Funk-N-Fiction

Aether and airships and scandalous affairs, oh my!! Seressia Glass offers up a steampunk inspired short for our Halloween flash fiction event!
And, just a comment below gets you entered to win a free ebook!!

The Curious Case of the Scandalous Skeptic
By Seressia Glass

The housekeeper let Abbie into Nathaniel’s office. He sat behind the carved rosewood desk, every bit the Savannah businessman and airship captain in his suit the same color as his sable hair. He rose, but instead of coming to her, he crossed to the happily humming steam cart. “Would you care for coffee or tea?”

The crystal coolness in his voice splashed over her, pooling like melted ice in her stomach. He hadn’t used that distant tone since the night they’d first met. Why use it now? Because of his housekeeper? She returned his formality. “Tea, please. With two lumps of sugar.”

“Of course.” He pushed down a small lever. The cart whistled as a compartment opened and several articulated arms began preparing the tea leaves, pot, and cup. “Any updates, Mrs. Franks?”

“Yes, captain. I had your trunks sent ahead to the Calliope,” the housekeeper announced. “The ship will be fully provisioned and ready to depart in three hours.”

“Thank you, Mrs. Franks. That will be all.”

The door closed behind Abbie, signaling the housekeeper’s departure.  “You’re setting sail?”

He nodded, then gestured her toward the seating area. “We’ve received word of a possible Federov sighting, and it must be investigated.”

She arranged her skirts before perching precariously on the edge of the stuffed chair, wishing she’d worn her divided skirts instead. The cart whistled, signaling that her tea was ready. He removed the delicate china from the cart then handed it to her before taking his seat. “How are the anti-aether glasses working for you, Miss Prentiss?”

Shock froze her motion, the teacup paused before her lips. First, the politely distant tone and now calling her Miss Prentiss? He hadn’t addressed her so formally since before she’d boarded his ship, before their adventures together had begun. It seemed like forever ago and not long enough. Already Nathaniel seemed distant, as if being on the ground again had added weight to his shoulders.

“They’ve been a godsend.” She lightly touched the brass frame of the inner lenses. “Thom Cobbler did an excellent job for me. I haven’t seen a ghost, haint, spirit, or aetherling since I’ve worn them. He also made updates to my leg, so my stride has greatly improved as well.”

Nathaniel took a fresh cup of coffee from the cart, then settled back in his chair. “I know that you would rather have had the aether vision removed completely, but at least you can have some degree of normalcy in your life again.”

“Normalcy.” The tea turned tasteless on her tongue. “Ah, my normal life of being barely tolerated by Savannah society because of my money and my standing as the town belle’s best friend. What a joy.”

She carefully placed her cup and saucer on the table between them, then ran a hand over her skirts, smoothing the fabric over her knees. She’d taken more care with her appearance than she usually did, wanting to impress and please him. The toes of her boots peeked from beneath the ruffled skirt of her walking suit, a deep rose silk that she was told set off her hair and coloring adequately. With her hair steam-set into curls, she hoped she looked like a respectable Savannah society lady, suitable for being on the arm of the dashing airship captain.

She reined in her thoughts and spoke. “I wondered…now that we are on the ground and our mutual problem is resolved, I thought that we might continue our association.”

He gave her a level look over the rim of his coffee cup. “You mean continue to work together on cases involving the use and misuse of aether? If you wish to join the Curiae, I can make that happen. I’m sure you’ll be welcomed.”

She frowned, wondering if his misunderstanding was deliberate. Did he think she wouldn’t come right out and say the words? She wasn’t called scandalous for nothing. “Of course I would like to continue our professional relationship. I find it to be very mutually beneficial. However, I speak of our personal relationship. I would like to continue our affair.”

“No.”

The word, dreaded but not unexpected, sliced through her, stealing her breath. Of course, Nathaniel didn’t want to continue the affair. There aboard the airship, no one would dare question him or his actions. Here on the ground, Savannah’s society would shun him as she’d been shunned, for no matter how discreet they’d try to be, someone would discover their assignations. There it didn’t matter what they would do; here it did.  There had been a fanciful, indulgent moment out of time; here was anything but. And because there was gone and here was reality, she had to assume that, in reality, Nathaniel no longer desired her.

It hurt. By the skies, it hurt. It also made her angry. If he’d changed his mind about wanting her, if his supposed care and admiration of her while aboard the Calliope had all been a misreading of the situation on her part, fine. He could tell her so in no uncertain terms.

With more equanimity than she thought herself capable, she asked, “May I ask why?”

“The reason’s simple enough. An affair would impede the ability to get married, don’t you think?”

Why was he so worried about her reputation? Her Savannah prospects were so dim she’d be better served to move to another large city like Atlanta or Baltimore and start anew. “I may no longer be a skeptic, but I am still scandalous. I have already told you, I have neither the desire nor the prospects for marriage.”

A sudden thought struck her, one that left her knees weak. “Is there a chance that you might marry?”

“I must consider it, and being forcibly reminded of my mortality brought the issue into sharp focus.” He placed his cup on the table. “I need to ensure that someone can carry on the family business.”

No doubt he meant the Curiae as well as his shipping concerns. After all, he was the fourth generation of Suttons to be a member of the secret organization. He would need to ensure that someone with a natural affinity for aether would be able to take the reins when he was no longer able. A child of his would certainly inherit his abilities and his role.

Curiosity forced her to ask, “You’re leaving tonight. How will you find a bride when you’re not here…you already have someone in mind, don’t you?”

His nod was like a hammer blow. “I would have been on my way to propose, but you came here.”

“I see.” Clearly, too. She was not marriage material, not since she’d had her right leg replaced with a cobbled one after the carriage accident that left her motherless. Savannah’s bachelors only wanted her money and thought they were favoring her by even offering marriage. While her leg could be hidden beneath her skirts, the cobbler’s glasses could not and only served to other her further.

She rose to her feet with more grace than she’d thought herself capable, considering the world still rocked beneath her. “I suppose there’s nothing more to say than to wish you good fortune and ask that you send a letter of recommendation to the Curiae’s headquarters for me. Thank you for everything. I’ll see myself out.” She spun for the door.

“Abbie.”

Her name, spoken like an endearment, stopped her as no other word could have. “What is it, captain?”

“You are still a skeptic.”

That had her turning around as slowly as an airship changing course. “Pardon me?”

He shook his head, an expression of wonderment lighting his features. “Why is it that at no point in our conversation did you consider that you might be a candidate for my bride?”

“Me?” She gaped at him. “Why would I? I’ve already told you that I won’t marry.”

“Won’t marry any of the unattached gentlemen of Savannah,” he corrected her. “You’ve had your reasons for that, I know. I also know that I am not like said gentlemen.”

“Really?” She raised an eyebrow. “You’ve just said you need to marry to carry on the family business. You will want someone respectable for that role, someone whole.”

His brows lowered like thunderclouds. “When have you ever heard me utter those words, and why still do you not consider yourself best suited for this role?”

She blinked at him. “When we were aboard the Calliope, I had the best time of my life. I was ecstatically happy, even when we were faced with dire circumstances, because I was with you. I couldn’t imagine anything beyond that.”

“Then perhaps you should start,” came his gruff answer, “since I’ve already imagined more.”

Hope warred with skepticism. “Why me?”

“Why you?” Anger colored his tone. “Because every inch of your body is imprinted on my hindbrain. Because these last few months have been the most thrilling in my life, and that’s because you were beside me. Because the thought of going on another adventure without you and letting you go enrages me. Because I am madly in love with you and I want the world and every sorry bastard in Savannah to know that you are mine and I am yours forever.”

“Nathaniel.” She choked back a sob as she rushed into his arms. “I ought to shoot you for playing with me like this.”

“As long as my wife nurses me back to health and takes care with where she aims, I’m fine with that.”  He gently wiped her tears away. “Does that count as a yes?”

A choked laugh escaped her. “How can I give answer to a question I haven’t been asked? I have no proof, so I must remain skeptical.”

“Abbie.” He dropped to one knee, then reached into a pocket of his waistcoat to extract a golden ring comprised of a beautiful ovel-shaped ruby surrounded by a ring of diamonds. “Abigail Prentiss, will you do me the honor of scandalously becoming my forever partner in life, love, and adventuring?”

Her vision blurred as she stared into that handsome face, those devilish yet earnest sable-colored eyes. “I love you, Captain Nathaniel Sutton. With all of my heart.”

A rakish grin bloomed on his features. “Shall I take that as a yes?”

“Yes. Absolutely yes!”

This morning’s contest is easy peasy, and the prize is something we all love — a free ebook!

Simply leave a comment on this post about the story, and you’ll be entered to win a free ebook copy of The Love Con!

Contest starts today, and goes through midnight on November 1st. Our winners will be chosen from all eligible entries on November 2nd and notified, and then announced in our wrap-up post on November 3rd.

Good luck!!