The Inventor (The Legend Chronicles) Read Free

with invention. But it was more than that. He’d never believed all the balderdash about love at first sight spouted off by poets, but perhaps there was something to their fanciful thoughts after all. He’d certainly never been so affected by a woman in his life as Lady Persephone Hargrieve—and he craved more.
    It wasn’t until later in the afternoon that a very well dressed older man, with perhaps the tallest black top hat Marley had ever seen, approached him. His great white mutton-chop sideburns and an equally large waxed mustache added to his impressive look. The crowds parted then flowed back in his wake as if a sea before the prow of a legendary ship. People whispered behind gloved hands and stared at the man’s back.
    Marley suddenly had a reason to calculate what his association with Lady Persephone might cost him. His heartbeat picked up tempo, pounding hard at the base of his throat. She walked a step behind the gentleman, and they shared the same shape to their noses and chins. It had to be her father, or another close male relation. Either way a sense of foreboding swished in an oily slick sensation through his stomach. The man smelled of expensive tobacco and gunpowder, and looked deadly serious.
    “Sir Marley Turlock?”
    Marley tugged at the edge of his top hat in deference. “I am, sir. Whom do I have the pleasure of addressing?”
    The gentleman extended his hand. “Lord Hargrieve. Pleased to make your acquaintance.”
    “The honor is mine, my lord.” He took Lord Hargrieve’s hand and found his almost crushed by the older man during their brief handshake.
    “My daughter has been telling me in some detail about your work.” He glanced at Lady Persephone. “I hope she wasn’t a bother with her questions earlier.”
    Marley’s gaze flicked to her. What exactly should he say? Her white gloved hands were gripping one another tightly enough to pucker the fine white kidskin that covered them. She was as uneasy and agitated as he was.
    “No bother at all, I assure you.”
    Lord Hargrieve glanced back at his daughter and then locked gazes with Marley. An invisible electrical current to the air raised the hair on Marley’s arms and neck. Clearly her father thought there was more going on between the two of them than seemed proper. And while Marley might have considered such things in the privacy of his own thoughts, he’d certainly never voiced them aloud. Lord Hargrieve’s daughter was beautiful, but Marley had his own ambitions and no time for the distraction of female company, even if she was the most stunning combination of beauty ton of beand brains he’d ever seen.
    “I understand you are currently one of Her Majesty’s favored inventors,” Hargrieve said.
    Marley straightened his shoulders a bit more, pulling himself back to focus on Lord Hargrieve. “I aspire to become the head scientific advisor to Her Majesty.”
    Beneath the wide white mustache, Hargrieve’s lips twitched. Marley hoped it was either amusement or approval, but he couldn’t tell for certain.
    “Excellent, sir. Most excellent. I should like an opportunity to talk to you further about your ideas for electricity. Would you be available on Monday?”
    Marley bent his head slightly, forcing his gaze to remain fixed on Lord Hargrieve rather than stray toward his daughter. “Of course, my lord.”
    Lord Hargrieve reached into the double-breasted fold of his dark suit jacket and pulled out a gold card case with an enameled top featuring a scene of hunting hounds. He pulled a cream-colored card from the case and handed it to Marley. “Give this to my butler when you come by.”
    Lord Hargrieve and his daughter turned nearly in unison and disappeared into the crowd. There was a sudden rush of eager and chatty onlookers at Marley’s exhibit, firing questions off like rapid gunfire about his machine.
    He answered as best he could, while still seeking out glimpses of Lord Hargrieve and his daughter. The chatter was silenced