The Chocolatier's Wife (91 page)

William frowned.
“No
offense,
but
he
had
three
weeks.
We’ve
also cleaned it quite thoroughly.”

“True. But
I
believe
that
another
search
might
just
provide
the
answer to another question.
Why
did the Bishop buy a
shop on
Market row?”

“To
hide
something
in
plain
sight?
But
I
would
have
seen
it.
Or
you would ce
r
tainly have
sensed it.”

She held out her hand.
“Indulge me?”

He
heaved
himself
up
out
of
the
chair.
“Very well.
Perhaps
your
aunt will acco
m
pany us?”

“Only
far
enough
to
give
you
a
veneer
of
propriety,
then
I
must
meet
with my companions. You will tell me what you find?”

“Of
course!
Which
will
be
nothing,
but
I
shall
make
the
best
of
things
by introducing dear Tasmin
to the wonderful world of cocoa bean husking.”

“It
will
be
most
educational
to
watch
you,
I’m
sure,
but
perhaps
I
should take
a
book
to
read,
instead.”
Tasmin allowed
him
to
put
her
cloak
on
her before
stepping
outside.
She
truly
wanted
to
ask what
her
aunt
made
of William,
but there would be no
time now.

“You could read to
me!” he said
cheerfully as he shut the door to
the house, and
they went down the path.

“I
could.
A
stirring fable
about
how
a
shepherd
won
the
love
of
a princess.”

“Or
a
moral
tale about a
woman’s
duty to her husband?”

“Careful, I
could still run
away,
couldn’t I,
Auntie?”

“I
refrain
from
commenting
on
relationships,
dear,
even
yours.
But
now our
ways must part.
Take
care
of
yourself,
William,
but
most
especially
take
care
of
my niece.”

“I
shall.”

“That
means
no
enforced
labor,”
Tasmin said,
after
her
aunt
had
left and
they were on
their way to the chocolate shop.

“But
of
course!”
He
grinned
at
her. A
few
moments
later
he
asked, “What
will you be doing,
once we are
married?”

“I’m
not
sure,
really.
Keep
up
with
my
herbals, though
sitting
around and
eating chocolate and
looking
pretty all day has some allure.”

“You would be quite decorative; perhaps you’d even bring up my sales, for
they
would
say,
‘look
there
at
that
beautiful
woman.
Perhaps
eating chocolate will make
me just as lovely.’”

They
approached
the
shop,
but
for
the
first time
in
ages,
no
sprites opened
the
door
for
them
She
wondered
where
they
were,
as
William
took out
the
key
and
slipped
it
into
the
lock.
The
place
was
so
cold
it
was
as
if
her very
marrow
had
turned
to
ice.
Then
she
saw
them,
floating,
suspended
in
air.

“I
can
see
the
sprites.”
He
gently
raised
his
hand, where
one
lay,
mid back
flip,
hovering
in
place.
They
looked
like
etched
glass,
white
outlines
of legs and
heads and
back
and
bellies, frozen
in
shock.

“We
must
...
”
She
paused
and swallowed.
“We
must
gather
them
up. Someone
froze
them,
the
water
in
their
bodies
is
frozen,
that’s
why
we
can see them. They are
really very
little more
than
magic and
moist air.”

He’d
already
crossed
the
room, watching
his
step
as
he
went
to
get
a basket
from
behind
the
counter.
She
saw
him
get
a
towel,
as
well,
to
weigh them
down
and keep
them
contained.
She
began
carefully
plucking
them out
of
the
air
and
placing
them
in
the
basket,
the
heat
from
Tasmin’s and William’s bodies
slowly
making
the
air
shift.
Now,
as
they
moved,
the sprites
began
to
bob
a
little,
the
spell
that
kept
them
in place
beginning
to lose its power.

“We
shall
have
to
reheat
them
gradually.”
Tasmin could
not
hide
her upset.
They
were
like
children
to
her,
and
she
felt
angry
and
helpless
at
the same
time.
“I
will
fi
n
ish. I
have
a
feeling
that
the
stove
has
been
put
out, would you mind?”

“No
t
i
n
th
e
least.
”
Willia
m
gentl
y
place
d
Mor
u
unde
r
th
e
clot
h
i
n
th
e
basket.

Sh
e
counte
d
th
e
littl
e
bodie
s
a
s
sh
e
collecte
d
them
,
eac
h
on
e
fel
t
hollo
w
an
d
del
i
cate
,
lik
e
a
snowflak
e
itself
.
I
t
wa
s
a
s
clos
e
a
s
sh
e
ha
d
eve
r
com
e
to reall
y
knowin
g
wha
t
the
y
looke
d
like
,
thei
r
pointe
d
ears
,
thei
r
hug
e
eye
s
an
d
long
,
delicat
e
limbs
.
Sh
e
searche
d
diligentl
y
an
d
f
inall
y
foun
d
the
last
one
,
hidin
g
uselessl
y
agains
t
a
t
a
bl
e
leg.

Sh
e
tucke
d
th
e
clot
h
a
littl
e
tighter
,
the
n
hel
d
th
e
baske
t
i
n
he
r
lap
,
feelin
g
a
bi
t
froze
n
herself
.
She’
d
neve
r
hear
d
o
f
anyon
e
freezin
g a
sprite
.
The
y
wer
e
s
o
delicate
,
s
o
innocent
,
sh
e
fel
t
a
s
i
f
sh
e
ha
d
faile
d
i
n
a
ver
y
importan
t
charge
.
Sh
e
huddle
d
aroun
d
th
e
basket
,
hopin
g
he
r
bod
y
hea
t
woul
d
help.