Release date: November 30, 2019
Subgenre: Gaslamp Fantasy
About A Riddle in Bronze:
An elderly professor and his daughter advertise for an expert bookkeeper.
Instead, they employ a naive young man with very little experience.
But what if keeping the books is not the real reason they hired him?
What if they have an ulterior motive?
London, England, 1871.
When I applied for a position with Professor Twickham and his daughter, I lied about my qualifications.
As it turns out, they lied about the job for which I was applying.
Had we not been so untruthful with each other, there might have been fewer night terrors stalking the inhabitants of the City.
Fewer unexplained disappearances.
Fewer deaths.
Now, nobody is safe from the creeping horrors we've unleashed.
With no time to spare, we face an impossible task: we must discover the mysteries in metal in order to right this wrong.
But is it already too late?
Instead, they employ a naive young man with very little experience.
But what if keeping the books is not the real reason they hired him?
What if they have an ulterior motive?
London, England, 1871.
When I applied for a position with Professor Twickham and his daughter, I lied about my qualifications.
As it turns out, they lied about the job for which I was applying.
Had we not been so untruthful with each other, there might have been fewer night terrors stalking the inhabitants of the City.
Fewer unexplained disappearances.
Fewer deaths.
Now, nobody is safe from the creeping horrors we've unleashed.
With no time to spare, we face an impossible task: we must discover the mysteries in metal in order to right this wrong.
But is it already too late?
Excerpt:
I was about to ask what my duties might be, and whether the
professor wanted me to get started immediately, when there was a
sound of approaching footsteps from the hall outside. It was a
heavy tread, which discounted Mrs Fairacre, and I wondered whether
one of the other applicants had come to plead their case.
Instead, the door opened and a young woman strode in without having paused to knock. "Father, have you... oh!"
The newcomer was around my age, with long dark hair tied up in a rough bun, in the way of a washerwoman or a market stall-holder, and she was wearing a set of bib overalls covered in soot or a similar fine black powder. Heavy work boots completed her outfit, and I would have taken her for a chimney sweep had it not been for the way she addressed the professor. Then I studied her face, and in that instant it was as though the mirror atop the great lighthouse of Alexandria was reflecting sunlight directly into my unshielded eyes.
I do not speak of radiant beauty or other such romantic frippery, but rather the sheer life force and strength of character apparent within the person standing before me. This was a woman who stood for no nonsense, and her clear, intelligent eyes would miss no detail, however small.
Then she gave me a warm smile and held out a slender hand. "A pleasure to make your acquaintance, Mr Hartlow. I'm Roberta Twickham."
So taken was I by the radiant smile that I had already extended my own hand before I became aware of her error. "Ah, er, it's Mr Jones, actually. Mr Septimus Jones, at your service."
Roberta withdrew her hand. "Father," she said, with an edge to her voice. "Tell me you did not hire the wrong bookkeeper."
Instead, the door opened and a young woman strode in without having paused to knock. "Father, have you... oh!"
The newcomer was around my age, with long dark hair tied up in a rough bun, in the way of a washerwoman or a market stall-holder, and she was wearing a set of bib overalls covered in soot or a similar fine black powder. Heavy work boots completed her outfit, and I would have taken her for a chimney sweep had it not been for the way she addressed the professor. Then I studied her face, and in that instant it was as though the mirror atop the great lighthouse of Alexandria was reflecting sunlight directly into my unshielded eyes.
I do not speak of radiant beauty or other such romantic frippery, but rather the sheer life force and strength of character apparent within the person standing before me. This was a woman who stood for no nonsense, and her clear, intelligent eyes would miss no detail, however small.
Then she gave me a warm smile and held out a slender hand. "A pleasure to make your acquaintance, Mr Hartlow. I'm Roberta Twickham."
So taken was I by the radiant smile that I had already extended my own hand before I became aware of her error. "Ah, er, it's Mr Jones, actually. Mr Septimus Jones, at your service."
Roberta withdrew her hand. "Father," she said, with an edge to her voice. "Tell me you did not hire the wrong bookkeeper."
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About Simon Haynes:
Simon Haynes is the author of the Hal Spacejock series, the Hal Junior
series, and the upcoming Harriet Walsh series, as well as several dozen
short stories. He is also the programmer and designer behind Spacejock
Software, and is responsible for popular programs like yWriter and
yBook.
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