Spiral Path (Night Calls Series Book 3) (16 page)

I wondered if Elizabeth would teach me how to heat water.

o0o

By the time I finished pulling on my robe and picking up
the cat, Elizabeth was long gone. Grateful I was so close to my own room, I
hurried into it and shut the door tightly.

From the jar of spills on the thin mantel above the
fireplace I chose one, lit it from the fire, and lit two candles, so I could
make sure my face was clean and my hair neat. Then I combed out the long fine
mess the Lord and Lady had seen fit to gift me with. Once all the tangles were
out, I reached back to plait it into one long braid. I could smell something
good—stew, maybe?—and I wanted to get to it.

It was a chicken potpie, one all to myself! I’m embarrassed
to say I ate most of the thing, as well as some roasted herbed carrots along
the side.

The cat got the rest. He was neat while eating, and then
cleaned himself up with his tongue. By firelight plus the two candles, he was a
reddish color, his face, bib, and paws white.

A pale hermit cookie hid under the napkin. Was this a
special occasion I’d missed, or was there always dessert on Sunday? I took a
careful bite.
Oh, my.
Nutmeg and the
soft bite of soured cream, and even dried fruit and chopped walnuts. The cat
inspected it and then dismissed it as unworthy of his concern.

Who knew what the punishment for my little trip would be?
This might be my last sweet for a while.

o0o

It was fortunate for me that the new style of dress pulled
over the head and then tied; I did not need someone to button me into the
thing. I chose the new linen dress with the embroidered panel, and hoped that I
looked respectable.

I left a tiny pile of dishes on the tray for Elizabeth (the
cat had licked the bowl, but only after I placed it on the floor) and was ready
to head downstairs when my new cat acquaintance batted at the glass of the
window and trilled at me.

“Of course you would want to go outside now,” I muttered as
I checked to see if I could open the window. If I pulled out pegs that formed
some kind of lock, then . . . yes, I could open it. I got the
window up enough that the cat squeezed under the sash. He curled his tail
around himself, eyed the nearest tree and then jumped toward it, easily
gripping the rough bark of a huge limb.

I was surprised that the tree was close enough to the house
for the cat to reach it—out where I lived, most people cleared the trees away
from their homes. But he was there, and could go about his cat business at his
leisure. “Thank you, cat. Be careful out there. I heard a great horned owl last
night.”

I knew I might never see him again. But it was interesting,
meeting a cat that took a liking to me. I shut the window and replaced the pegs
that kept it from sliding. Then I blew out the candles, double-checked the
spark guard on the fire screen, and grabbed my new shawl for warmth. It was
time to go downstairs and pay the piper. I had no idea how long I would be left
kicking my heels, so I thought I’d get started on it.

At the last moment, I grabbed the loop of red fabric I’d
torn from that sailor’s shirt. Cousin Esme might be curious about it.

o0o

Many chairs sat against the walls of the large entryway, a
few narrow tables between groups of them. I took a seat near the parlor door,
and was there long enough for my hair to finish drying, and to notice that the
room wasn’t nearly as cold as I had thought it would be.

The parlor door opened, and a stately young man in very
formal clothes stepped out, holding the door mostly closed. “Are you Miss
Alfreda Sorensson?” the man asked. He had brilliant white hair neatly combed
back from his face, but it didn’t look like a wig. And he was nicer-dressed
than even the ministers who came to Sun Return to preach.

I stood up to face him. “Yes, sir, I am.” I had to lift my
chin to meet his gaze.

“
Dr.
and Professor Livingston will see you now.” He reached to open the door for me.
His movements were very smooth—no fussiness at all.

“
Miss
Sorensson,” he announced as I moved past him into the warmth of the room. The
door shut behind me.

The room was filled with soft light, tinting the shadows in
the corners with the warmth of deep browns. A metal candelabrum sat on a tea
table by the fireplace, and sconces hung on the walls, their candles glowing
with the translucence of beeswax. The fire in the fireplace burned brightly;
this “parlor” was easily twice the size of Cousin Esme’s sitting room.

Standing by the fire itself was a tall man, his dark hair
reflecting glints of red. He lifted a single eyeglass to his right eye, and I recognized
The Doktor, his heavy coat and wig replaced with lighter weight, trimmer
clothing.

The man wore long trousers and a jacket with a swallow’s
tail to his knees; the clothing was dark except for a snowy white vest, shirt
collar, and cuffs. His hair was amazingly short, shorn close to his head like
the hair of the soldiers I’d seen in town.

Cousin Esme sat on a small sofa near the fireplace, the tea
tray before her, a few cookies left on a plate. Her dress and hair were more
formal than I’d ever seen. The dark material had the gleam of silk, and her
hair was dressed with tiny silk flowers twined around what glittered like gold.

The third person, the Chinese gentleman, sat with his back
to me. His hair was very dark, with a few glittering threads of silver in it.

All right. I was impressed.

But I could talk my way out of a lot of things.

“
Come
here, Alfreda,” Cousin Esme said, lifting her hand in invitation. “It is time
for you to meet my husband, Dr. Livingston.”

I made a beeline for the fireplace and quickly curtseyed. “Did
you create the cork plugs on the chains in the kitchen and bathing room, sir?
That is a wonderful invention.” It tumbled out before I could even think.

Dr. Livingston laughed, and nodded. “Now I am sure that you
are related to Marta Helgisdottir Donaltsson. She never hesitates to ask for
information.” Looking at me through his eyepiece, he added: “Your disguise was
quite good. I did not realize that you were a Schell until I saw the vortex.”

I’d have to remember that. Practitioners remember faces,
voices . . . and magical traits. I curtsied again and said: “How do you do, sir?”

Smiling faintly and shaking her head, Cousin Esme turned to
the other small sofa. “Alfreda, I wish also to introduce you to our friend Li
Sung.”

I turned to curtsey, and was surprised when he stood up and
bowed to me, the angle precise, his gaze momentarily lowered. “I am pleased to
meet next wizard of Schell line,” he said clearly. There was the snap of
another language under his speech. I wondered if he spoke English even better
than this, but did not want me to know.

He was wearing what looked like a loose jacket, fastened
with elegant woven knots. It was made of a dark silk . . . dark
blue? . . . with birds like herons embroidered over it in a
lighter thread. His dark silk pantaloons went all the way to his ankles. He
wore slippers that reminded me of mine, except they were made of black silk and
had no bows.

A single teardrop of a deep green, milky stone hung from a
gold wire looped around the back of his left ear.

I met his courtesy with a protracted curtsey. This gentleman
was entirely distinguished. He might think I was funny, as Dr. Livingston did,
but I wanted to be sure he didn’t think that I found
him
amusing.

“
You
may sit down, Alfreda,” Cousin Esme said, gesturing to her side. “We have many
things to talk about.”

Oh, dear.

Well, I’d expected as much.

o0o

Of course they wanted to know about the portal. When did I
realize there was a portal? Did I notice as I walked through it, or only after
I passed through the opening? Did it close instantly behind me, or only when I
tried to return through it? What did I do next?

I told them pretty much everything, except about my Good
Friend showing up as the drunk who saved me. Cousin Esme already knew about my
Good Friend—she might have told her husband. Aunt Marta was firm about keeping
that a private thing, so I told what physically happened and didn’t mention any
sparking spirit lights. If Dr. Livingston picked at that slub in my weaving, I’d
explain more, but only then. Cousin Esme looked closely at the torn cuff, but
she did not say anything.

“
Where
is the cat?” Dr. Livingston asked, glancing at the door as if he expected it to
come wandering in.

“
It
wanted out, so I opened the window of my room and let it out,” I replied. “Then
I closed the window back up. I didn’t think you’d want it left open.”

“
You
were correct,” Cousin Esme said, her expression amused. She gave me a long
look, and I steeled myself. There was no use making any excuses. I hadn’t meant
to walk off the property but that would hold no weight in this court. I’d
broken a rule, and after my going back to Marta’s homestead through the maze, I
didn’t think she could let this pass without comment.

“
Have
you been vaccinated for the smallpox?” she asked.

It wasn’t at all what I had expected her to say. “I . . .
do not know what you are talking about, ma’am.”

“
Was
your family’s farm ever quarantined because of disease?”

“
No.
ma’am; not that I remember.”

“
We
require everyone living at Windward to be inoculated with cowpox using Dr.
Jenner’s method,” Dr. Livingston said, lowering his eyeglass and lifting a cup
to take a sip of tea. “It is not overly painful. Most importantly, you are
unlikely to catch the disease, and will be protected from smallpox by your
exposure to cowpox vaccine. We’ll do this tomorrow morning. You will not be
contagious, and if you have no ill effects, you will be able to go right on for
testing in the magical arts.”

Cousin Esme was watching me closely. “Your aunt has had this
procedure done,” she told me. “I will write to your parents to tell them it has
been done for your safety and the safety of everyone here. Going into town
without protection means you may have been exposed to smallpox. In truth,
Livingston, I think you should inoculate her tonight. The sooner it’s done, the
less chance that she will contract the illness.”

“
You
may feel a bit ill from it,” Dr. Livingston said, “but it’s unlikely that you’ll
get full-blown cowpox from it.”

“
My
family has done,” Li Sung announced. “Many die from smallpox. Many. Many
children, many elders.”

He was trying to be reassuring with information, I decided. “And
they all are fine? No one has ever caught smallpox?”

“
No
smallpox.” Li Sung’s voice was firm.

“
None
of our children or staff has ever contracted the disease after being
vaccinated.” Dr. Livingston had his eyeglass back up, his expression solemn.

Did anyone die? I wasn’t sure they’d tell me even if someone
had
died.

“
You
do not have to do this, Alfreda,” Cousin Esme said quietly. “But if you do not,
you will need to be isolated until we are sure you have not caught smallpox.
Then you may return to Marta’s home.”

That settled it. Aunt Marta thought that Esme’s instruction
was important enough to interrupt her own teaching of me. I could not return to
her without even trying to learn ritual magic. “Sounds like the best thing to
do, then.”

Cousin Esme smiled, and her husband visibly relaxed. “Good.
Now, let us move on to our next point of discussion. This is the second time in
as many days that you have left the property.”

There was a pause. I kept my attention on Cousin Esme.

“
The
first was totally unexpected, and I know that it was unintentional on your
part. I spoke with you and with Miss Rutledge, and did not expect a repetition
of the problem. Then we have today’s incident. This leaves us with a dilemma,
Alfreda. On the one hand, you have done us a favor. This portal was
unsanctioned. Either someone on the property created it, or someone from the
outside is spying on our household. This was an intolerable situation, and your
accidental triggering of the portal has caused us to reinforce our protections.”

“
It
might also make you more vulnerable,” Dr. Livingston said abruptly. “We don’t
know if the person who went through that portal knew he was followed. So we’re
going to need to mark you, my dear. You should not even know you have been
touched by magic. But it will let us know if you suddenly leave the property.
Someone will be looking for you!” He smiled slightly as he finished speaking.

“
The
other side of this coin is that we cannot have students wandering off the
property without a by-your-leave. You handled this misadventure quite well. But
how would our other students have dealt with it? Some of them are very
sheltered. They would not have known what to do, how to protect themselves—the
older boys might have ended up on a ship bound for Barbados. I shudder to think
what could have happened to some of the younger girls.”

“
Maybe
there should be a class in basic protections if someone snatches you?” I
replied. “My father taught us what to do if we were lost in the wilderness.
Could you teach us what to do in a strange city?”

The three adults turned from me to each other.

“
It
has merit,” Li Sung announced.

“We
do have safe houses in cities, but of course you did not know of them.
I
hate to think that it has come to survival lessons, but should things progress
as we fear . . . . ” Cousin Esme’s voice trailed off, her
gaze upon the flickering fire. “Perhaps.”