Magnificent Devices 01 - Lady of Devices

off the filthy road outside Aldgate Station.
    What had she been thinking? She could no more betray the trust of Willie, the girls, Tigg, Jake, or Snouts than she could her own baby brother Nicholas. No. Impossible.
    Claire lifted her head and deliberately turned her shoulder to Lord James. “Mr. Malvern, you have convinced me. If we can work out a suitable arrangement for the continuing education of the children, I would be honored to assist you in your scientific efforts. Perhaps together we may yet change the landscape of the railroad industry.”
    His delighted astonishment was all the reward a woman could ask for.
    What a pity she couldn’t see the reactions behind her. Still, the silence reverberating in the air was extremely satisfying, and the brevity of their farewells even more so.
    As she and her little party walked slowly toward the exit, the light playing over them as though even Heaven approved of her boldness, Claire couldn’t help the flutter of nerves in her stomach. Once again, she had burned a bridge behind her—this time, for all the best reasons.
    Only time would tell if she had done the right thing.
    She lifted her face to the sky as, surrounded by her accidental family, she stepped out of the mighty glass doors and into her future.

Epilogue

    My dear Claire,

    I am this very morning in receipt of a tube from my aunts Beaton, who say they have not seen you at all these past three weeks. I confess your behavior puzzles and distresses me. You were to have concluded the affairs of our move and joined me here in Cornwall. Instead, you have embarked on a mad scheme to find employment. It is enough that I must contemplate the thought of my daughter earning her bread in such a thankless manner. But to know so little of how or why—I cannot bear it.
    What is the name of the family in whose bosom you have found such employment? Are they socially acceptable? If you must do this, I would expect nothing less than the children of a duke, dear. I would also expect you would keep your situation utterly unknown to our acquaintance. Find some way of swearing the duke and duchess to secrecy. I insist upon it.
    Dear Heaven, Claire, you make it increasingly difficult for me to find you a suitable husband. How can you be so headstrong when my faculties are barely adequate to see to the tasks I have at hand?
    Have you heard from Mr. Arundel? I find I am out of pocket far sooner than I expected. He must find a way to locate what your father used to call working capital, otherwise, I shall be forced to let some of the staff go.
    Inform me at once of your situation. If I do not find it suitable, I shall contact Gorse and prevail upon him to bring you down to Cornwall by main force if necessary.

    Ever your loving
    Mother

    THE END

    Enjoy Lady Claire’s continuing adventures
    in book two, Her Own Devices ,
    available now!

About the Author

    Award-winning author Shelley Adina wrote her first teen novel when she was 13. It was rejected by the literary publisher to whom she sent it, but he did say she knew how to tell a story. That was enough to keep her going through the rest of her adolescence, a career, a move to another country, a B.A. in Literature, an M.F.A. in Writing Popular Fiction, and countless manuscript pages. Between books, Shelley loves traveling, playing the piano and Celtic harp, making period costumes, and spoiling her flock of rescued chickens.

    Find out about Shelley’s other novels at www.shelleyadina.com :

    The All About Us series
    It’s All About Us (2008)
    The Fruit of My Lipstick (2008)
    Be Strong and Curvaceous (2009)
    Who Made You a Princess? (2009)
    Tidings of Great Boys (2009)
    The Chic Shall Inherit the Earth (2010)

    Steampunk
    Lady of Devices (2011)
    Her Own Devices (2011)

    Paranormal
    Immortal Faith (2011)

    Continue reading for an excerpt from Her Own Devices , the second book in the Magnificent Devices series!

    Summary

    If you like steampunk stories by Cherie Priest and Gail Carriger, you’ll love Her Own Devices , the sequel to Shelley Adina’s bestselling Lady of Devices .

    Escaped lunatics, lost children, vengeful lords, and love. Really, the situation is becoming quite impossible.
    Seventeen-year-old Lady Claire Trevelyan, left alone after the Arabian Bubble financial disaster claims home and family, now leads the cleverest gang in the London underworld. Between outwitting a rival gang, inventing a device that will net her and her scientist employer worldwide fame,