Oracles of Delphi Keep (21 page)

“I’ve hired two carpenters and several laborers from the village, my lord,” he said. “Also, the furniture and supplies have been ordered from London and, I have been assured, will arrive on the next train. The keep will be repaired and resupplied by the end of the week, as you requested,” Binsford finished with a bow.

“Brilliant job, Mr. Binsford,” said the earl with a kind smile. “And how are the children faring?”

Binsford hesitated and Ian had a sneaking suspicion that the butler was unsure how to broach the topic of Theo’s breakdown. “Most are doing quite well,” said Binsford. “Only one of them seems to be struggling with the intensity of these recent events.”

The earl frowned. “Which child?” he asked.

“Miss Theo Fields, my lord,” said Binsford. “The poor girl had a bit of a collapse this afternoon during lessons. Madam Dimbleby is attending to her upstairs, in fact.”

The earl glanced upward and Ian and Carl ducked away from the banister and edged quickly around the corner. “Do you think he saw us?” whispered Carl as the pair hurried back to the sitting room.

“I’d bet on it,” said Ian glumly, ashamed of having been caught eavesdropping.

They snuck back into the sitting room and took their seats, and Ian felt his cheeks turn red as Thatcher looked directly at them while arching one eyebrow. “Looks like someone noticed we’d ducked out,” murmured Ian.

Carl glanced quickly at Thatcher, then back to his homework. “Bugger,” he said with a sigh as he flipped open his notebook again.

As the large clock in the corner dinged seven times, the earl appeared in the doorway, beaming at everyone in the sitting room. “Good evening, children!” he said in his charismatic, booming voice. “I trust that you’ve been on your best behavior, and your lessons went well.”

“They went well until certain people started making scenes,” groused Searle from nearby. Ian glared furiously at him, and his nemesis merely sneered in return.

The earl either ignored Searle’s comment or he did not hear it, because he continued. “Children, by the week’s end you shall all be moving back to the keep. Your clothing and furniture is being replaced, and repairs will have been completed. For the next few days, you will remain here and attend to your studies, but be prepared to move back to your home by Friday afternoon.”

“And how went the hunt, my lord?” Thatcher asked.

The earl’s smile never wavered. “We did not kill the beast,” he said, and all the children moaned. “However,” the earl continued, “I am thoroughly convinced that the creature has moved her litter someplace well away from Dover. I am assured, as I have seen no sign of her nearby in two days.”

Ian saw Madam Scargill pull nervously at the collar of her dress. “Are you certain we’ll be safe to return to the keep, my lord?” she asked.

The earl smiled at her. “Yes, Gertrude, I’m sure. But I’ve taken the liberty of adding two men with rifles to your staff and I’ve also hired several men from the village to patrol the
roads and the area along the cliffs day and night for the next several months. And I’ve sent word to the neighboring counties to be on the lookout for the creature. I expect that eventually news will spread and the beast and her pups will be hunted down and properly disposed of.”

Madam Scargill seemed to relax. “That’s wonderful, my lord. Thank you for seeing to our comfort and safety,” she said, giving the children a look that suggested they too needed to thank their benefactor.

Ian and the rest of the group obediently cheered a round of thanks to their patriarch, who chuckled and waved his hands humbly. “Yes, yes,” he said. “Now, back to your studies, children.”

As the earl turned toward the hallway, Thatcher got up from his chair, walked carefully but quickly through the maze of students to him, and said in a low voice that Ian was just able to overhear, “My lord, if I might have a moment with you in private?”

The earl looked quizzically at the younger man and replied, “Yes, of course, Thatcher.”

“Thank you. And might I ask that my brother join us?” But before Ian could hear the earl’s answer, the two of them had moved into the hallway and out of earshot.

“What do you think that was about?” whispered Carl.

Ian looked at Carl in surprise. He hadn’t realized that his friend had been working to overhear too. “Probably what happened out on the lawn today,” he grumbled. He didn’t like having Theo be the focus of so much attention and was deeply concerned that the earl might want to question her when what she really needed was rest.

He didn’t like the knot of anxiety that settled into the pit of his stomach every time he thought about what Thatcher had told him. Theo’s predictions were likely to be accurate given Thatcher’s revelations about Germany’s führer. Even that bit about Poland bothered him.

“Ah,” said Carl with a nod. “That can’t be good,” he added before turning back to his French homework.

Ian tried to concentrate on his studies again as well but his mind kept wandering back to how weak and frail Theo was in her bed just down the hallway.

He was saved from his mental struggles when, a half hour after the earl and Thatcher had left them, the schoolmaster reappeared in their doorway. “Master Wigby?” he said in a quiet voice, so as not to disturb the other children. “Won’t you please join the earl and me for a moment downstairs?”

Even though Thatcher had spoken quietly, all eyes in the large sitting room turned to look at him, and Ian stood up quickly, embarrassed by being singled out. Carl gave him an encouraging smile and Ian turned and shuffled after Thatcher.

Nervously, Ian followed his schoolmaster down the hall-way and the immense staircase and through several more rooms before they reached a set of large mahogany double doors.

Thatcher opened a door and Ian walked through, coming to stand awkwardly in the middle of the room as he looked with amazement at the large heads of zebras, gazelles, antelope, rhinoceros, hyena, and various other wild animals that dotted every wall within. “These are my hunting trophies,” said the earl, pulling Ian out of his thoughts. Ian had
missed spotting the earl when he’d entered, as his patriarch sat behind a huge intricately carved wooden desk at the back of the study.

Ian coughed softly, trying to find his voice. “Very impressive, my lord,” he said.

The earl gave him a friendly nod and got to the point. “Thatcher tells me that our Miss Fields has been having visions.”

Ian shuffled his feet and dug his hands into his pockets, fingering her crystal necklace. “It’s not especially unusual for her,” he said, trying to play it down. “Theo’s always had that gift.”

“Gift?” asked Perry with a snort. Ian noticed the other schoolmaster leaning against the wall behind and to his left, wearing a humorless look. “Was that what my brother put into your head?”

Ian’s eyes darted to Thatcher, and he was surprised when Perry’s twin curled his lip in a snarl. “I’ve put nothing into his head, Perry! And I’ll kindly ask you to keep your disdain for the topic at hand to yourself for now.”

Perry smiled politely at Ian, but the skeptical look in his eyes never wavered. “My apologies,” he said dramatically, adding a small bow. “As you were saying, Master Wigby?”

“Yes, sir,” said Ian. Even more uncomfortable after having witnessed the testy exchange between his two schoolmasters, he turned his attention back to the earl. “She’s been able to predict all sorts of things ever since she learned to speak.” Ian wasn’t sure if what he was revealing about Theo was hurting or helping her cause.

“I see,” said the earl thoughtfully, and Ian was relieved
that the earl didn’t appear to be nearly as judgmental as Perry. “What sorts of things has she been able to predict?”

“Well …,” Ian said, searching his memory. “All sorts, really. She can tell when it’s going to storm, even when the weather reports say we’re going to have a nice day. And she knows when a new orphan’s going to arrive. She can also tell us if we’re getting a boy or a girl. And she knows when someone’s going to be adopted. Like when Stuart left last May. And of course she always knows when you’re going to stop by unannounced,” he finished.

The earl gave a thunderous laugh and slapped the desk with his palm. “I’ve wondered all these years how my attempts to surprise you have been foiled! And here I thought perhaps your headmistresses had spies here at the castle!”

Ian hoped he hadn’t gotten anyone into trouble with that last bit, but the earl seemed so tickled by his revelation that he smiled. Thatcher, who had taken a seat in one of the wing chairs on the opposite side of the room, asked, “Did Theo predict the beast’s appearance?”

Ian turned to look at Thatcher as he thought back to the days leading up to their visit into the tunnels. “Now that you ask,” he said, “a few days before Theo and I went exploring near the beast’s lair, Theo said that she had a terrible feeling some dreadful storm was going to strike the keep someday. She said she kept seeing broken furniture everywhere, and she couldn’t imagine what else but a powerful storm could cause such destruction.”

“And what did you think when she told you this?” asked Thatcher.

Ian shrugged. “I didn’t worry much about it, sir,” he
admitted. “I mean, I believed that she was getting one of her feelings again, but sometimes things turn out to be a lot less dramatic than Theo’s visions predicted. Like, once she told me that I was going to fall down the stairs and break my leg. The next day I was late for dinner and as I was hurrying down the stairs I remembered Theo’s warning, so I had a hand on the railing. Sure enough, I lost my footing and tripped on the stairs. But I didn’t break my leg; I only twisted my ankle.”

The earl looked curiously at him. “But, Ian,” he said. “If you hadn’t been warned by Theo, you might not have been holding on to the railing, and you would have had a much worse tumble down those stairs.”

Ian thought about that for a moment, surprised. “Yes, my lord, you’re probably right.”

“Oh, this is poppycock!” growled Perry from the corner. “The very fact that Theo told him he was going to have a tumble probably made him more nervous on the stairs.”

“It is not poppycock, Perry,” chided his brother. “Didn’t you hear me when I told you what she said about the Führer?”

Perry rolled his eyes and sighed loudly. “Seems to me she was going on about a
fury
, not the Führer! Besides, much of what she said can be found in any newspaper.”

“Theo doesn’t read the newspaper,” Ian said defensively. He didn’t like the way Perry was so easily dismissing Theo’s abilities.

Perry scowled at him. “If Theo is able to predict the future, then don’t you think she would have stopped you from going into that tunnel in the first place, Master Wigby?”

“I don’t think the gift works exactly in that manner,” said the earl.

“What do you mean?” asked Perry.

“I have some experience with this sort of thing,” he said. “A member of my family, in fact, is quite gifted. Which brings me to my next suggestion: I believe we should have Miss Fields visit with my aunt, Lady Arbuthnot. She lives in London, and I believe she might be able to tell us what level of skill the girl possesses as well as help Theo control her abilities and lessen her fear of receiving these visions.”

For the first time in several hours, Ian relaxed. The earl wasn’t going to lock Theo up in some sanitarium; he understood her condition, and he was going to help her. “I’m sure she would appreciate any assistance you could offer her, my lord,” he said gratefully.

“I must be off in the morning to attend a Parliament meeting, but I shall leave directions to my aunt’s flat in London with you two,” he said, indicating the schoolmasters. “Please take Theo there as soon as she’s well enough to travel. I’ve spoken with Madam Dimbleby,” he added, “and I hear that Theo is doing much better this evening.” The earl gave a knowing look to Ian. “I’m sure she’s going to make a full recovery and will be fit to make the venture in a week or two.”

Ian smiled gratefully and opened his mouth to ask if he could go along on the adventure, but Thatcher spoke first. “Should we ring Lady Arbuthnot to make the arrangements for our visit?”

The earl smiled. “I’m sure you won’t have to. In fact, I would ask that you not make any attempt to contact her
prior to showing up in London on her doorstep. Aunt Aggie is well blessed with the gift,” he said with a chuckle. Ian felt that this was something of an inside joke to the earl. “Take Ian and Carl along as well for moral support,” the earl added. “I want Theo to have her friends nearby should the trip to the city cause any stress on the young lass.”

“Thank you, my lord!” Ian said, letting go of the anxious breath he’d been holding. “I’m sure Theo will be quite pleased to meet your aunt.”

The earl laughed heartily. “I’ll not take that bet until after they’ve met, Ian. Now, go back to your studies. I’ve kept you long enough.”

Ian hurried out of the room, grateful that Theo wasn’t about to be shipped off to the sanitarium and bursting to tell Carl of the adventure they were going to have. He could hardly wait.

As it happened, they didn’t have long to wait at all. By week’s end Theo had regained all of her composure and upon the doctor’s final visit he pronounced her well enough to leave her bed and rejoin the other children, much to Ian’s relief, of course.

Madam Dimbleby still insisted that Theo sit apart from the flurry of activity in the castle as the children hurried to collect themselves and return to the keep, but Ian was beginning to relax his vigilant watch over her.

Soon he was completely distracted. When Ian arrived back at the orphanage, all he could do was marvel at the new furnishings and lavish décor. The earl had clearly spared no expense for their comfort, as much of their heavily used
furniture had been replaced by beautiful new items. Rose curtains had replaced the sun-worn blue ones that used to hang heavily in the parlor. Large comfy couches with big soft cushions had replaced the rather lumpy ones from before. And rugs with plush fibers adorned the bare wood floors, giving the old keep a much needed sense of lightness.

In the dining room, their rather cramped table had been replaced with several smaller ones, so that instead of sitting in one long row, the children could gather round to eat in smaller, more intimate groups for meals.