Page 10 of A Lady's Past
Once she was out of sight, Jacques turned to Diana. “What was that about?”
“I believe she is jealous.” It was said without inflection. Diana stepped through the doorway and down the steps.
The narrow stairs had barely enough room to accommodate his shoulders. Halfway down, he held her elbow to stop her. “Jealous of what?”
Standing on the lower step, she only reached his chest. She looked up at him, her eyes filled with more than he wanted to see, yet he couldn’t look away. Beautiful, smart, and mysterious, she was irresistible. There was no reason to keep holding her arm, but he did not release her, slowly caressing up to her shoulder and down again. “Why would Mrs. Whimple be jealous, Diana?”
She reached up and brushed a stray hair from his forehead. As if she’d just realized what she’d done, she dropped her hand. “I believe she feels responsible for Mr. Edgebrook. Doris has been assisting with his experiments for some time, but without any scientific background. She has kept him safe, but not moved his progress forward. I am a usurper who can do what she cannot. Mr. Edgebrook hired me because he has great theories, but needs help with the alchemy to bring them to fruition. I also think she may be in love with him.”
While he took in everything she’d said, he was lost in those expressive eyes. “I cannot seem to get you out of my mind, Diana.”
The longing left her and was replaced by fear. She stepped down one riser. “You will have to find a way, sir. I can bring you nothing but disaster. Once I am rested and have some money, I will no longer be within your purview. I should not have made that request at the inn. It was inappropriate and selfish. I’m sure that is the only reason you are still thinking of me.”
Jacques followed her down. “You needed comfort and I was happy to give it to you. There is nothing wrong with that.”
Once again, the careful mask of indifference fell into place. “There are a great many things wrong with it, both practically and morally, but that is beside the point. I should not have asked. Mr. Edgebrook is waiting for us.”
A dozen questions ricocheted around his mind. Before she reached the bottom, he had time to ask only one. “Who are you?”
The lamplight from the laboratory shone on one side of her face as she turned. “I am a dead woman and no one to concern yourself with.”
“Look at this, Jacques.” Francis practically came out of his shoes with excitement. “She helped me find the formula for the better fertilizer we’ve been talking about. I’m telling you, this will be revolutionary. We just need to wait for the test results.”
Soil filled two troughs under the only window in the basement. It was a cloudy day, but light still filtered down. Jacques had come to find out how Francis was faring with his experiments, but now it was the last thing on his mind. “How are you testing your theory?”
Francis pointed to the dirt. “We have a trough with the original fertilizer and one with the enriched version. We should have answers in a few weeks if all goes well.”
Jacques turned toward Diana. “What did you add to the formula, or would I prefer not to know?”
With a giggle, she said, “It’s not really complicated or even very scientific. It’s just the refuse from the kitchen. My mother used it in our gardens, and I employed it here.”
“I thought,” Francis said, “if you could work out something with the prison, we might gather enough to make it worthwhile. However, if not, you might at least employ it on that new farm you bought your parents.”
“You purchased a farm for your parents?” It was the first interest she’d shown in his life. Diana was a woman with many secrets and troubles, none of which she wanted to share with him.
He touched the soil. “Yes. My mother and father were finally able to leave France. The war and politics did not favor their staying at home. I managed to smuggle them out and bought a small farm for them. I was returning to London from their arrival party when I assisted you with transportation.”
The way her cheeks pinked was the most delightful sight. “You must be a very good son.”
“I do my best.” He had to shake off his longing for more of her attention. “What else are you working on, Francis?”
“I think we’re making some progress on the carts for your mine. We still have a long way to go to make sure they’re safe, but once it works, you’ll be able to get your men into and out of those mines more quickly, and that will be safer, too. I’m hoping in another month or so I’ll have ironed out the details.”
Jacques leaned over the table that held the model of Francis’s invention. It was a series of carts or cups on a rail that would hold men and use a steam engine to pull them up and lower them down into the mines. The problem was making it work without using up more coal than you could extract. “Are you helping with this as well, Miss St. Cloud?”
“Only with some of the mathematics. My specialty is in alchemy, not mechanics.”
Francis frowned. “Not so. She could be an engineer if she were a man.”
It was meant as a compliment, but Diana shook her head.
Undaunted, Francis pointed to the far table. “Here, look at this. This is where we’ve made some real progress. I’ve managed to enclose a flame inside a mesh screen for the mines. The screen allows air to pass through to keep the flame lit, but is fine enough to act as a firedamp for safety. The most thrilling part is a happy accident. We had the fertilizer too close to this experiment at first, and the vapors caused the flame to burn brighter in the lamp. We are still testing for other gases that might be present in the mines, but I think this may be an early warning of a combustible mix of vapors. At the very least, it will tell you if oxygen is low, as the flame will fail without air.”
Fully focused on the tall, slender lamp and its filtered light, Jacques asked, “When do you think this will be ready, and how difficult is it to make?”
“Simple to construct. If you hire a few workers I can teach them how to put them together in no time.” Francis looked at Diana. “Give us a fortnight for testing and you can have your lamp.”
“You should send the specifications to the patent office, Francis. This is marvelous.” Running his fingers along the top, he imagined a large loop could be added to hang the lamp in the mines.
