There were no survivors this time.
The castle staff tiptoed past the open door, hastily removing the evidence of the ill-fated dinner from the dining room. The heated conversation had floated out into the rest of the house, the anger and hurt in their master’s and mistress’s voices unmistakable. McArdle was the last to pass by. If he lingered a bit too long outside of the room, or if maybe a tear or two gleamed in his eyes, one could never tell for sure, hidden as he was behind the gelatinous conical splendor of the flummery, destined to go untasted into the dark recesses of Drakefell’s rubbish bin.
Another casualty of their irreconcilable clash.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
It was time to end this evil. She uncorked the amulet and raised it above her head. “Restore my father to me!” Nothing happened.
She waved it in front of her, sending a spray of glittering blue drops into the air like tiny stars. “Reverse this evil, o amulet of enchantment!”
The droplets settled onto the stone floor in front of her uncle, who was grinning a nasty grin, completely unharmed by Gaethryn’s enchantment.
“Oh foolish Amsonia. Was that trinket supposed to transfix me with its prettiness? How quaint!”
—The Dragon and the Blue Starby Analise Crewe
Dear Duchess,
I am writing in response to your advertisement in theMorning Post. I believe I know the whereabouts of your Father, having met a Gentleman that matches your description of him while traveling to see relatives in Dorcester. The Gentleman in question was granted passage from Belgium to Dover by a kindlymerchant and has been wandering the countryside in a westerly manner ever since. He suffers from a near total Amnesia and is in a greatly weakened state. Seeing him will be a matter of some delicacy, due to the poor quality of his health. I fear the shock of learning his own identity might cause irreparable damage to his heart.
He has been taken in by a family in Littlebredy, of which I am well acquainted. They are Good People and were moved by his piteous state. They found him by the side of a road outside the village, asking anyone he encountered if they knew his little girl, but could give only the name “Anna,” no surname or other details that might help determine his or his daughter’s identity. I was much Moved by his sad tale, which has remained present in my mind ever since. Imagine my surprise in reading your advertisement, and my Great Joy at the possibility of reuniting father and daughter!
I would speak with you further on this matter and beg you to travel quickly to London. I am staying at the Rose & Crown for another two days, then must return to the countryside myself. I would be happy to accompany you there to ascertain whether this man is truly your own Father. I would also ask that when you meet me, you don’t bring your husband, the Duke, lest the man who might be your Father be overwhelmed and succumb to his injuries. He exhibits a mortal fear of all Men, especially those of Military Bearing, but is soothed greatly by the presence of Womenfolk.
I will be waiting at the Rose & Crown. Haste is Essential!
Respectfully yours,
Margerie Dunnock
The lone sheet of paper and the envelope it had been delivered in fell from Ana’s grasp and floated to the ground. Since Dex had departed, she’d been alone in the castle, albeit surrounded by staff and the kind attentions of Tessie and the sisters, who all seemed to know that something devastating had happened and were solicitousness itself. She had felt herself floating around ghostlike, the spark she’d always carried within her snuffed out by a great darkness. What had caused her light to be extinguished, like a candle under a douter? What had happened to change the makeup of her being?
Dex had happened. She made herself think the thought through, absorb its meaning.
She’d lain her heart at his feet and he’d crushed it under his boot heel.
Since he’d left, she hadn’t been herself. She was a phantom living a one-sided life, with no outlet for her vitality, no oxygen to keep her inner fire alight. She was by turns anguished and angry, as if she were being frozen in ice, then roasted over a fire, again and again.
But these written words felt like a slap to her face, a bracing one, administered by fate.
“. . .wandering the countryside . . . asking if they knew his little girl . . .”
Could it be? Her father, alive. If it was true, it would be the answer to her prayers. She would have her father back, and with him life wouldn’t feel empty at all.
She found Tessie back upstairs in her bedchamber, polishing the contents of her jewelry box. Ana held the letter aloft. “Tessie, I’ve had word from London. A woman who claims to have met my father.”
Tessie lifted her head. “That’s wonderful news.”
“We’ll leave for London immediately.”
“Oh... Ana.” Tessie’s voice trailed off; her face was pale and the hand that held the polishing cloth quivered.
“Tessie.” Ana rushed to her friend’s side. “Are you ill?”
“I... I’ve had a dreadful headache all morning. And now it’s gone much worse. I feel quite dizzy. I do suffer from the megrims from time to time. Nothing helps except a dark room, and time.”
“Then what are you doing sitting here in my room in the sunlight? Come. Off to bed with you.” She helped Tessie stand and threw an arm around her shoulders. “I’ll help you to your room.”