Twenty-Two
One bogle, two elves and three brownies strolled into a coffee shop and ordered tea and cake. I doubted anything stranger had been seen in the eight hundred years since King John had taken a small army and foolishly left King’s Lynn only to be attacked by the tide.
At least Arbuthnot managed to find a chair that was large enough to accommodate his bulk. Amy and I perched on smaller stools nearby while the brownies sat on the small table. Hester’s arms were folded and her glare was terrifying.
Otis, on the other hand, was thrilled to be spending more time with Eloise even under such bizarre circumstances. ‘I like your dress,’ he said, gesturing at the pink frothy concoction she was wearing. Hester snorted derisively.
‘Thank you, Otis,’ Eloise said. ‘I have a matching hat but it’s impractical for travel.’
‘I can imagine. And anyway, it would be a shame to hide your pretty hair under a hat.’
Eloise blushed and Otis shuffled closer to her. ‘So how did you end up with Athair?’ he asked. ‘Was it awful?’
‘Yes,’ she said, hanging her head. ‘It still is awful. He killed my former master and forced me and?—’
‘Can we get down to business?’ Hester interrupted. ‘I don’t think any of us has time for small talk.’
Arbuthnot rolled his heavy shoulders in a shrug. ‘We’ve got time.’
Amy pointed to the watch on my wrist. ‘Perhaps you do, but we don’t.’ She was right: there was little more than an hour before we needed to return to the estuary to resume our search for King John’s crown jewels.
‘What are your orders?’ I asked.
Eloise and Arbuthnot exchanged glances. ‘To follow you,’ Arbuthnot said. ‘And to inform Athair immediately if you’re about to flee the country or go into hiding.’
I exhaled. ‘That’s it?’
‘Pretty much.’
Eloise took up the thread. ‘We’re not supposed to approach you, and we’re definitely not allowed to harm you.’
‘You?’ Amy raised a sceptical eyebrow. ‘Harm Daisy?’
Eloise had the grace to grimace. ‘Obviously not me, but Buthy is strong.’
Arbuthnot didn’t say anything, but from the look in his eye he was doubtful about his ability to beat me in a real fight. He was right to be dubious: I’d kick his ass to Kingdom Come if I had to. He was enormous – but so were my magic skills. A bogle was someone I could beat.
‘We were trying to hide from you when you came around the corner,’ Eloise continued. ‘We didn’t want you to see us and we weren’t expecting you to come that way.’
I didn’t comment on my sudden mad dash; I hadn’t forgotten about William Hausman but I didn’t trust Eloise or Arbuthnot enough to mention him. Not yet. ‘Is he angry? Athair? Is he pissed off?’
‘Furious.’ Arbuthnot chewed at a dirty hangnail with his yellowing teeth. ‘He thinks you’re an ungrateful child.’
That part I already knew. ‘I mean, is he angry that I’m here?’
‘He doesn’t know you’re here. We’ve not told him yet.’
‘We’re only supposed to contact him if you try and run,’ Eloise said. ‘You don’t look like you’re running to me.’ She squinted. ‘So whyareyou here?’
Hester grabbed Otis’s lapels. ‘Don’t tell her,’ she said. ‘Don’t you say a damned word.’
Arbuthnot’s eyes widened. ‘You have something? You have a way to beat him? Or you know where to find one?’ I didn’t reply. He leaned forward, his chair creaking dangerously. ‘You do not trust us.’
‘Shocker,’ Hester said sarcastically.
‘You should know that I am sorry about what happened at the restaurant,’ Arbuthnot said. ‘I did not want to be there. I did not want to shove spider’s silk into your face. I had heard about you and what you’ve done.’ He gestured to my eyes. ‘And I know you’re clean. There are very few who free themselves from silk. Well done.’
Anyone else would have sounded patronising but for some reason, even though Arbuthnot had often supplied me with spider’s silk, his words sounded both genuine and heartfelt. It didn’t mean I trusted him, of course, but I could be gracious. ‘Thank you.’
