Godspeed

Chapter 16

I walked with Schuyler through the now familiar hallway, and he paused before opening the door to the red room. “They’re going to love you.”

“Oh?” I was nervous. I had no idea what, or whom it was that he was so certain would find my company a pleasurable experience.

He parted his lips as if to speak again but no words followed. He nodded, smiled, and then released the door.

First I saw the boy. He startled when he noticed me, and his eyes questioned Schuyler as to whether or not it was a wise thing, bringing me into this gathering.

"Worry not, Penn. This action is completely sanctioned by Doctor Godspeed himself. It's long since time."

The young man who, to my mind, finally had a name, rose from his chair and bowed to me slightly in welcome. I responded with an uneasy smile, uncertain what I should expect from the room's other inhabitants.

"Everyone, we have a new friend to welcome to our happy little jigsaw family." Schuyler announced. "She is under the care of our doctor and will be with us for, oh, as long as she needs to be with us."

That comment twisted in my stomach, but I tried to dismiss it. I did not want a shift in my expression or my manner to make me seem disinterested, or worse, unkind to those present.

"You've already met our young friend Pennington Renfrew, or Penn as he's called. May I also introduce—"

"Hello there, lovely young woman," a voice said from across the room. A boy who appeared to be younger than Penn came toward me, but I was unprepared for his manner of approach.

He was seated in a chair with wheels affixed to it where stationary legs should have been. "Where have they been hiding you?"

Before I could answer, he reached out a hand toward me and grasped hold of my fingers.

"My name is Jon Robeson Weatherall II, but everyone calls me Jib." He precociously, and enthusiastically, looked up at me from below, his eyes affixed to my own as he placed a kiss upon my hand. "Lucky we are, to have you here with us tonight."

"Oh for heaven's sake, Jib, really." A young, feminine voice addressed us now, and I turned to see a girl standing behind me.

She was a little taller than I, with beautiful auburn hair escaping her proper, braided style in unruly curling tendrils at her ears and nape. She was dressed in the most interesting outfit; a lace overskirt that split to reveal menswear tailored pants beneath, closely fitted and oddly very stylish. Her blouse and jacket were all ruffles, buttons and lace and, analyzing it carefully, I thought to myself that surely she and I must have the same tailor. Her blouse was pink, her jacket, skirt, and pants all heather gray. It was an elegant outfit, if something I knew would never be found in any of the shops down on the main thoroughfare. Perhaps that was why it was so striking; every fashion Schuyler created seemed to be suited specifically to the person who would wear it.

The most remarkable thing about this girl, however, was the pair of tiny, gold-rimmed and rose-colored spectacles that were perched upon her tiny, upturned nose. They kept sliding down, and she'd have to reach up with a hand to push them back into their proper place. She blinked, repeatedly, and seemed to both squint and strain to look at me, causing me to wonder just how much success she was having in trying to see my face.

"Hello," she said at last. She reached out and did not quite find my hand on her first attempt as she tried to snatch it away from Jib. "I'm Marielle Sterling. It's going to be nice to have another woman around this place."

"Woman!" Jib laughed. "Listen to you, Marielle. All of fifteen and you're a woman now."

"Well, what about you? You're only seventeen and you try to charm every woman you meet like a well-traveled man of the world."