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With the dishes tucked away and both Miss Taylor and Mr.Fernsby retiring to their rooms, Hulda took the opportunity to tour the house once more, trying to pass through its spaces in different patterns than was customary. Her dowsing rods were in her bag, but her stethoscope remained around her neck. She studied each charm to see if it had changed—none of them had—and even purposefully knocked over a few things in hopes her divination spell might give her a hint, but of course the fickle magic rarely worked that way. If anything, she’d only get a glimpse of her own future.
She was nearly at the point where she might need a candle when she started back down the hallway from the direction of the bedrooms. Paint began dripping—though this time it was gray—so she opened her umbrella and walked slowly, searching the corners of the space, trying to peer through its walls, so to speak. As she stepped into the library, as expected, books started flying. Today, the house was flinging black-spined volumes, of which there were many.
Hulda nudged a single foot into the room, not wanting to risk being struck, though the house had thus far spared her physical harm. But as she was about to brave her other foot, she happened to glance over her shoulder to the hall.
The paint rain had ceased.
She paused. Glanced into the library. Pulled her first foot out but left the door open.
Within seconds, the paint began again, pattering as it had before, vanishing into the carpeting like it had never been.
“Hmm,” she said aloud, stepping fully into the library. Books began flying. She peeked into the hallway. No drips.
She stepped back into the hallway. Drips.
Facing the hallway, Hulda walked backward until she passed into the sitting room. One step, two steps, three—
The furniture began rumbling as though coming to life. And the paint drips stopped.
A smile lifted her mouth.Well, there you have it.
“Mrs.Larkin.” Mr.Fernsby exited his bedroom at the other end of the house, holding a piece of paper in his hand. “This is going to make me sound like an imbecile, but how do you spellprivilege? Is there not adin it? I swear...” He glanced up, likely noting her expression. “What have you done now?”
“It’s spelled p-r-i-v-i-l-e-g-e, Mr.Fernsby.” She put a hand on her hip. “And I have discovered Whimbrel House’s source of magic.”
The furniture stopped rumbling.
Mr.Fernsby smirked. “I don’t suppose my lawyer was right and it’s haunted.”
“Why yes, Mr.Fernsby,” she replied in all seriousness. It fit. A single ghost could only do so much at once, and the magic hopped from room to room, as though trying to impress her. “I am quite positive that the spirit of a wizard is in possession of the facilities.”
Chapter 13
September 13, 1846, Boston, Massachusetts
Silas quite liked America. It was a bit backward and unrefined, yes, but there was a sort offreedomhere that he appreciated. Not freedom to vote, or to worship, or to venture west and claim land... none of that mattered to him. No, hisfreedomcame from the purged slate on which this place had been built. There was no royalty in the United States. No generations-old families inbreeding their sons and daughters to cling to the ladder of prestige, power, and aristocracy. No blood built upon blood built upon blood to preserve magical ties. The people here were as ordinary as they came, dregs from other countries with little to no importance, clamoring together to make a better life for themselves. Which meant that Silas was very likely the most powerful person here.
He savored the feeling that no one could quell him, not with spells and not with bars. And he’d do what needed to be done to keep it that way. His first order of business was to restore the power he had lost in England, when several of his prized dolls had been destroyed, along with the spells they’d lent him.
Which brought Silas to another excellent aspect of America: there were no castles.
In England, important things were always secured in castles, which were dastardly things to break into, even with magic.
The hotel where BIKER kept its files was much more easily penetrated. The luck spell that ran through Silas’s veins was feeble, but today it cooperated, leading him to the room he needed without a single stumble.
He didn’t use a candle or lantern as he browsed their files. His eyes had adjusted well enough to the light coming through the room’s two narrow windows. Each file was devoted to an enchanted house.
Houseswere prime for building his magic.Housescould not be killed, and thus did not require preservation. Not only would Silas be acting within the bounds of the law, but he wouldn’t have to drag any poor souls into the little cavern he’d dug out for himself. That, and he might be able to get some bartering chips for future negotiations with his new allies.
He opened the file on Willow Creek, a thatched cottage in New York, and wrote the address on his forearm with a grease pencil, along with the magic it possessed. Stowing that file away, he moved to the next, a mansion near the Hudson... but it had been exorcised.Damn.Such a waste. The next was a house in Connecticut, which had several residents, something that would make his work harder. But he smeared the address onto his skin all the same.
Sidestepping, Silas pulled out the last file on this shelf. A place called Whimbrel House in Rhode Island. His brow quirked as he saw a newly added list of spells. This would doverynicely, and—
He paused, staring. The person in charge... Could it be?Hulda Larkin. So we meet again.
He’d thought of her often, while he was trapped in Lancaster. Wouldn’t it be fun to see her again? She’d never interested him before, but...
Silas snapped the folder closed and smiled. Things seemed to be going his way again, weren’t they?
