Page 53 of The Gargoyle's Glade
I sped through my checks, still thorough but anxious to get through my duties so I could return to her side.
It was dawn by the time I was finished. I returned to my hut as soon as I could, but she hadn’t slept in like I hoped. There was a little note on the dining table, letting me know she’d gone back to her cabin for a proper cup of tea.
She smiled as I crossed her yard, rising from her seat on the top step of the porch. She was wrapped up in a blanket to protect from the cold, a steaming cup cradled in her hands.
“I’m glad you’re here,” she said, setting the cup on the railing.
“Yeah?”
“Yes. Though I don’t see a carving in your hand. I was hoping for a little creature to add to my hearth. I rather like them.”
“I was short on time, but I’m glad to hear that.” Her casual flirting had my heart thumping like I was a youngling again, and her being tousled and sleepy was perhaps the most gorgeous way I’d seen her yet.
“Join me for breakfast?”
“I’d love to.”
Merry smiled and stepped off the porch, beauty in motion.
I saw it then, my whole future in a single vision, the truth of it so powerful I held my breath. The early morning sunlight blazed behind her, curls wild and open arms lit up like wings.
Epilogue
MERRY
The kitchen at d’Arcan was not in any way a small space, but there were so many people in it at the same time, navigating around one another had become like a dance.
Grace hadn’t stopped smiling, which was incredible to me, as we’d already been working without a break for several hours, and she’d started preparing at least two days before.
“Thank you, girls,” she said, addressing Sara and Jana, who were short enough they could duck through the crush of adult bodies with ease. Grace wiped her hands on her apron as she made a pass through the room, expert eyes taking everything in. “Please take the tin of sugar to Merry and then bring up another basket of clean towels. Lay them out flat on the closest student table, okay? Not the family table, we don’t want to ruin the finish.”
“Yes ma’am,” they chimed.
Having heard my name, I turned to accept the large container. “Thank you, girls.”
“Welcome, Miss Merry!” The two girls dashed out the door to the dining room.
I measured the sugar I needed into my pot of bubbling fruit and started to stir. We were making jam. Apple, berry, andeven some pear. We’d started the day chopping and blanching squash, tomatoes, green beans. Everything we’d harvested from our gardens, plus some things Grace picked up in bulk at the market. After the jam was poured and we stopped for a bit to rest, we’d be going into pickles. Cucumbers, carrots. Green beans and asparagus. Calla, Greta, Hailon, and I had all followed Grace’s expert instruction, and now there were jars all up and down the kitchen countertops and lining tables in the dining room.
“Be sure you don’t spill on your hand. Boiling sugar makes a nasty burn,” Grace warned as Calla started carefully transferring her spiced apple butter into jars.
“Thankfully we’re in the best possible place for being treated.” Calla’s mouth was clenched as she focused, but her eyes sparkled with mirth.
“I’m nearly there on the preventive elixir,” Greta added, starting in on some of the stacks of washing.
“Preventive?” Hailon asked.
Greta grinned and winked at me. “Yes, Coltor came to me a while back asking about something that could be taken ahead of possible injury. Quite smart actually, but difficult to nail down a perfect recipe for. I’ve had to send off for several rare plants to experiment with.” She grew thoughtful, gaze far away as she dried one of the large pots. “Would be nice to have some of those expensive items more closely at hand for my work.”
“You need a poison garden,” I offered.
“Poison garden?” Grace asked, scuttling back and forth, wiping jar rims and setting on the special lids.
“It would have to be secured somewhere none of the students—or children, or animals for that matter—can accidentally get into it.”
“Wait, what on earth is a poison garden?” Grace repeated.
“Just what it sounds like,” Hailon offered. “We never had one in Ravenglen, most everything we needed grew wild in the mountains, but I loved the idea of putting one in the backyard for the extra rare things I never got to play with.” We shared a smile.
