Of Silk and Steam Read Online Free PDF

if he wanted to escape.
    Another slow, almost listening step.
    “This way,” a man murmured. “I can smell her.”
    The rumors were correct, then. The prince consort had supernaturally strong assassins at his beck and call.
    The footsteps died and Mina ducked back under the water, leaving only her face clear of its icy depths.
    Something sleek splashed nearby.
    She had her knife in hand before she could think. Barrons surfaced in front of her, his dark blond hair wet and dripping, raked back from his forehead. Rivulets of water ran down his skin, hovering in the dip above his darkly smiling mouth.
    “You’re taking far too much enjoyment from this.” Her lips quivered with the cold.
    He flashed her another smile, his teeth gleaming in the night.
    “Want to have more fun?” she asked.
    He swam closer, pressing up against her as his arms trapped her against the wall. She could feel every hard inch of his body locked against hers, leaving her frightfully aware of just how little she wore.
    “What kind of fun?”
    She wasn’t going to be tempted. Not even for a moment. “Lord Matheson arrived in a pleasure dirigible. A grand entrance to awe the masses.” Her tone told him what she thought of that. “It’s currently moored by the eastern gates, along with two attendants. I could distract them while you cut the tethers. It’s the easiest way out of here without going through the gates and risking further interaction with Falcons. No matter what reinforcements they’ve sent for, they would never be able to capture us.”
    “You’re planning to steal Matheson’s airship?”
    “You object?” She pressed a hand against his chest, trying to maintain some sense of distance between them.
    “Hell no. I most thoroughly approve.”
    “Excellent.” She glanced sideways, shivering a little as she mentally placed their whereabouts. Perhaps a quarter mile to the dirigible, if the moon and skyline were any indication.
    “The question remains: can you fly an airship?”
    Mina looked up. His gaze had dipped, reminding her that she wore little more than a gold lace corset and a silk chemise. Sinking a little more beneath the water, she glared at him. “I own stock in Galloway’s Aeronautics. Mr. Galloway provided us with an extensive demonstration of his workshop and models, and I’ve been reading Master Renoir’s Guide to the Skies .”
    England might be somewhat behind when it came to air technology, preferring to sink its funds into the infamous steam-powered steel dreadnoughts that lined its coast and patrolled its oceans, but Mina preferred not to be provincial. France’s skies were dotted with airships; it was only a matter of time before the staunchly humanist French came north, flying neatly over the dreadnoughts and evading England’s best defenses. Even the prince consort had begun to see sense, hiring Galloway’s to construct the first fleet of air militia. The perfect time to invest, in her opinion.
    “So you only have a theoretical notion of how to fly an airship?”
    “I know every cog, bolt, and alignment on the latest engines,” she replied haughtily, then added a faint smile. “Perfect bedtime reading.”
    An eyebrow arched. “So you only have a theoretical notion of how to fly an airship?” he repeated.
    “Trust me, Barrons,” she practically purred. “I don’t invest in anything I don’t know the ins and outs of. Besides, where’s your sense of adventure?”
    “Right next to my desire to live,” he shot back.
    Mina ducked under his arm, swimming away from him with a taunting splash in the face. “Come, grandmother. Let me show you how to steal an airship.”
    * * *
    Stealing an airship was the sort of idea that left a burning tingle in the blood. Something he’d have done as a lad for a dare, before he’d grown out of such mischief. That the very cool, rational Duchess of Casavian had come up with the idea was a thought that Leo couldn’t stop considering as they stared at the