Frank Tuttle - The Broken Bell

“Cynic.”

“Bet on it. Look. Any chance you could snag one of these letters before Lethway gets it?”

“Been trying. He’s a hawk where they’re concerned, though. Haven’t even come close yet.”

“Keep trying.” I wondered if I could believe a word of this. But I couldn’t see any angle to it. If Pratt wanted to finish what Lethway had started in the Troll’s Den, all he had to do was invite me to a quiet room upstairs. He hadn’t.

“Did they ever mention a deadline?”

“He let that slip once.” Pratt gave a date.

It was also the date of the wedding. I cussed under my breath.

“What?”

“Nothing. Probably nothing. Same day as the wedding. They probably picked that on purpose, to give it a little extra emphasis.”

“Makes sense. I looked into the Fields. Bakers. Carris loves the girl. Don’t think they’re involved.”

I just nodded.

“So where does all this leave me and you, Mr. Pratt?”

“Well, Mr. Markhat, in a moment, I’m going to stand up and grab you and make a big show of threatening you. You’ll say something smart and push off. I’ll report you spun a line of nonsense and tried to bribe me.”

“Won’t your boss know we talked for a long time?”

“He’s in a meeting with the mining union right now. My partner is out back having a snort. Miss Marchin will tell the boss we talked, but as long as she sees us arguing that’s all she’ll tell.”

“You take a lot of chances.”

He shrugged. “So do you. Look, Markhat. I like the kid. I like the lady. I’ve got some money of my own. If you can find out who’s got Carris, and where they’ve got him, I can sure as Hell pay you a fee and go and get Carris myself. “

“I’m already working for his fiancee. But when I find out who took Carris, I’ll be back around to talk. I won’t accept any payment, but I might ask a favor. You in turn will refrain from decapitating me. Deal?”

He laughed. “Deal. Now. You can punch me, if you want. Not in the jaw. I just had these teeth fixed.”

I rose and backed away, into what I was sure was Miss Markin’s view. I put up my hands in a stay back gesture.

Mr. Pratt came roaring off the bench and clamped those beefy paws hard on my shoulders and gave me a powerful shove.

“Next time you come around dis place, I feed you to the ogres,” he bellowed.

I took a step forward, but didn’t swing. Whistles blew, and a pair of blue-capped Watch sergeants came charging out of a cafe.

“What’s the problem here?” demanded the first.

“White shoes after Armistice Day,” I replied.

“Beat it, both of you.”

I turned on my heel and made for my borrowed carriage, a smile on my face and a song in my heart.

Neither smile nor song lasted all the way across town. I had time to kill before my meeting with Tamar, which meant I had time to go and try to mend fences with Darla.

Which also meant I’d have to tell her about Hisvin and the cannons and the war and my new rank.

I wasn’t eager to speak about any of that, to Darla or anyone else. And Hisvin would probably shoot me with a pair of Aught Eights if she knew I was about to go spilling state secrets to my fiancee.

“Well, I didn’t like getting drafted, either.”

“What was that?”

“Nothing,” I shouted. “Talking to myself. Sign of not drinking enough.”

The driver laughed, and before I could prepare any elaborate speeches or, better still, come up with a convincing stall for time, we were in front of Darla’s dress shop.

I bade my borrowed driver to wait. He was dozing before I finished. I took a deep breath and ambled up to Darla’s door and marched through it with a smile.

The place was busy. Half a dozen women were idling about, chatting and oohing and ahhing over the latest creations. Mary the salesgirl had two clients to herself, Darla had a pair and Martha herself, Darla’s partner, was pinning fabric around a plump girl standing on a stool with her arms spread.

Darla smiled at me. I’ve gotten proficient at reading her smiles, and I thanked a nameless Angel that she smiled her I’m-genuinely-glad-to-see-you smile.

There’s a plain wooden chair in the corner put there just for me. I parked my fundament upon it, pulled down my hat, and allowed myself the appearance if not the substance of a brief nap.

My appointed chair and I kept each other company for the better part of an hour before Mary closed the door with a weary sigh, Martha darted into the back to make hasty alterations, and Darla stuffed a surprisingly thick wad of newfangled paper money into the till.

That done, she propped her elbows on the counter and put her chin in her hands and smiled at me again.

“Business is good,” I said, rising. My knees popped like dry twigs. “How does it feel to be Rannit’s most sought-after purveyor of high fashion?”

“It feels exhausting. Kiss me. Mary, avert your innocent gaze.”

Mary giggled and busied herself folding things that didn’t need folding, and I obliged my Darla with a kiss.

“Can you take a walk?” I half-hoped she’d say no. “Or a ride? I have Evis’s good carriage, right outside.”

Darla pretended to frown. “A ride? Are you trying to trick me into a small enclosed space with you?”

“Perish the thought. I was going to stay here, in my chair, while you toured Rannit. That way Mary won’t be scandalized.”

She grabbed my hand. “Mary, we’re going out for a quick scandal,” she called. “See that the Watch arrests this man at once, will you?”

And away we went.

I told the driver to just drive. He took the hint. We rolled along, going nowhere.

“Nice weather.” Darla sat beside me, gazing out her window, giving every appearance of not having a care in the world. “I think it may be a cool night, though.”

“That’s just mean.” I took off my hat and put it in my lap. “I’m ready to talk. “

Darla turned. “Whatever about?”

“I’ve been drafted. As in back into the Army. Hisvin’s private branch of it.”

She blinked.

“I wish I was joking, Darla dear. But I’m not.”

“I don’t understand. Why does…that person need a private army?”

“Because Rannit is going to war.” I explained about the cannons, and the Battery, and Prince, and the barges even now bearing their deadly cargo down the Brown toward us. Spilling the whole mess didn’t take three minutes.

Three minutes, and all our lives changed forever.

“So you’re a Captain now.”

I nodded. “So I’m told. So is Evis, by the way. He’s thrilled too.”

“And what does a Captain earn, in this private army?”

It was my turn to blink.

“Earn?”

“Earn. You’re an officer. Officers are paid. You didn’t even ask?”

“It didn’t seem to matter.”

She sighed.

“I could be whisked away again at any moment. War is coming. These cannons scare even Hisvin. I did make all that clear, did I not?”

“You did. And don’t think I’m not scared, to my bones, because I am. But Markhat-if we’re going to make it as a couple, we’re going to have to face things together. Good things. Bad things. Every thing.”

I nodded. Words weren’t coming.

She tried to find a smile.

“You never talk about your parents.”

“Huh?”

“I’m just changing the subject. Tell me about your father.”

“Not much to tell. Dad left Mom to go be a soldier.”

“Did he come home, when he was done soldiering?”

“They sent a letter. Died out West. Mom didn’t last too long after.”

She pushed my hat aside and found my hands and clasped them.

“You are not your father.”