His Clockwork Canary Read online

  PRAISE FOR

  HER SKY COWBOY

  “Contemporary romance author Ciotta’s first steampunk series blasts off with this exhilarating riff on bodice-ripping romance, hurling twentieth-century technology into an alternate Victorian England . . . the start of a delectable series.”

  —Publishers Weekly (starred review)

  “In this first in her new steampunk series, Ciotta brings us into a world where science and inventions abound within the Victorian era. Masterfully written, with an intriguing plot and a sassy, strong, and intelligent heroine at its center. Add to that a heroic-cowboy love interest and a supporting cast of distinctive characters, and this story is one fanciful, flying adventure.”

  —Romantic Times (top pick, 4½ stars)

  “Freaks, Mods, Vics, Flatliners, cowboys in airships, evil scientists, nefarious flying pirates, and time-travel Victorian England was never so much fun. Ciotta’s whimsical steampunk romance, the first in the Glorious Victorious Darcys series, is too good to miss.”

  —Booklist (starred review)

  “Steampunk is still an evolving genre. In most cases, it’s a hit or miss with either the romance or the steampunk story line. [Ciotta’s] ‘vision’ on an alternate take on historical romance, though, was very well done, and I enjoyed reading it. . . . If you’re looking for something a bit different and fun, then I’d pick up Her Sky Cowboy.”

  —USA Today Happy Ever After

  “Ciotta’s delightfully imaginative steampunk historical has just the right mix of adventure and romance.”

  —Chicago Tribune

  “Beth Ciotta’s Her Sky Cowboy is pure charm. This is a must read for anyone who loves the genre—or hasn’t even tried it yet. You’ll be hooked!”

  —New York Times bestselling author Heather Graham

  “A wildly inventive, action-packed steampunk adventure! Lady inventors, sexy renegade lawmen, airships, acid rock, and flying horses—Her Sky Cowboy has it all!”

  —Zoë Archer

  Also by Beth Ciotta

  Her Sky Cowboy

  His Broken Angel

  (A Penguin Special)

  HIS CLOCKWORK CANARY

  THE GLORIOUS VICTORIOUS DARCYS

  BETH CIOTTA

  SIGNET ECLIPSE

  Published by the Penguin Group

  Penguin Group (USA) Inc., 375 Hudson Street,

  New York, New York 10014, USA

  USA | Canada | UK | Ireland | Australia | New Zealand | India | South Africa | China

  Penguin Books Ltd., Registered Offices: 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England

  For more information about the Penguin Group visit penguin.com.

  First published by Signet Eclipse, an imprint of New American Library,

  a division of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.

  Copyright © Beth Ciotta, 2013

  Excerpt from Her Sky Cowboy © Beth Ciotta, 2012

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the author’s rights. Purchase only authorized editions.

  SIGNET ECLIPSE and logo are trademarks of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.

  ISBN 978-1-101-61476-1

  PUBLISHER’S NOTE

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  The publisher does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for author or third-party Web sites or their content.

  Contents

  Praise

  Title Page

  Also by Beth Ciotta

  Copyright Page

  Dedication

  Acknowledgments

  Alternate World Glossary

  CHAPTER 1

  CHAPTER 2

  CHAPTER 3

  CHAPTER 4

  CHAPTER 5

  CHAPTER 6

  CHAPTER 7

  CHAPTER 8

  CHAPTER 9

  CHAPTER 10

  CHAPTER 11

  CHAPTER 12

  CHAPTER 13

  CHAPTER 14

  CHAPTER 15

  CHAPTER 16

  CHAPTER 17

  CHAPTER 18

  CHAPTER 19

  CHAPTER 20

  CHAPTER 21

  CHAPTER 22

  CHAPTER 23

  CHAPTER 24

  CHAPTER 25

  CHAPTER 26

  CHAPTER 27

  CHAPTER 28

  CHAPTER 29

  CHAPTER 30

  CHAPTER 31

  CHAPTER 32

  CHAPTER 33

  CHAPTER 34

  CHAPTER 35

  CHAPTER 36

  Epilogue

  Excerpt of Her Sky Cowboy

  To my editor, Jhanteigh Kupihea, who gives my imagination free rein and champions my adventures with genuine and inspiring enthusiasm

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  I’d like to share my heartfelt appreciation with everyone at Penguin for supporting this series and helping to bring the Glorious Victorious Darcys to life! Your creativity and expertise help to fuel my own imagination and enthusiasm.

  I especially want to acknowledge my amazing editor, Jhanteigh Kupihea, as well as my dazzling copy editor, Michele Alpern. Thank you for helping me to make this story shine!

  A special shout-out to my agent, Amy Moore-Benson—my champion, my friend. Thank you for keeping me sane.

  A huge, sloppy thank-you to my critique partners, my sister and fellow author Elle J. Rossi and my cherished friend and fellow author Cynthia Valero. You ROCK!

  My love and appreciation to my biggest supporter—my husband, my hero, Steve. Thank you for everything, always.

  To my many wonderful and supportive friends and family members, loyal readers, and enthusiastic Facebook friends—thank you for brightening my days and enriching my life. To the hardworking bloggers and reviewers who help to spread the word—thank you for your thoughtful time and energy. And to all of the wondrous librarians and booksellers who live and breathe and promote literature—thank you for being.

  Greetings, fellow romantics and daring adventurers,

  I don’t know about you, but one of my most cherished possessions is my imagination. It’s taken me to some wondrous places, but none so personally thrilling as the alternate world I created for Her Sky Cowboy and the subsequent stories in the Glorious Victorious Darcys series.

  Imagine the 1960s. Race riots. Vietnam. The Cuban Missile Crisis.

  Imagine a group of fanatical peace activists happening upon a means of time travel and jumping back to the source of departure, the mid-1800s, in hopes of altering the future and avoiding specific global atrocities.

  Imagine their good intentions going horribly wrong and, instead, the two centuries melding, setting the world on an unknown course.

  I imagined and ended up with a spectacular and endearing alternate era—the Victorian Age meets the Age of Aquarius.

  Every decade, every era, and every world has its own lingo. In kind, there is terminology specific to the GVD universe. I’ve included a glossary for easy reference should you desire clarification. Also for those who have not read Her Sky Cowboy, the first installment in the series, I’d like to offer some history on how this world came to be. If you prefer to discover while reading, then skip this part. But for those who prefer background, this is for you!

  Spectacularly Astonishing Exclusive Peeks into Marvelous Historical Facts (sort of)

  1851—Great Britain. The Great Exh
ibition is held at the Crystal Palace. Prince Albert encourages the celebration of inventions and technology.

  Engineer/visionary Briscoe Darcy introduces his one-of-kind time machine, vowing to journey forward in time and to return with a futuristic marvel. He vanishes in front of thousands of people, never to be seen again. Historically, Darcy is known as the Time Voyager.

  1856 (a leap year)—A caravan of twentieth-century time travelers arrives in the nineteenth century via a time vehicle dubbed the Briscoe Bus. Their mission: to alter history for the preservation of mankind. Known as the Peace Rebels, these Mods spread the message “Make love, not war.”

  Hungry for knowledge regarding technological marvels of the future, Prince Albert embraces the PRs, causing a rift between him and his old-fashioned wife, Queen Victoria. The PRs’ loose morals and advanced knowledge threaten their original goal. Some PRs are corrupted, selling knowledge to power-hungry Vics. Soon society is divided into two main factions: Old Worlders and New Worlders.

  1860—The Peace War breaks out, and when the dust settles . . . a hybrid of the 1860s and the 1960s is born.

  —Beth Ciotta

  ALTERNATE WORLD GLOSSARY

  Terminology and definitions exclusive to the Glorious Victorious Darcys (and related spin-offs)

  aero-hangar—a cavernous shelter used for housing and repairing airships.

  aeropark—a public or private airfield.

  ALE—acronym for Air Law Enforcement. A legion of law enforcers who police the skies in airships.

  Aquarian Cosmology Compendium—an elusive journal compiled by the scientific faction of the time-traveling Peace Rebels. According to legend, the ACC features designs and scientific data pertaining to twentieth-century technological wonders, as well as engineering details of a functioning time machine.

  automocab—a hired road conveyance powered by steam or petrol (e.g., taxicab).

  automocoaches—road vehicles of various size and construction, powered by steam or petrol. Often a cross between late-1800s mechanics and mid-to-late-1960s designs (e.g., steam-powered Beetle Bug).

  Book of Mods—an extensive compilation of sketches, essays, and cautionary tales pertaining to culture, politics, technology, and significant events of the twentieth century. Written by a faction of the original Peace Rebels, this published journal was once widely read, but is now banned.

  clockwork propulsion engine—a unique engine, originally designed by Briscoe Darcy, enabling a vehicle to travel through time.

  corneatacts—cosmetic optical lenses utilized by Freaks to disguise their kaleidoscope (rainbow) irises. Constructed to fit over the cornea, corneatacts create the illusion of normal, unicolor irises.

  Disrupter 29—a modified derringer (pocket pistol) enhanced by twentieth-century technology. An advanced weapon available for purchase only on the black market.

  Flatliner—someone who cares only about his/her future and not the future or welfare of mankind.

  Freak—the offspring of a Vic and a Mod. Cross-century humans with varied supernatural gifts. Freaks are born with kaleidoscope eyes (irises that swirl with a rainbow of colors) and a unique blood type. A powerful and unpredictable minority, Freaks are regarded as a curiosity and/or a threat. As such, their civil rights are restricted by law.

  Freak Fighters—any person belonging to the underground organization fighting for the emancipation of Freaks.

  Freak Rebellion—a brewing revolution intent on winning equal rights for Freaks.

  Her Majesty’s Mechanics—highly trained, highly covert agents who “fix” sensitive and controversial matters for the British government and its sovereign.

  Houdinians—a secret “security” team.

  Mod—any person born of parents from the twentieth century.

  Mod Tracker—similar to a bounty hunter. Someone who tracks and locates Mods for monetary gain.

  ModVic—a cross-century clothing trend; 1960s Bohemian meets 1880s Victorian.

  New Worlder—liberals who embrace advanced knowledge and technology in hope of creating a better tomorrow.

  o’blaster—a black market weapon similar to a shotgun. Instead of pellets, the cartridge is packed with razor-sharp metal shards and heated by a core-propulsion blast.

  Old Worlder—conservatives who shun radical change and fear divergence, preferring to move forward with the natural march of time.

  Peabody 382—an enhanced gentlemen’s pistol. Pretty but deadly.

  Peace Rebels—twentieth-century peace fanatics from the fields of the arts and sciences who traveled back to the nineteenth century, intent on altering history and circumventing future chaos and destruction . . . and ultimately Armageddon. As time went on, also a moniker for any Vic who joined their cause.

  Peace War (1860–1864)—a four-year transcontinental war stemming from advanced twentieth-century knowledge that led to corruption on both sides of the Atlantic, infecting Americans and Europeans, Vics and Mods, blurring politics, culture, and beliefs. As a result, society divided into two factions—Old Worlders and New Worlders.

  Remington Blaster—a nineteenth-century revolver enhanced with twentieth-century technology.

  skytown—floating pleasure meccas composed of three to five airships. “Above the law,” these traveling hippie circuses offer illegal and outlawed entertainment and welcome equal fraternizing amongst Mods, Vics, and Freaks . . . and assorted criminals.

  stun cuff—a common weapon of defense. A highly charged metal bracelet that “zaps” the attacker with a jolt of electricity. Works through the same concept as a twentieth-century stun gun.

  telecommunicator—a handheld communication device that transmits coded messages.

  tele-talkie—similar to a twentieth-century walkie-talkie; a personal two-way radio device.

  Thera-Steam-Atic Brace—a steam-powered prosthesis.

  Time Voyager—Briscoe Darcy, nineteenth-century engineer/visionary who invented a time machine and traveled into the future, ultimately enabling the twentieth-century Peace Rebels to travel back to the 1800s.

  time-trace—a supernatural skill. The ability to experience another person’s memories.

  torchlight—a battery-powered tube of light similar to a twentieth-century flashlight.

  Vic—any person born of parents from the nineteenth century.

  CHAPTER 1

  GREAT BRITAIN, 1887 KENT—THE ASHFORD ESTATE

  Since the day he’d been born (three and a half minutes later than his twin brother), Simon Darcy had been waging war with time. He had either too much of it or not enough. Somehow his timing was always off. Bad timing had cost him much in his thirty-one years. Most recently, his father, Reginald Darcy, Lord of Ashford.

  The proof was in his pocket.

  Simon didn’t need to read the abominable article—he had it memorized—yet he couldn’t help unfolding the wretched newsprint and torturing himself once again. As if he deserved the misery. Which he did.

  The London Informer

  January 5, 1887

  MAD INVENTOR DIES IN QUEST FOR GLORY

  The Right Honorable Lord Ashford, lifelong resident of Kent, blew himself up yesterday whilst building a rocket ship destined for the moon. Ashford, a distant cousin of the infamous Time Voyager, Briscoe Darcy, was rumored to be obsessed with making his own mark on the world. Fortunately for the realm and unfortunately for his family, Ashford’s inventions paled to that of Darcy, earning him ridicule instead of respect, wealth, or fame.

  Simon’s gut cramped as he obsessed on the article that had haunted him for days. For the billionth time, he cursed the Clockwork Canary, lead pressman for the Informer, as heartless. The insensitive print blurred before Simon’s eyes as his blood burned. Instead of tossing the infernal sensationalized reporting of his father’s death, he had ripped the article from the London scandal sheet, then folded and tucked the announcement into an inner pocket of his waistcoat, next to his tattered heart.

  For all his guilt and grief upon learning of h
is beloved, albeit eccentric, father’s demise, Simon had stuffed his emotions. His mother and younger sister would be devastated. Especially his sister, Amelia, who shared their papa’s fascination with flying and who’d lived and worked alongside the old man on Ashford—the family’s country estate. For them, Simon would be a rock. As would his ever unflappable twin brother, Jules.

  Simon had made the trip from his own home in London down to Kent posthaste. He’d remained stoic throughout the constable’s investigation of the catastrophic accident, as well as through the poorly attended funeral. He’d even managed a calm demeanor whilst listening to the solicitor’s reading of the will—unlike his dramatic and panic-stricken mother. Although upon this occasion, he could not blame her for the intensity of her outburst.

  The Darcys were penniless.

  Simon and Jules had their personal savings and fairly lucrative careers, but the family fortune was gone, and as such, Ashford itself was at stake.

  Even after sleeping on the shocking revelation, Simon couldn’t shake the magnitude of his father’s folly. His mind and heart warred with the knowledge, with the implication, and with the outcome. Because of Simon’s ill timing and arrogance, his mother and sister were now destitute.

  “Do not assume blame.”

  Simon breathed deeply as his brother limped into the cramped confines of the family dining room. “Do not assume to know my mind.”

  “Has grief struck you addle, brother?” Dark brow raised, Jules sat and reached for the coffeepot. Like their father, the Darcy twins had always preferred brewed coffee over blended teas.

  Simon flashed back on one of his father’s quirky inventions—an electric bean-grinding percolator—which might have proved useful, except, as a staunch Old Worlder, their mother had refused to allow Ashford to utilize electricity.