formal,” but the room was still much larger — and grander — than the dining room in the house where I had grown up. My aunt and uncle were already there, drinking their own morning tea. Larinda, one of the downstairs maids, had just set out platters of fresh fruit and several of my favorite, the breakfast pie made with cheese and eggs and bacon.
“Mama,” Adalynn said without preamble as she entered the chamber, “Mama, another pair of my slippers has been ruined, and Janessa’s as well. We think it must be Daisy, worrying at them in the middle of the night while we are asleep.”
Looking rather startled, my aunt set down her teacup. “Another pair of slippers?”
“ All our slippers,” Theranne put in. “Only I had been wearing my older ones, and so I am not quite so put out as Adalynn. But still, Mama, I think it very bad of Daisy to treat them so.”
“What on earth is this nonsense about Daisy?” my uncle demanded. “That dog was asleep in her bed when I closed my eyes last night, and she was still there when I awoke. The door to our suite was closed. So how, pray, do you think the dog got out at all, let alone went upstairs — where she never goes, because the staircase frightens her — and chewed on your slippers?”
My cousins all looked at one another, none of them apparently that eager to respond. Uncle Danly was a kindly man, but he did not appreciate a commotion at his breakfast table.
But then Adalynn said, “I do not know. I just cannot think of any other explanation for our shoes becoming so terribly damaged night after night.”
For a few seconds, no one said anything. My aunt glanced over at me, then asked, “And what of you, Iselda?”
“I?” I responded, startled. I had been hanging back, watching but wanting to stay out of the conversation.
“Yes, you. I cannot help but notice that you do not claim to have suffered the same kind of losses as your cousins. What about your slippers? Have you found them in the same regrettable state?”
“No, Aunt Lyselle. They do not seem to have been harmed.”
“Well, that’s rather extraordinary, don’t you think?”
I had to admit to myself that it was, although not for the reasons she might think. Perhaps very soon there would come a time when I was forced to admit everything to her, but at the moment I only wanted to steer the conversation away from me. How could I tell my aunt — and everyone else present — that I was more or less unscathed because the spell that had summoned the rest of the girls out to the nighttime forest had not touched me?
Either they would think I was mad, or, worse, they would summon one of the witch-finders from Bodenskell to investigate further. True, King Harlin had a far more relaxed stance about magic and mages than his crazed father, but even so, he had not abolished that investigative body, either. The last thing I wanted was for the witch-finders to track down the strange young man I had met in the woods the night before. He had sworn that my cousins would be fine, and they were — perhaps somewhat weary, but certainly healthy and whole.
I doubted very much that the witch-finders would take such a fact into their consideration.
All I could do was lift my shoulders. “Perhaps. But if it is Daisy who is doing these things, perhaps she does not like the odor of my feet.”
Theranne and Carella both giggled, and even my uncle’s mouth quirked.
“I do not think it is Daisy,” Aunt Lyselle said. “It seems we have a mystery on our hands, but we will not solve it here. Do sit down, girls — having you stand there in the doorway like that is giving me a headache.”
Everyone dutifully went to take their seats, and I sat as well. As my cousins occupied themselves with filling their plates, some of the tension went out of the room.
But I saw my aunt watching me closely, speculation in her eyes, and I knew I would have to be careful. She was right — there was a mystery, and so far she had
“Mama,” Adalynn said without preamble as she entered the chamber, “Mama, another pair of my slippers has been ruined, and Janessa’s as well. We think it must be Daisy, worrying at them in the middle of the night while we are asleep.”
Looking rather startled, my aunt set down her teacup. “Another pair of slippers?”
“ All our slippers,” Theranne put in. “Only I had been wearing my older ones, and so I am not quite so put out as Adalynn. But still, Mama, I think it very bad of Daisy to treat them so.”
“What on earth is this nonsense about Daisy?” my uncle demanded. “That dog was asleep in her bed when I closed my eyes last night, and she was still there when I awoke. The door to our suite was closed. So how, pray, do you think the dog got out at all, let alone went upstairs — where she never goes, because the staircase frightens her — and chewed on your slippers?”
My cousins all looked at one another, none of them apparently that eager to respond. Uncle Danly was a kindly man, but he did not appreciate a commotion at his breakfast table.
But then Adalynn said, “I do not know. I just cannot think of any other explanation for our shoes becoming so terribly damaged night after night.”
For a few seconds, no one said anything. My aunt glanced over at me, then asked, “And what of you, Iselda?”
“I?” I responded, startled. I had been hanging back, watching but wanting to stay out of the conversation.
“Yes, you. I cannot help but notice that you do not claim to have suffered the same kind of losses as your cousins. What about your slippers? Have you found them in the same regrettable state?”
“No, Aunt Lyselle. They do not seem to have been harmed.”
“Well, that’s rather extraordinary, don’t you think?”
I had to admit to myself that it was, although not for the reasons she might think. Perhaps very soon there would come a time when I was forced to admit everything to her, but at the moment I only wanted to steer the conversation away from me. How could I tell my aunt — and everyone else present — that I was more or less unscathed because the spell that had summoned the rest of the girls out to the nighttime forest had not touched me?
Either they would think I was mad, or, worse, they would summon one of the witch-finders from Bodenskell to investigate further. True, King Harlin had a far more relaxed stance about magic and mages than his crazed father, but even so, he had not abolished that investigative body, either. The last thing I wanted was for the witch-finders to track down the strange young man I had met in the woods the night before. He had sworn that my cousins would be fine, and they were — perhaps somewhat weary, but certainly healthy and whole.
I doubted very much that the witch-finders would take such a fact into their consideration.
All I could do was lift my shoulders. “Perhaps. But if it is Daisy who is doing these things, perhaps she does not like the odor of my feet.”
Theranne and Carella both giggled, and even my uncle’s mouth quirked.
“I do not think it is Daisy,” Aunt Lyselle said. “It seems we have a mystery on our hands, but we will not solve it here. Do sit down, girls — having you stand there in the doorway like that is giving me a headache.”
Everyone dutifully went to take their seats, and I sat as well. As my cousins occupied themselves with filling their plates, some of the tension went out of the room.
But I saw my aunt watching me closely, speculation in her eyes, and I knew I would have to be careful. She was right — there was a mystery, and so far she had
Similar Books
