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Clockwork Heart Chapter 14

Chapter Fourteen

The carriage that had taken them all swiftly to the ball now chugged back to Clancy manor at a more sedate pace. However despite the sleepy atmosphere holding on to the occupants of the coach, there was an underlying tension. Emma had her head leaning against the walls of the coach, shaking with each bob of the vehicle but her eyes were fluttering every few seconds as sleep fought to consume her.

Millie however was wide awake. Her mind was turning over the proposal her acquaintance had given her and decided it wasn’t entirely repulsive. She would be free to do as she pleased, inventing and not chained to the home like a good little housewife. And yet, she was reluctant to enter into a marriage with a man that could never love her – never give her a family. It may not have been on her list of priorities then but she couldn’t rule out her desire for them in the future.

Sighing she rolled her head to the side and glanced out of the window while her hands rubbed up and down the length of her arms. They were covered in Goosebumps but the young woman knew that they had nothing to do with the cold. If anything, her flustered mind meant that she was uncomfortably hot.

Pulling open the small window embedded in the door to allow in some fresh air, Millie immediately started to choke. Clouds of black wafted past bringing with it the tangy scent of fire as it tore through a building. Terror caused the young woman to stick her head outside to look for the source. The last time there had been a major fir in Portside, twenty homes in the poorer district had been destroyed before it was brought under control.

Her eyes quickly started to burn from the smog now blowing through the streets. Craning her head up, she was pleased to see the driver had taking the initiative, using his neck scarf to cover his mouth and he was now wearing a pair of goggles that reminded Millie of the pair she often wore when traversing the other side of town.

“Are you alright Reg?” She hollered before spluttering out a cough when she took in a lungful of the noxious air.

The man startled, jolting the controls for the coach so that it swayed threateningly. Reg, a portly man of her father’s years, quickly got the vehicle back under control, turning smoothly around the tight corner before letting go to give her a ‘thumbs up’ gesture.

With a quick nod of her head, she withdrew into the coach and slammed shut the window.

She was just about to slump back into the seats when suddenly a bright glow was impressed upon the night sky. No doubt it would be seen for miles around because one of the largest buildings for fifty miles was now aflame. Millie resisted the urge to stop the coach as they wheeled down the street. She had to grip the edge of the seat tight to keep herself firmly within the coach as the image of her father’s business up in flames was now stuck firmly within her mind.

The rest of the journey dragged on for what seemed an eternity to the only conscious occupant as she urged Reg to hurry home. The hairs at the nape of her neck were tingling as they stood on end. Trying to force away the sick feeling that was forming in her stomach, the teen wriggled uncomfortably on her seat. Every few seconds her eyes would glance out of the window but all they would see was smoke and houses that were flying past so fast that she almost got sick from the motion.

Thus, when the coach jolted to a stop more abruptly that she was used to, it was only by clamping her hand over her mouth and clenching her jaw that the Clancy heir managed to stop her self from vomiting over the floor. Glaring up at the room as she forced herself back into the chair, Millie hoped that the man outside could feel her eyes burning into him and yet she also felt a jab of concern warring with the irritation in her heart.

Her face twitched as she thought over her actions causing her friend, who had startled awake in the abrupt stop, to laugh so loud that it rang in their ears for a long time after they stopped.