Sky Pirates

Chapter 46

Mildred and Cole stood at the top of the clock tower. A light breeze brought in the hint of summer flowers while a few pigeons, escaping the afternoon heat, roosted and cooed above them in the tower's steeple.

"Which next?" Cole asked, looking at the collection of gears and cogs leaned against two walls of the little room.

Mildred looked into her mind where a perfectly working clock of exactly this type took itself apart and placed itself back together. Once together in her mind, the clock hands whirled in perfect order and harmony. She enjoyed the vision, but, because there was work to do, she reversed the order of parts, looked around at those not yet placed, and pointed. "It's that thick one next." Cole took up the small, thick metal cog, its teeth softly gouging his stomach as he lifted the heavy part, Mildred turned back toward the clockworks, studied the slots, grooves, pins, and other pieces already in place and pointed. "It needs to fit on this pin and align with this other piece, the teeth need to align." She watched as her brother struggled to get the piece in place. He required help and, much to her dismay at soiling her hands or clothes with the oil and grease required for smooth movement of the parts, Mildred leaned in and gently pushed the aligning piece into a position that would accept the return of its playmate.

Cole, pulling his hands back, drew a rag from his back pocket and wiped his hands. He offered the thing to his sister who took it, even though it seemed like it would make the dirt on her hands worse.

They continued to work in this manner with several more pieces. They didn't speak of the previous night or of Mildred's conversation with Edith earlier that morning. If Mildred's mind was any indication, the choice to not speak was deafening. Her own thoughts were constantly churning the problem of how to keep the Wickliffe's in Wickwillow while also keeping her brother's honor and respect intact. Of course, the biggest problem seemed to be outside of their circle. Did the man who saw her brother and Horatio naked together know who either of the boys were? If he didn't know, it wouldn't really matter who he told. Although, both Cole and Horatio were quite distinctive looking, and if he got a good look at them, through his description of the boys to others, those others might be able to surmise who was there. If they went in search of the man, they would most certainly draw attention to themselves and in the process, if the man didn't know who they were, they might tip him off.

Cole had insisted the night before that he had never seen the man before. But, he had only recently started making rounds with the land manager, Mr. Eastlake, and hadn't yet met all the tenants. Wasn't it also possible that the man was only passing through the shire? Wasn't it possible that he might already be gone from their lands, having been simply a traveler? Although, Cole said he hadn't seen the man carrying anything other than a gun and basket. He might have been a poacher getting an early start on the grouse season. And, if the man were a poacher, would he be so daring as to say what he was doing on the grounds? The little stone house, after all, was on Wickwillow Manor's grounds, which their uncle did not open to hunting by his tenants. This thought caused Mildred to breathe a sigh of relief.

"What is it, can't you figure out the next piece?" asked Cole. He'd been watching his sister's expression, waiting for instructions.

"Oh," said Mildred, simply. She looked at the clockwork in her mind and pointed out the next piece and its proper location. She didn't want to speak about this subject to her brother until she had a better grasp of it or a possible plan. There was no need to upset or agitate him again.

So, the siblings continued placing piece after piece in its proper location until everything Cole had removed from the clockworks had finally been replaced. The clock was not in motion.

"What now?" he asked.

She looked hard both in her mind and at the actual clock. Everything appeared to be in perfect position.