The Girl in the Clockwork Collar (Steampunk Chronicles #2)(53)

“Me, too,” she agreed.

A moment of silence followed. She watched as Jasper frowned, as though contemplating something important in his head. “Miss Finley, there’s something I need to ask you.”

He usually only called her Miss Finley when trying to be charming, so to hear it in this grave tone was just wrong. “You talked to Mei,” she guessed. It was the only explanation for the way he couldn’t quite look at her.

“Did you threaten to throw her out the window?”

Only biting the inside of her mouth kept her from laughing. It sounded so absurd, especially in that slow, melodic accent of his. “Yes. I did.”

Now he looked at her, his green eyes full of hurt and anger. “Why would you do that to someone smaller and weaker than you?”

Instantly defensive, Finley braced her hands on her hips. “She might be small, but there’s nothing weak about her. She’s like a little wild animal that might look cute and sweet but will try to eat your face if you get too close.”

Jasper scowled. “She is not.”

“I didn’t even hurt her,” she added. “All I did was pull her hair a bit and lean her over the windowsill. I wasn’t really going to drop her.” That was only a tiny lie. She would have dropped the little cow if she’d felt she had good enough reason.

“You scared her,” he chastised. “What did she do to deserve that?”

“She came into my room being a proper bitch. When I returned the sentiment, she hit me, and she then made me think that collar of hers was trying to choke her. What do you say to that? You know I could have hurt her if I wanted, and I didn’t. I’m not Dalton.” That was a big part of this, wasn’t it? That he was worried about her getting in so deep with Dalton she wouldn’t be able to find her way out?

“I know.” He looked like a child whose favorite toy was lost. “Why don’t you like her?”

Finley snorted. “I think a better question might be why do you like her so much?”

“You haven’t seen how sweet she can be. It’s hard not to be on edge when your life’s in danger.”

“For a prisoner, she has it pretty good here. Dalton treats her like a doll.”

An angry flush rose in Jasper’s cheeks. “He could kill her whenever he wanted, and he doesn’t even have to touch her.”

“Look, I’m not defending Dalton, all right?” Finley’s own temper was on the rise. “I just don’t like Mei.”

“She’s had a hard life. When I found her, a man named Venton had been trying to force her into prostitution. She and her family hadn’t been in the States long, and they were scared. Mei was so brave. I took her to Donaldina Cameron— she rescues and educates Chinese girls.”

That banked Finley’s anger a little bit. She had been attacked by the son of her previous employer, so she had a little sympathy for the girl. At least Finley had been strong enough to knock the bounder unconscious.

“She never complained about her life. And when Miss Donaldina took in new girls, Mei always helped them. Sometimes she went on dangerous rescue missions by herself.”

All right, now she was starting to feel bad for hanging Mei out the window. “She’s had a tough time of it. I’ll give her that.”

Jasper shook his head. “You don’t understand, because you weren’t there. Mei tried so hard to change things, and she couldn’t. One night, Dalton told Venton where to find her. I didn’t get there in time.”

For one horrifying moment, Finley thought Mei had been raped, but the expression on Jasper’s face didn’t look quite that horrified. It was more like … regret. Then the pieces all fell into place.

“Jasper, is Venton the man you’re accused of murdering?”

He glanced at her—then away—and nodded. “He is.”

“You didn’t kill him, though, did you?”

He shook his head. “No.”

Mei had. Mei had killed the man who tried to force her into prostitution. No doubt he would have raped her first— men like that tended to be monsters through and through.

Blast it all, but this revelation did a lot to make her feel for Mei. Hell, she almost liked her. Any girl with the stones to defend herself to that degree deserved a little respect. She was just about to say so when she heard the door to the room open.

“There you are.” Dalton’s voice rang through the room with false cheer. “I was looking for the two of you. Jasper, a word, please?”

Jasper didn’t glance at her before he walked away. Finley marveled at his acting ability. Gone was the concerned boy of just a few moments ago, replaced with an edgy young man who could shoot you without so much as a blink.

What was worse was that she knew she often had that same expression on her face, because part of her would do anything to survive. To win.

Blimey. No wonder Jasper was worried about her. Truth be told, she was a little worried herself.

She went back to hitting at the bag but not with much gusto. Her hearing could be very acute when she concentrated, and right now, she wanted to know what Jasper and Dalton were talking about.

“Is everything set for tomorrow night?” Dalton asked.

“Yep,” Jasper replied. “Finley and I will retrieve the piece during the performance so there’s less chance of being seen.”