The Wizard Returns: Book Three of the Wizard Born Series (32 page)

Melanie and Fred went with Bryce to tuck Aiven in, and when they returned a couple of minutes later, they closed the door behind them. “He’s sound asleep,” Melanie said.

“What are we going to do with him when he wakes up?” Fred said.

Lisa’s voice came from the laptop. “Where is he? I didn’t get to see him.”

“He’s asleep, Mom,” Fred said.

There was a knock on the front door, and when Mrs. Tully answered it, Brinna stepped inside, bright and cheerful. “Good morning! I came to see if you still want to go to the market today. It’s almost quit raining.” When she noticed the sober looks, she said, “Is something the matter?”

Mrs. Tully filled her in while Brinna hung up her cloak on a peg near the kitchen door. “Oh my,” Brinna said softly. “That poor, poor boy. Where shall he stay?”

“He can’t stay here,” Fred said. “It’s too crowded, and when we leave, there won’t be anybody here at night.”

“Perhaps I can take him in.”

Mrs. Tully frowned. “Brinna, your wagon is full right now just trying to look after your shop and your house. You have no time to care for a boy.”

“Well...maybe Mrs. Gantry will take him in. They could use some help on their farm.”

“Mr. Gantry is tipping the bottle again. A drunk will not make a good foster father.”

Rollie picked up the wet bag and looked inside. “His uncle didn’t leave him with much in the way of clothes. There’s almost nothing in here. Another shirt and some underclothes is all I see.”

Jamie scratched his jaw with one thumbnail and regarded the sturdy housekeeper. “Mrs. Tully, what about...what about if you take him as a boarder? I would pay his rent, of course, since it’s my obligation to.”

“Why is it your obligation?” Evelyn said.

“Because, technically, he’s my apprentice, since I haven’t turned him away. That means I’m responsible for his room and board, at least until we figure out what to do with him.” He turned to Mrs. Tully. “How much did you charge your last tenant?”

“A ten piece per week, and an extra five for meals, breakfast and supper only.”

“Would you be willing to take the boy as a boarder? You don’t have to be his parent or anything, just provide a roof over his head. I’ll pay double, and in advance. You can bring him here when you come to work, and we’ll find something to keep him busy.”

“He can do chores,” Evelyn said. “There’s plenty of firewood to be fetched and water to be drawn. Not to mention sweeping and other things. He’s old enough for that, though he really should be in school.”

“Except that there isn’t one here,” Rollie said.

Jamie looked at Mrs. Tully. “So, will you? Please?”

She stared at the closed bedroom door, both hands on her hips, and took a long breath through her nose, and then she turned back to Jamie. “As long as it’s not a permanent solution. I’m too old to be mothering a little boy.”

“Thank you,” Jamie said.

“I’ll help when I can,” Brinna said.

“Are we still going to the market?” Fred asked.

“You haven’t even cracked a book, yet.” Jamie glanced at his watch. “And it’s after nine already.”

Fred wrinkled her nose at Jamie and grabbed a book from the nearest shelf. “Come on, Melanie. Let’s get reading so we can still go to the market. That is, if Mister Slave Driver will allow it.”

“Don’t you think we should stay here and look after the boy?” Evelyn said.

Mrs. Tully gathered the plate and empty glass from the table and turned toward the kitchen. “I’ll look after him. You go on.”

“No, Ma,” Brinna said. “Come with us. You need to buy a few things anyway. You said so yourself.”

“Then I’ll stay,” Evelyn offered.

“But you need to go settle up the household account.” Jamie rubbed his face with one hand and looked at the floor. “I’ll stay. Me and Bryce and Rollie can handle it. Aiven will probably sleep for hours, anyway.”

Mrs. Tully hesitated in the kitchen doorway, dirty dishes still in hand. “I’ll need to prepare your luncheon before I go.”

“There’s lunch meat in one of the coolers and bread in one of the boxes in the cellar,” Evelyn said. “The boys can make sandwiches.”

“We have a couple of hours before we need to go to the market.” Brinna grabbed a spell book from the nearest stack. “Perhaps I can help with your search.”

“By all means,” Jamie said. “We need all the help we can get.”

Chapter 24

Fred closed the book in her lap and said, “Is it time to go to the market yet?”

“It’s after eleven o’clock,” Brinna said. “This is a good time.”

“Brinna, shouldn’t we eat first?” Melanie asked.

“I thought we could eat something there. Mr. Fletcher should have his food cart.”

“Come on, Melanie,” Fred said. “Let’s go change.”

“Fred?” Evelyn looked up from her Bible, which she was reading in the rocking chair. “Don’t wake Aiven when you’re in there. Get your clothes and change in the other room. And no shorts!”

“Why not? I brought some cute yellow ones I want to wear.”

“Because it would be inappropriate. You shouldn’t show so much skin here. Look at Brinna’s dress. You see how long it is? Wear jeans, please.”

“She’s right, Fred,” Jamie said, sitting in one of the padded chairs next to the bench seat. “The social standards are different here. It’s more Victorian.”

“I noticed that none of you ladies wear dresses,” Brinna said. “Is that the style on your world?”

“Depends on where you live,” Fred said. “We all have dresses, but I didn’t bring any with me.”

Melanie said, “Neither did I, and all of mine have shorter hemlines than yours, Brinna.”

“How much shorter?”

Melanie touched a spot on her thigh, six inches above her knee.

Brinna’s eyes grew wide. Evelyn laughed and said, “If it makes you feel any better, all of my dresses are much longer than that.”

“I certainly hope so.”

Fred and Melanie went to get dressed, and they returned a few minutes later wearing blue jeans, Nike running shoes with colorful shoelaces, and long sleeve cotton T-shirts. Melanie’s golden hair was pulled back in its usual ponytail, but Fred let her red curls flow free.

“When will you be back?” Jamie asked.

“We won’t be long,” Fred said. “Can you give us some money?”

“What for?”

“So we can buy something, of course, and American money is no good here.”

“I forgot.” He stood and went to the corner, and pulled the coin-filled ceramic vase from the shelf. “How much do you need?”

“How should I know?”

Jamie looked at his grandmother. “What are you going to buy?”

“I’m not sure. I need to settle up the household account with the food vendors, and then I thought we’d look around and see what appeals to us. I’d like to get some souvenirs of some kind, if we can find something suitable. Maybe we’ll find something in Brinna’s shop.”

Jamie pinched his mouth up and knitted his brow. “That’s pretty vague. How ’bout I just give you some and hope it’s enough? Mrs. Tully, how much do you need for whatever you’re getting for dinner?”

“A five piece shall do.”

Jamie pulled out a fistful of coins from the vase and studied them for a moment, then pulled out more with his other hand. “Can you get some clothes for Aiven? It doesn’t seem like he has enough.”

“I have some at my shop,” Brinna said.

Jamie laid the money on the table. “Is that enough?”

Mrs. Tully shook her head. “It is too much.”

“Well, Melanie and Fred probably want to get something, too.”

“I want something,” Rollie said from the bench seat. “Something for my mom.” He bit the tip of his tongue for a moment. “And my dad, too, if you can find anything.”

Jamie dug his hand into the vase again and pulled out more coins, which he offered to Evelyn. “Here. Get everybody something, I don’t care what. Something for our parents and this house and Aiven and....” He turned to Brinna. “Do you want some, too?”

“My gosh, no. You certainly are generous with your money.”

“I don’t care. It’s not mine. I mean, not really. Might as well do something with it.”

“You’re helping the local economy,” Melanie said.

“Right. Renn sucked it out, and I’m giving it back.” He narrowed one eye and pushed his mouth to one side. “In fact, now that I think about it....” He dug his hand into the large vase again, withdrew another fistful of coins and offered it to Evelyn. “Here. Buy lots of stuff. Spend as much as you can.”

Evelyn’s face was firm. “No, Jamie. Put it back. Don’t throw your money away.”

“Why not? Got to do something with it.”

“If you want to give it away that’s fine, but do it intelligently.”

“She’s right, Jamie,” Fred said. “Besides, we have to carry everything. We’re on foot, remember?”

Jamie sighed deeply. “I guess you’re right. Just get something for my parents, too, okay? Maybe you need a little more money.”

“You’ve given them enough, Master Jamie,” Brinna said. “Their arms will be full.”

Fred’s pockets were heavy with coins when they finally left the house. The sky had cleared, leaving only a few scudding clouds, each racing away as if they didn’t want to be the last to leave the scene. The light breeze was springtime cool but not cold. The grass, still wet from the rain, glistened in the sunshine as they crossed it, walking on the stepping stones that led from the front stoop to the road ahead.

“How far is it, Brinna?” Fred asked.

“About ten minutes to town. A few more to the market.

“Mrs. Tully,” Evelyn asked, “do you have to go every day, since you have no way to keep meat cold?”

“Not every day. Salted or smoke-cured meat will keep for a while. I try to get fresh vegetables whenever I can. Otherwise we have to eat the ones I put up in the cellar.”

Melanie’s face grew thoughtful as she stepped over a puddle in the road. “By ‘putting up’, do you mean ‘canning’?”

“It’s the same thing,” Evelyn said. “My grandmother used to do that. Pears and peaches and green beans...all kinds of things.”

“I have all of those in the cellar, but I try to save them for emergencies.” Mrs. Tully led their group, her pace brisk.

Fred had to hurry to keep up. Brinna seemed to notice and she said, “Ma is a fast walker.”

“No kidding,” Fred said. They had reached a stretch of road that was bordered by mature trees on either side, and they soon passed a fork that led away to their left. “Where does that go?”

“South,” Mrs. Tully answered. “It meets up with the main road out of town eventually, after passing a few farms.”

“Who maintains the roads?”

“The town does,” Brinna said, “out to the county line. The governor is responsible for them after that.”

“Who pays for it? Do you pay taxes?”

“Everyone does but the sorcerers and the witches, I believe.”

“Why don’t they?”

“Because the tax collectors are too frightened of them,” Mrs. Tully said without turning her head. “No man in his right mind would knock on a sorcerer’s door and demand money. I doubt they would from a witch, either.”

“No wonder Renn accumulated so much money,” Evelyn said.

“And the rest of us didn’t,” Brinna said with a laugh.

They passed another house on their right, a white two-story structure made of wood, and Mrs. Tully pointed at it as they walked. “My son helped build that.”

“He’s built some of the big houses in town, too,” Brinna said with a hint of pride.

“And he’s younger than you?” Evelyn asked.

“Three years. Still not married, either.”

Mrs. Tully frowned and grumbled, “Neither of my children think enough of me to give me grandchildren.”

Brinna looked at Fred and rolled her eyes. Fred turned her head away to hide a smile.

The trees had given way to houses on both sides of the road, and within minutes they were approaching the town’s gates, two formal-looking stone pillars standing like tall soldiers on sentry duty, topped by black metal globes that resembled cannonballs. The hard-packed dirt changed abruptly over to closely-fitted paving stones, and the houses were finer, with broad, well-landscaped lawns, and flower beds bursting with colorful blooms.

Fred pointed at one of the more expensive-looking homes. “That looks nice. Are these the big houses you were talking about?”

“Oh, no,” Brinna said with a shake of her head. “Those are on the river road, and they are
much
grander than these houses.”

“Still, these look new.”

“Our little town has grown quite a bit since Eddan’s time,” Mrs. Tully said, still pushing ahead at a no-nonsense clip. “I doubt he would recognize it.” She gestured at the houses around them. “All of these are connected to the new sewers. In fact, every building in the city limits is now. They are required to. No more dumping your chamber pot in the street, like when I was young.”

Fred wrinkled her nose. “That’s disgusting!”

“That was common in most big cities,” Melanie said, “back in the old days.”

“But not here,” Mrs. Tully said. “Not any longer. Master Renn designed and built the sewers. He used his magic to excavate the tunnels and aided the masons when they lined them with brick.” Her tone carried a touch of admiration.

“Why did he do that?” Evelyn said. “I thought he was pretty much just a power-obsessed killer.”

“He had his good side, he did.” She walked a couple of more quick steps before continuing, “He didn’t work for free, but he made the sewers possible with his immense power. They couldn’t have been done without him. He was quite proud of that project, I know, because he talked about it often at the house. He said he didn’t want to have another plague here.”

“Like the one that killed his parents?” Fred asked.

“The very one.”

Fred and Evelyn exchanged quick glances, and Fred was sure they were thinking the same thing. They both knew that of all of the memories Jamie carried of Eddan’s, the one that bothered him the most was the one of that time long ago, when the plague had swept through town, killing Renn’s family, along with hundreds of others. A few of the local elders had approached Eddan about helping rid them of it, but he had refused. Jamie felt guilty about it, even though he had nothing to do with it. The memories were there, like unwanted boxes in the attic.