Chapter Twenty-Six
Torion was waiting for me in the lobby of the hotel, looking as angry as before. I decided that was simply his neutral expression and I shouldn’t take it personally.
“What can you tell me about Mrs. Monroe?” I asked as we climbed into one of the carriages I’d seen earlier. So far, Azure Cay didn’t feel all that different from Achnarach. At least we spoke the same language, though it would take some time to get used to the accent.
“Not much,” Torion said. “Mr. Wexley has had dealings with her in the past, but I steer clear of her myself.”
“That doesn’t sound promising,” I muttered.
He studied me, clearly unimpressed with what he saw. “Why did he bring you here, anyway? Everyone knows Mrs. Monroe will never part with that egg.” His gaze turned dark. “He’s not trying to trade you, is he?”
My mouth fell open in shock. “Of course not!”
He held up his hands. “I didn’t mean to offend you, but it doesn’t hurt to ask. I want no part in those sorts of dealings.”
“Neither do I,” I said, still indignant. “Would Mr. Wexley really do something like that?” I despised him, but that seemed too low even for him.
Torion shrugged. “It wouldn’t surprise me. As far as the Chancellor goes … I hope for your sake there’s more to you than meets the eye.”
I raised my chin, though what I really wanted to do was open the door to the carriage and roll down the street in the other direction. “There is,” I insisted, but something about his words nagged at me …
“Wait a minute. Did you say the Chancellor?”
“Sorry, Mrs. Monroe. She goes by the Chancellor, although I find that moniker rather pretentious.”
My heart stuttered. The Chancellor was the person Torion had mentioned that night at the docks, the one who collected magical bones.
Before I could question him further, the carriage lurched to a stop.
I peered out the window at the massive house before me.
It was at least three stories tall and as wide as a city block in Ardmuir. I swallowed and turned to Torion.
“Does Mrs. Monroe happen to have a very large family?”
He laughed. “No. She lives there alone, aside from her servants. And the cats, of course.”
I turned back to the mansion and grimaced. I couldn’t imagine living somewhere so large all by myself, even if I had twenty kittens to keep me company.
“I’ll wait here for you,” Torion said. “For one hour.”
“If I’m not out in an hour?” I asked, gripping my skirt in my fists.
“I’ll assume you’re dead. Goodbye, Miss Stokes, and good luck.”
I wiped my sweaty palms and opened the carriage door, climbing out onto the courtyard leading to the house. The carriage door slammed behind me, and for one second, I was afraid Torion had lied, that he planned to abandon me here.
Suddenly, the curtain was pulled aside. “Go on then,” Torion said. “I haven’t got all day.”
Steeling myself, I walked up the long driveway, expecting someone to scream at me for trespassing.
The Chancellor sounded formidable, but I had no magic in my bones, and if Mr. Wexley wanted his dragon egg as badly as he seemed to, there would be no point in sending me to my death.
I approached the front door and reached for one of the gold knockers shaped like a lion’s head. I rapped twice and waited.
Several moments later, the door opened to reveal a small man with round wire glasses. He looked like a younger, less beaky version of Mr. Tell, the grimoire conservator. “Good evening?”
Based on his accent, I pegged him as Achnarachian. “Ehm, good evening. I have an appointment with Mrs. Monroe?”
“Ah, you must be Miss Stokes. I’m Mr. Bellwether, Mrs. Monroe’s assistant. Do come in.” He opened the door and I stepped inside, trying not to goggle at the wide marble entryway or the enormous crystal chandelier overhead. I’d thought Wexley was rich, but this was wealth beyond my wildest dreams.
“How was your journey?” the man asked as he led me down a long corridor, presumably to Mrs. Monroe’s study.
“It was … fine,” I said, gripping my stomach as I remembered how miserable it had been.
The room itself was well-appointed, although there was little in the way of decoration aside from the purely functional: several lamps, a large wooden desk, neat rows of books lining the walls.
He took a seat behind the desk, folded his arms, and studied me.
“I must say, you’re rather young for an appraiser. You must be older than you look.”
An appraiser? Was that what Wexley had called me? Bloody hell. At best, I could pass for an apprentice. “Ehm, yes. I graduated early.”
“Excellent. I thought we could start in the gallery, and then move on to the more exceptional pieces.”
Bollocks. He was expecting me to prove myself before he showed me anything of true value, likely including the dragon egg. “Will Mrs. Monroe be joining us?” I asked, wondering if all my dealings would be with this man rather than the Chancellor herself.
“Not today, I’m afraid. She’s rather busy preparing for her party. But not to worry. I’m more than equipped to handle the business side of her collecting.”
I realized I hadn’t seen a single guard on my way up the drive.
There was no possible way this house didn’t have a security system in place for the dragon egg, so what was it?
I couldn’t recall seeing anything in the materials from Wexley, but then, I couldn’t recall much of anything beyond the bottom of a bucket.
“I only have an hour,” I said, hoping I sounded polite but firm. “My driver will be expecting me. Perhaps we can look at the collection tomorrow instead? That way I’ll have the daylight to help me truly appreciate Mrs. Monroe’s pieces.”
He lowered his glasses down his nose, eyeing me over the rims. “You seem terribly nervous, Miss Stokes. I assure you, I don’t bite.” He smiled. “That’s what the girls are for.”
As if on cue, a dark shape uncurled from under the desk, rising to its full height.
It was the largest wildcat I’d ever seen, its head nearly level with mine.
I heard a low rumble behind me and turned to see another enormous cat stalking toward me.
Achnarachian wildcats were known to be shy creatures, mostly sticking to the highlands.
But these cats were not in the least bit frightened.
The one next to the desk twitched its tail, staring at me with its yellow-green eyes.
The man patted its head as though it were as docile as Argyle. “Come along, Miss Stokes. Surely you have time to see a little of the collection before you go.”
Anxiously, I rose from my chair and followed him, both cats walking at my heels. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. Keep the heid, Willow. I just had to stay calm and collected, and then I could go back to the hotel and figure out what to do. Perhaps I could acquire a large ball of yarn.
Mr. Bellwether led me to a wide hallway lined with artwork, at least a dozen marble statues scattered throughout. “The gallery,” he said, spreading his arms. “What do you think?”
I think I don’t know the first thing about art!
“It’s quite nice,” I said instead, examining an oil painting as though I’d suddenly developed a keen interest in pastoral scenes. “But I’m afraid my area of expertise is magical items.”
I turned to find the little man watching me closely, flanked on either side by the massive cats. “If you’ve come about the dragon egg—”
“Eggs!” I blurted. “You just reminded me. I was baking earlier, and I think I left the oven on. I’d really better be going.” I started toward the door, only to find myself face-to-face with a third cat, even larger than the others.
“I’ll walk you out, Miss Stokes.” He waved the cat aside and it complied, albeit grudgingly. I was starting to rethink cats altogether. Perhaps dogs were more to my liking.
As we neared the front door and I was beginning to think I might make it out of here alive, Mr. Bellwether turned to me.
“Miss Stokes, if your name really is Stokes, I want to make one thing abundantly clear. The dragon egg is not for sale. No matter how much money you offer Mrs. Monroe, she won’t part with it.
Whoever sent you here for a supposed appraisal has put you in serious danger.
If I were you, I would leave Azure Cay on the next available ship. ”
“But—”
“If you decide to return, know that the cats will be waiting for you.”
I swallowed audibly.
“Something else you should know is that Mrs. Monroe doesn’t feed them very much. Enough to keep them alive, of course, but she likes to ensure they’re always hungry.”
As if to prove his point, one of the cats sat down and licked its lips, its eyes never leaving mine. “Understood,” I squeaked, and made for the door.
When I reached the courtyard, I sprinted for the carriage, as though the man might change his mind and send the cats after me. By the time I made it inside, I was panting, my ribs heaving against the bodice of my dress.
Torion arched an eyebrow as I sat down across from him, peering out the window to be sure I was safe. No one had followed me, human or feline, and I was relieved when Torion tapped on the roof of the carriage and we started off. I didn’t relax until we were absorbed into the traffic of Azure Cay.
Torion was still staring at me.
“What?” I asked.
“Nothing.”
“What?”
“Well, to be honest, I’m surprised you made it out alive. I had a bet going with the carriage driver.”
I scoffed. “You bet against me?”
“No. He did. I was afraid I might jinx you.”
“How much did you win?” I asked, not sure if I should take it as a compliment.
“Enough for me to buy you a drink. You look like you could use one.”
True to his word, Torion bought me a pint of ale—and a meal to go with it—at the hotel’s attached restaurant. It was as fine as the Four Swans, though the decor was all nautical-themed and reminded me a little too much of the ship. At least it had windows.
“So,” Torion said as he took a bite of butter-drenched lobster. “Did you see the egg?”
I shook my head, my mouth full of warm bread. “No, and Mrs. Monroe’s servant knew I wasn’t an appraiser. I’ll never get ahold of that egg now. At least not through the front door.”
“You don’t seem particularly worried.”
I shrugged, feigning far more confidence than I felt. “I didn’t have high hopes when I came here. But Mr. Wexley didn’t give me much of a choice. I’ll just have to come up with a different plan.”
Torion squinted one of his bright blue eyes and tilted his head. “I’m starting to see why he chose you for this.”
I laughed wryly. “Care to fill me in? Because I haven’t the faintest notion.”
He only smiled and paid the bill. He was still intimidating, but his generosity was a pleasant surprise.
I headed up to my room feeling more exhausted than I’d known was possible.
All I wanted was to crawl into my own cozy, warm bed with Argyle tucked up by my neck, but instead I found myself tiptoeing down the hallway toward the room.
Somehow, I was going to have to open the door, light a lamp, gather my reading materials, and sneak out without waking Bri.
I paused when I noticed light beneath our doorway. This would make the not-waking-her-up thing easier, but the sneaking was going to be much more difficult.
I knocked, deciding it would be better not to scare Bri by entering with my key, and a moment later the door flew open.
“Easy,” I said, raising my hands. “It’s me.”
Bri’s lips were pressed in a thin line, her nostrils flared, her eyebrows lowered in fury. “What exactly is this?” she asked, stepping aside and revealing the spilled contents of the satchel Wexley had given me, including the map, the reading materials, and the …
“Dragon egg,” I breathed. “Shite.”
It was a wonder smoke wasn’t pouring out of Bri’s ears.
“What are we doing here, Willow? Because I was under the impression we were searching for some flower so that I could break my curse and go home to my parents and finally touch them again! But something tells me you are here for entirely different reasons!”
“I can explain!” I said, shutting the door quietly behind me.
She placed her hands on her hips. “You’d better!”
I crossed my arms over my chest, my own hackles rising. “I will, if you’d calm down!”
“Don’t tell me to calm down,” she hissed, doing an impressive but rather rude impression of my accent. “I trusted you, Willow. You told me to trust you. Now I find out you weren’t coming here for me at all. Once again, you were being your selfish, greedy, dishonest self—”
“Now wait just a minute! You aren’t even giving me a chance.”
She thrust her hands into her hair, gripping her head. “I knew it.”
“Knew what?”
Bri’s normally warm eyes hardened. “That you were lying. I told Fin you were hiding something, that this trip wasn’t simply an altruistic errand for me.
He told me I needed to give you a chance, because you had given me a room and a job and you’d helped me, even after I touched you and could have ruined your life.
Because I trust Fin, I decided to trust you. And all along, I was right!”
I recoiled as though I’d been slapped. “You don’t know what you’re talking about. There are things—”
“There are always things with you, Willow. You’ll always find some excuse not to do the right thing. The townspeople don’t trust you, or you don’t have enough money, or your father…”
I narrowed my eyes, all my hurt and pain hardening into anger. “What about my father?”
She threw her hands up. “People die, Willow. It’s awful and tragic, but it happens to all of us. You can’t use your grief as an excuse forever. Not if you don’t want to end up all alone.”
Tears burned the back of my eyes. I could feel all my carefully constructed walls—the ones Bri and Finlay had painstakingly disassembled, brick by brick—rebuilding themselves in an instant.
“Who said I don’t want to be alone? If I recall correctly, I made it very clear that I had no interest in friendship.
I gave you a room and a job because I needed your magic.
That’s all. I keep Finlay around for the same reason. You’re both just a means to an end.”
She tossed her head back, groaning. “Do you even hear yourself? More lies. Well, keep them coming, Willow. It’s what you’re best at.”
I stormed past her to my suitcase, tidying the papers and tucking them back into the satchel. “Believe what you want,” I said, slinging it over my shoulder. “I have something I have to do, or else…”
“Or else what?”
I scowled, stomping toward the door. “What’s the point of telling you?” I asked. “You wouldn’t believe me anyway.”