The Golden Flute by Rosalie Oaks

Author:Rosalie Oaks [Oaks, Rosalie]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780645300529
Publisher: Parkerville Press

18

In which pie is insufficient

Alone now in her room, Elinor put her hand to her bandaged head. She had not liked to admit it before everyone, but she was feeling sore, tired, and a little frightened. Her realisation about the missing soap made it quite clear that there was malevolent intent behind Perry’s accident. It also implied that the shatterstone had been planted on purpose.

She tried to soothe her panicked thoughts. There was another possibility: that someone had put the shatterstone there to be discovered by Perry, not to injure him but to expose its existence. After all, it had not exploded when she picked it up. If she hadn’t been so foolish as to toss it aside like an old apple, she would not have been hurt. Could someone wish to inform their party that the Orlends were making and keeping shatterstones?

Or it could be Chaboot’s murderer trying to drive them away – or worse.

She sank back on her pillows, gnawing on a fingernail, until her reflections were interrupted by Perry at the door, Jaq at his shoulder. “I can’t feed Raddle,” he said triumphantly, “because he has disappeared.”

Elinor sat up abruptly. “Disappeared?”

“Well, gone off on his own little jaunt,” said Perry. “Probably looking for a sheep.”

“But I told him strictly to stay with Lilian!”

“Well, you do not have sovereignty over everyone,” said Perry pointedly. “Didn’t you say that Raddle is a young boy? It is entirely natural that he would want to escape Miss Reed’s watch.”

Elinor threw off her blankets. “Where are Pags and Durl? They must look for him! What if we lose him? He is our likeliest lead to the roost! I’m going to the cellar to question Lilian.” She paused defiantly. “I’m not staying abed when I might be able to discover something.”

Perry threw up his hands. “I’m not preventing you.”

“Neither am I,” said Jaq. “I’ll go outside, see if I can spot the little fellow.”

“Good.” She frowned at Perry. “You can tell Beresford where I am.”

“I don’t think so,” said Perry promptly. “I’ll come with you and guard you. I’m sure that is what Beresford would want, what with bombs being in the cellar.”

Elinor gave him a cross look, threw on a shawl and marched downstairs. Perry limped behind her.

When she opened the cellar door, her eyes sought the keg behind which she had last seen Raddle. The floor was dusty and empty. Quickly, she shut the door behind Perry, who planted his feet and folded his arms, taking his duties seriously.

Lilian’s soft voice came from a dark corner, where a broad chest sat. She was standing on it, as simply dressed as before. “Lady Beresford, do you know where Raddle has gone?”

Elinor strode into the room. “No. When did you last see him?”

“When you last saw him,” Lilian replied. “After you left us this morning, I fell asleep again. Raddle said he would stay awake a little longer, exploring the cellar, and I had not the heart to stop him. When I awoke, he was gone.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.