thereâd been a string of accidentsat the foundry, mostly small ones, not like mine. Stevo thought Father was . . .â he hesitated, â. . . not keeping a close enough eye on things.â
âDamned interfering pup!â the old man roared. âAlways thinks heâs right!â
They all jumped and looked round. The old man was standing in the doorway, his arms crossed over his burly chest, his eyebrows bristling.
âIs that true, Father?â Fairnette asked, looking upset. âIs that what happened?â
âItâs all a lie,â he said. âIâm as good a foundry master as I ever was!â
âBut the charm?â Emilia said. âWhat has it got to do with the lightning bolt charm?â
The old man looked stricken. His hand groped up towards his neck, then fell away, fingers empty.
âVan?â Fairnette asked.
âThat day . . .â Van paused and looked at Fairnette pleadingly. âI know I was not meant to go to the foundry, but Dax had been teasing me,calling me a wean and a whelp and a spoilt little baby, so I . . . I went up, just to look around, just to show him I wasnât scared. Father and Stevo were arguing again. Stevo was saying there was not enough charcoal in the pot, the pig iron was coming out too grey, too brittle. Sparks were flying everywhere and Father was yelling at Stevo to mind his own business and go back to school ââ
âHow dare he tell me how to run my own foundry,â the old man muttered, and sat down heavily at the table. Fairnette moved automatically to pour him some mead, and he drank deeply.
âSo what happened?â Luka asked.
âFather said he would give Stevo a clip around the ear for being so cheeky, and Stevo said he wasnât a wean any more, and Father had no right to beat him, and then Father swung a punch at him and got Stevo on the side of the head, and Stevo grabbed his hand, and anyway, they began going at each other hammer and tongs, you know what theyâre like once they lose their tempers.â
Fairnette nodded, looking more miserable than ever.
âAnyway, Father heaved Stevo right over and gave him a kick, saying thatâd teach him to disrespect his elders, and Stevo got up and went for him. I thought he was going to strangle him! He had Father about the throat, and he grabbed the chain and it broke, and he had the lightning bolt in his hand. He stood there, holding it, panting, and he said, âYou donât deserve it, Father. Youâre old now, and forgetting your craft.Someoneâs going to get killed if you donât be more careful.ââ
âImpertinent young pup,â Mr Smith said, glowering into his cup.
âSo what happened then?â Fairnette asked.
âNothing!â Mr Smith banged the cup down on the table. âNothing happened! It was an accident.â
Fairnette turned her dark, unhappy gaze back to Vanâs face.
âFather ran at Stevo, roaring and shouting, and tried to snatch the charm back,â Van said. âHe pushed Stevo and he fell back, and bumped into me. I was sort of hiding behind one of the grapples. I got knocked flying, and just then there was a sort of explosion and a big splash of the molten iron came raining down everywhere, all over me.â
âIt was not my fault!â the old man shouted. âVan shouldnât have been in the foundry in the first place. Itâs got nothing to do with there not beingenough charcoal in the pot! Stevo has no right to say so.â
He thumped his fist on the table and pushed his chair back so hard it toppled over. âStevo had no right! Blame me, will he? If heâd given me the respect I deserve, it would never have happened! It wasnât my fault!â He stamped out of the room, banging the door behind him.
There was a dreadful silence.
âWhat happened to the charm, Van?â Fairnette asked, her voice very low. âDid you
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