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Authors: Patricia C. Wrede, Caroline Stevermer
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mere chance that they might be of interest.
I am still uncertain as to what brought Herr Schellen to Stockton, when he was hired to survey the Liverpool-Manchester line, but I begin to have a glimmer of a notion—his curiosity regarding ley lines and steam locomotion is suggestive, you will agree, especially when taken in conjunction with the explosion of the railway engine two weeks ago. I intend to devote my immediate investigations—if I can ever escape from Webb to make any—to discovering whether there were other, earlier accidents on the Stockton-Darlington railway that might have drawn the Herr Magus’s attention in this direction. Meanwhile, I shall ask my dear Cecelia to see what can be ascertained about the ley line the letter implies is nearby. If she complains of the headache, even Miss Webb cannot deny her a quiet afternoon alone, and I doubt it will take her an entire afternoon to work the basic series of detection spells.
Yours,
James
9 April 1828
Haliwar Tower
Dearest Kate,
I am so happy that I cannot resist writing at once. (And besides, I think it possible that you are having difficulty reading the shawl I sent, or more likely with composing one in response. I intend to try a new enchantment on this letter, which will make it appear yet another compilation of complaints and queries about the children to any eyes but yours. Ignore the symbols along the edges; they are part of the enchantment.)
I am happy because my dear Walker has finally returned from her French holiday. No other maid has her hand with a curling iron, nor her thoroughness in pressing a seam. (She frowned darkly and said something in French when she saw the state my gowns are in after three weeks of travel, but I expect she will have things well in hand shortly.) She reports that things are quiet at Tangleford Hall.
She has also proven to be a useful ear in the servants’ quarters—not that I ever doubted her ability (which she has proved repeatedly, as you well know), but I had expected that the circumstance of her being French, combined with the Yorkshire accent (which all of the servants possess to some extent, and which is, in a few, entirely impenetrable even to James), would make it difficult for her to play her usual role.
Happily, I was quite out in this regard. According to Walker, the combination of her English surname and obvious French origins elicits all sorts of questions, which serve to open a conversation. Several of the maids find her story excessively romantic—the French girl who married a young English officer, only to be cast out, penniless, when he died. In return, they regale her with similar romantic titbits from the Webbs’ family history.
The most interesting bit of knowledge that she has so far unearthed is that the Webbs are descended from nobility. Haliwar Tower is all that remains of their splendid past. No one seems quite certain how or when the title was given up, though its loss is apparently something of a sore point for the Webbs. No one was willing to admit which nobleman was responsible (though I am certain they all must know; “old family secrets” of this sort are always common currency among the servants, no matter how long ago the events occurred).
Why should this be at all interesting (apart from the usual fascination that salacious gossip holds)? Well, because there is something very odd indeed about Haliwar Tower—but I must tell you this part in order, or I fear it will be utterly incomprehensible.
Last week, James received a translation of that German letter we have all been wondering about. It implied, quite strongly, that our missing Herr Magus was interested in a ley line that passed near the railway—quite a strong one, from the sound of it. (Has Thomas set you to studying ley lines yet? They are natural flows of magical energy, rather like rivers, though quite straight. A sufficiently hardy wizard can tap them to perform powerful magics. The longer the ley line, the more
I am still uncertain as to what brought Herr Schellen to Stockton, when he was hired to survey the Liverpool-Manchester line, but I begin to have a glimmer of a notion—his curiosity regarding ley lines and steam locomotion is suggestive, you will agree, especially when taken in conjunction with the explosion of the railway engine two weeks ago. I intend to devote my immediate investigations—if I can ever escape from Webb to make any—to discovering whether there were other, earlier accidents on the Stockton-Darlington railway that might have drawn the Herr Magus’s attention in this direction. Meanwhile, I shall ask my dear Cecelia to see what can be ascertained about the ley line the letter implies is nearby. If she complains of the headache, even Miss Webb cannot deny her a quiet afternoon alone, and I doubt it will take her an entire afternoon to work the basic series of detection spells.
Yours,
James
9 April 1828
Haliwar Tower
Dearest Kate,
I am so happy that I cannot resist writing at once. (And besides, I think it possible that you are having difficulty reading the shawl I sent, or more likely with composing one in response. I intend to try a new enchantment on this letter, which will make it appear yet another compilation of complaints and queries about the children to any eyes but yours. Ignore the symbols along the edges; they are part of the enchantment.)
I am happy because my dear Walker has finally returned from her French holiday. No other maid has her hand with a curling iron, nor her thoroughness in pressing a seam. (She frowned darkly and said something in French when she saw the state my gowns are in after three weeks of travel, but I expect she will have things well in hand shortly.) She reports that things are quiet at Tangleford Hall.
She has also proven to be a useful ear in the servants’ quarters—not that I ever doubted her ability (which she has proved repeatedly, as you well know), but I had expected that the circumstance of her being French, combined with the Yorkshire accent (which all of the servants possess to some extent, and which is, in a few, entirely impenetrable even to James), would make it difficult for her to play her usual role.
Happily, I was quite out in this regard. According to Walker, the combination of her English surname and obvious French origins elicits all sorts of questions, which serve to open a conversation. Several of the maids find her story excessively romantic—the French girl who married a young English officer, only to be cast out, penniless, when he died. In return, they regale her with similar romantic titbits from the Webbs’ family history.
The most interesting bit of knowledge that she has so far unearthed is that the Webbs are descended from nobility. Haliwar Tower is all that remains of their splendid past. No one seems quite certain how or when the title was given up, though its loss is apparently something of a sore point for the Webbs. No one was willing to admit which nobleman was responsible (though I am certain they all must know; “old family secrets” of this sort are always common currency among the servants, no matter how long ago the events occurred).
Why should this be at all interesting (apart from the usual fascination that salacious gossip holds)? Well, because there is something very odd indeed about Haliwar Tower—but I must tell you this part in order, or I fear it will be utterly incomprehensible.
Last week, James received a translation of that German letter we have all been wondering about. It implied, quite strongly, that our missing Herr Magus was interested in a ley line that passed near the railway—quite a strong one, from the sound of it. (Has Thomas set you to studying ley lines yet? They are natural flows of magical energy, rather like rivers, though quite straight. A sufficiently hardy wizard can tap them to perform powerful magics. The longer the ley line, the more
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