Stolen Magic(30)

“But he didn’t know where the Replica was kept,” Elodie said.

“He may have. Many others did: all the brunkas as well as the bees presently living here and those who formerly did. Knowledge may be bought. Even a brunka may have a price.”

Master Uwald might have bought the information, too, Elodie thought, but he’d lose his farm. “What did Goodwife Lilli say about Master Uwald?”

IT said, “Her name was Lilli?”

Master Robbie nodded.

“After the flower, the roots of which I have often enjoyed roasted and salted. Did Goodwife Lilli prepare you for the day that has now arrived?”

“She hadn’t seen him in many years. She said he had been a kind boy.” He grinned. “A boy! Not tall and strapping such as she preferred—she laughed when she said that. But she didn’t say much. Grandmother didn’t like to talk about the past.”


“Did she tell you how to comport yourself as a rich boy?”

He laughed. “She said I should never miss the chance to kick a servant down the stairs. I should insist that tasks be done in half the time required. She made me practice wagging my finger and raising my eyebrows.” He demonstrated.

Enh enh enh.

Elodie smiled although she felt sad.

“She said Master Uwald—my guardian . . .” He turned to Elodie and shrugged. “I don’t know what to call him.”

She wanted to pat his shoulder but contented herself with looking sympathetic.

“How does he wish to be called?”

“Granduncle or just Grand, Masteress, but it feels strange.”

Grand by itself sounded grandiose to Elodie.

“He’s not my uncle.” Master Robbie spoke with his head down, squeezing his hands together. “He says he lo— cares about me, says he has ever since Grandmother wrote to him to tell him that my parents had died and I existed.”

“Nine years,” IT said, “if she wrote soon after their deaths. Enough time for affection to swell. Whether Master Uwald’s feeling is true or imagined will be proven in time.”

Elodie found this dry logic comforting.

Master Robbie raised his head. “Grandmother said Granduncle might be better than most rich people, but he was still a dicer and a wagerer.”

“Do you agree?” IT leaned in toward Master Robbie, ITs flat eyes a deeper green than usual. “Is he better?”

“I guess so. He never mistreated his horse. Soon after we came here, he told Ludda-bee and Dror-bee not to tease Johan-bee. They didn’t listen, but it was kind of him to try. And he’s been talking to Johan-bee. I think he’s helping him learn to speak up and teaching him backgammon.”

“He has true sympathy,” Elodie said.

IT sniffed.

Elodie asked, “Has he done much betting?”

“When I played queets he bet on me.” Master Robbie’s nose pinkened again. “He never lost.”

IT snorted, and Elodie wondered how many of ITs books Master Uwald had won.

Master Robbie continued. “He wagered on anything: how soon the innkeeper would bring our meal, what the weather would be, which room the high brunka would put us in. But he didn’t put money on everything. Sometimes it was more like guessing or predicting.”

Elodie’s attention wandered. She was impatient to tell IT about Master Uwald’s messy bed and about the other rooms she’d entered, but Master Robbie’s knife was one of her discoveries, and he probably wouldn’t like being spied on. So, hoping to somehow escape his anger, she began indirectly. “Did the bees find anything in the guests’ chambers that gave you a hint, Masteress?”

“The high brunka said nothing of import had been discovered.”

“Was anything found among the bees’ things?” Elodie asked.

IT twitched ITs tail. “I have not been told their possessions were gone through. Lodie, ask the high brunka about the results.”

“Has anyone searched here?” Master Robbie asked.

“Two bees came before dawn. Their visit—”

“Masteress, will the bees—”

“Do not interrupt, Lodie. What is it?”

“Will the bees even recognize a clue when they see one? Wouldn’t it be wonderful if someone who was trained by a masteress could search?” Elodie doubted even IT was intelligent enough to understand her hint, so she added, “In secret.”

ITs smoke turned rosy. “Master Robbie, Nesspa would benefit from exercise. I am sure you can find a rope to hold him, or otherwise he may attempt to seek his master.”

How quick ITs understanding is! Elodie thought proudly.

Master Robbie slid off his stool. His gaze went from IT to Elodie, and she knew he realized he was being sent away. He tied a rope to Nesspa’s collar and left.

“Lodie, I hope you did not search the guests’ rooms.”

“I did! I thought you’d want me to.”

“I? A dragon with a secret hoard? Which you had the good sense not to invade when you were alone in my lair.”

She felt ashamed. “But the high brunka—”

“The high brunka informed her guests of the search, which you did not have the grace to do.”

Elodie blinked back tears, but she still thought she’d been right to investigate.