Free Steampunk Carnival (Steam World Book 1) by Cassandra Leuthold Page A

never thought I’d see that journal again. I wasn’t sure how I was going to expose Warden’s fraud.”
    “We’ll find out what we can about Mr. Warden’s schedule. We’ll let you know what we discover.”
    “But we have to be careful.”
    “We will. It’ll be easy for Katya to stop by your stall long enough to ask you to meet with us.”
    “Should we have a code phrase?”
    Magdalene nodded. She thought for a moment.
    Katya remembered what Mr. Warden had said about the great wheel. “‘The wheel is very popular tonight.’ It’s true every night, but the patrons won’t know that.”
    “I look forward to hearing that phrase,” Brady said.
    Brady turned and led the two women out of the sanctuary. They crossed the front hall, and Brady eased one of the double doors open into the slow summer wind.
    “Can you get home all right?” he asked.
    Magdalene looked up the street for the streetcar. Horses’ hooves struck the road several blocks away. “We’ll be fine. How are you getting home, Mr. Kelly?”
    “I’ll walk this way and see if I can’t find another horsecar.” Brady set his hat on his head, adjusting it briefly. “Thank you again, ladies. Good day.”
    “Good day, Mr. Kelly,” Katya and Magdalene replied.
    Brady walked away down Tennessee Street, and the two women started in the opposite direction. They soon spotted the horse-drawn streetcar and waved for it to stop.
    Magdalene loosened the drawstring of her purse. “How much from here to Plum Street? It’s just over the river.”
    The driver tipped his hat, revealing neatly combed grey hair. “You ladies work for the carnival, don’t you?” He beamed. “I’ll let you ride for free. I can take you straight there. There’s nobody else at this hour.”
    “Thank you so much.”
    Katya wasted no time in climbing up the step behind the driver at the front of the streetcar. She sat down in the second seat, leaving room for Magdalene to sink down beside her.
    The streetcar turned to the right, taking the angled Kentucky Avenue away from the five-point intersection toward the river. Katya craned her neck and caught a glimpse of Brady walking alone through the hazy gas lamplight before the buildings at the next corner blocked her view.
     

Chapter Eleven
     
    Katya double-checked her appearance in the oval mirror above the water closet sink. She made sure the perfect number of dark curls showed over her forehead beneath the brim of her hat. She had worn her largest hat tonight, angled heavily to one side. It was covered in royal-blue silk with thick, fluffy ostrich feathers cascading from the band. Lizzie’s employer had altered it for her, gluing charms and discarded watchmaker’s gears amidst the feathers.
    Katya smoothed the front of her cobalt-blue jacket and the skirt of her silver gown. She needed to look her best, and she finally satisfied herself she could look no better. She let herself out of the water closet, almost bumping into the charwoman carrying a bucket of murky water. Katya jumped back to avoid soiling her clothes. The charwoman ducked back as well, sloshing water out over her shoes.
    “I’m sorry,” Katya said quickly. She meant it, and she was doubly sorry she did not sound sincere.
    The charwoman bobbed her head, her eyes scanning the ground as she strode past Katya.
    Katya pushed on through the edge of the crowd to the nearest food stall. She stood at the side counter, apart from the customers, trying to get one of the cooks’ attention. “Excuse me.”
    The cooks continued working, frying and plating and doing it again.
    “Excuse me, I need a snack for Mr. Warden. He’s waiting for it.”
    Without looking up from plopping a long sausage on a thin bun, the nearest cook blurted, “What does he want?”
    “Anything. He’s just hungry. He wants it fast.”
    The cook passed the prepared plate to the worker at the counter for the customer line. He set down a fresh white plate, dropped a bun on it, and used his pair