The Lady Astronomer Read Online Free PDF Page A

me.
The mesh is to be attached to save my hand from any hard knocks.”
    “Oh. Clever.”
    “Quite.”
    “What’s clever?”
    “Oh. Hello, Lucretia. Would you mind
if I borrowed Leibniz from time to time to help with my inventing processes?”
    “Leibniz? Will he not try to eat your
cogs and gears and so on?”
    The lemur looked at her balefully, utterly
affronted by such a slight.
    “No, he is quite the clever little
chap.”
    “Really? I was led to believe that
lemurs,” she whispered, “were not the most cognizant of creatures.”
    Leibniz gave her a withering look such as
Lot’s wife bestowed on him before she was turned into a pillar of salt.
    “Apologies.” She held up her
hands in supplication. “I have it all wrong.”
    Leibniz bristled.
    “He has already made me something,
look.” Al held the glove and mesh up for her inspection.
    “Clever chap indeed!” She walked
over and scratched the lemur behind his ear. His weak spot and her cheap shot.
    “You know what this is for?”
demanded Freddie.
    “Well of course I do, it is obviously to
protect Al’s hand. Wrap the mesh around the glove, attach it by means of–not
sure about that Al–and it will protect and give strength to his damaged digits.”
    Freddie quickly changed the subject, hating
as he did to be bettered in the knowledge stakes. “Now, about the citizens
of Bath. I have let it be known that we will not be performing, and since we
are off on an adventure for the king, that was taken without a murmur. Of
course they all want hats, telescopes, violins and Al, a Mrs…” He pulled a
card from his jacket. “Mrs. T requests the pleasure of your company where
she would like to introduce you to her daughters. Of which she has six.”
Freddie wiggled his eyebrows roguishly.
    “Married? Me?” Al turned as pale
as he had been in his sick bed and groped around for the fallen stool.
     
    *
     
    Leibniz made the only noise in the room,
his specially adapted knitting needles effortlessly turning out the plain and
purl stitches. Al had refined the brass thread even further. It lay at the
lemur’s feet, wound into a tight ball which glowed bronze in the candlelight.
    Orion, perched on a stand in the corner of
the room, made a dart now and again for the ball, only to be swatted away by a
paw and a view of Leibniz’s teeth.
    Al popped his head around the door to check
up on his glove’s progress and was greeted by a shimmering carpet of fine mesh.
    “Oh, I think that’s enough now,
Leibniz. Don’t you? Yes this will do admirably. Thank you, my friend.”
    The primate snatched the mesh back and
growled crossly.
    “Taken to knitting, have we? Well, why
don’t you give me that and then I can set you to work on hats and gloves for
our trip. And, since I will have to get up on a horse, possibly some padding
for my breeches. In case of bites.” He grimaced.
    Leibniz held the needles and material high
so Al had to reach for them.
    “Please?”
    The crafty lemur shoved it all into a big
heap and sat on it.
    Al sighed. “Lucretia! Could you please
come and sort Leibniz out for me?”
    “Honestly!” Lucretia’s
disembodied voice came from the end of the hallway, growing in strength and
grumbles as she approached the room and stepped through the door.
    Man, lemur, and owl blinked in surprise as
she stood in front of them, hands on hips.
    “Lucretia, what happened to you? Are
you ill?”
    “What do you mean am I ill? Of course
I’m not ill, now what is this about?”
    Al took her hand. “Are you sure, my
dear?”
    She took her hand back. “Well, of
course I am!”
    “It’s just that you, you, you don’t
quite look yourself. I mean, you never ever wear white. And an apron! The
shame! And what on earth is that on your head?”
    “Oh, Al. You didn’t expect the house
to pack itself, did you? Mind you, that would have been handy. I don’t suppose
you have any inventions that could help out there? No? I thought not.”
    “But you look like a