AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Do the authorities know aboutthislab?” I wondered.
He nodded. “And they have the same concerns as the good professor. That one careless action would relocate not only them but the whole house.”
“And thus the family lab remains as a relic of past ages,” I mused as I dove into the pages of my tome.
The rest of the day was filled with a gentle silence as I tried to catch up to nearly eight hundred years of history, and that was just the city of Validen. By the time my perusing had finished, it was dark outside and my stomach grumbled for its nighttime sustenance.
I closed my book and stretched my arms over my head. Ben looked up from his own thick tome and smiled at me as I stood. I looked behind myself and examined the well-cushioned seat beneath me had a nice indent where my butt had sat for so long.
“I bet these chairs have felt a lot of weight,” I mused as I ran my hand over the front of the arm where the wood had been smoothed to a shine by countless hands.
“The twin sets are rather old,” Ben confirmed as he stood and moved over to the empty spot on the shelf where he had fetched his book. “I believe they were a gift to one of my great-great-great-great aunts on her betrothal to a Prince of the Sands.”
I lifted an eyebrow. “Prince of the sands? What’s that?”
“An honorary title granted to those of royal lineage in the desert kingdom of Kalea that lies in the middle of the Coerulus Sea,” he told me.
I blinked at him. “A desert in the middle of a sea?”
“It’s a rather unique kingdom,” he explained as he joined me at my chair. “A magic barrier protects it both from the torrential storms of the sea and from invaders, but the first comes at the cost of a scarcity of water.”
“And your aunt married into the family of one of those dry nobility?” I wondered.
“She hated rainy days,” he explained as he used a hand to gesture to the door. “But shall we see what Tully has in store for us this fine evening?”
I licked my lips as we exited the elegant room. “I hope whatever it is, it’s really juicy.”
We entered the dining room and found our places set, and Tully stood beside the table. He grasped an envelope in his hand and had a frown on his lips.
Ben lifted an eyebrow. “What is it?”
Tully held out the envelope to me. I was a little apprehensive as I took the paper and studied the writing on the back. My face fell and I looked up at Ben’s curious expression. “It’s from Lady Trent.”
He frowned. “I see. What does it say?”
I opened the envelope and drew out the letter. The handwritten note was even more brief than the first. “Dear Miss Lucas. I have not received your crow call with your answer and was concerned my first letter did not reach you. I cordially invite you to join the Lady’s Book Club, a circle of women intent on the pursuit of scholastic knowledge-” A stifled snort came from my companion, “-and intellectual stimulation. Please reply with a crow call with your answer at your earliest convenience. Yours sincerely, Lady Josephine Trent.” I folded the letter and tucked it back into its envelope. “That’s even pushier than the first letter.”
“When was the letter delivered?” Ben asked his servant. Tully tapped the right side of his face just above the right-most corner of his eyebrow. “And you didn’t interrupt us?” Tully opened his hands in front of him as though he was reading a book, and Ben sighed. “Yes, I suppose that would have ruined a perfectly good afternoon.”
I whipped my head between them. “When did it come?”
“The letter was delivered at two,” he told me as he folded his arms over his chest. A dark cloud settled on his brow. “It appears Lady Trent is even more assertive than I expected. You will have to give her a reply, or she may deliver a crow call at the midnight hour.”
My shoulders slumped and I cast an annoyed look at the envelope. A sigh finally escaped me and I shrugged. “I suppose I could try it once or twice. What could it hurt?”
Tully drew out a vial from his pristine servant’s jacket and held it out to me. I recognized the swirling mass of black stuff in the glass as a magical ‘crow,’ and so I took the bottle from him and popped the cork. The shadow creature flew out and landed on my arm. I cleared my throat and spoke in a loud clear voice. My, um, dear Lady Trent. This is Millie Lucas returning your message about your book club, and I would like to join. Sincerely yours, Miss Lucas.”
I threw my arm up and tossed the crow into the air. The creature took flight and shot under the front door where it disappeared into the darkness.
I sighed as I popped the cork back on the bottle and handed it to Tully. “Why do you feel like I’m going to regret that?”
“It’s a mistake easily remedied,” Ben assured me as he offered me his arm. “But let us sup and forget our worries. Tomorrow we visit the tract grounds, and that may prove to be very exciting for both of us.”
How right he was.
CHAPTERSEVEN
Morning came,and with it the bright, evil sun. I lay in bed, tucked tightly in a vast array of blankets and with my head cushioned by incredibly soft pillows. It was a Garden of Eden, and I was about to be banished.
