The Lady Heiress (The Zero Enigma Book 8)

by Christopher G. Nuttall

  Marlene coloured. “I’m sure Mistress Grayling will raise no objection.”

  “I’m not.” I was tempted to make her crawl a little. I’d never really forgiven her for lording it over me for the last six years. She’d been a heartless so-and-so when I’d first met her and authority had only made her worse. I had the feeling she was in for a nasty shock when she went home. Her family might be powerful, but she wasn’t that important to them. “But if Mistress Grayling feels otherwise, you can accompany us.”

  “Thank you.” Marlene bobbed a curtsy as she headed for the door. “You won’t regret this.”

  “I already do,” I muttered, once the door closed behind her. “And I bet you’ll make me regret it even more.”

  Kate shot me an odd look. “Why didn’t you just say no?”

  I frowned. I wasn’t sure of my own motives. I wasn’t even sure I was in a position to say no. I didn’t own the coach, nor did I pay the coachman’s wages ... if Marlene managed to convince Mistress Grayling to let her go, there was nothing I could do about it. And yet ... I shrugged. It was quite possible Mistress Grayling would simply say no. Marlene was Head Girl. She couldn’t simply leave the school without a good excuse.

  “You’d better tell Mistress Grayling you want to go too,” I said, instead. I cast a pair of lightening charms, then picked up the trunk and steered it towards the door. “I’ll see you in the hall.”

  “Sure.” Kate waved a hand at the dresser. “What do you want to do with your cosmetics?”

  I shrugged. Cosmetics were technically banned, although there weren’t many girls who didn’t bring at least some cosmetics to school. The girls who couldn’t get them for themselves traded with the girls who could. I’d never really understood the lust for cosmetics when one could simply cast glamours, but I supposed the lure of the forbidden drew students like flies to honey. The handful I owned were reserved for trading with the other girls.

  “Leave them,” I said, after a moment. “Or take them, if you want them.”

  “Whoever inherits this room will have a nice surprise,” Kate said. “Right?”

  I shrugged. We were meant to clean our own rooms - and there were weekly inspections, with the prefects searching for dust - but I was fairly sure Mistress Grayling or one of the housemothers would insist on having the rooms cleaned professionally before someone new moved into the chambers. There were enough horror stories about newcomers finding everything from leftover hexes to downright malicious curses to ensure the tutors would make sure the rooms were safe first.

  “I’ll see you downstairs,” I said. It wasn’t that important. Once I was out the door, I’d never be coming back. And I’d be quite happy if I never saw Mistress Grayling again. “Good luck.”

  I floated the trunk down the stairs - it wasn’t as if anyone was going to stop me - and left it in the lobby while I checked out the teacher’s lounge. It was certain death - or at least a million detentions - for a student to enter the chamber, with or without permission, but no one stopped me when I peeked inside. I was almost disappointed. The thrill of sneaking into a place I wasn’t supposed to go, and the certainty I’d pay a steep price if I were caught, was gone. Instead ... I looked around the chamber, rolling my eyes at the stories whispered in the dorms. The teachers looked surprisingly normal. They were drinking coffee like real people, not climbing out of coffins or polishing their whips or any of the hundred other disreputable things they were supposed to do in their private chambers. The walls were not lined with gold. I poured myself a mug of coffee, then forced myself to eat a pair of sweet buns for breakfast. They tasted better than the ones served to us, but otherwise ...

  Marlene was waiting for me when I went back to the lobby. “Mistress Grayling said I could accompany you.”

  I scowled, kicking myself for not saying no. Perhaps I would have been overruled, perhaps not. “Behave yourself,” I said, darkly. “I don’t want to hear a peep of complaint from you.”

  “Of course, My Lady,” Marlene said. Her voice dripped honey and acid. “It will be my deepest honour, My Lady.”

  “And you can remove your tongue from my boot,” I added. “Please.”

  Marlene looked as if she wanted to say something cutting, but Kate arrived before she could get the word out. I breathed a sigh of relief as the outer door opened, revealing the coachman’s apprentice. I guessed he was taking us to the city. I rather assumed his master had decided the job was beneath him.

  Or maybe it’s a reward, I thought. They’d be time for him to go shopping once he drops us off.

  “Goodbye school,” Kate said, as our trunks were loaded into the coach. “We won’t be seeing you again.”

  “You’re still a child,” Marlene said. “You might be coming back.”

  “Never,” Kate said.

  “Never,” I echoed, as we scrambled into the coach. “I have better things to do with my time.”

  Moments later, the coach rattled into life.

  Chapter Four

  We said nothing as the coach rattled away from the school.

  I peered out the rear window, watching as Grayling’s vanished into the distance. The school was an ugly, blocky building - rumour insisted it had been designed by a madman - that was profoundly unsuited to its role, but it had been my home for the last six years. I’d been allowed to go to the nearest town, from time to time, yet I’d never been allowed to return to Shallot. I had very mixed feelings as we rounded the corner, passing through the gatehouse and driving onto the road. It felt good to be an adult, but ...

  “It won’t be a long drive,” Marlene said. “Did anyone think to bring a pack of cards?”

  I meant to read my letters, I thought, sourly. I didn’t plan on having you accompany me.

  “Here,” Kate said. She produced a pack of cards from her dress. “You want to play Spellbinder or Frogmaker?”

  “Frogmaker,” Marlene said. “Lucy? You want to play?”

  I hid my sour amusement with an effort. Marlene would normally look down her nose at Kate. Kate might not be quite a commoner, but Marlene and Kate were not - and never would be - social equals. And yet, trapped in the coach, Marlene was happy to treat Kate as a friend. I wondered if she thought pretending to be nice for an hour would make up for seven years of bossiness, harassment and outright bullying. I doubted she had the self-awareness to even think she needed to make up for something. She’d certainly never struck me as intelligent.

  “Sure,” I said. It would help keep my mind off the coming ordeal. “Deal me in.”

  “Great,” Marlene said. “I’ll go first.”

  I found it hard to care enough to argue. My mind kept wandering. My father’s funeral was tomorrow and then ... I’d have to face the family conclave. I tried to remember who might be still active, who might have reason to oppose my rise to the headship, but it was hard to draw any real conclusions. Uncle Algernon had been my father’s strongest opponent, back in his early days, but he’d been sent into permanent exile for recklessly endangering his children’s lives. The others ...? I wasn’t sure. Auntie Aggie? Uncle Simon? Someone I couldn’t even remember? I mentally cursed my father, even as I mourned him. I should have been at his side, learning how to handle the family. I was going to be entering politics blind.

  “Lucy?” Kate sounded concerned. “Are you alright?”

  “Just tired,” I lied. “It’s been a long day already.”

  “You’re normally a better player,” Marlene agreed. “I just beat you twice.”

  “Did you?” I hadn’t noticed. “Well done.”

  “Hah.” Marlene looked displeased. “Did you also forget about the money you agreed to pay me, if I won?”

  I tried not to flinch. That comment had landed too close to home. “I’m still trying to forget,” I told her, trying not to sound too angry. “You have to stop reminding me.”

  The coach rattled - again - as we crested the hill and drove down towards Shallot. I pushed open the curtain and peered out t
he window. Shallot looked ... bigger ... then I remembered, although it had been a long time since I’d left the city. I had no trouble picking out the three sections of the city, divided by the river as it made its way down to the sea. My eyes moved from ship to ship, from the tramp freighters making their way up and down the coast to the giant clipper ships preparing to sail to Hangchow. I’d heard some men - and women - had made their fortunes in the east. A couple of girls I’d known had talked openly about their dreams of travel. I hoped, just for a second, they made it. I’d have liked to go with them too.

  “We’ll be stopping in North Shallot,” Marlene said. She sneered at Kate, a fitting return to form after an hour of trying to be nice. “Will you be able to get home from there?”

  “I’ll have no trouble walking across the bridges,” Kate said, dryly. “You’re the one who tried to cheat on the cross-country dash.”

  Marlene flushed and glared. I tried not to snicker. Marlene had tried to cheat, unaware the games mistress knew all the tricks. Marlene had had to run the dash again while the rest of us went for lunch. I would have felt sorrier for her if she hadn’t been so awful. As it was, I’d joined in the sniggers. One might win respect by cheating and getting away with it, but there was no sympathy in the school for someone who got caught. It was yet another lesson the school probably hadn’t meant to teach us.

  I turned away and watched as we passed through the gatehouse and drove into North Shallot. It was the richest part of the city, the roads lined with trees and beautiful mansions surrounded by powerful wards. The men and women on the streets wore fancy clothes, suggesting they were either incredibly rich or doing their level best to pretend they were. I looked down at my dress and frowned. It had been the height of fashion, two years ago. It wasn’t any longer. I told myself, firmly, that it didn’t matter. Everyone would know me, soon enough. I’d be rich and powerful enough not to have to care what everyone thought.

  Marlene tapped on the wood. “Just drop me off after the next mansion.”

  “Yes, My Lady,” the driver called back. “It shall be done.”

  “After the next mansion?” I rolled my eyes at her. “Don’t want to be seen with us, do you?”

  “Compared to you two, I look great,” Marlene said. “I don’t want to outshine you.”

  I bit down a sarcastic remark as the coach rattled to a halt. Marlene had to be really ashamed of us. She’d look odd floating a trunk through the air, instead of being driven to the front door and helped out. But ... I shrugged, watching as she scrambled out and collected her trunk from the undercompartment. It was quite possible she wanted to visit a few other places before she went home instead. She might want to visit her friends or ... maybe she even had a boyfriend. Marlene was pretty enough, I supposed. She might show a nicer side of herself to a boy she liked. Or a girl. I could see either one really upsetting her family if they didn’t approve of the partner.

  “Where does she live?” Kate looked around with interest as the coach rattled back to life and headed down the road. “Where is she going?”

  “I have no idea,” I said, with a wink. “She’s probably off to meet someone her parents won’t like.”

  I sobered as the coach turned the corner. Marlene might be obnoxious, but she had all the disadvantages of being an aristocrat with few of the advantages. On one hand, her parents and family would do their level best to keep her under control; on the other, she probably wouldn’t have much hope of either rising to the top or building a small power base for herself. A crafty person might make something of her position, but it wouldn’t be easy. The Grande Dames of High Society would do everything in their power to crush a young upstart.

  And they’re going to have problems coming to grips with me, I thought. I’m too young for them to take seriously and too powerful for them not to.

  “I’ll drop Kate off here,” the driver called. “It’s only a short walk to the bridge.”

  “Thanks,” Kate said. She leaned forward and kissed my cheek. “Take care of yourself, okay? And send me a letter if you need to talk.”

  “You too,” I said. It was a shame I couldn’t invite her to stay with me, but I wasn’t confirmed yet. Afterwards ... I wondered if she’d enjoy visiting Lamplighter Hall. “I’ll see you soon.”

  I felt my heart starting to pound again as soon as the coach rattled to life again. I was going home. I was going home and ... I wasn’t sure what I’d find. Home had always been where my parents had lived, but my mother had died six years ago and I’d barely known my father before he sent me away. I reached for the letter in my pocket, feeling my heart twinge in pain. It couldn’t be all my father had sent, right? I told myself there would be a letter waiting for me at Lamplighter Hall, something my father would have written and charmed so that only I could read.

  The driver’s voice broke into my thoughts. “The gates aren’t opening.”

  I peered through the window. The gates were closed. The gatehouse was empty. I peered at the sign - LAMPLIGHTER HAL - and swore under my breath. There was a missing letter, an empty space where the letter should have been ... I opened the door and jumped out, slipping and sliding on the muddy ground. The road running beside the house was in our care. And yet ... I felt my heart sink. Something was very wrong.

  “My Lady?”

  “Unload my trunk,” I ordered, as I touched the gate. The charms woven into the metal recognised me as a family member and unlocked, allowing me to push the gate open. There should have been someone in the guardhouse, but the tiny building was completely empty. I shivered, peering up towards the house. My memories insisted it should glow with light, but instead it looked more than a little faded. “I’ll walk from here.”

  “Aye, My Lady,” the driver said. He looked at the house and frowned. “Have we come to the right place?”

  I hesitated. I honestly wasn’t sure. My memories did not match the scene before me. The drive looked muddy in some places and overgrown in others, the doors looked marred by age and dark magic, the lawn was patchy ... the statues of my ancestors looked as if no one had bothered to maintain them. I shivered, again. It was the right place. I was sure of it. But there was no one hurrying to greet me.

  “Yes,” I said, with more confidence than I felt. “I’ll be fine.”

  He tipped his hat, then scrambled back into the driver’s seat as I levitated my trunk and started up the driveway. A faint smell hung in the air, a faint stench of something I couldn’t quite place. I peered towards the distant potions gardens and shivered when I realised the plants had been allowed to grow out of control. They’d have to be trimmed and pruned at the very least, before we could start using them again. It was quite possible the cross-contamination had given birth to something dangerous. There were magical plants that produced deadly gasses when they were burnt. I’d have to arrange for a proper expert to come inspect the garden and do whatever was necessary to clean up the mess. And ...

  I swallowed hard as I stared at the closed doors. They should have opened for me already. There should have been someone in the hall to greet me ... I wondered, suddenly, if I was alone. Or if the hall had been abandoned ... I inched forward, directing my trunk ahead of me. What had happened? Why? I touched the door and breathed a sigh of relief as it unlocked and opened. The charms recognised me, even if no one else did. The wards shimmered around me as I stepped into the hall. Someone was coming down the stairs ...

  “Lucy!”

  I stared. “Uncle Jalil?”

  My mother’s older brother came into the light. He looked older than I remembered, his skin a shade darker, his beard shot through with gray and white streaks. It looked as if he was losing his hair, despite the magic running through his blood. I found it hard to reconcile the man in front of me with the uncle I’d known as a little girl. It had been six years since I’d seen him, but he looked to have aged twenty years in that time. I couldn’t believe it.

  “Lucy,” Uncle Jalil said. His suit looked old too, as if he couldn
’t afford the latest styles. “Welcome home.”

  He started to hug me, then stepped back and held out his hand instead. I took it and clasped it lightly, then pulled him into a proper hug. “It’s been a long time,” I said. “What ... what happened?”

  Uncle Jalil winced. “I’ve got a lot to tell you,” he said. “And you’re not going to like it.”

  I looked around. The entrance hall was badly lit, but I could see well enough to notice that a dozen paintings - at least - had been removed from the walls. A handful of statuettes I remembered from my childhood, including one that had been damaged when Cousin Oliver threw it at his older brother during a tantrum, were also missing. Dust hung in the air, suggesting no one had bothered to sweep the floors, polish the walls or do any of the hundreds of tasks one had to do if one wanted to keep a Great House in good condition. I reached out with my senses, studying the wards. They welcomed me. The wards were the only thing within eyeshot that appeared to be in good repair.