“Ingenious,” he proclaimed, straightening up. “I’m very happy to have such an unusual item in my collection. No doubt almost as pleased as you will be to have it removed, Miss Flaherty.” “Quite.” Celeste curled her toes around the bars framing the leg of the stool Jonathan had offered. Their clothing was still damp, but Jonathan had stoked the fires in his work area and it was quite toasty as he set to work. Despite her ordeal, Celeste’s bright eyes had taken in the room with avid interest. Brace knew he’d found himself one amazing woman. His friend had set out a variety of cutting tools and a stack of soft cloths. “This is going to hurt, I’m afraid.” “Freeing me cannot hurt more than my initial imprisonment,” she assured him. Brace was amazed by how still she stood, how patient and stoic her expression, as Jonathan slowly cut off the clockwork medallion. After about twenty minutes he had sawed away the surprisingly thick bars pierced through her throat and removed the chain.
