Into the Ether Read Online Free PDF Page A

eye and he smiled. “For now, at least.”
    Thomason gave a jerky nod in my direction. He backed away a few steps and leaned against the wall next to the door. I stared at the door in dumb fascination for a few moments, ignoring the low chuckle of the curator.
    â€œImpressive, isn’t he?”
    I didn’t want to turn my back to him, but I had little choice.
    â€œHow does he hear? He has no ears.” I hadn’t meant to wonder out loud.
    Colonel Worthington shrugged. “I have no idea. I just know he can. One doesn’t question Ephraim Gregory's about his machines.”
    I nodded and finished the last of my tea. “I suppose it’s safe to assume that he’s Walter’s new help, yes?”
    Colonel Worthington laughed. “You are a cheeky thing, aren’t you?”
    I grinned . “I’ve heard something along those lines before, sir.”
    He slid his teacup and saucer onto the tray and then sat back. “I don’t think you’re telling me the whole truth, Ms. Bond, but you aren’t lying either. And I like you. I suppose the question now is what to do with you.”
    I shifted in my seat, eyeing the distance between me and the doorway. When my gaze strayed back to the colonel’s , he winked. Irritation sprang to life, replacing some of my panic. He was playing with me.
    â€œI swear I didn’t come here tonight to steal anything.” I chewed on my lip, willing him to believe me.
    He snorted. I think he caught the ‘tonight’ I’d thrown in there. Who knew I had such a conscience?
    He cocked his head. “ If you want, I’ve got a few jobs for you around the museum. You have skills which I think may be useful, if you’re willing.”
    I considered my options. Not that I had many. I could leave and try to explain things. Or I could take him up on his offer. Either way, I had to get the box, and he was the key to finding it. If I stayed, I would be closer and I could try to get in his good graces. I looked the colonel over. We were both keeping our motives hidden, but for the moment there was no better solution.
    â€œThat sounds like an excellent plan, Mr. Worthington. When should I come back to the museum to start?”
    â€œCall me Colonel Worthington . Mr. Worthington sounds too much like my father.” He spread his hands. “Do you need to leave? I keep an extra cot and a couple old tables in one of the storage rooms nearby. They’re chilly, but I have plenty of blankets.”
    Suspicion crawled through my gut. “Why do you keep a guest room?”
    He pushed out of the chair and grabbed the crutch from its place against the mantle. “My girl, I may look as old as some of the items in this museum, but I did once have a life outside these walls. Occasionally friends do visit.”
    My face heated. I had thought of him as being somehow as attached to the museum as the relics. And possibly as old . “I would appreciate the use of the room then.”
    â€œCome with me.”
    I trailed behind him, uncomfortable with the way Thomason’s luminous eyes followed our movements. Colonel Worthington led me a few feet down the dark hallway then reached out and twisted a doorknob, opening a new room. My brow furrowed. I could have sworn there was no doorway there earlier, but it had been so dar k , maybe I'd missed it .
    Thomason clanked up the hallway behind me, the warmth from his steam- powered body tangible even though he was an arm’s length away from me. I felt trapped.
    Colonel Worthington had already entered, and I followed. He adjusted the flame on the gas lamp that sprang from the wall near the door. The room was just as he said – full of junk. Broken furniture had been neatly stacked along one wall, while the other held a cot piled with blankets and a few pillows. The linens and cot, at least, were a little worn, but in good shape. A mahogany table and matching chair sat against