Page 48 of Wolf's Gambit

Worried the rate was unaffordable, and knowing how much money I had, I pretended to look anxious. “Is the rate…high?”

“It depends how she’s feeling. When you come back later, tell me what she charged you, and I’ll tell you if it’s reasonable.”

After getting instructions on how to get to Lottie’s, I left Maggie with the promise I’d see her later.

Lottie’s B&B was called Evergreen Shades. It sounded more like a retirement home, and as I walked down the slowly steeping driveway to the wooden cabin, I decided it looked like a retirement home too.

Huge, thick trunks of wood made up the cabin’s walls, and as I got closer, I saw the rusted tin roof covering. Window frames that needed a good clean, with decaying timber frames, ensured me the rate would be affordable.

The door opened outward, which surprised me after I tried to push it open at least twice. Inside, every soft furnishing was woolen or knitted. There was a large leather sofa that took up the floor, an open burning fireplace, and a small desk I assumed was for reception. I saw no sign of the owner.

“Hello?” I called out, seeing one other room tucked behind the main area and a staircase. When no one answered, I walked deeper into the building. “Hello?”

Turning the corner, it surprised me to see the room opened up farther than I first thought. The cabin was built in an L-shape, and another reception room waited for me with more stairs.

An older woman wearing a shawl and armed with a feather duster looked back at me through huge tortoiseshell glasses. “You lost?”

“No?” I looked around. “Are you Lottie?”

“Who wants to know?”

“I’m Zia, Maggie sent me. I start working with her tonight and need a place to stay for a while. She said Lottie may have a room for me.”

“Maggie said that, eh?” She lowered her feather duster. “You got money?”

Blinking at the abrupt question, I nodded. “I can pay my way.”

Lottie tipped her head. “How tall are you?”

“Um…I don’t know…”

She sniffed. “You’re taller than me,” she told me.

“No offense, ma’am, but I’ve seen squirrels taller than you.”

Lottie laughed out loud. “Maggie said you could clean?” She held out her duster. “I can’t reach.”

Crossing the room, I took the offered duster, dropping my backpack on the floor. Maggie had spoken to her already, and I wasn’t sure if I was grateful or not. “What can I help with?”

Lottie looked around the room. “All of it?”

Following her stare around the room, I eventually looked back at her. “Do you have a room for me?”

“I do.” Lottie jerked her thumb over her shoulder. “Back cabin, pretty basic…you need fancy?”

“Nope.” I popped my p like Maggie had done.

“Good. Dust first, talk later.”

Lottie shuffled off, and I was left standing in the middle of the reception area, a feather duster in my hand and silently wondering if the two women I had met in the last few hours were related. They were definitely unusual.

Lottie came back when I was almost finished dusting. Running her finger over a bookshelf, she sniffed when it came up clean.

“Come on,” she instructed.

Hastily, I picked up my backpack and followed her out the back. Seven cabins were placed in a semi-circle in the back area—the main house completely obscured them from the road. Woods lay beyond the boundary of Lottie’s land. I paid more attention to the area and the cabins as we passed, and I realized some of them were occupied.

Until we got to the last one. Smaller than the others, it sat in darkness. Lottie fiddled with a key and turned the light on when she stepped inside. It was narrow, with room for a single bed and a chest of drawers. The only other door opened to a small bathroom, not the closet I was expecting.