Clockwork Chaos (26 page)

“Absolutely
not
,” William breathed, letting out as little air as possible.

Elizabeth’s eyes widened. But why was she so shocked? Had she really believed her parents to be as accepting of their
daughter
as Cecil’s had been of their
son
?

“You will not show at this... Expo,” William forbade.

Elizabeth shook her head. “This isn’t fair. CAT works, and you’re looking at Chipper. I’m
good
at this. I should be allowed—”

But Mary cut her off. “‘Should be allowed?’ The only things that you
should be allowed
to do is what your father and I tell you! Now, your father says you will not show at this silly Expo, and you will not show. To your room! This instant!”

Elizabeth felt the sting of tears in her eyes, but held them back. Whirling, she fled back up the stairs where she slammed her door behind her. With a growl, she fought the urge to throw CAT from her. Chipper slowly slid down her sleeve, jumping the rest of the way to the floor.

“How
dare
they treat me like some sort of insolent child! Like some insignificant being! Well, I’m going, despite what they say,” she muttered to no one in particular.

Chipper chittered nervously, while Bella stared on in confusion.

Elizabeth allowed the hours to pass, as the Expo was being held in the early afternoon. She had placed the Chapeau upon her head and worked out a plan with Bella as to how to escape the house. She had ordered that Chipper stay put. Bella had assured Elizabeth that she could sneak out, at which point she could meet her two houses down the street. Thus, the plan was made.

As the clocks in the house were chiming three, Elizabeth—with Bella already having snuck out—climbed down the trellis just below her window. Her boots hit the ground with barely any noise and she lost no time in running down the street, careful to keep out of sight as went. Once she had found Bella, she instructed her cat that she would carry her the rest of the way to the Expo. Of course, the pampered animal did not argue.

She arrived to meet Cecil just outside of the Expo, only a few minutes later than planned. He did not seem to mind, and only ushered her gently into line. He explained that since his was the prize attraction, that he should do the talking to gain her a place within the large stone building. Elizabeth was too out of breath to argue.

Finally, they arrived at the table that had been set up outside the building’s main entrance; the hosts of the Expo—two men of obviously high status that Elizabeth simply did not know—gave her a strange look. Of course, she was still wearing her own invention atop her head and held a very grumpy-looking calico cat in her arms. But Cecil coughed, dragging the men’s attention to him.

“Gentlemen, I am Lord Cecil Waltham, and I would like to sponsor this young woman’s entrance into the Expo,” he declared.

There was a brief pause as both hosts exchanged glances. Both men wore similar suits of gray and had similar haircuts and bushy mustaches. The only instantly recognizable difference between the two was that the one on the right had bright red hair and the one of the left had ebony locks. Finally, clearing his throat, the red-haired one spoke.

“I’m so sorry, milord, but she’s missed the entrance deadline. I’m afraid she won’t be able to show,” he boomed so loudly that Elizabeth was sure that the whole line behind her must have heard.

“What?” Cecil asked incredulously. “That’s preposterous!”

The ebony haired one shook his head. “Those are the rules, I’m afraid.”

Elizabeth sighed and went to move out of the line when Cecil stopped her. His eyes were set furiously upon the two hosts.

“And I’m afraid that those aren’t the rules at all. There’s not even an application! All you must do is give the name of yourself and your invention. There is no deadline, excepting of course the close of the Expo.”

Both men looked stunned, as did Elizabeth. The two hosts began to mutter incoherently, looking back and forth between themselves and Cecil. Finally, the red-headed one spoke again.

“Very well. If we must be quite frank, sir, we do not want a woman to show here,” he explained.

“What?” Elizabeth hissed.

“What’s going on?” Bella asked, turning her furry head up at her mistress.

“Nothing,” Elizabeth whispered, petting her. “I’ll explain later.”

This garnered strange looks from the hosts, but both Elizabeth and Cecil ignored them.

“That is positively ludicrous! I, myself, have seen her invention at work, and you just witnessed it yourselves! To not let her show on account of her gender is... is...”

“Be that as it may, we believe that a woman inventor would simply be a waste of space, if you do so pardon my wording. I mean, who would want to buy any sort of machinery from a woman?” the ebony-haired host said, something of a laugh forming deep within his throat.

Cecil’s mouth moved like a fish who had been pulled out of water. Finally, he closed his lips tightly together and smiled a smug smile.

“Very well. Then
I
will not show. I herby withdraw my name.”

“What?” the two hosts and Elizabeth said in unison.

“That’s right. And what will your dear sponsors think of that? The one person they came here to see, and he’s pulled his name. Tell me, just
how much
would you be expected to refund to them?”

The two hosts looked as if their heads might explode. Finally, inevitably, they allowed Elizabeth to give her name to show at the Expo.

They placed her in a small booth close to Cecil’s, who wished her the best of luck as he went to show his own invention. She was a bit nervous at first as people—a little more than what she had truly expected—stopped by to hear of CAT and give it a little go themselves. After the first hour, however, Elizabeth had never felt more at home. She had even managed a couple of buyers interested in investing in her Chapeau—which was a couple more than what she had expected. She had been by no means the hit of the Expo—that title clearly went to Cecil, whose booth was barely ever empty—but she had gained a proper amount of attention. And she could not have asked for more.

So that night, when Cecil dropped Bella and she back at her house, she felt as if she could dance on air. She entered her home, forgetting entirely the means by which she had left. This lapse in memory was indeed momentary. She had gone no further than six paces when she came face to face with the angry forms of her father and mother.

“Deliberately disobeyed us,” William Nigel hissed.

“Absolutely
disgraceful
,” Mary put in, spitting the word from her lips.

But Elizabeth would not let her night be ruined.

“I don’t care,” she said firmly. “The Expo was wonderful, and I’m finally getting what I want for myself. If I had the chance, I would do it all again.”

This seemed to anger them more than her sneaky escape had. Mary strode forth.

“How dare you! After we’ve spent all day, slaving away, decorating to give you the most fashionable outdoor wedding!”

“I don’t want to get married.”

Both parents paused.

“Pardon?” William asked.

“I do not wish to marry tomorrow. I barely know Cecil. We are just now comfortable around each other. I do not want to marry him.”

Elizabeth had never seen her father so livid. Rushing forward, he shoved a thick finger into his daughter’s face.

“Now listen here, young lady. You will do
what
we tell you,
when
we tell you. You are our child, and until such time that you are taken in by your husband, you will obey our rules. Now, to your room! You
will
marry Young Lord Waltham tomorrow, if I have no choice but to force you down that aisle myself!”

Her chin quivered, but she would
not
cry again. Turning slowly, she ascended into her bedroom. She allowed Bella to jump from her arms to the floor, and gently placed CAT upon her dressing table. And she paused.

Sitting there, in the center of the room upon a body form, was her wedding dress. It was beautiful gown of white, its corset body lightly embroidered. Its long train was arranged carefully about the bottom of the dress, some lace playfully showing behind. Walking toward it, she paused.

“Everything
they
say I must do, I must do. But who says that I must do it in the same way?” she muttered. Turning, she called for Chipper.

Once the chipmunk had appeared, she had him retrieve all the sewing materials and loose gears she had in her room. Removing her dress from her form, she sat upon her chair, needle poised and ready.

“If I must marry tomorrow, then I will do so in my own way for once in my life,” she said to Chipper as he looked on curiously.

And that night, Elizabeth would get no sleep at all. Finishing her newest project was far more important.

The next day, all the guests were ready and seated in the Nigels’ beautiful rear garden. The bridal procession was ready, with tradition dictating that Elizabeth walk first. However, she decided that, for the big reveal of her little project, it would be best if Cecil went first. He did so with no complaint and only mild confusion. Arm-in-arm with Lady Mary Nigel, he approached the altar where he gently allowed the woman to go to her seat. He turned, staring back up the aisle as a little furry creature emerged and ran toward him. Upon closer inspection it was a tiny chipmunk, its fur gleaming and silky in the afternoon sun. It scaled Cecil’s trousers and sleeve to come to rest on his shoulder. Then, a small whirring noise was heard as a tiny compartment open on its back and produced two wedding bands. Cecil’s eyes widened, as did those of the guests.

“Chipper?” Cecil whispered.

Chipper answered by petting Cecil’s earlobe. At the back of the aisle, Elizabeth allowed the rest of the bridal party—her two sisters and Cecil’s two groomsmen—to enter before her. Finally, she dismissed the young flower girl from her duty, sending her to sit with her mother. William, alarmed, leaned down to his daughter.

“What are you doing?” he hissed. “This is completely out of line! Tradition states that the order is—”

But Elizabeth cut him off.

“I’m breaking with tradition. Father, please take a seat.”

For a moment, William looked as if he was going to argue, but decided against it, following his daughter’s wishes. Then, her white dress gleaming in the sun and her bouquet smelling of the freshest flowers, Elizabeth took exactly five steps down the aisle.

And there, she stopped. Unseen by the guests, she hit a small button that led to a machine she had rigged into her bouquet. Immediately, two spouts of flower petals began to spring forth upon the ground like some lovely fountain. The audience was pleasantly awed. Grinning a sly smile, she removed one hand from her bouquet and hit a hidden button on the left-inside sleeve of her wedding down, moving the bouquet so that it hung limply by her side. This audience had already seen two of her projects from the night before—the bouquet and Chipper’s fur. It was time to reveal the third. The dress itself.

Gears whirred as the dress began to transform before everyone’s very eyes. Gasping and muttering, the audience watched as the front part of her skirt slowly lifted to hang, gathered, just in the middle of her thighs, revealing the knee-high white, laced boots and white fishnet stockings beneath her dress. The solid satin of her sleeves pulled up and tucked themselves under at her elbow, revealing nothing but a laced white sleeve instead. The chest of her dress lowered to reveal the full neck cuff she had put on and some of her cleavage. And finally, the satin covering her upper-back rose—leaving more lace behind—to form a high collar around her neck. From the place where her bustle should be, she removed a small top hat, all in white and decorated with golden clock gears, and placed it upon her head. With her dress fully transformed, she finished her walk up the aisle, where Cecil stood, stunned.

The audience was not thrilled by this reveal. Several of the guests had already stood, indignantly, and taken their leave. Finally, only a handful of people—among them, the parents—remained.

“Elizabeth!” Mary screeched shrilly.

“Mother, I told you and Father both that I did not wish to marry. So, if I have to marry, I wish to do so in my own way. That is the end of it,” Elizabeth said proudly.

Lord Phillip Waltham stood, looking so much like an older version of his son, and said, “This is simply scandalous! We will not have our only son wed to this... this... harlot!”

William and Mary gasped, and Cecil stepped forward.

“Please! If truth be told, I do not wish to marry either. I... am fond of Elizabeth, and perhaps we shall marry in the future. But as of now, I am more interested in the partnership we could develop as fellow inventors,” he said.

Phillip and Edna looked nothing short of shocked while Mary and William looked like they had died and returned from a surprising afterlife. No one spoke for a long while. Finally, Mary cleared her throat.

“But... you will marry her... one day?” she choked out.

Cecil and Elizabeth exchanged glances, and she smiled to see Cecil blush at her dress. Turning quickly back, he nodded.

“Yes, Lady Nigel. After we have gotten to know of one another.”

With the remaining guests and parents grumbling that that answer was “good enough,” the garden emptied of all but Cecil, Elizabeth, and Chipper.

“Thank you,” Elizabeth said, tossing her bouquet carelessly to the side. “Not many would have stood up for me like that. I knew I was taking a great risk.”

“Ah, but Liza, isn’t that the very soul of invention? Risk? I think that one day we
will
marry... but for now... explain how you altered your gown. We might be able to find a very lucrative market for self-changing clothes.”

Hours passed and the sun had long set before either noticed. But, by the end of that day, neither had married, but both had made a commitment to the project of Self-Changing Clothes.

J
ames Chambers