Page 60 of Boy of Chaotic Making

“I can get you some tea. Or ring for tea. You ring for tea here. Did you know that?”

She rewarded him with a small smile. “I am aware, yes. I used to be one of the people rung.”

“They arrested the man who’s been wreaking havoc on the house. Well, suspected of.”

Merritt hadn’t quite gotten the words out before Hulda whirled on him. “What? Who? When?”

Standing one stair below her, he summed up what had happened with the constable, who Benjamin Dosett was, and also that he had no recollection of the man.

Hulda considered this a moment. “I suppose that bedroom is closer to the drive. Easier to access, if he meant only to make a statement.”

“If I were making a statement”—Merritt touched her elbow and guided her up the stairs—“I’d leave a note. Broken windows and such have a habit of being lost in translation.”

Atop the stairs, they passed through the lobby toward the visitors’ morning room, which was a little dark, given the time of day, but empty. Hulda pushed open the door and hung a dark-orange bag half the size of Merritt’s palm on an unlit brazier—one of the promised wards. “If he’s only asuspect,” she said, “then I might as well stick to the original plan.” The original plan being stones and wards throughout the house,to either stop or detect anyone trying to use magic. Lady Helen had banned her family from doing any spells without express permission.

A fire was going within the hearth, but not as robustly as the one in the blue drawing room. Merritt added only a quarter log to it as Hulda sat at the edge of a sofa, spine erect and hands daintily folded in her lap.

“Hulda, darling”—Merritt took a seat next to her and pulled one of her hands loose—“there is no one here to witness your weariness. Relax.”

Letting out a long breath, Hulda let her perfect posture go and leaned back on the sofa. “There’s just so much going on.”

“And so much of it is finished, for now.”

She sighed. “I am not one for naps, but I’m sorely tempted.”

“If it will make you feel better, you should.” He shrugged. “No one here has a real occupation. Napping seems to be a favorite pastime.”

“They are notwithoutoccupation, it’s merely different.”

“Very different,” Merritt agreed. “Lady Helen wants us all to go on a tour of the Tower of London Monday, and she’s currently describing Owein’s son-in-law duties to him.”

Hulda snorted. “I do feel a little sorry for him.”

“I think he likes it. People don’t talk directly to him that often.”

She sobered. “That is true.”

“But”—he opened her hands and massaged her palm with his thumbs—“we did meet some interesting folk on our walk. Are you familiar with Druids?”

That had Hulda sitting up. “You met Druids?”

He took that as a yes. “Four of them, two children—well, I assume the hawk was a child—and two adults, a man and a woman. Kegan, Fallon, Morgance, and Sean. Friendly folk. Also, apparently we are the most entertaining thing in the Western Hemisphere, because they’vealsobeen tracking us. No offers of marriage, though.”

He went on to describe the meeting in detail. “And they want to see us again tomorrow.”

Hulda mulled over this. “Whatever for?”

Merritt shrugged. “They seem to see us as kin because of our ‘Druidic abilities.’ Honestly, it’s not very different from the Genealogical Society and the desire to preserve and extend magical lines.”

“Owein is not a Druid,” Hulda pointed out. “And you are certainly not permitted to extend any magical lines with anyone outside this room.”

He smiled. Wondered if that vision of hers was popping into her head again or not. He didn’t ask. “I’ve no desire to. Outside of this room, that is.”

The faintest dusting of pink crossed her nose. How long would it be, Merritt wondered, before Hulda grew used to his teasing, and such fetching blushes became extinct?

“You should come,” he offered. “Tomorrow.”

She sighed. “I would like to. It’s been a long time since my last conversation with a Druid. But I’m not sure I can spare the time. I have to return to BIKER soon, and these lessons from Professor Griffiths are already proving useful; I want to get in as many as I can while I can. And if Cyprus Hall is safe again, I need to utilize the spare time. I suppose that’s one benefit of this nonsense with the contract. More time.” She scoffed. “But more so—” She reached into her skirt pocket and withdrew a telegram. “Stones and wards aren’t the only thing I found at LIKER. Myra sent this.”

---