The Chocolatier's Wife (25 page)

Her
thoughts
caught
her.
Why would
she
be
worried
about
people breathing
dirt?
What
use
would
this
place
be
put
to?
And
then
an
idea,
a
bit
mad, blossomed in her head. The chance for it to be used might never arise,
but
she
knew
she
had
to
try.
She
decided
that
tea
would
get
the
filth
out
of her
throat, so
put
some
water
on
to
boil
b
e
fore
beginning
to
gather
what she could for
the place she now called the safe-room.

There
was
a
smaller
bucket
in
the
pantry,
looking
quite
new,
so
she took
it
and
one
of
the
buckets
from
the
kitchen
proper, deciding
that
she might
as
well
fill one
for
use
as
well
as
one
for
the
safe-room.
The
sprites kept
watch
and
opened
the
door
again when
she
approached
the
back
of the
shop
with
her
burden.
The
new
bucket
went
into
the
safe-room,
with
a cloth
draped
over it,
along
with
an
old
chamber
pot
she
found
in
storage. She
gathered
spare
blankets
and
a
summer
cloak from the
sea
chest
and made
a
narrow
bed.
A
small
stool
finished it
off,
and
she
stood
back,
a
bit amazed
at
herself,
not
because
of
the
room,
but
because
of
the
firmness
to which she held the insane plan.

“I
wonder
if
it
will
work,”
she
murmured, running
her
hands
over
the skirt
of
her
nightgown.
It
was
crazy
and
dangerous.
But
if
it
would
buy William
time—keep
him
from
the
noose—then
she
was
willing
to
do
it.
She left
the
room,
and
the
door
closed
again,
invisible
even
to
those
who
knew it was there.

“Father
of
the
Ieechee
sprites,
would
you
be
willing
to
help
me?” she asked
out
loud,
formally,
for
even
though
they
acted
as
if
they
were
her pets,
she
did
not
like
the
idea
of
taking
them
for
granted.
And
he
was
a
king, of
sorts.
She
made
tea
for
all
of
them,
a
preparation
of
black
tea,
apples
and cinnamon
she
favored
because
the
very
scent
of
it
calmed
her
down.
They liked
it
very, very
sweet,
far
sweeter
than even
she
did,
which
was
rather saying
something,
so
she
stirred
honey
and
expensive
sugar
from
William’s stores
into
theirs,
while
she
treated
hers
with
honey
alone.
“Here
is
my plan,”
she said.
“I
beg you,
tell me what you think?”

They
seemed
to
be
pleased
with
it,
so
the
next
day
she
wrote
a
letter
to
Andrew.

Dear
Brother to Be,

I
beg
you
to allow me to have
dinner alone
tonight
with William. I
wish to discuss things
of
a
far
more tender
nature than you
would wish to hear.
I
promise, nothing
too very
improper, but things
we
should discuss. I
will not weary
him or upset him
before
his trial; indeed,
speaking
of
something
else
for a
time may
well strengthen
him.

Your sister in spirit,

Tasmin

The
response
was
quick. She
was
carefully
putting
things
away
in
the cupboards,
still
trying
to
make sense
out
of
the
chaos
the
soldiers
had
left behind, when a
young man
came to her door,
the son of Andrew’s cook.

Tasmin,

This
is most unusual. But very
well.
It
will give
me a
chance
to sup with my
family,
which
I
have
not properly done
this many weeks.
You have
promised not to upset him,
and
I
hold
you
to your word. I
do not have
to tell you
how
greatly
his state
of
mind at
the
proceedings
tomorrow will matter. Also,
I
must beg
you, for the
sake
of
the
name
you
shall
soon bear,
not to do anything foolish. William may not give a fig,
but that does not mean you should not.

Andrew

Sh
e
rolle
d
he
r
eyes
.
“Tha
t
ma
n
i
s
suc
h
a
prig
.
I
d
o
hop
e
I
shal
l
b
e
abl
e
t
o
surviv
e
Wi
l
liam’
s
family
.
Abou
t
th
e
ma
n
himself
,
I
worr
y
not
.
Bu
t
hi
s
family!
”
Mor
u
lande
d
o
n
he
r
shoulder
.
I
wil
l
tak
e
car
e
o
f
the
m
i
f
the
y
tr
y
t
o
hur
t
you
,
h
e
growled
.
Noru
,
hi
s
twi
n
an
d
th
e
sunnie
r
o
f
th
e
two
,
lande
d
o
n
th
e
other
.
Yo
u
ar
e
ours.

“Behave
,
m
y
littl
e
loves,
”
sh
e
said
,
“
I
beg
.
The
y
canno
t
hur
t
m
y
body
.
But
I
d
o
worr
y
abou
t
m
y
sanity.
”

Sh
e
climbe
d
bac
k
u
p
ont
o
a
stool
,
packin
g
thing
s
i
n
on
e
o
f
th
e
cabinets, the
n
sighe
d
whe
n
sh
e
realize
d
she’
d
misse
d
ye
t
anothe
r
mold
.
Eve
n
though chocolat
e
cand
y
makin
g
wa
s
a
ne
w
concep
t
t
o
thei
r
land
,
othe
r
land
s
ha
d
a
plethor
a
o
f
molds
,
an
d
i
t
seeme
d
Willia
m
ha
d
obsessivel
y
tracke
d
dow
n
an
d
collecte
d
ever
y
singl
e
one
.
A
t
leas
t
i
t
fel
t
lik
e
i
t
a
s
sh
e
steppe
d
dow
n
fro
m
the stool
,
grabbe
d
th
e
offendin
g
mol
d
of
f
th
e
table
,
an
d
climbe
d
bac
k
u
p
t
o
place i
t
wit
h
th
e
others.