Timekeeper (Timekeeper #1)(26)

Danny had been kissed before, but only twice. Once by Cassie when they were twelve, to see what being kissed by a girl was like. She’d been offended that he hadn’t liked it very much. The second time had been by Barnaby Slacks, a fellow apprentice, a few years later. Danny had liked that much better. But Barnaby had been relocated to Leicester after causing some trouble on his assignments, along with any chance of them growing closer. Since then, Danny had been too shy and too busy, and no one had been willing. Until now.

A clock spirit, of all things.

Cassie’s face fell. “You don’t even know his name?”

“No. Didn’t ask.”

“Well, did you like it, then? Did he kiss the way you like?” She dropped her voice to a whisper. “Did he use his tongue?”

“Cass!”

“C’mon, I want to know! If you can tell anyone, it’s me.”

He crossed his arms. He had no idea how to answer, because he honestly didn’t know. Liked it? Yes, of course. Impossible not to. But caution was slowly taking over that curious, shameful feeling initially mistaken for excitement.

He knew what happened to those who became too involved with their projects. Compulsive cleaning, installing unnecessary parts, and excessive tinkering had all landed mechanics in trouble. An entire town had been Stopped because of this sort of misguided enthusiasm.

Now that Danny knew the truth, he had a rather good idea of what happened three years before. The clock spirit of Maldon must have reacted when Matthias left, much in the same way Colton had harmed himself to get attention. Only the Maldon spirit hadn’t just harmed herself; she’d destroyed herself, perhaps as punishment, or out of grief, or rebellion.

This would cause nothing but trouble.

“Danny? You all right?”

“Yes, I’m fine.”

Cassie’s blaze of excitement died down to only the embers of interest. She gripped his arm. “Don’t worry, no one’s bothered by it. Your mother isn’t, despite whatever she says about grandchildren and all that nonsense.”

Danny was confused until he realized that she wasn’t talking about clock spirits. “That’s not—” He rubbed a hand against his face with a sigh. “Never mind.”

“Now who’s being dramatic? Really, Dan, you’ve nothing to worry about.”

Though he doubted that, he made himself smile for her. He reached into the wallet, but found a humiliating truth awaiting him.

“Cass,” he murmured, “I don’t have enough.”

Her eyes winced in sympathy. “That’s all right. We’ll do it in installments, yeah?”

Which meant he’d have to dip into his new auto savings. Danny handed her a pound to start with. “Fix it up, all right?”

“You know I will, don’t offend me so. You go on home and rest. And Dan?” He turned to find her glowering. “Next time, you better be decent and find out the bloke’s name.”

He didn’t want to tell her there wouldn’t be a next time.



Home was not his first stop, despite Cassie’s command to rest. That’s all everyone ever wanted him to do now. As if he could sleep his life away until he woke one morning to find all his problems solved.

He went to the Mechanics Affairs building to ask if there was any news about the Maldon tower. The protesters were there again, a mix of people complaining about things they couldn’t control. One woman held up a sign that read THE GOD OF TIME WILL BE REVIVED! A man with a thick mustache was shouting at her about paganism and how there was only one true God.

Danny ran through the masses and into the building. The atrium was congested with busy mechanics and apprentices. He took to the stairs, first checking to see if he had any new assignments, but he found nothing in his folder. Vexed, he made his way to the Lead’s office.

Two older mechanics walked down the hall toward him. Danny’s breath caught when he saw who they were. Tom and George were both well-respected, having been mechanics for over thirty years. Tom was tall and broad, while George was short and stocky, but both wore the same look of importance that was not quite arrogance.

Both were on the Maldon assignment.

The bigger one, Tom, walked with a heavy limp. He had lost his right leg to an infected bullet wound in the Crimean War twenty years before. Since then, he’d worn a mechanical prosthetic.

Someone in Shere had recalled Tom’s limp, identifying him as the mechanic who had worked on the tower before Danny arrived. Seeing him now, Danny couldn’t stop the shiver that rolled down his spine. He’d never liked Tom. Perhaps it was because his father and Matthias had never got on with him. Maybe because Tom had been Lucas Wakefield’s mentor, and had always turned a blind eye whenever Lucas decided to poke and prod at Danny. There was something about the man that bothered him, some gruff distance.

The two older men were in deep in conversation, but stopped as soon as they saw Danny. George sighed.

“Hello, Danny,” Tom said warily.

This wasn’t their first meeting since the accident. They had endured Danny’s glares and suspicion. But since they’d been put in charge of the new Maldon tower, Danny had to change his approach.

“Hello,” Danny mumbled. “I was wondering—I mean, how are you?”

“Get to the point, boy.”