Page 87 of The Bright and the Blue
And then, there it was.
One little bubble rising up the window of the vessel. And then a couple more.
“That’s it!” cried Gwenla. “Give it just a moment to boil again.”
The bubbles continued, one by one, until the vessel was boiling wildly. The steam whistled through the pipes, sending the fan whirring and the generator turning until at last the candelabra was lit once more.
“Very good,” said the king. If he noticed anything amiss, he gave no sign. “Now, how many did you say the manor would need?”
“I’d guess twenty or so for the manor alone,” said Gwenla. “We’ll need to run water to them, of course, your majesty, just like any other steam engine—”
“That’s well underway,” said the king. “Lord Ainsley assures me the manor will have its plumbing up to snuff as soon as the guests are gone. How long to get fifty up and running?”
“Fifty?” asked Gwenla.
“For the entire Hill Country,” said the king.
“Well,” said Gwenla, looking at Alison for help before realizing they were still preoccupied maintaining the power, “if we start them straight away, I’d suspect we can have them within a year.” Gwenla raised her grey eyebrows in question to Lady Sibba when the king turned his back. Lady Sibba shrugged.
“You have three months,” said the king. “Come, Ceri. Let’s see this pedal-cycle you’ve been raving about.”
The king led Ceri away, and the crowd began to disperse. Rinka, Alison, and Idris were finally able to let go of the magic as the sun returned overhead.
Alison turned to Rinka, her face exhausted from the effort. “Three months?”
Epilogue
“Three months?” said Gwenla, joining them once the last of the nobles with questions had gone. “It doesn’t work for three minutes consistently. What are we going to do?”
“Come up with another wild scheme, I suspect,” said Idris as he joined them too. “Well done, my dear,” he said to Rinka, kissing her hand. “You’re quite an extraordinary woman.”
She followed the group back to the inn, the town saved for the time being, at least.
Three months wasn’t long, but it was time enough for another plot. Time enough for another harebrained adventure with her friends.
