“And this is Mrs. Leeds.” He gestured toward an armchair in the corner, where an old woman dressed in black sat knitting. A pot of tea occupied a low table next to her. Mrs. Leeds inclined her head and kept knitting as Norbert introduced Alice. “Mrs. Leeds is the mother of my factory manager, and she kindly agreed to be our chaperone today.”
“Pleased to meet you,” Alice said.
Mrs. Leeds nodded again.
“She’s already eaten, so it’ll be just the two of us at table.” Norbert spun a crank on a box sitting on a nearby sideboard, and a gentle, harplike melody emerged, played with overly exact precision. “I know how much you enjoy music. I hope you like this.”
“Thank you,” Alice lied. “I do.”
One of the mechanical maids-not, Alice was relieved to see, the one in the French outfit-rolled in a cart and served poached salmon followed by an endive salad. Alice ate without tasting and responded to Norbert’s conversation automatically. Throughout, Mrs. Leeds knitted without a word. Finally, Alice laid down her fork.
“Mr. Williamson,” she said, “I have to say I don’t feel entirely comfortable. Mrs. Leeds seems to be very nice, but I don’t know her, and I’m not sure it’s proper for-”
He held up a hand to interrupt. “I apologize. We can make it more proper.” He pressed a button on a control box that sat on the table at his elbow. Instantly, the maid stepped forward. A small trapdoor at her stomach opened and an arm telescoped from the cavity within bearing a little velvet box. The arm laid the box on the table in front of Alice and sucked itself back into the maid’s body. Before Alice could react further, the box popped open, revealing a gold ring with a large emerald stone.
“I’ve already discussed matters with your father,” Norbert said. “If you will accept this small token, we can be married next summer. I was thinking June or July.”
“A year is a good engagement,” Alice said, picking up the ring and slipping it on her forefinger. “How large a wedding do we want?”
“I’m not much for ceremonies,” Norbert said. “I have no relatives-or rather, none I’d want to invite. You?”
“Just my father. And Louisa Creek, I suppose. She could be my maid of honor.” The emerald made a heavy weight on Alice’s finger. “I wouldn’t mind a small ceremony.”
“Splendid!” Norbert rubbed his hands together. “I’ll draw up the announcement for the Times and handle the other details, and you can eat all your lunches here without distress-or Mrs. Leeds. A fiancee doesn’t need a chaperone.”
“True,” Alice said dazedly. “True.”
Mrs. Leeds continued to knit.
“And, just so you know, once we’re married, you needn’t worry about your father’s debts. You will, of course, move here afterward and take over running the household. It’s so difficult to manage both the factory and this home. You can manage a large household, can’t you?”
“I can look after household accounts, entertain, and supervise servants, yes,” Alice said. “I did attend the correct schools. But are all your servants automatons?”
“At this house they are. Your skill with machines is one reason I pursued you, after all. I can hire a hundred engineers at my factory, but in my private home”-he leaned forward-“certain aspects of my life require delicacy and privacy.”
“I see,” Alice said, though she didn’t. The maid didn’t move.
“My country estate, on the other hand, is staffed with living servants-the villagers mistrust automatons. We’ll spend autumns and winters there, and when our first son is born, he will inherit both your father’s title and my lands, meaning the Michaels family will once again be landed nobility. Is that satisfactory?”
“Perfectly, Mr. Williamson,” Alice said.
“You must call me Norbert,” he replied with a smile. “We are engaged.”
“Oh!” she said again. “It’s still sinking in. Norbert. And you must call me Alice.”
“Alice. Dear Alice.” He reached across the table and took her hand. “You’ve barely responded. What do you think of all this?”
A dozen responses flicked through Alice’s mind. She had accomplished her goal, that of persuading Norbert to propose to her. Father would be elated that he wouldn’t have to worry about her fate, and those horrible, crushing debts that had dogged them for a dozen years would vanish with a flick of Norbert’s pen. She should feel ecstatic, or at least happy. And she was happy. Quite glad. Relieved. Well, relieved wasn’t the same as glad, and glad wasn’t the same as happy, but she did feel this was a positive step. With a start, she realized Norbert hadn’t actually asked her to marry him and she hadn’t actually said she would. Yet here they were discussing banns and estates, children and heirs, business and machines. It certainly wouldn’t be politic to point out the omission.
“It’s so much to take in.” Alice squeezed his hand. “But I’m thrilled, Norbert. Absolutely thrilled.”
“Congratulations,” Mrs. Leeds said. Alice started. It was the first word the woman had spoken, and Alice had quite forgotten she was there.
“We must celebrate!” Norbert said. “It’s a bit early in the day for a mixed drink, but it’s never too early for champagne, eh?” He pressed another button, and the footman arrived with a dark bottle in a silver ice bucket. Behind trotted a familiar figure.
“Click?” Alice said. “What on earth are you doing here?”
Click jumped up to the tabletop, nearly upsetting Alice’s salmon plate. He opened his mouth, and a man’s voice said, “ ‘Dear Miss Michaels: I hope this letter finds you and your father in good health and good spirits. I am solicitor to your esteemed aunt Edwina, and I must request your presence at a most urgent meeting. It is with great hope I request that you come to my office with all haste at your earliest possible convenience. Your dutiful servant, Harold Stoneworthy.’ ” An address followed, and Click closed his mouth. Alice stared in mute astonishment.
“Extraordinary,” Norbert murmured.
“I didn’t know he could do that,” Alice said, curiosity and surprise both warring for supremacy in her breast. “Norbert, I’m sorry, but this appears to be an emergency and I must leave. Can your footman call me a cab, or-”
“Nonsense! I’ll accompany you in my carriage.”
“Thank you,” Alice said, “but I think this is a private matter, and although you’re my fiance, we aren’t yet married, and I suspect Mr. Stoneworthy won’t speak with you. It would be silly for you to ride all the way down there and then sit in his waiting room, darling.”
“Hm. I suppose you’re right,” Norbert said, apparently mollified by Alice’s use of the word darling. “But I shall send you in my carriage, nonetheless. And now that I think of it, I should have one built for you, as a wedding present, perhaps.”
“Oh! I’m overwhelmed.” Alice got to her feet, and Norbert leapt to his. Mrs. Leeds finished a row and unwound more yarn. “And I really must go.”
“Do I get a good-bye kiss?” he asked, moving around the table.
“My goodness, I suppose you do. Darling.”
Her first kiss. Norbert cupped her face gently in both hands and leaned in. Alice waited, not knowing what to expect. She had read a number of romantic novels, of course, and she had long come to suspect that, lurid descriptions to the contrary, real kissing couldn’t possibly transport either party to the gates of ecstasy and back. Still, she found herself hoping, even through the soft click of Mrs. Leeds’s knitting needles. Norbert’s lips softly brushed hers
— and then he pulled away. “Thank you, darling. Let me know what the solicitor says, would you?”
The horse and carriage delivered Alice and Click to the offices of Stoneworthy, Marvins, and Lott, a tastefully small brownstone with an equally small sign hanging near the door. As Alice alighted, a flicker of motion caught the tail of her eye, and she glanced upward. On the roof one building over from the law office was a familiar figure. It wore a long brown coat, and a white skull mask covered the upper half of its face. The figure grinned its wide, dreadful grin and waved at Alice. A cold finger slid down Alice’s spine. She cast about, but no one else on the street seemed to notice the figure, and no policemen were in sight. Before Alice could react further, the figure threw a small package into the air over the street. Alice shouted a warning, but it was lost in a loud boom as the package exploded. Horses reared in harnesses. People screamed and covered their ears or ran for cover. Alice ducked into the doorway of the law office with Click hiding beneath her skirts as a shower of little papers fell like snowflakes. She caught one.