The Wizard Returns: Book Three of the Wizard Born Series (20 page)

“Yes, Mrs. Wallace. Master Renn’s reputation should protect you.”

“How about from other sorcerers?”

She took a long breath as she regarded Evelyn. “I don’t know. Only Master Renn could’ve answered that.”

Evelyn looked at Jamie. “Have you felt any magic since we’ve been here?”

“No ma’am. Not yet.”

“If someone were using magic nearby, could you tell?”

“Yes, as long as it was a wizard and not a witch.”

Evelyn turned to Fred. “Have you felt anything?”

She shook her head. “But I’m more concerned with wizards, at this point. I think we have enough protection against witches with me and Jamie here.”

“The only witch living around here is Mrs. Malley, but she would never hurt a soul,” Mrs. Tully said. “And the poor woman is not in the best of health right now.”

“Are there any insects in these rooms, Mrs. Tully?”

“Oh, no. Master Renn brought another witch here two years ago, and she took care of it. There’s not a bedbug or a roach to be found, not even an ant. No mice or rats, either.”

“She must’ve put down wards,” Fred said. “Isabella did that at Rita and Cassandra’s house. Momma Sue promised me she’d teach me how to do that.”

“All right then.” Evelyn nodded. “What’s the other bedroom like, Mrs. Tully?”

“It’s the mirror image of this one, only it has a nice view of the river. It was Mrs. Carthy’s room.”

“Fine. Jamie and Rollie can have this room, and Fred can take that one. I’ll sleep on the day bed.”

“But, Gramma,” Jamie said, “you should have the bedroom.”

“No, because I’ll get up before you all do. I’ll probably stay up later, too.”

“That’s true.”

Melanie frowned. “Where are Bryce and I going to sleep?”

“Aw, Melanie,” Jamie said. “Can we just keep it to me and Fred and Rollie?”

“But we want to help,” Bryce said. “There are an awful lot of books, and...and we won’t be any trouble, honest, Mrs. Wallace.”

“I’m sure you won’t be, but it’s Jamie’s decision.”

“Please, Jamie?” Melanie poked out her lower lip and made sad eyes at him. “I don’t have anything to do for spring break.”

“I thought you had a job.”

“As a hostess!” She frowned. “And they only give me two shifts a week.”

Jamie ran one hand through his hair and let out an exasperated sigh. “Let us just try it first without you, okay? If it looks like it’s going to be too big of a job, you can come.”

“What will you tell your parents?” Evelyn asked.

“Um....” Bryce tugged one earlobe, his face thoughtful. “We could tell them that we’re going on a religious retreat, and you’re the chaperone.”

Melanie nodded. “My parents would go for that.”

“We’ll cross that bridge when we get to it.” Evelyn stood and asked Mrs. Tully, “Can you take all of Renn’s and Mrs. Carthy’s things out of the bedrooms and store them somewhere?”

“Brinna and I can put them in the attic.”

“Good. Now, can you show us the rest of the house, please?”

They followed the older woman out to the main room, toward the open door that led to the kitchen. Carl and Larry didn’t seem particularly interested, and they left them to inspect the main room further. Jamie and his friends didn’t make it past the table. They each took a seat and resumed their perusal of the magic books.

The kitchen was long and narrow, with a cast iron stove and a sink on the back wall, which had three large windows that offered an impressive view of the river. The opposite wall had wooden cabinets with heavy wooden countertops. Another wide stretch of countertop filled the space between the stove and the tin sink. Pots and pans hung from hooks on the walls. Shelves, filled with cooking utensils, jars, and dishware, covered the remaining space, and two oil lamps hung from the ceiling.

“There are no books in here, Mrs. Tully,” Rachel said, as they examined the kitchen.

“I had to put my foot down about that. Master Renn would’ve filled this room too, if I had not convinced him that I wouldn’t be able to cook.”

Lisa stood next to the sink and put one hand on a wooden bucket that sat on the counter beside it. “There’s no running water, I gather.”

“I draw water from the well,” Mrs. Tully said.

Adele frowned as she regarded the bucket. “Sounds like a lot of work.”

Evelyn opened one of the doors of the black, box-shaped wood burning stove and peeked inside. “I’ve never cooked on one of these. Is there enough wood here, Mrs. Tully?”

“There’s a large stack out back, split and ready to burn.”

“I think I’ll borrow Carl’s camp stove, just to play it safe.”

Rachel pointed to a door on the narrow wall at the end of the room. “That must go to the back. Can you show us, Mrs. Tully?”

The sturdy woman pulled a key from a hook over the door and unlocked it, then opened it and led them outside.

A storage shed sat against the back of the house on their left, and just past that was a stone well, covered by a shingled roof. On their right was a large woodshed, full of split logs, and next to it was the outhouse. To the right of that, bordering the side yard, was a small stable.

“It looks like a park out here,” Lisa said softly.

The lush, grassy lawn sloped gently downhill to the river, barely 100 feet away. The river was only about 50 feet wide, with a few large rocks rising above the surface here and there. Rachel pointed and said, “How deep is that, Mrs. Tully?”

“You can wade across it here. It gets deeper near town.”

“Is the water clean?”

“You can drink it, and it’s clear as glass, it is. A little cold, though, especially this time of year.”

“The landscaping is beautiful,” Lisa said. More flowering ornamental trees, similar to the ones in the front yard, were situated tastefully, and long beds of flowers lined both edges of the lawn. “Are those tulips?”

“Yes, of course,” Mrs. Tully said.

Lisa lowered her eyebrows. “How could you have tulips here?”

Mrs. Tully shrugged and said, “There were daffodils blooming last month, but they are spent.”

“Strange,” Evelyn murmured. “Same as Hendersonville.”

At the edge of the river was a wooden bench seat, surrounded by more flowers. “That’s a nice touch,” Evelyn said.

Mrs. Tully nodded. “Mrs. Carthy loved that. She spent many an afternoon there, watching the water go by.”

“Do you take care of the yard?” Rachel said.

“The house is my charge. Mr. Kennerly takes care of the grounds, though he’s threatened to quit. He hasn’t been paid in some time.”

“Mrs. Tully?” Evelyn said. “I know this is a personal question, but how long has it been since you’ve been paid?”

Her face became tight and she looked away for a moment.

“Since September?”

Mrs. Tully gave a small nod.

“Oh my. How are you supporting yourself? Do you have a husband?”

“I’m a widow, these past ten years. I...had a boarder for a while, but he moved out last month. And I made some money from my butter and eggs, but I had to sell my other cow and I only have the one now. I take in a little washing sometimes, and my son and daughter help me out when they can.”

“That’s not right,” Evelyn said firmly. “You should be paid. Is there any money in this house?”

“Yes.”

“Is that Jamie’s, too?”

“Of course. Everything in the house is.”

“How much is it? Is there enough to pay you?”

“I believe so. I’ve never counted it.”

“Why not?”

“It’s not my place to touch the master’s money.”

“You’ve worked here all these months without pay, even though there’s money here?”

“Yes,” she said quietly.

“Well,” Lisa said, “you certainly are honest.”

“Can you show us the money, please?” Evelyn said. “I think you should be paid right away.”

Mrs. Tully led them back inside through the kitchen to the main room, and paused beside a closet covered by a dark green curtain. She pointed at it and said, “It’s in there, on the bottom.”

Rachel turned and looked over her shoulder at Jamie, sitting at the table nearby with his friends. “Honey, you may want to see this.”

“What is it?” Jamie said as he stood.

“It’s your money, I believe.”

“I don’t have any money here.”

“Mrs. Tully said you do.”

Evelyn pulled the curtain aside to reveal a large wooden chest, sitting on the floor. At the sound of the word
money
, the others had gathered closer, too.

“That’s a
big
chest,” Larry said. “Looks like a pirate’s treasure chest.”

“Go on, Jamie.” Fred’s face was eager. “Open it.”

Jamie knelt on the floor in front of it, turned the metal latch and lifted the heavy lid. Silver coins tinkled onto the floor from the overflowing pile of money inside.

“Look at that!” Lisa said. “That looks like a lot of money.” She bent and picked up a coin that had rolled near her foot. “It’s certainly not American money...it has a five on it.” She showed it to Mrs. Tully. “Is that a lot?”

“It’s a five piece. Two of those make a ten piece.”

Jamie held up a shiny coin from the pile. “This is a silver. It’s worth five ten pieces, if I remember correctly.” He rummaged in the top of the pile and said, “There are some coppers in here too, big ones and little ones. They’re kinda like quarters and pennies, I believe.”

“So...Jamie, is that a lot of money in that chest?” Larry asked.

“I think so.”

Larry asked Mrs. Tully, “What could you buy with that much money? Could you buy a house like this?”

“You could buy several, I believe.”

“Whoa...must be nice. Jamie, can I borrow some?” Larry grinned.

“It’s not my money,” he grumbled.

Evelyn held up one hand. “Let’s worry about that later. Mrs. Tully, how much did Renn pay you to work here?”

“He paid me a ten piece every day.”

“Um, what could you buy with that? Say, how many chickens, ready to cook?”

“Maybe four, if you bought them at the market.”

John Paul grunted and said, “What a cheapskate. Renn wasn’t even paying you minimum wage. Did you work all day?”

She nodded and said, “Seven days a week.”

“Pay her, Jamie,” Carl said. “Six months wages.”

“How much is that?” Jamie twisted his mouth to one side. “Let’s see...let’s call it a hundred and eighty days, uh....” He looked at Mrs. Tully. “That’s a lot of ten pieces. Can we give you silvers instead?”

“That would be fine.” Her eyes looked hopeful.

“Fred, help me sort out more silvers.” Fred knelt beside Jamie and they began picking out coins from the pile in the chest.

Mrs. Tully wrung her hands. “Are you sure you don’t mind, Master Jamie? I’ll take less. You don’t have to pay me that much.”

Jamie looked up. “I don’t care. It’s not my money.” He turned to Fred. “How many do you have? Let’s give her fifty.”

“Fifty silvers!” Mrs. Tully’s mouth fell open. “That’s too much. Far too much. I cannot take that.”

“Sure you can.” Jamie stood with both fists full of coins. “Here. Take it.”

“I can’t.” She held her hands up defensively.

“Of course you can,” Evelyn said. “We need you to look after the house until we come back on Friday.”

“Just consider it an advance,” Jamie said.

Mrs. Tully’s brow furrowed. “But what about after Friday?”

“We won’t need you then, because we’ll have Gramma with us.”

“Oh.” Her face fell, and Evelyn could tell from the look in her eyes how disappointed she was.
She needs this job
, Evelyn realized.
She has no other income
.

“I think you should continue to come after Friday, Mrs. Tully, if you can make it,” Evelyn said.

“But Gramma,” Jamie said. “We won’t need her.”

“Yes we will. She knows how things work around this town, the customs and so forth, and the memories that you have from Eddan are sketchy and dated. Plus, she knows this house, and I don’t think I’m ready to cook in that kitchen yet.”

Brinna stepped forward. “Ma is a very good cook. You’ll not find another as good, hereabouts.”

“I’m sure.” Evelyn saw the obvious relief in Mrs. Tully’s eyes. “Besides, I could use the help cleaning up after these kids, unless they’ve somehow gotten miraculously neater.”

Jamie chuckled and set his coins on the table, and Fred did, too. “Okay, fine. Here you go, Mrs. Tully. I don’t know what you can carry them in. Do women have purses here? I don’t remember.”

“She can tie them up in a cloth,” Brinna said.

“Good.” Jamie dropped the lid back on the money chest with a heavy
thunk
. “We’re done here.”

“That’s not all of the money,” Mrs. Tully said.

“What?”

She pointed at his feet. “There’s more down there.”

“Under the floor?” He knelt and examined the wood planks more closely. “I don’t see anything.”

“It is there. I am sure of it.”

“Hold on.” Jamie closed his eyes and passed his hand over the floor. “There’s a spell....” His brow wrinkled in concentration. “There!” Cracks suddenly appeared, outlining a square hatch with a recessed handle.

“Cool,” Melanie said softly.

“Open it, Jamie,” Adele said.

Jamie pulled the door up. “There’s another chest down here, a little smaller than the other one.” He reached down and lifted the lid, then stumbled back on his bottom as everyone gasped in unison.

“Is that
gold?
” Bryce said.

The entire group pressed closer at once, except for Jamie, who had scooted back as if the chest were radioactive. Carl knelt beside the chest and grabbed a handful of coins. “Sure feels like gold. It’s heavy.”

“It is all gold,” Mrs. Tully said.

“Jamie,” Larry said, “you’re rich!”

“I am not!”

“Yes you are. How much does that weigh, Carl?”

Carl reached down and grabbed one handle of the chest, and supporting himself with his other hand, heaved with a mighty grunt. After a moment he sat up and turned to face the others. “I can’t budge it. It easily weighs over three hundred pounds. Probably more.”

“Three hundred pounds?” Larry’s eyes went wide, then his face grew thoughtful while he counted in the air with his fingers. “Let’s see...if we take last week’s gold prices, and multiply times....” His voice trailed off to a mutter.