What does any secret agency need? An outside base of operations. One where many people wouldn’t think to go, but that is hidden in plain sight.
We already found it. Right after our al, we sought a place free from prying eyes.
Hiccuping Hermit Niall Widdershins doesn’t look all that surprised to see us back again, coming on the pretext of bringing a sausage and pepper sandwich and hot spiced cider to pay him back for the yummy crumpets.
Loudly, Vedette says, "Because you’re such a shut-in and everyone in the village worries about you, we thought you might like this food. Especially after the crumpets you baked for us. REALLY, you did not have to do that. As the daughters of the House of Riddlehoeven, it’s our job to look out for you."
Kaline pipes up, "And besides, EVERYONE enjoys the sausage and pepper sandwiches on Market Day. The line is abominable. Did you ever? I cannot believe it."
Wiggling his wide pointed elfin ears that fan out from his face, Niall says, "How generous to visit a lowly old hermit like . Co in, co in!"
I lead Lightning inside, tails and heads erect, with Demos behind us, and Gussie sitting on Niall’s head. His wild hair is a nest for our parrot pal, amazingly enough. Hans closes the door and bolts it behind him. Ahhhh. So, our elf lordling knows a thing or two about secrecy.
The details shared by Niall earlier flash through my mind.
Hans is not the current Lord Lamrmoor’s son. Lady Lamrmoor has chosen to keep that from him. Kaline and Vedette didn’t even ntion it on our short walk from Niall’s cottage to the sandwich vendor. Even gossipy Gussie and Demos didn’t comnt on it to .But it has been a whirlwind day so far, and juicy gossip about our elf nobleman has taken a back seat.
Still, it churns through my mind, and I am trying to keep it shielded from Lightning. Sohow, I doubt that she is privy to the dark secret.
[Blaze?]
Lightning is a furry cloud brushing past , her eyes gleaming with curiosity and anxiety.
[Don’t worry.] I rub ears with her. Oooh, so soft. [Niall is our friend now. He’s determined that soone cursed our house. And it’s NOT anyone from your mansion. At least, he doesn’t know for sure.]
[What do you an? BLAZE! Explain right now!]
She is so demanding! Reminds of my ex-fiancee, whom I loved. But Lightning is NOT my ex-fiancee. She’s a regal, entitled tiger cub. I am NOT having a romance with her, no matter how cute she is, or how much Gussie, Hans, Kaline, and everyone else insists.
Trying to be polite, I fill her in on what Niall revealed about the curse on our family.
Seated beside close to Niall’s coffee table, Lightning bumps against . [Cursed? I can’t believe it. I will scratch Lady Lamrmoor’s eyes out if she had anything to do with it.]
[It doesn’t seem like her style. She ignores things. Passive aggressive.]
Lightning’s ears wiggle, and she looks startled. [Primal Beast! That is so true. She never does anything directly, not like Viscount Rotten. She would rather let sothing happen and then pretend to be sympathetic. Like when Lobo attacked you. By the way, his conscience bothered him so much that that is why he fought the intruder to protect you. It was really gallant.]
I utter a "mrrp" in response. Lobo. Gallant. Hmmm, I suppose. [He deserves a better tar. Can one break the beast bond?]
[I don’t know.] Lightning doesn’t seem offended by the question. She has probably considered it herself. [Does Minette Riddlehoeven want another beast?]
[Yes. But how in the na of the Primal Beast could we switch the bond from Lady Lamrmoor to our house mistress?]
Niall’s voice jolts us out of our intense conversation. "Lord Hans Lamrmoor. It has been a legendary age since I’ve seen you. Great wars have been fought since I last saw you."
Hmmm. Niall and Hans haven’t interacted. Could that be because Lady Lamrmoor doesn’t want a reminder of her secret? Afraid that the Hiccuping Hermit will hiccup the truth?
"But we have never t," Hans demurs. "I have only heard of you." His eyes sparkle. "All intriguing stories, to be sure."
A mysterious smile playing on his lips, Niall says, "I’ve known your parents for a long ti. Your father has always been kind to ."
With a faraway look, Hans says, "Yes, he has been away so long. I have almost forgotten his face, the sll of his aftershave that could rouse the dead, and his voice."
Ohhh. Hans, I can relate. I’d give anything to see my human parents once. Just once. I wish I could have a vision of them. If I got a twisted vision of all the beasts symbolically turned into precious objects for Viscount Rotten, surely I could sohow receive so kind of ssage that my parents are alright. I don’t an happy. I can’t imagine how they must feel after my death.
His mouth covered in sausage grease and pepper sauce, Niall devours his sandwich, considering everything. For several long minutes, he seems to consider his response.
"You miss your father," he says finally. "Even knowing that elves lead such long lives. Of course, halflings like can give you so competition. We easily live to be two centuries."
"It matters not how long we live if my father is gone every waking mont and only appears as a brief specter in my life." Hans is the picture of lancholia. "When my father is present in my life, my mother seems, well, happier. Much happier. I don’t understand it."
"Mmmm. Well, your father is driven to find the best beasts and the best beast-taming knowledge," Niall shares, as if Hans didn’t already know about his father’s business.
Demos grumbles, sucking up crumpet crumbs from the floor. [Is there a point to him moping about his father? We have a case to solve!]
Gussie swats him with her wing, feathers rippling. [Manners! You are so uncouth. What is Niall going to think?]
[That I’m bored. We ca to Niall for help solving this mystery before the kidnappers and their employers strike again!] Demos grinds his teeth together in frustration. [We did not co to hear about Hans’ lancholy.]
[I think Niall has a reason for indulging that lancholy.] I can see it all so clearly. [Maybe this mystery and the disappearing beasts have sothing to do with Hans’ birth father, Lady Lamrmoor’s first husband.]
[You really are so gone on Lightning.] Demos looks at as if I’m a disappointnt. [Suddenly you’re so fixated on this boy because of her.]
Gussie blows a blast of air right into his face. [Stop it! You are being a big an old grump.]
The two of them bicker, providing enough of a distraction that I can pay attention to Niall and Hans having an intense conversation without Demos acting crazy. Thank the Primal Beast for Gussie and her diversions.
Hans rests his hands on his knees. Long-legged and tall, he looks the most oversized of all of us in Niall’s pleasant living room. "You speak as if you know my father quite well."
"Yes, I know Lord Elrohir." An enigmatic expression flits across Niall’s round little face. "And I knew the Lady Rosabel’s first husband."
So rare to hear Lady Lamrmoor’s first na. I have learned more about the Lamrmoors sitting in Niall’s living room than I discovered during the ball and from Ser Maartenwitz’s lectures.
Ashen, Hans stamrs for the first ti. "My mother’s first husband is not a subject to be discussed. It was a ti of heartache and pain for Mother."
As disgusted as he is by his mother’s actions, Hans still feels a son’s fierce, protective love. Interesting how he knows that any ntion of Rosabel’s first husband is still a festering wound.
With a reassuring pat on Hans’ hand, Niall says, "Ah, family loyalty, a treasure beyond all the dragon hoards in Tanglewood. Your defense of your mother does you great credit. Especially given this scandal at the ball."
"I love my mother, but I don’t know what she was thinking," Hans confesses, breathing easier in the presence of a supportive, comforting kindred spirit. "I don’t know what goes through her mind sotis or why she acts the way that she does."
Gussie squawks, "Passive aggressive."
"GUSSIE," Vedette and Kaline shout.
Baffled, Hans doesn’t respond to Gussie’s seemingly bizarre comnt. "What I do know is that my mother would NEVER have anything to do with stealing a beast, especially a guest in our ho. That is just not her."
Kaline believes him. The warm surge through the bond takes quite by surprise...
Because it’s love. Kaline is in love with Hans! That could either doom our investigation, or help us break the case wide open.
"No, it’s not her," Niall says slowly. "But while you have been away, I’ve had a vision of sothing about Lady Rosabel’s first husband. He is not dead. And sohow, he helped kidnap the beasts Judo and mo...and he tried to abduct Blaze!"
WHAT?
How can this be?
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