Read Online Lessons in Etiquette (Schooled in Magic series) by Christopher Nuttall - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Christopher Nuttall
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looking around to make sure that she was really alone. Rumor had it that the Lady Aylia slept in the library. Emily had certainly never seen her outside her domain.
Smiling to herself, Emily walked into one of the smaller rooms and inspected the graduation rolls. Whitehall kept very detailed records of its students, allowing newcomers to look up the grades of famous sorcerers…although they weren’t as useful as Emily had expected before she’d actually started to use them. Sorcerers often changed their names once they graduated, ensuring that their enemies couldn’t use their true names against them; it still bugged her that she had never managed to identify Void’s records. Or, for that matter, the grandmaster’s records. The only staff member she’d been able to find had been Professor Thande…and his record had included a handwritten note from his tutor suggesting that he be dispatched to a deserted mountaintop where he could practice his experiments without risking anyone else’s life.
And she’d never located anything that might have belonged to Shadye…
Pushing the thought aside, Emily found the set of records that were sorted by name and looked up Lady Barb. It was easier than she’d expected; Barb was apparently short for Barbara, rather than an assumed name like Shadye or Void. But the record was of minimal use; Barb had been an excellent student, with very high marks for Healing, then she’d gone into Martial Magic in her sixth year, like Jade. And then she’d graduated and apprenticed under an unnamed sorcerer.
Void ? Emily asked herself. Back when she’d first met him, Void had admitted that his history of taking apprentices wasn’t very good. Indeed, he’d told her that she was safer going to Whitehall than learning from him. Could Lady Barb have been Void’s apprentice at one point? But surely Void would have told her if that were the case.
Thoughtfully, Emily reread the record, trying to draw out any hidden clues. But there was almost nothing beyond the bare facts, certainly very little about Lady Barb’s background or post-Whitehall life. It didn’t surprise her–Alassa’s records left out plenty of details, including the fact that she was a crown princess–but it was frustrating. Whitehall was primarily concerned with educating young magicians, rather than keeping tabs on them afterwards. That was someone else’s problem.
Putting the graduation record back on the shelves–taking it out of the room would have triggered the wards–Emily stepped back into the main library and walked down to the genealogy section. On Earth, genealogy covered family trees; here, it seemed to include people who worked for the principle family, as well as plenty of other details that Emily wouldn’t have thought needed to be included. Pulling out the first tome describing Zangaria, Emily looked for any records that might touch on Lady Barb. Unsurprisingly, she was listed as a combat sorceress, hired to defend the queen. That made a certain kind of sense, Emily decided. The king wouldn’t want a male sorcerer looming over his wife when he was gone.
On impulse, she pulled out the blood rankings for the kingdom and studied them carefully. Alassa was right at the top; her father just below her, although a rather droll note suggested that he was no longer capable of fathering children. Reading between the lines, Emily decided that it meant he’d been having affairs and none of them had led to illegitimate children. Quite what they would have done if the only possible heir had been a bastard child was open to question. Maybe the queen would go into seclusion and then take the child as her own.
Returning the book to the shelves, she stood up and wandered through the library, glancing from book to book. She’d loved libraries back home and she loved this one; indeed, it had a more authentic attitude than many of the ones she remembered from her childhood. There were no computers, no video games, just
Smiling to herself, Emily walked into one of the smaller rooms and inspected the graduation rolls. Whitehall kept very detailed records of its students, allowing newcomers to look up the grades of famous sorcerers…although they weren’t as useful as Emily had expected before she’d actually started to use them. Sorcerers often changed their names once they graduated, ensuring that their enemies couldn’t use their true names against them; it still bugged her that she had never managed to identify Void’s records. Or, for that matter, the grandmaster’s records. The only staff member she’d been able to find had been Professor Thande…and his record had included a handwritten note from his tutor suggesting that he be dispatched to a deserted mountaintop where he could practice his experiments without risking anyone else’s life.
And she’d never located anything that might have belonged to Shadye…
Pushing the thought aside, Emily found the set of records that were sorted by name and looked up Lady Barb. It was easier than she’d expected; Barb was apparently short for Barbara, rather than an assumed name like Shadye or Void. But the record was of minimal use; Barb had been an excellent student, with very high marks for Healing, then she’d gone into Martial Magic in her sixth year, like Jade. And then she’d graduated and apprenticed under an unnamed sorcerer.
Void ? Emily asked herself. Back when she’d first met him, Void had admitted that his history of taking apprentices wasn’t very good. Indeed, he’d told her that she was safer going to Whitehall than learning from him. Could Lady Barb have been Void’s apprentice at one point? But surely Void would have told her if that were the case.
Thoughtfully, Emily reread the record, trying to draw out any hidden clues. But there was almost nothing beyond the bare facts, certainly very little about Lady Barb’s background or post-Whitehall life. It didn’t surprise her–Alassa’s records left out plenty of details, including the fact that she was a crown princess–but it was frustrating. Whitehall was primarily concerned with educating young magicians, rather than keeping tabs on them afterwards. That was someone else’s problem.
Putting the graduation record back on the shelves–taking it out of the room would have triggered the wards–Emily stepped back into the main library and walked down to the genealogy section. On Earth, genealogy covered family trees; here, it seemed to include people who worked for the principle family, as well as plenty of other details that Emily wouldn’t have thought needed to be included. Pulling out the first tome describing Zangaria, Emily looked for any records that might touch on Lady Barb. Unsurprisingly, she was listed as a combat sorceress, hired to defend the queen. That made a certain kind of sense, Emily decided. The king wouldn’t want a male sorcerer looming over his wife when he was gone.
On impulse, she pulled out the blood rankings for the kingdom and studied them carefully. Alassa was right at the top; her father just below her, although a rather droll note suggested that he was no longer capable of fathering children. Reading between the lines, Emily decided that it meant he’d been having affairs and none of them had led to illegitimate children. Quite what they would have done if the only possible heir had been a bastard child was open to question. Maybe the queen would go into seclusion and then take the child as her own.
Returning the book to the shelves, she stood up and wandered through the library, glancing from book to book. She’d loved libraries back home and she loved this one; indeed, it had a more authentic attitude than many of the ones she remembered from her childhood. There were no computers, no video games, just
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