Chapter 11

Chapter Eleven

“Something has pleased you immensely.”

I jumped as I neared the bottom of the steps and would have fallen onto the hardwood floor had Will not caught me in his arms. He grinned down at me as I glared up at him.

“Did you really have to do that?” I scolded him.

“I had no idea you were so preoccupied that you hadn’t noticed me,” he teased.

I looked at the hall down which he had appeared. It led into the deeper lower depths of the house. “I can’t really keep track of where you are. You seem to be going everywhere today.”

He chuckled. “I am keeping my mind preoccupied with other matters while still keeping you near me.”

I blinked at him. “Other matters?”

He dropped his gaze to near my waistline. My eyes widened and my hand flew to my stomach. “Oh. Right.” I sheepishly smiled at him. “I kind of forgot.”

Will lifted an eyebrow. “Then you have felt nothing regarding. . .that matter?”

I shook my head. “Nothing at all. Should I?”

My husband furrowed his brow as he drew me closer to his chest. “To be perfectly honest, I’m not sure. The matter is so rare that I doubt I have any books on the legends, much less a guide.”

A snort escaped me. “So there’s no manual? Typical.” I looked down at my position where he held me above the floor. “You can let me up now.”

He nodded. “I could.”

“We have to eat.”

“We could.”

I pointed down at my stomach. “ We have to eat.” His eyes lit up and he hurriedly set me on my feet. I laughed as I turned to face him. “I’ll have to remember that trick.”

He grinned. “It won’t work forever.”

“I hope it doesn’t feel like forever,” I mused.

He offered me his arm and a gentler smile. “However long it lasts I will ensure it isn’t unenjoyable.”

I took his arm and let him lead me into the dining room. The food had been brought out on covered platters that held the heat but couldn’t stop the delicious scents that floated out from beneath the lids. Vargas and Raines had set the places at the table and I counted six.

I lifted an eyebrow as Raines placed the last of the utensils at the end of the table opposite where Will sat. “Are you eating with us today, Raines?”

He shook his head. “No, My Lady. My Lord has requested a spot for Sir Slechtic to attend this meal.”

Vargas paused in taking her seat and wrinkled her nose. “How does one behave in front of such a, um, man?”

“As you normally would toward anyone else,” Will assured her as he led me over to my seat on his left. I inwardly wondered if maybe he shouldn’t have worded that in slightly stronger words.

“He is a guest the same as us, after all,” Allard chimed in as the doctor joined us in the dining room. He moved toward the head of the table where the right-hand seat was unoccupied. Ware, however, blocked Allard’s path with his girth and frowned at him.

“Where are you going, Lord Allard?” Ware challenged him.

Allard smiled and nodded at the empty chair. “There. Why do you ask?”

Ware lifted his chin. “I intend to sit there.”

“As the youngest between us, I am surprised you seek to take the position,” Allard mused.

“That is because I have worn my wings through in helping out this day,” Ware countered as he pointed up at the ceiling. “No one but I was out there scouring the skies.”

“Oh, sit in the next spot opposite me!” Vargas snapped at him as she gestured down at herself. “You see I am not throwing such a fuss about a simple seating arrangement!”

Ware grumbled under his breath about honor and just rewards but reluctantly took his seat at the other end opposite Vargas. Allard made to take the seat, but Will shook his head. “I’m afraid that spot is meant for Sir Slechtic.”

Allard’s face fell. “Truly?”

Will nodded at the far end of the table. “I have some matters I wish to discuss with him which would be better spoken at close quarters and not across the table.”

Allard lifted an eyebrow but bowed his head and moved over to the end of the table where he took up that empty chair. Ware had a bemused smile on his face that he didn’t try to hide at all but the doctor grinned back at him.

“I didn’t expect to find you on my left side during this meal,” Allard teased.

Ware shot up and glared at him as Vargas covered her mouth to stifle a laugh. I didn’t get the joke until I remembered where I was seated according to Will’s chair. I snatched up my napkin and bit into it to keep from laughing.

“W-whatever do you mean, sir?” Ware blustered.

Allard shook his head as his eyes twinkled. “Nothing, sir, only that we find ourselves in a most amusing situation.”

Vargas gathered herself and cleared her throat. “Yes, well, humor aside how long should we wait for the other guest?” she mused as she nodded at the steaming platters. “The food will not wait all-”

Her question was answered by the sudden and very speedy arrival of Sir Slechtic. He didn’t use the door but flew in through the window and landed with a bounce on the floor behind his intended seat. He zipped about the table leaving little husk marks on the rug.

“I smell a good meal!” Sir Slechtic shouted as he took another turn about the table. “When will it be served?”

“As soon as you are seated,” Will called to him.

“Why didn’t you say so sooner?” Sir Slechtic scolded him as he took a sharp turn behind Will and his magical machine flew up where he landed neatly on the table.

The Tenky lord skidded to a stop beside his plate and dismounted. He snapped his fingers and the magic that held the walnut together vanished. The two real pieces clattered to the table beside the plate as Sir Slechtic plopped himself down on the other side of the china.

He folded his arms over his chest and nodded. “Now then, let’s eat.”

The meal was served and the air filled with the soft sounds of appreciation as everyone dug into the food. My biscuits vanished and Vargas’ soup was even better than it smelled. A half-hour passed with barely a word between us before Sir Slecthic set down a small spoon he had provided for himself and leaned back. A great grin spread across his face as he patted his stomach.

“An excellent meal if I ever tasted one!” he complimented us as he picked at some crumbs left by one of my biscuits. “My compliments to the chef!”

“Chefs,” Vargas corrected him as she pointed at herself and me. “We both of us worked together to prepare this perfect meal.”

“You’ll have to do it again for the rest of my folk when they return!” Slecthic insisted as he popped his fingertips out of his mouth to leave them perfectly clean. Vargas’ eye twitched but he finished before she chimed in with her opinion on his table manners. Instead, our small guest looked up at Will. “Now what were you wanting to ask me about specifically? That is why you had me over for some vittles, isn’t it?”

Will smiled. “I had hoped you could provide news about the carriage or perhaps any sightings of the strange creature we described.”

The Tenky lord shook his head. “Not a sign of either of them but I haven’t heard back from all the fellas yet.”

“One of your guys came around here earlier,” I spoke up as I recalled the meeting at the window sill. “He said one of your men was missing.”

Slechtic lifted an eyebrow. “Missing, eh? That I haven’t heard. You didn’t happen to pick up some names, did ya?”

I shook my head. “I’m afraid we didn’t, but Lady Vargas can vouch for me-”

The Tenky lifted one hand and shook his head. “I’m not doubting your word for a second, My Lady, but it’ll be a sight easier to know what you’re talking about with names.”

“We did not inquire as to any of their names,” Vargas spoke up.

The lord shrugged. “No problem. I’ll get to making some inquiries and see if he isn’t found. He was probably one of the ones tasked with going to the village and he found himself with a coin in his beard that went to buying himself a pint.”

Ware lifted an eyebrow. “A coin in his beard?”

“Of course,” Slechtic replied as he reached into his crop of facial hair and drew out a gold coin. “We always keep some money on us in case a human has something we’re eyeing.” Vargas hid her disgust behind her handkerchief while a smile danced across Allard’s lips. The Tenky lord tucked the money back into his beard and none of us could see even a hair out of place for it being in there. He stood and brushed out the creases and crumbs in his pants. “Now then, if nothing else is wanted I’ll be on my way to rejoin my people on the hunt.”

Slechtic snapped his fingers and the walnut halves came alive again. The ‘machine’ roared and plopped him back into the leaf saddle. He gave a nod toward Will before he drove off back through the same window through which he had entered.