“But it’s absurd! The Lead Mechanic shouldn’t be putting his problems on the shoulders of a boy.”
“He’s not a boy,” Christopher argued. “He’s already a young man, and making a fine name for himself as a clock mechanic. At this rate, he has a good chance of being named Lead one day.”
Danny had forgotten how much he missed his father’s praise. Christopher saw his grateful expression and winked.
“It’ll only be a few weeks,” Danny assured his mother. “And there are a lot of soldiers in Agra. I’ll be safe.”
Leila opened her mouth at the same time the telephone rang in the hall. Seeing that his wife would not budge, Christopher rose to answer it. “Don’t harry our son until I get back.”
But as soon as they heard his “Hello?” from the other room, that’s exactly what she did. “Danny, this is ridiculous. I know this opportunity seems new and romantic, but you’ve just been through something harrowing.”
“That was months ago, Mum.”
“You still have nightmares.”
He winced. He’d forgotten that when he slept in his room upstairs, it was easy for his parents to hear him wake up screaming. Leila hadn’t mentioned it in the past. That she acknowledged it now was proof she was still trying to mend the cracks that had formed between them.
Last year, he would have traded anything for her concern. Now he wanted to be as far from it as possible.
“I can take care of myself,” he said to the tabletop.
“But it’s so very far away, and what if something happens? What if—” Her voice caught, and Danny had to look away. She had already faced unbearable loss when Christopher had been trapped in Maldon. He couldn’t blame her for fearing that she might go through it all again.
“I couldn’t bear it,” Leila whispered. “I couldn’t, Danny.”
“Mum,” he said, his voice softer, “I promise I’ll be all right.” He reached for her hand, and she seized it both of her own, clinging to it like she would drown if she didn’t keep hold. “There’ll be all sorts of people looking after us, and it won’t take long.”
Leila was quiet a moment. The low murmur of Christopher on the telephone drifted into the kitchen.
“What’ll happen to him if you’re gone?” she finally asked.
“Dad’s the one who says I should go.”
“I mean Colton.”
Danny frowned. “He’ll stay in his tower, of course. He’ll be fine.”
“But what will happen to him if something happens to you?”
Danny hadn’t given the scenario much thought, but he supposed his mother had a right to ask. When Matthias had been exiled from Maldon, the tower’s spirit had dismantled her clock, Stopping the town. Danny had once made Colton promise never to do the same.
“I really don’t think Colton would do what Evaline did.”
“How can you be so sure?”
“I just am.” He stood, frustrated. “I wish you’d stop being so suspicious of every little thing. If Colton promised he wouldn’t hurt himself or Enfield, then he won’t.”
Leila rose, color staining her cheeks. “I’m trying to be practical. I’m sure Matthias never expected Evaline to act as she did.”
“Evaline isn’t Colton! How can you stand there and accuse him of things he hasn’t even done? Why are you being this way?”
“Because you’re in love with a bloody clock spirit!”
The air suddenly shifted, and mother and son stood staring at each other, accusation turning to apprehension. They turned slowly to the kitchen door, where Christopher stood. He looked between them, confused.
“What?” When there was no answer, he stepped into the kitchen. “What did you say?”
“Christopher …” Leila glanced at Danny, eyes wide. “What you heard …”
“You said he’s in love with a clock spirit. Danny?” Christopher looked to him, but Danny couldn’t meet his eyes. “Is this true?”
Danny remained silent. He didn’t know what he could possibly say to erase his mother’s blurted words, painted on the kitchen walls for anyone to read. He began to shake, one hand clutching his stomach. A foundation had formed at the base of his lungs over the last few months, a steadying mixture of routine and contentment as he built his life in Enfield, as he learned at last to breathe. Now that foundation began to crumble, and he struggled for air.
“It’s that boy spirit,” Christopher murmured to himself. “The one in Enfield.”
“Christopher, wait,” Leila said. “You have to know the whole story before—”
“What were you thinking?” he demanded, the vein on his forehead jumping. “You know full well that kind of relationship is forbidden. And after what happened with Matthias!”
“Dad, please don’t report me.” Danny cringed at the sound of his own voice, helpless and young.
Christopher clenched and unclenched his hands as he considered the situation. “If you weren’t my son, I most certainly would. But I want you to have a promising career. To not end up like he did. You’ll leave Enfield when you return from India.”
Leila clasped her hands together, tight enough for her knuckles to turn white. “Christopher, please just listen. Danny would never—”
“I’m not worried about him. But you can’t predict what clock spirits will do. They’re not human, and they don’t think like we do.”
Danny still couldn’t get a full breath. Christopher noticed and tried to calm himself. “Danny, please tell me you understand. It’s not right.”
“You just said he’s a young man who could make his own choices,” Leila reminded him, the hypocrisy of her words lost on her.
“This is different. Danny, tell me you understand. You know why you must leave Enfield.”
Danny couldn’t get a breath.
“Danny. Ticker, please.”
Couldn’t—
“Daniel!”
Danny grabbed the file with all its loose papers and ran for the door. His parents shouted after him, but they might as well have been calling from the top of some distant mountain. He hurried to his auto, slammed the door, and started the engine with shaking hands.
“Shit, shit, shit,” he kept whispering as the auto jerked into motion and he sped down the street. “Shit.”
He hadn’t wanted the truth to come out this way. He’d wanted his father to meet Colton, to like him, see that his friendship with Danny was beneficial. Then Danny would have explained everything. But now his father would never see them as anything but another possible Maldon.
Wouldn’t see Danny as anything but another possible Matthias.
Danny pulled the auto over and rubbed a sleeve over his eyes, shoulders shaking under the weight of his suppressed sobs. He took a minute to gather himself, choking over his own breaths, tangled in the thorny vines of panic and guilt.
When he was calmer, he slipped out of the driver’s seat and walked toward a house with a green door, picked up a few pebbles, and tossed them at the window on the second story. He’d done this so many times before that he hardly ever missed. After a couple of taps, Cassie’s face peered out. She waved and disappeared.
He leaned against his new auto as Cassie trotted out to meet him. Her smile faded when she got a good look at his face.