Page 94 of Heir of Uncertain Magic

MissTaylor, without looking up from her paper, said, “Mr.Baillie has been manipulating you, sir. He sent me to Canada because my abilities would betray him.”

“Lies!” Baillie shouted.

Hulda straightened. “It’s true. He’s played all of us for fools. If anyone wants BIKER for himself, it’s Mr.Baillie.”

Mr.Walker’s expression contorted one way, then another. “I don’t ... that is ...”

“He drowned!” Nettie sobbed, pulling out the new, plain handkerchief Merritt had purchased for her. “A fisherman all his life, and he drowned. And for what? We’ve no savings, no prospects—”

“I can’t hear what you said!” cried MissSteverus.

“And youdaredto accuseme!” Merritt shouted, pointing a finger right at Baillie. The lawyer’s attention flashed to Merritt, then to Hulda. Beth wrote furiously on the paper.

“You think you can imprison me?” Baptiste asked, his accent thicker than usual. He cracked his knuckles. “I’d like to see you try.”

Matthew swayed on his feet. “That is, wheneverIstart feeling blue, I think of this silly song my sister used to sing when we were little—”

Merritt caught MissRichards’s voice in the background, but it was drowned out by Owein’s barking and Nettie’s sobbing. Either his wardship spells hadn’t held or she’d found an alternative exit.

Merritt feinted a lurch forward. “If they don’t take care of you, Alastair, I certainly will! You’ll point the blame anywhere so long as it’s not on you!” Then, a little quieter, “Not sure you’ll get your payout now.”

He knew he’d hit the mark when Baillie recoiled.

“You’re ruining BIKER!” Hulda wailed, and the genuine sound of it nearly threw Merritt off his game. But a glance at Beth’s writing toldhim to keep pushing. She was writing down Hulda’s name—either she was worried to the point of tears or Baillie was getting her emotions confused with Nettie’s.

“Listen to reason,” Beth said as she glanced at the pocket watch. “Mr.Walker, we are unarmed. We are not dangerous. We’re merely trying to state the facts. My record is clear—”

“And now I’m here,” Nettie cried, “and I don’t even know why. And my daughter-in-law hates me, so who knows if they’ll take me in—”

“—little mouse, round and fat—” Matthew sang.

“I went to prison once,” Baptiste growled. “Want me to tell you what happened to the man who put me there?”

Bark! Bark! Bark!Owein jumped in place.

Mr.Walker started laughing.Laughing.Yet his expression was bewildered.

And Baillie ... Baillie looked utterly mortified. He grabbed his hair with one hand, mussing it. A shiny film began to coat his face as his attention flew from one person to the next. He took a step back.

“What’s going on?” MissSteverus bellowed.

“How dare you!” Nettie screamed, and shoved Matthew, who had just finished his sister’s song.

Merritt readied another threat, taking a step forward, and suddenly feared it wasn’t enough, none of this was enough, he was going to fail—

No,he reminded himself, and thought about Ebba outside that concert hall, ready to jump into the carriage and leave him behind without a word.No, those are Hulda’s emotions.The sudden influx of his own concern wasn’t his doing.

Movement in his peripheral vision caught his eye—a quick glance toward the door revealed a newcomer, a stout older fellow in fine clothes and well-fitted cap. Judge Maddock, Merritt was guessing. But he didn’t have time to focus on that.

He thought about his father throwing him out of the house instead, and his fingers twitched at his side. He used it as fuel and leveled his glare at Walker. “He’s using you! Can’t you see that?”

Walker blinked and touched his head. “What’s going on?” he asked, sounding utterly baffled.

Beth wrote down his name.

“No,” he went on. “Get out! All of you! This is trespassing!”

“We’re BIKER employees, sir,” Beth offered.

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