Oracles of Delphi Keep (26 page)

“Thank you, my lady,” he said in a croaky whisper.

Without delay, Lady Arbuthnot swiveled her attention to Theo. “Now it’s time for me to talk with this young lady in private,” she announced, and Ian blinked in surprise. He had expected Theo’s future to be told to the lot of them, just like the others. “The rest of you may take a biscuit and wait out in the foyer,” she instructed. “I will send your friend along shortly.”

Theo gave Ian a panicked look as he got up from his chair, and Ian hesitated. “I’d like to stay, my lady,” he said.

Lady Arbuthnot smiled patiently. “Ian,” she said, “what I have to say is for Theodosia’s ears only. She will be in the best of care with me, and you shouldn’t worry. All right?”

Ian looked back at Theo, who gave a reluctant nod. “It’s all right,” she said. “I’ll be fine.”

“You sure?” he asked.

Theo nodded again, and after squeezing her shoulder, Ian walked out with the rest of the group to the foyer, where for a minute or two no one spoke or looked at each other. Finally, Carl broke the silence. “That was … odd.”

Thatcher let out a short laugh and Ian broke into a grin as the tension in the room evaporated.
“Very
odd,” Thatcher agreed. “I’m afraid I don’t quite know what to make of it.”

“It’s all rubbish,” scoffed Perry. “She could easily have gotten our names from the earl and played a parlor trick on us in there.”

“But what about what she told Carl? She called his mother by name,” protested Ian. It was strange that, like Perry, he’d been eager to believe the old woman a fraud until she’d talked about Carl’s deceased mother. “And how she knew about your friend Elizabeth,” he added, turning to Thatcher, who again turned a brilliant shade of red at the mention of the name.

“Lucky guesses,” said Perry with a cough, but Ian caught a small shadow of doubt on his face. Perry added, “And did you see how the table was set for seven? There were only six of us gathered. If she is the gifted woman she claims to be, why the extra place setting?”

At that exact moment the knocker gave three loud clacks and Ian and the others jumped. Bessie hurried past them on her way to the door, and as she opened it, she said, “Ah, Miss Giles. So good of you to drop by.”

Ian leaned out to see around Perry as a tall, slender, and impossibly beautiful woman with long chestnut hair and large brown eyes in a heart-shaped face stepped into the foyer. “Hello, Bessie,” she said in a high, lilting voice. “I know I don’t have an appointment, but I have a rather urgent matter and I was wondering if the lady was free.”

“She’s expecting you,” said Bessie confidently. “Already got the tea laid out. She’ll be with you shortly, as she’s just finishing up with one last guest.”

Turning to look at the four people huddled in the foyer, Miss Giles said, “Please excuse me if I’m intruding on your time with Lady Arbuthnot. I can come back later if you’d like.”

Ian smiled shyly as her eyes passed over him, and Bessie, who had just shut the door, gave a wave of her hand and clucked. “Naw, naw. As I said, the lady is expecting one last visitor this morning. We didn’t know it’d be you, but it’s good that you’re here now.”

Just then Theo appeared in the foyer, a rather dreamy look on her face. “She’s ready for you,” she said without hesitation to Miss Giles. Ian was amazed at the transformation since only a few minutes earlier, when Theo had looked so afraid. He wondered what Lady Arbuthnot could have said that would have made Theo look so genuinely happy.

“You know the way to the parlor?” Bessie was asking the newest visitor.

“Yes, yes,” said Miss Giles. Turning to the dumbfounded group in the foyer, she added, “So sorry again to have intruded.”

“No, no,” said Perry quickly, and Ian noticed a pink hue to his cheeks. “We were just leaving.”

The woman gave them a nod and an enchanting smile before hurrying off, and Thatcher, Perry, Ian, and a mesmerized Carl watched her walk elegantly down the hallway and round the corner. Ian wished he could have talked with her a bit, because she’d been incredibly lovely to look at.

“We’re ready to go, then,” announced Theo, causing all four of them to jump again. Ian caught Bessie stifling a giggle.

“Yes,” Perry said, coughing. “Of course, of course! Come along, everyone. It’s time to be off. Bessie, would you please thank Lady Arbuthnot on our behalf for her generous hospitality?”

“Of course, sir,” said Bessie with a warm smile as she held open the door for them.

Ian and Carl hurried out after Thatcher and Perry, and when Theo stepped onto the stairs, Ian heard her say, “Thank you, Bessie. I’ll see you next Saturday.”

Bessie replied, “Very good, young miss, very good. Next Saturday it is, then.”

The group gathered at the bottom of the stairs and everyone seemed to be talking at once. Carl and Ian were going on about the sudden appearance of the beautiful woman, and Thatcher was slapping his brother on the arm, saying, “Explain
that
, Perry! The seventh setting at the table went to that lovely creature!”

“Coincidence,” scoffed Perry, but he seemed rather shaky in his conviction.

“And what was all that business about quests and danger and fog?” Carl asked.

“Yeah, what
was
that about?” Ian said. “And what did she say to you?” he asked Theo, remembering belatedly her change in demeanor.

Theo began telling him but was immediately drowned out by the argument their two schoolmasters were having.

“You’re joking!” Thatcher was saying loudly as he gave his brother a firm poke with his finger. “Perry, the lady’s accuracy was uncanny! She couldn’t have just
guessed
all of our names and the names of people we’re connected to!”

“Rubbish,” said Perry, pulling at his coat sleeves. “That was all rubbish.”

“Rubbish?”
Thatcher barked. “How can you say it was rubbish? If the earl didn’t tell her about us, then she couldn’t possibly have gained those intimate details through any other means! Besides, I’m quite certain the earl knows nothing about Eliza—er … my personal acquaintances.”

“Let’s not stand here arguing the point, Thatcher,” his brother snapped. “After all, we’ve got an hour or two until our meeting with the professor, so let’s get the children something to eat, shall we?”

“But—” Thatcher protested, not letting the point drop.

“I said enough!” Perry nearly yelled. Then he immediately softened his voice when he noticed the children all staring at him in shock. “I’m simply saying that I need more evidence before I am convinced of this fortune-telling business.”

“Very well,” said Thatcher stiffly. “Come along, children. I know of a fine pub a few blocks from here which serves the best bangers and mash in London.”

They were soon comfortably seated at The Village Hog, a pub on the bottom floor of a large six-story building that reeked of stale beer and tobacco smoke.

Now that Theo wasn’t skipping along ahead, Ian took the opportunity to ask her again what the earl’s aunt had said. Theo furrowed her brow as she tried to explain it. “It was the oddest thing,” she said. “Lady Arbuthnot didn’t look into my teacup. She said there wasn’t any need. She already knew what she needed to know about me.”

“Which was?” asked Ian, and he was aware that everyone at the table was listening to their exchange.

“Well,” Theo said, appearing to be working out the words, “she said that I was an oracle, someone able to predict the future, and that I am quite gifted. She asked me if I’d seen anything that had frightened me, and I told her about the visions that I’d had out on the lawn during lessons.”

For all Perry’s doubts, Ian noticed that his schoolmaster’s posture suggested that he was very interested in Theo’s experiences with Lady Arbuthnot. “What did she think of them?” Perry asked, leaning across the table to hear her over the din of the pub.

“She said she’s had this most awful feeling for years that something terrible was going to overtake the land, but she hadn’t known what it was. She said that the things that I saw in my visions were very detailed given that I’ve had no training, and that to help me she would be willing to tutor
me in the development of my abilities so that I might better tolerate what I’m seeing.”

“Did you mention the crystal?” asked Ian, wondering just how much Theo had told the lady.

“What crystal?” Thatcher asked.

Ian looked at Theo, who nodded. “The night Theo arrived at the keep, the man who delivered her had it. He tried to take it as payment for rescuing her, but Madam Scargill discovered his thievery and demanded the necklace be turned over to her. When the beast destroyed the inside of the keep, I found the necklace among the rubble, and I knew it belonged to Theo, especially after I saw her mother wearing it in that picture on the wall at your cottage,” he said, looking at Perry.

Perry nodded but Thatcher looked at his brother and said, “What photo?”

“Do you remember the little photograph on the wall next to the desk?” Perry asked.

“The one with the woman and the child?”

“Yes,” Perry answered. “That is apparently a photo of Theo and her mother.”

“Odd coincidence,” said Thatcher with a smug look and a wink at Ian, who understood that he was making fun of his brother.

“So what does this crystal necklace have to do with anything?” asked Carl.

“When I wore it, my visions became more …” Theo searched for the right words. “Clear. They were bigger and more intense.”

Ian frowned. He didn’t want to discuss the crystal and its
effect on Theo, because he was still worried that she’d want to try it on again and would have another frightful episode.

“Do you think that this crystal is acting as some sort of amplification?” asked Thatcher.

Theo gave him a puzzled look. “What do you mean?”

“It’s possible that the necklace is enhancing your natural abilities,” he explained. “It may be acting as a type of antenna.”

Perry asked, “What type of crystal is it?”

“I’m not sure,” said Ian, searching his memory to see if he’d ever come across something similar. “It looks very much like quartz. It’s white and cloudy, except there’s this bit of pink in the center.”

“I should like to see this necklace,” said Thatcher. “Theo, are you wearing it now?”

“No,” she said, and her eyes met Ian’s. “I took it off after that awful experience on the lawn and gave it to Ian for safe-keeping.”

Everyone looked expectantly at Ian, who squirmed under the sudden focus. “It’s back at the keep,” he admitted, and he would have elaborated but at that moment the barmaid arrived with a huge tray of food and began passing out everyone’s lunch.

Conversation was limited while the hungry group dove in to their sausage and mashed potatoes. While they were eating, Carl asked Thatcher, “Schoolmaster, did I hear you say that we’re not returning to the keep after lunch?”

Thatcher finished the mouthful of sausage he’d just taken before answering. “That’s correct, Carl. I’ve made an appointment with an old professor of mine from Cambridge.
We’ll be visiting with him after our meal here.” Turning to Ian, he asked again, “You’ve still got your box?”

Ian reached into his coat and pulled out the small square silver treasure and laid it on the table. “I’ve been trying to open it for the past fortnight, but I still can’t figure out how to get the lid up without prying it open.”

Perry wiped his hands on his napkin and said, “You know, I didn’t have a very good look when it got passed round the table at the castle. May I see it again?”

Ian handed the box over, hoping that maybe the schoolmaster could figure it out. Perry lifted the box to eye level and turned it about several times before pulling at the lid, which didn’t budge. “I’ve tried that,” Ian said, and Carl hid a smirk.

Perry gave him a weary look and turned the box about again, searching for a possible weak point. Finally, after a few more shakes and pulls on the lid, he handed it back to Ian. “I can’t see how to get it open,” he said. “But there is definitely something inside.”

Ian nodded. “Yes, I’ve heard it too,” he answered, “but I haven’t a clue about what it could be.”

“We’ll leave it to the professor to have a look,” said Thatcher. “He’ll likely be able to decipher the lettering on the sides of your box, which might point to how to open it. He might also be able to give us some clues about the writing on the walls of the caverns.”

“Perhaps he can also tell us why Ian’s name appeared in the first cavern,” Perry added, and Ian felt his cheeks flush when Theo and Carl each gave him a shocked look.

“Oh, yeah,” he said to them sheepishly, remembering
that he hadn’t shared that particular fact with his friends. “I forgot to tell you two, Schoolmaster Goodwyn was able to translate a section that had a message for me.”

“What did it say?” asked Theo with large round eyes.

“Nothing to be alarmed about,” he assured her, adding a laugh to show he found it all very amusing. “It just said for me to go that way—toward the box at the end of the tunnel.”

Carl gulped. “That, or it was leading you toward the beast,” he said.

All eyes pivoted to Carl, and Ian’s good humor from just a moment before vanished instantly. “Oh, my,” murmured Thatcher into the heavy silence that followed. “I never thought of that.”

Theo’s eyes shifted to Ian and she looked intensely worried. “It’s more likely the writing was referring to the box,” he said firmly, making up his mind that it must be that, because who could possibly want to cause him harm?

But Theo’s concern seemed only to deepen. “When is the professor expecting us?” she asked Thatcher.

The schoolmaster glanced at his watch. “Shortly,” he said. “Is everyone finished?” Four heads nodded, and after setting a few coins on the table, the group was off again.

C
aphiera the Cold’s fortress was nearly impossible to find. It was hidden in a mountain pass at one of the highest points of the Pyrenees Mountains. Few mortals had ever stumbled into it. None had ever managed to stumble back out.

But Magus the Black had been there before, so he remembered the way. He also knew that his sister would likely be aware of his presence within the pass long before he knew of hers. He worried a bit about how she might react to his visit. If it was anything like the last time they’d met, it was sure to leave a mark.