Page 15 of One Last Step

And while I’m not so grandfatherly as Francois, I am wrapped entirely around this little girl’s finger.It occurs to me that since meeting her, I’ve barely thought about Annie.That might be partly due to my fear of what I’ll learn, but it’s mostly due to my growing affection for Sophie.

“Very well.If Francois will promise to make sure that I don’t do anything to damage these artifacts, then I’ll help.”

Francois winks at me.“You have my word, Miss Mary.I will not allow you to damage any of these priceless artifacts.”

He leads us to the large automata clock.The automata are stuck out of their compartments in grotesque rictuses.A shiver runs through me, but when Francois inserts a key into a small hole near the base of the device, the compartments and the figures all loosen immediately, and the spell is broken.

He smiles up at us.“That’s a hallmark of the Rousseau designs.Part of what makes his pieces so durable is their ease of maintenance.That key releases all of the locks and springs in the device to make it easy for clockmakers to access components.Sophie, will you hand me my spring tensioner please?”

Sophie hands him a small handheld tool that looks somewhat like a vice grip.Francois opens the cabinet, revealing a surprisingly complex array of gears, springs and wheels within the clock.Francois pulls out a penlight and says, “All right.Let’s see what we’re looking at here.”

He scans the interior of the machine.Nothing seems amiss to me, but I have no idea what I’m looking at, so that really doesn’t mean anything.

He frowns.“Hmm.This isn’t good.”

Sophie gasps.“Is it broken?Can you fix it?”

“It’s not exactly broken, and I can fix it,” Francois replies, “but these cogs are offset in a way that doesn’t seem likely unless someone was tampering with them.”

“Tampering?”I ask.“You mean someone sabotaged the clock on purpose?”

“Well,” he says, kneeling down and holding out his hand.Without needing to be told, Sophie hands him a case containing a selection of small tools.“I don’t want to accuse anyone of anything.Honestly, I don’t know whowouldsabotage these instruments.But these clocks are extremely well made.They should all work indefinitely unless someone tampers with them.”

I recall what Elena tells me the first night.“It’s not normal for old clocks like this to go out of sync?”

“Not old clocks likethese,” he replies.“A cheap manufacture, yes, but Rousseau timepieces are among the finest in the world.Tristan designed them to outlive their buyers.Once in a great while, an item that is centuries old like this one might fail, but to fail the way Elena described to me where they all go off at staggered times at midnight… that’s not ordinary at all.”He smiles at Sophie.“But don’t worry.Sophie and I will fix them right up.”

"Yes, we will!"Sophie says, beaming.

I manage a smile of my own, but I can’t shake the disquiet I feel.Why would Elena tell me that it’s normal for her clocks to behave this way but then call Francois immediately when it happens?And why would Francois tell me that what she said wasn’t true?

This could mean nothing.I could be seeing shadows where none are.

But considering all of the other odd things that have happened, a part of me wonders if someone is tampering with the clocks.And if so, who?

And why?

CHAPTER EIGHT

That evening, the museum hosts a party for local horologists, historians and collectors.I hear about the party with three hours’ notice, just enough time for me to iron clothing for myself and Sophie and get both of us dressed and ready.I suppose it’s more than enough notice, but I’m still annoyed at being left out of the loop.

I have to remind myself that I’m new here.Elena has to get used to me just as much as I have to get used to her.

In any case, Sophie and I are clean and dressed nicely when the guests start to arrive.Hans Weber is the first guess.I noticed with wry amusement and some irritation that Elena apologized to him for her behavior yesterday with far more grace than she showed when she apologized to me.

When Elena is finished, Hans smiles at me.He kisses my hand, and I feel a blush come to my cheeks.I’m not used to this greeting, and it makes me slightly uncomfortable, but that’s not uncommon in Europe.

“How are you, Miss Mary?”he asks me.

“I’m wonderful, thank you.It’s good to see you again.”

“It’s wonderful to see you,” he replies.He bows low to Sophie.“And to see Princess Sophie.Herr Bertrand tells me you helped him repair our favorite automata clock.”

She curtseys.“Yes, I helped him fix thecuckooclock.”

Hans laughs.“Well, I’m pleased to see that the Rousseau family has another young horologist to carry the family’s future into the next generation.”

He straightens and looks toward the front door.His smile fades, and he turns to us.“Excuse me.I must introduce myself to the other guests.”

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