The Standard Book of Anything by Andrea H Rome

Author:Andrea H Rome
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
ISBN: 9798989822515
Publisher: Andrea Rome
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

THE NEXT MORNING CAME QUICKLY. Em awoke to a little yellow bird chirping happily by her window. “Go away,” Em said crabbily, flopping onto her stomach and pulling the pillow over her head. Then someone knocked at the door. Em groaned, “Come in.”

It was Tilly, buzzing with happiness, her frizzy black hair floating around her. Em pulled the pillow tighter to block out the maid’s chattering on about fashion, and Mendel, and her drawings.

“Oh, Em, come on. It’s almost midmorning! Lord Hallson is waiting for you downstairs.”

Em sat up, startled. “He’s waiting?”

“Yes, Miss Em. He went ahead and had breakfast without you, but he said you had very important business together today. Would you like to wear the mint-green frock with⁠—”

Em leapt from her bed, panicked. She hastily pulled a comb through her tangled hair, which she hadn’t fully taken down the night before. Tilly tsked and pulled a frilly light green dress from the wardrobe. Em shimmied into it, too rushed to put up a fight. It felt wholly inappropriate for a quest, but Liam was waiting. As a small act of rebellion, she pulled her old boots out from under the bed and pulled them on.

“Oh, Miss Em!” Tilly scolded. “Those don’t go⁠—”

“No one can see them, so it doesn’t matter. The other ones gave me blisters,” Em reasoned while wiping the sleep out of her eyes. Glancing into the mirror, she decided she looked tolerable. As a last-ditch effort, she snatched up her knapsack with the book tucked inside. Maybe she could find a clue in its pages today. “Thanks, Tilly,” she tossed back as she charged out the door and down the stairs.

Liam waited in the main hall, sitting on a plush scarlet bench near the door. He stood when he saw Em, smiling. “Thought I’d get a jump on you today. You have a habit of slipping out without me.”

“Good work, you caught me,” she admitted awkwardly. “Is there anything I can grab for breakfast?” Liam produced a pastry with apples, earning Em’s grateful smile. “How did you know?”

“I know it’s important to feed you at mealtimes,” he said with a small smile, handing her the treat.

Em took a bite, inhaling the scent of apples and cinnamon and feeling the flaky pastry break off in her mouth. “Mmmmmm,” she hummed happily.

“Okay, ready?” He had reached the door while she chomped away. She nodded, mouth full, and they exited into the heart of Gillamor.

Em and Liam started at one of the larger libraries, one Em hadn’t visited the day before. The books were housed in a vast cavernous space, and Em had the feeling that if she got lost among the stacks, no one would find her for days. Buried deep in the shelves was a whole row of books on Gillamor gardens of note, and magical plants. Liam listed the gardens of note on a spare piece of paper; they could plan to visit each in turn. The magical-plants books were fascinating but provided no clues for warding trees of protection.

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