Bitter Cold: A Steampunk Snow Queen (The Clockwork Republic Series Book 4) Read Online Free Page A

were generally focused on her more visible assets, although Greta seemed oblivious to the attention.
    She didn't even notice the leering looks she received from men during their daily walks in the park. Just earlier this week, a fair-haired young man in a black suit had followed her home from the herbalist's. Kit had caught him poking around her laboratory after her parents left. He'd run the man off, but when he'd asked Greta about the man, she'd said he had only been asking about her alchemical experiments. She'd nearly forgotten the conversation had even happened by the time he'd asked her about it.
    "What else could he have possibly wanted with me, Kit?" she'd asked, laughing.
    He'd been tempted to pull her into his arms and show her exactly what any sane man would want with her. Instead, he'd just shook his head and told her to show a little caution where strange men were concerned. Her own imagination always held her attention far more than what went on around her.
    Now here he was, finding himself distractedly imagining kissing her, when he needed to be devising a plan to get her married to him. Or, if she was absolutely opposed to being his wife, figuring out some other way to avoid her father's scheme. He could hardly imagine a person less well-suited to life in the wild and uncivilized frontier than Greta.
    The park trail sloped upwards, and he was beginning to feel warm and settled again as he smiled, thinking about her two obsessions: music and alchemy. She couldn't sing or play a note, but she adored music. She appreciated beauty, although she wore simple, frugal clothing, preferring to spend whatever money she had on gramophone cylinders or alchemy supplies. Her practical attire had earned her the derision of the more fashionable young ladies in the neighborhood.
    Her disregard for others' opinions meant the mean-spirited barbs rarely hurt her. Unfortunately, it also meant she rarely listened to advice. What would she do without him if he couldn't convince her to accept his proposal? Her spontaneity and curiosity often got her into the most appalling situations.
    He'd happily keep rescuing her from these misadventures if he could. Greta viewed the world with the innocent optimism of an alchemist, seeing only possibilities. He viewed it with an engineer's eye for detail, seeing every broken cog and twisted spring of human frailty. He realized, even if Greta didn't, what a damaged, dangerous place it was. Eventually, her naive innocence would attract human predators. Whether she loved him or not, he wouldn't let her fall into their hands.
    He'd arrived at the footbridge over a stream flowing into the river. One of the more peaceful spots in the park, from here you could hardly tell you were in one of the great cities of the continent, the Gateway to the West. He felt the last of his anger dissipate, as if it dropped into the stream to be swept away to the mighty Mississippi.
    He could never stay upset with Greta for long. She had probably settled down as well. He should head back and help her set things right, at least as much as they could. There wasn't time to rebuild the shed, and he could hardly spare the money for materials right now, but perhaps they could figure something out together. Perhaps he could get her to listen to his proposal, too.
    The sound of steam engines and pumping hydraulics caught his attention. Mechanical automatons called 'gens, from the English word "engine" and the French word for people, must be nearby. They sounded like miniature railway trains, or the snorting of a wild beast.
    He puzzled over the sound. It could be a household servant, but he'd never seen several outdoors together in the city. Even the wealthy usually had only one, and kept them home where they wouldn't get damaged. Cheaper agricultural 'gens went out to the fields in groups, but he was miles from the nearest farm.
    His curiosity was soon answered. The clanking metal and snorting engine announced a mechanical wolf.