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Authors: Caroline Stevermer

BOOK: A Scholar of Magics
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“Perhaps you'd like to tell me what you've been doing with yourselves.” Amy's tone made it more a command than a request. “Jane?”
Jane gave Amy a full account of the capture and interrogation of the intruder. Fell and Lambert earned Amy's displeasure when she understood their plan to leave without telling anyone. She relented only when Jane explained how scrupulously kind they had been about seeing her home.
“I should hope they saw you back here safely.” Amy
turned her disapproving gaze on Jane. “Although I think using your magic on that man was perfectly disgraceful. I wouldn't be surprised if it counts as some sort of miscarriage of justice. He was a helpless prisoner and you rummaged through his brain in plain view of the authorities. That can't be right.”
“Whatever my crime, I think I've been punished enough. I don't mind the headache—much—but this time my ears were ringing fit to deafen me.” As if to prove she had made a full recovery, Jane helped herself to another cheese-and-pickle sandwich. “Horrid sensation.”
“
This
time?” Fell pounced on the phrase. “So you do make a habit of it. Foolhardy of you to try something like that here in Glasscastle.”
“But I wasn't inside the bounds of Glasscastle itself,” Jane said. “I was a bit close to the barriers when I stopped our intruder, but that was a small spell, and the situation was an emergency. The speaking spell was far more demanding. I only dared try it because the police station is all the way across town from Glasscastle.”
“It worked, that's what matters,” said Lambert. “You got something out of him.
Ludlow
. Whoever—or whatever—that might be.”
“The man was under a compulsion to silence, and a very powerful compulsion at that. I might have had better luck if I'd thought to try the pencil sooner. As it was, by the time I thought to try it, I was nearly done up.” With a crunch of pickle, Jane disposed of another bite of her sandwich.
Amy frowned. “Ludlow. That's where Robert has gone.
At least, that's where he was going. He's still not wired me that he arrived safely. He never fails to do that.”
“Why did he go to Ludlow?” Jane asked. “Robin told me he had some research to do for the project. What sort of research, do you know?”
“I can't be certain.” Amy looked troubled. “He wired the Earl of Bridgewater. The Earl was in London, but he invited Robert to stay at his house in Ludlow as long as he liked.”
“The Earl of Bridgewater was involved with the inception of the project,” said Fell. “Most of the work has been done here at Glasscastle, but Bridgewater's library in Ludlow contains some valuable resources. The Earl is generous to a fault and his hospitality can be difficult to refuse.”
“Was that why Robert went to Shropshire?” Jane asked. “To visit a library?”
“It must have been a matter of some urgency,” Amy said. “He canceled an appointment with the dentist in order to leave on the first train yesterday.”
“Any excuse to avoid the dentist is a good one,” Lambert pointed out. He winced at the very idea of voluntarily scheduling a visit to the dentist.
“Very true, Lambert. Though not all of us are forbidden to accept the laudanum if an extraction is necessary. All the same, it wasn't a trip Robert had planned to take, I gather?” Fell asked Amy. “When did he change his appointment, do you know?”
“Robert sent a message to the dentist's office just after he and Jane returned from the tour of Glasscastle.” Amy turned to Jane. “Don't you remember? At the last
possible
moment, you and Robert sent word that you were going to stay to
lunch in the common room rather than come home to eat here.”
“I remember.” Jane looked apologetic. “Sorry.”
“I should think so,” said Amy.
Lambert thought hard. “He said nothing about leaving Glasscastle until then? Could it have had something to do with the plans?”
Jane's eyes widened. “Plans? What plans?”
“Plans for the device—the delivery system for the Agincourt Project. I found them in your study” Lambert told Fell. To Jane, he said, “I gave the plans to your brother. Whatever the Agincourt device is, it looks like it's going to be small but awkward.”
Jane's eyes narrowed, but she said nothing.
“I never had plans for anything associated with the project in my possession.” Fell helped himself to the last of the cheese-and-pickle sandwiches. “I haven't been granted clearance to see any of the designs. Not that I wanted access to any of it. I have enough to do with my own word.”
“Brailsford seemed surprised,” said Lambert. “I'm sure it was something he recognized.”
Jane and Amy exchanged a look of mutual inquiry, then Jane said, “He didn't mention anything about it to either of us.”
“He might have mentioned it to Voysey,” said Lambert. “I'll ask him.”
“Yes, do that,” said Fell, in a tone that suggested he meant just the opposite.
The maid announced the arrival of a visitor. “Mr. Adam Voysey, ma'am. He's brought the motor car back.”
The four of them exchanged startled looks. “We'll move to the parlor,” Amy told the maid. “Please show Mr. Voysey there.”
When Voysey joined them in the parlor, Jane was the first to speak. “How kind of you to fetch Robin's motor car for us. I assumed I would have to go back for it.”
Voysey looked mildly discomfited. “It was forward of me, I admit. The police helped me with the crank and the ignition switch. As soon as I was out of my meeting, I took Porteous's advice and visited the police station. What an extremely taciturn man that is. Shocking, the thought of an outsider making free with Glasscastle's archive. We may have to change the whole arrangement of spells on the most vital buildings. When I recognized Brailsford's motor car, I hoped he too had been summoned and was there before me. I was disappointed to find that he was not, though Porteous seems to have managed things very capably. In fact, the primary reason I returned the Minotaur is to see Brailsford. One or two questions have arisen as a result of the arrest. I hope he can shed some light on the matter.”
“Robert isn't here,” said Amy. “He left for Ludlow yesterday morning.”
“Ludlow?” Voysey's surprise was plain. “Why, if I may ask?”
“He had some research to do, I believe,” said Amy. “Is there some reason he shouldn't have gone?”
“Heavens, no.” Voysey hastened to reassure Amy. “Will you let Brailsford know as soon as he returns that I have a matter of some importance to discuss with him? I'd hoped to clear it up before now, but Lord Fyvie has been monopolizing
my time. Things are settled for the moment, but I find myself wishing for Brailsford's advice”
“I will tell him.” Amy looked troubled. “I don't know when he plans to return. I haven't received any word from him since he left.”
“That doesn't sound much like the Brailsford I know,” said Voysey. “He's scrupulous about that sort of thing. I suppose there might be some difficulty with the trains?” He didn't seem convinced of the likelihood of that explanation. “Or with the telegraph, possibly?”
“Your wire from London went astray,” Lambert reminded Jane.
“It was only delayed. But you're right. There's sure to be a good reason for the wait,” Jane told Amy bracingly. To Voysey, she said, “Does the matter you need to discuss with Robin have anything to do with the arrest of that stubborn man?”
“I can't answer that, I'm afraid.” Voysey looked genuinely regretful. “Anything you know about him would be extremely helpful to us.”
Lambert started to speak, but Fell caught his eye and frowned slightly. Lambert stopped himself and turned his words into a throat-clearing cough. If Fell didn't want to help Voysey, there was probably a good reason.
Voysey turned his attention to Fell. “I don't suppose I could persuade you to rejoin the project? Given this new and potentially alarming development, that is?” His expression was frank, sincere, and with very little effort, might have been pleading.
“My time is spoken for, I' m afraid.” Fell didn't seem a bit apologetic about it. He was crisply polite, but it was all too
plain that Fell's courtesy was only a thin veneer over his dislike of Voysey. “My research has been subject to constant interruptions. Time I gave it the concentration it deserves for a change.” He seemed to be addressing Jane at least as much as he was Voysey.
“I understand. We all have duties we must carry oust,” Voysey agreed smoothly. “Still, a matter of imperial security takes a high priority, don't you agree?”
“You know perfectly well that if I agreed that the security of the empire was the greatest of all possible public goods,” said Fell, “I would still be involved in the project.”
Voysey sat up straighter. “That's clear enough, even for met” He stood. “I'll take my leave, then. Mrs. Brailsford, thank you for your hospitality.” He kissed Amy's hand as she rose to accompany him to the door. “Dame Brailsford, gentlemen, I bid you good day”
“What would be so wrong,” Lambert muttered to Fell, once Voysey had departed, “about asking the most important man in Glasscastle for his help?”
“I don't like him. The man never stops recruiting,” Fell replied as Amy rejoined them. “There's a fine line between persistence and pestering.”
“If you weren't so obstinate,” said Jane, “you wouldn't be as well acquainted with precisely how fine the line is.”
Fell regarded her with disfavor. “It doesn't surprise me that you'd be on the side of pestering.”
“I didn't say that,” Jane said.
“Can't you stop sniping at each other?” Amy exclaimed. She put her hand over her mouth, looking horrified at her own outburst. “Oh, dear. I didn't mean to say that.”
“Of course we can stop,” said Jane cheerfully. “In fact, we will. Immediately.”
“I wish Robert were here,” Amy said. “He would know what to do,”
“Come to that, we know what to do.” Fell rose. “It's time Mr. Lambert and I followed Mr. Voysey's excellent example.” He forestalled Jane's protest with a lifted hand. “You needn't fear that either of us will do, as you so colorfully put it, a bunk. Send to Glasscastle if you need us. I'll be in my study.
Studying
.”
Without further ado, Fell led Lambert away and they left the Brailsford house to walk to Glasscastle. Lambert was happy to leave behind whatever domestic storm was about to break there. Fell seemed in no hurry. He merely strolled along, preoccupied by his thoughts.
As he shortened his strides to match Fell's, Lambert asked, “Are you really going back to your research?”
“Eventually.” Fell looked sour. “First I will need to find someone with a broom. There is a great deal of cleaning and tidying to be done before I'll be able to go back to work.”
“What happened to getting lost in the big city?”
“I've changed my mind. The sooner I finish my work, the sooner I can put a stop to whatever nonsense is going on here.”
 
A
fter she checked over the Minotaur to make certain Voysey had returned it in good order, Jane went up to her room in hope that a quiet moment of reflection would banish the last of her headache. Nothing she had done was difficult under
normal circumstances. Unfortunately, working her magic with the magic of Glasscastle so near made Jane feel as if she were walking into a high wind at all times. She felt weary just from the effort involved in compensating for that energy, let alone from the spells she'd performed, as though her hair had been disheveled, blown loose and into her face, blinding her, ever since she'd begun. Her eyes burned and her skin felt peppered, as if she'd been walking into windblown sand. Her neck ached and from time to time her ears seemed to stuff up, then clear themselves with a faint, unpleasant popping sensation.
Jane had tried all her usual remedies. She'd had a nice cup of tea. She'd eaten a sustaining lunch. Thanks to these tactics, the worst of her symptoms had diminished. Yet the small discomforts remained, reminders of her unaccustomed weakness.
In her room, Jane checked on the Royal Worcester plate. Soaking overnight and most of the next day had done it a world of good. The ink had dissolved into the water, not uniformly, but in a random spiral threading black through the water in which it was suspended. Jane admired the strange beauty of it for a moment, then dispersed the whorls and tendrils of ink into chaos as she removed the plate from the basin and dried it. “Might need you again,” she murmured to it, as she put the plate away with care.
I'm glad Lambert forgot about testing the invisibility cantrip, she
thought
. Makes my head hurt just thinking about it. We can run a few tests first thing in the morning. If it doesn't work for just anyone, I'll have the rest of the day to see if I can make it work for me.

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