—we had not thought quite that far ahead,” she managed. “We have a working prototype, and thought to share it first with Count von Zeppelin in Munich and Gloria Fremont in Philadelphia, so that they might build several for differing sizes of ships. As a kind of large-scale test. Then, if the membranes succeed as we believe they will in reducing the need for heavy steam engines, our friends could purchase the working models and begin limited production on both sides of the Atlantic.”
“And what of the airship builders here?” Davina asked. “Could not such an arrangement be made on home soil?”
Andrew took a deep breath, his face a shade more pale than usual. “Does the Queen have reservations about her allies possessing English technology?”
“The Queen has other matters equally pressing,” Davina said crisply. “It is the Prince and I who share the belief that such a revolutionary invention should be built and tested here in our own skies, not those of a foreign power.”
And suddenly Claire saw what lay behind these inquiries. “You are afraid that if other countries build lighter ships using the Helios Membrane, England will fall behind and lose her lead in commerce.”
“In a nutshell, yes,” Davina said.
“But—but surely His Highness does not intend to command my son and daughter-in-law as to where they might conduct their business?” Mrs. Malvern blurted. Then, hastily, “With all possible respect, ma’am.” She clapped a gloved hand to her mouth, as though willing herself not to speak again.
“It is a valid question, Mrs. Malvern,” Davina told her, laying a comforting hand upon her shoulder. “We are not like some kingdoms, whose monarchs do employ such high-handed methods. But there are people at the highest levels of government who wish His Highness would do that very thing. Command you, I mean. While Her Majesty’s relationships with her nephews the Kaiser and the Tsar are nothing but cordial, we all know that the balance of technology and commerce can be tipped in one direction or another by a breath of wind.”
