Proper Princess

Chapter Eighteen

Robert and I stayed in the garden for what must have been near half an hour before he decided it was best he take his leave- he worried that someone may come out to check on me, and find us in the compromising position of his arm resting atop my shoulder. Still, it took several minutes to actually pull apart from each other when I leaned in for a goodbye kiss, seeming unable to resist, and Robert suddenly deepened the kiss, apparently having a hard time with restraint, as well.

I was not about to complain, though.

After a few lingering touches, Robert finally turned, loping his way towards the back part of the garden so he would not be spotted walking out the front. He would have to make the short jump over the fence, but it would mean we would not be questioned.

Just to be safe, I lingered for a few minutes, sitting on the bench and holding the book open in my lap in case anybody wandered upon me. As expected, nobody came to look for me, and I was a bit disappointed that Robert and I had not taken advantage of all of the time we could have had together.

The house was much the same as it had been when I stepped out- Thomas was still seated at the desk, and the sound of Susanna playing the piano was still echoing through the Front Parlor as I made my way up the stairs.

How strange it was that, as my world secretly shifted and changed so dramatically, everyone in the house remained exactly the same and entirely unaware.

Just as I went to open the door to my bedroom- the bedroom that I found a bit depressing now that I did not share the space with my sister- a door further down the hallway opened.

John's head popped out of Michael's room, and from how prompt he was to wave me over, I assumed he had heard me coming up the stairs and come to call for me, anyway. I released the doorknob to my own room and made my way a few feet over, allowing John to pull me into Michael's bedroom.

"Look at this," John insisted, rushing me by the arm over to Michael's bed. My brother had stripped all the bedding off of his mattress so as to not lose any of the small metal pieces he had scattered about, and he was holding a simple-looking box with a wind-up dial.

Michael was gentle with the box in his hand, and though he looked tired, there was a smile on his face. He had thrown himself into his 'invention' the past several days, seeming to use his work as a distraction from the distress our family had suddenly been thrust into. And since John had been Michael's partner in this mad invention scheme, he had been here day and night, as well. 

My brother wound up the dial on the side of the box several times, and then released it, and a simple melody began to play. I expected it to begin to slow after a minute or so, but the melody stretched on and on.

"We have it timed at six minutes and thirteen seconds," John said proudly. I turned to face him as he spoke. "Which is several minutes longer than any other music box can play.

I reached forward, brushing a finger gently against the box. It was not lined with gold or intricately painted, as the most prized music boxed tended to be, but that did not take away from the amazing feat of it. It truly was a diamond in the rough. "It's incredible. Even the most expensive of music boxes never surpass a minute- and even that may be a stretch."

Music boxes were in great demand; They were the only way to hear a song unless you wanted to hire a live band or create a melody yourself. So a music box that could play for several minutes- that could supply music as entertainment without needing to be constantly attended and re-wound- would indeed be revolutionary.

"Perhaps we could use electricity to produce one that plays even longer," John suggested, coming to sit beside Michael on the bed and take the box from him- already, he was moving on to his next creation, it seemed. "You have heard of Benjamin Franklin, of course- he theorizes of an electrical charge. There is a fairly new invention called a Telegraph, which utilizes static electricity. And that fellow whom lives in Lancashire- oh, what is his name...?"