Arbrook Huxley, producer of the Electrical Menagerie, has just been unwittingly embroiled in an inconvenient love triangle.
Headstrong Agatha is determined to romance Huxley. Lovelorn Gerald is determined to romance Agatha. Fickle Auntie is determined to keep Agatha single.
Meanwhile, all Huxley ever wanted was Auntie’s fortune — and the only thing that could make this luncheon more disastrous was if the mysterious magician’s hat he borrowed went catastrophically awry…
This comedy-of-manners novelette (10k) introduces the magical, steampunk fantasy world of The Celestial Isles — a gaslamp empire of floating islands, flying trains, electrical creatures, and — of course — afternoon tea. It can be enjoyed before or after reading The Electrical Menagerie.