1st January 1911 #3
I examined her again. Niamh Proudfit had been thirty-six when she vanished, and she looked barely older now. She may not have experienced as many as thirty years in Faerie, but to see no change whatsoever—
“Yes,” she said, seeming to comprehend the nature of my pause.
“As you know, the Folk have ways of extending mortal lifespans—for those they value, in any case. So long as I remain in Faerie, I shall age very slowly. Callum Thomas is the same—the man is nearly two hundred years old! I doubt I shall linger here so long, but certainly there is no greater gift to a scholar than the gift of time. I shall stay at least until I have completed the book I am working on.”
I was delighted. “What is the subject? You specialized in Faerie temporality, did you not?”
“I did—a rather tricky subdiscipline, given that human mortality and Faerie time are as compatible as oil and water. But my focus is primarily ethnographic—I wish to understand how the Folk perceive time, which I believe will prove more illuminating than the clumsy comparisons one often gets from temporalists.”
I forgot my anxieties as we discussed her work thus far.
Having the old king’s favour had given her access to Folk who might not otherwise have deigned to speak with her, and he had aided her research in other ways, including by casting an enchantment that made all books in the realm transform to braille at her touch.
Niamh questioned me about my current projects, and I told her of my idea for a book on faerie politics.
She grew animated at that, and provided me with numerous suggestions regarding parameters and scope, which were so helpful that I pulled out a notebook to scribble them down.
In the midst of our scholarly enthusiasm, Wendell made his entrance.
His golden hair was sticking straight up in the back, and over his silken pyjamas he wore a night-coloured robe that gleamed with tiny green jewels at the cuffs.
He stopped short at the sight of us, his mouth falling open.
“Niamh!” he exclaimed. “Good Lord! I assumed she had killed you.”
“Hello, dear,” Niamh said warmly. “You’ve grown taller, haven’t you? I can see a little,” she added to me. “Light and shapes. And you sound like a proper man now. When last we met, you were still a half-formed teenager.”
They embraced and began to chatter in Irish. Wendell broke off with an apologetic look in my direction.
“Isn’t this wonderful, Em?” he said. “It seems my stepmother has not destroyed everyone I cared about. Niamh is the only member of my father’s Council who ever paid me any notice.”
“In the Council’s defence, your talent for shirking responsibility was unparalleled,” Niamh said, shaking him gently by the shoulder.
“On the rare occasions you were summoned to a meeting, you didn’t bother to show up.
But you were kinder than your siblings, I noticed—not a trait much valued at this court, but we mortals appreciate it. ”
Wendell gazed at her fondly. “Do you know? It was you who inspired me to embark on a career in academia when I fled to the mortal realm. She was so wise, Em, when it came to our stories and ways. I thought: perhaps dryadology will lead me to my door.”
“Then the rumours are true!” Niamh exclaimed. “I never believed the Folk who said you’d turned professor. I simply can’t imagine you putting in the effort. Emily, what was his research like?”
“I wouldn’t know,” I said drily. “As he faked most of it.”
“Of course,” she said with a laugh. Wendell scowled good-naturedly at us.
“I will have you know that a great deal of effort goes into inventing a convincing field study,” he said, seating himself at the table.
Instantly the servants were upon us again, appearing out of Lord knows where, bowing and filling his plate and cup.
Many seemed to be trembling, whether with terror or delight at Wendell’s arrival, I could not say.
“Thank you,” Wendell said. He took a sip of his coffee and gave a groan, closing his eyes for a long moment.
“Good grief,” Niamh huffed, giving him a playful shove. The servants looked scandalized. “It’s just coffee.”
“Two words that don’t belong in the same sentence,” Wendell said. Turning to the servants, he added, “Which of you is in charge?”
More trembling and bowing. Finally a short creature, easily as wide as she was tall, stepped forward and fixed her glittering black eyes upon Wendell’s feet. She had a grease stain upon her apron that she seemed to be trying to conceal behind her clasped hands.
“Thank you for the excellent breakfast,” Wendell told her.
“You could have fled, as others have done, for mayhap you loved my stepmother; instead, you have remained and offered me your services on short notice, though you hardly know me. I realize this has been a trying time for all small Folk. Your loyalty will be rewarded—your pay will be doubled, for one thing. And you must inform me when you are in need of anything. Won’t you? ”
The servants stared at Wendell in blank astonishment. The leader seemed to make an effort to speak, but then she burst into tears.
“Thank you, Your Highness,” she sobbed. “My apologies.”
And she dashed from the room, trailed by the others, who tossed looks at Wendell over their shoulders ranging from awe to terror.
“Is she all right?” I said, for I was also taken aback—though less by the servants’ reactions than by Wendell’s uncharacteristic speech.
“I don’t think I heard your stepmother direct a single kind word at the help,” Niamh said. “I’m not certain she even glanced at them.”
“I have a mind to be charitable where the common fae are concerned,” Wendell said. “They have been so useful to us. Also I believe I will enjoy gaining a reputation for benevolence. What do you say, Em? You approve, surely.”
“Yes,” I said dubiously, my surprise lessening somewhat. I wondered if I should point out that the merits of charity were somewhat lessened when one anticipated praise at the end of it, before deciding the effort unlikely to yield any fruit.
“You should be careful in that regard,” Niamh said. “Plenty of Folk dislike you for your mixed blood. Open kindnesses directed towards the common fae will only serve as a reminder. I suggest you refrain from further benevolence until your rule is secure.”
Wendell smiled. “My father always valued your advice. Do I take it from your presence here that you would be willing to take up the mantle of scribe once more? Emily?”
“I think it an excellent idea,” I said, trying to sound dignified rather than overeager.
Niamh’s face brightened. She seemed more pleased than surprised by Wendell’s suggestion, and I thought Wendell had guessed right—she had come to us in the hopes of being offered the position. “You do not wish to consider other candidates?”
“Not particularly,” I said. “You were loyal to Wendell’s father, which makes you less likely to scheme against us—I say less rather than un likely, given the character of this particular realm. And I remember Farris speaking highly of you. If it will not be a distraction from your book?”
“I must confess that I have more than one book underway,” she said with a rueful smile. “The second is a memoir of my years in the Silva Lupi.”
I let out a breath of laughter. Last year, I became the first scholar in history to visit Wendell’s kingdom and escape with my life; it is not only one of the deadliest Faerie realms, but the most enigmatic. “That will create a sensation,” I said.
“That’s the hope,” Niamh said. “So you see, I have no objection to being named your scribe; it will only add interest to the memoir.”
“Scholars!” Wendell exclaimed. “What do I always say? You are a mad lot. Taking up careers that could easily get you killed simply to have something to write about. You will be at the top of the assassination list, Niamh, if I am overthrown. Still, it is hard to argue with you—I want you on my side too badly.”
“That’s settled then,” Niamh said with self-satisfaction. At that moment, a different servant entered with an auburn-haired mortal man in tow—Callum Thomas, looking wary, but also as if he were trying to mask it behind a polite smile.
“Oh, it’s you,” Wendell said. “Good! Sit down and help yourself to breakfast.”
“Thank you, Your Highness,” Callum said. His expression did not change, but I saw his shoulders relax. His carefully concealed discomfort was of a character I recognized; it was what I felt whenever I conversed with a member of the courtly fae who was not Wendell.
“You are welcome here,” I told him. “I understand we have you to thank for Lord Taran’s allegiance. Not a small thing, that.”
Callum smiled, seeming to relax further at the mention of Taran’s name. “It did not actually take much convincing. He never liked his half-sister much. In fact, I recall he spent more time arguing with me over our silverware when I suggested we change it.”
I glanced at Wendell, who raised his eyebrows at me. “Why?” I said.
“It was a bit garish,” Callum said, buttering a roll.
“I didn’t—”
“I know what you meant.” He put the knife down, his smile becoming a wince. “You ask why I helped you.”
“You have helped me more than once, in fact,” I pointed out.
“This realm is a hell for mortals,” he said simply. “All but a favoured few. A place of violence and torment. Whenever Ihave the chance, which is far less often than I would like, I endeavour to make it less so.”
“And yet it is your home,” I said, examining him.
He gave the faintest of nods. “And yet it is my home.”
“Oh dear,” Wendell said sympathetically, touching his hand. “I have no doubt you’ve seen things that upset you greatly. My father used to round up the mortals who stumbled into his realm—those who didn’t amuse him in some way—and set them loose in Wildwood Bog for the nobility to hunt.”
Callum nodded. “A tradition continued by your stepmother.”