A Clockwork Fairytale Read Online Free Page A

He’d throw her out now for sure.
    Gwinnie smiled slyly, threw the towel at Melba, and bustled away. Melba covered herself, and hurried to the door. Master Turk had moved into the kitchen, his back to her, his fist clenched at his side.
    “I can still be a spy,” Melba pleaded. “I’m still pledged. I’m good. I’ll show you.”
    He shook his head. “No, Mel, if that’s your real name. I cannot train a girl to spy. It’s not done.”
    “Nobody needs to know I’m a girl. You didn’t guess.” At her words, his breath hissed in sharply and she winced, knowing she’d angered him even more.
    “You’ll have to leave,” he said tightly.
    “Master Turk.” The whining note in her voice sent heat racing up her neck into her face. No master liked a whiner. She cleared her throat and tried for a calm voice. “Pretend I’m a boy. Please.”
    “I cannot pretend you’re a boy when I know you’re a girl. This changes everything.”
    Her heart thundered as she stared at his stiff back, the width of his shoulders in his fine wool jacket, his gleaming black hair trimmed neatly over his collar. She couldn’t appeal to his back. She stepped past him and looked up into his face. He kept his gaze fixed on the far wall, his lips tight, his nostrils slightly flared.
    “Look at me, Master Turk. I don’t really look like a girl, do I?”
    Slowly, he lowered his eyes. His gaze flicked across her features, up to her hair, down to her lips. “You do.”
    “I don’t!” She stamped her foot with frustration.
    “You most certainly do . I cannot imagine how I didn’t notice before.”
    Gwinnie chose that moment to reappear with a faded brown dress draped over her arm.
    “I ain’t wearing that,” Melba shouted.
    Gwinnie threw the dress on the floor at Melba’s feet. In all the commotion, Melba had forgotten about her toes. After years of covering them up, how could they have slipped her mind? Master Maddox had told her that if anyone saw she had twelve toes they would tie her down and cut the extra ones off. Now Master Turk would see her deformity and have even more reason to throw her out.
    She looked up at Master Turk, frightened of what she’d see on his face. His forehead was furrowed, his silky black eyebrows drawn together. Her last hope of being a spy trickled away. Slowly, he raised his narrowed eyes and scrutinized her features. “What’s your proper name?”
    “Melba.”
    “How old are you? The truth, please.”
    “Seventeen.”
    He dropped his gaze to her feet again. Melba curled her twelve toes against the cold flagstones. Surely Master Turk wouldn’t cut off her stupid extra little toes.
    Abruptly, he turned away and headed for the door to the hall. “Supply her with clothes she’s happy to wear, Gwinnie. I don’t care what she wears—just cover her up. Then feed her and find her somewhere to sleep. I’ll talk to her tomorrow.”
    Melba stared at the doorway long after Master Turk had gone. Finally, she blinked and turned to Gwinnie. “What does that mean?”
    The old woman glared at her. “You’re in for it is what that means. One thing Turk don’t like is having his boys lie to him.” She looked Melba up and down meaningfully. “You’ve done so much lying, I reckon he’ll truss you up and toss you down The Well.”

Chapter Two

    We each have our shining moments and our shadow moments.
    —Master Turk

    Images of Melba raced through Turk’s mind. Even though she was painfully skinny and she still had dirt on her face, she was clearly feminine and pretty. He prided himself on being observant and perceptive. How the blazes had she fooled him into believing she was a boy?
    With a sigh, he headed for his library to research his suspicions about Melba’s identity. Luckily, the nobleman who had bequeathed Waterberry House to the Shining Brotherhood had been a scholar with an extensive collection of Malverne Isle historical records.
    Turk closed the door behind him, bypassed the neat rows of