Nicholas Raven and the Wizards' Web - Volume 1 (10 page)

“I should have wrung your neck when I had the chance. Now be gone! I have plans of my own,” he said, running off in the opposite direction of his companions.

Gavin watched him from above as he raced west along the Pine River toward Kanesbury, wondering what mischief he would cause in the village. He then flew off to Barringer’s Landing to check on the progress of the others, knowing that Caldurian would be angry once news of this defection reached his ears.

CHAPTER 5

The Party

Zachary Farnsworth dipped his hands into a ceramic washbasin of cold water and splashed some over his face. He patted his eyes dry with a towel while staring at himself in a wall mirror, appearing refreshed despite the weariness deep in his bones. He dabbed the water away and straightened his collar, looking forward to the party now underway at the Stewart estate. After extinguishing an oil lamp on a shelf, he stepped into the hallway.

A light breeze drifted in through an open side window. Farnsworth slipped on a vest in front of a standing mirror, fastening each brass button as he contemplated who would attend tonight’s party. He managed the local banking house for Horace Ulm and thus secured an invitation from Amanda Stewart. He hoped one day to buy the bank from Horace should he ever pass on, but with his employer’s constitution still intact into his late fifties, he didn’t foresee himself as a prominent business leader in the village any time soon. He believed that tonight’s invitation resulted solely as a courtesy to Horace. But Zachary Farnsworth was confident he would soon imprint his mark upon Kanesbury, and then Amanda Stewart and her ilk would have to show him the respect he deserved.

In time. All in good time.

As he put on his evening coat, he heard a swish of leaves outside the window. As his was the second of two houses on this dead-end lane, he rarely had individuals pass by his property. Farnsworth adjusted his shirt cuffs as he stepped out onto the front porch to investigate. The night was cold and black. The aroma of decaying leaves and wood smoke wafted through the air. Several pine and maple trees surrounding the property engulfed the house in an extra blanket of shadow.

An oil lamp’s swaying cone of light was visible a short distance down the road. The figure of Dooley Kramer soon emerged into view, plowing through mounds of fallen leaves. Farnsworth waited impatiently on the porch until Dooley was in earshot.

“Bored with the village festivities?” he asked with a smirk.

“There’ve been some wild ones tonight.” Dooley grinned as he set the lamp on the bottom step, running a hand through his disorderly mop of hair. “I wanted to tell you how things turned out. Couldn’t find you at the Iron Kettle.”

“I came back to dress for the party. Have to look my best for the ladies, you understand.”

“Yeah, I understand.” Dooley grunted. “Understand that I’m not allowed in any of those uppity gatherings.”

“One of these days you’ll have the status and wherewithal to celebrate like me. In the meantime, we have to stick to our plan. But you may get some public recognition tonight nonetheless.”

Dooley looked up skeptically before spitting in the dirt. “
Meaning
?”

“Meaning, I’ll corner Ned Adams at the party and subtly sing your praises. You were, after all, instrumental in helping discover who stole the flour and money from the gristmill. Once word floats around the village, your reputation might rise a notch or two. Ned will have reason to consider you for Nicholas’ job.”

“Really think so?”

“Of course! You have a good head on your shoulders, Dooley, when you apply yourself.” Farnsworth momentarily stepped back into the hall, extinguished an oil lamp near the mirror and closed the door, throwing the house into darkness.

Dooley whispered. “Is
she
inside yet?” Farnsworth nodded. “What are we going to do with her?”

“I’m working on a plan, but we’ll deal with that later.” He met Dooley at the bottom of the porch stairs and indicated for him to walk along. “What is the word on Nicholas Raven? Is he enjoying the inside of the constable’s lockup?”

“Not exactly,” he said. “Ned Adams sent for me a short time ago. Wanted me to drive a cart to Nicholas’ shed so I could take the items back to the warehouse. When I arrived, he said that Nicholas had run off after being arrested. Bolted through the field like a jackrabbit. Can you believe it?”

Farnsworth halted. “Where is he now?”

“Constable Brindle sent some men after him, but the last I heard is that Nicholas disappeared. No one’s seen him around Kanesbury. Constable’s still looking.”

“No matter,” Farnsworth said as he continued walking. “Nicholas is out of the way whether he sits in the lockup or flees to another county. That’s what Caldurian wanted and that’s what we delivered.”

“I still don’t understand,” Dooley said, swishing through the leaves. “Why does that wizard want Nicholas Raven out of the way?”

“I don’t question his reasons. I do what I’m told. It’s part of our deal.”

They neared Dooley’s house a short distance down the road. Small and overgrown with dried weeds from summer, with a cracked window on the second floor, the wood and stone property looked as unkempt as Dooley Kramer himself.

“There’s something else I don’t understand, Zachary.”

Farnsworth exhaled with obvious frustration. “What?”

“If Caldurian wanted us to get Nicholas out of his way, and Nicholas was already planning to join up with the King’s Guard, then why did we go through all the trouble of framing him for robbery? Plus now we’ve got Adelaide in your cellar to deal with.”

Farnsworth sighed wearily. “If Nicholas left to join the King’s Guard, my dense friend, then you’d never have had a chance at getting his old job. Do you honestly think that Ned Adams would let you assume Nicholas’ duties if he had simply left for the capital as planned?”

“I’m not stupid, you know! I could do his job.”

“No one is saying you couldn’t, Dooley. But we had to give Ned a compelling reason to hire you. So now that you’ve
discovered
the break-in at the mill and figured out what was missing by poring through the ledgers, why, Ned Adams must be thinking that maybe you’ve got more potential than you’ve been letting on. And if he’s not thinking that, I’ll make certain he does tonight at the party.”

“The one I’m not invited to.”

“Don’t sulk. Anyway, if you take over Nicholas’ duties, you’ll be required to make deliveries directly to the storage cellars in the Blue Citadel. We’ll sweeten our end of the deal by handing Caldurian a potential spy in Morrenwood, namely you.”

“
Me
! Why me? And what does he need a spy there for?”

“Why
you
? Because no one would expect a lout like you to be capable of spying. And as I told you earlier, I don’t question Caldurian’s reasons, but his spies are everywhere. So why not hand him an extra one as a bonus? That can only improve our worth in his eyes.” Farnsworth pointed a finger at Dooley. “Do as you’re ordered and everything will fall into place. The details aren’t important. I don’t even know all the details. These wizard folk work in strange ways. But if we play along and don’t cross him, we’ll be feasting like vultures in this village before you know it.”

Dooley grunted and spat on the ground again. The pine trees creaked in the gentle wind under a field of fiery stars. The sickly glow of the lamp light outlined the sour discontentment on his face.

“Sounds good when you say it, but there’s still another part of the bargain I don’t like. Not one bit, I tell you!”

Farnsworth understood what Dooley implied. “But that is the key to our reward!” he insisted. “Tomorrow night is the night. I’ll meet with Caldurian as planned to fulfill our end of the bargain, and then we’ll be sliding steady on ice afterward.”

“I just don’t want to fall through the ice,” Dooley said. “And how do we know Caldurian will keep his word? I don’t want to give that wizard my key!”

Farnsworth grabbed Dooley by the collar with one hand, staring him down with a vicious gaze. “Don’t foil my plans, you hear? We’ve plotted this carefully for months and we’re close to the finish. I won’t tolerate any slip ups!” He shoved Dooley aside, breathing heavily.

“I was only saying–”

“I don’t want to hear it, Dooley! We’re giving Caldurian the key and that’s final. Imagine what he’d do to us if we went back on our word.”

“Suppose he does anyway? I don’t trust him. It’s my key and I want it back! Let’s not hand it over until we see more of our reward.”

Farnsworth walked in circles and shook his head. Some days he thought his alliance with Dooley Kramer wasn’t worth the aggravation. “We agreed that I was to be entrusted with the key, right?”

Dooley clenched his teeth. “
You
agreed!”

“In case you’re forgetting, I can easily inform Caldurian exactly how you found that key twenty years ago.”

“Shut your face!” Dooley kicked some leaves and trudged to his front door.

“Think how furious Caldurian would be if he discovered the truth about a mischievous little boy pelting his eagle with rocks until he nearly killed the bird.”

“Stop it!”

“Then stealing the key from the bird and running away as it lay dying in a field, bleeding under the hot sun.”

“Shut up, Zachary, or I’ll knock you one!”

“What do you say about such a story, Dooley? How long do you think Caldurian would allow you to live after hearing that?”

Dooley stood with his back to Farnsworth, his lungs burning and his throat bitter. He cursed the day he ever told Farnsworth about his treasure. He tightly gripped the handle of his oil lamp and imagined smacking it across the side of Farnsworth’s skull, but simply stood there instead, knowing that his neighbor was calling the shots.

“Go to your stupid party! But if things turn out wrong…”

“Everything will turn out perfectly, Dooley.” He shrugged as Dooley continued to stand with his back to him. “Well, what more can I say? I’ll talk to you tomorrow. Get a good night’s sleep. We’ll have plenty to do in the days to follow.”

Farnsworth continued down the road until he disappeared out of view. Dooley breathed erratically and stomped on the ground before shuffling to his front door and pounding his fist into the frame. But after a few moments, he glanced in the direction that Farnsworth had taken, the road disappearing into blackness. He looked the opposite way toward Farnsworth’s house, thought for a moment, and then hurried through the leaves back up the road, determined to retake control of the situation.

The party was in full swing at the Stewart estate when Farnsworth arrived. Many business owners, as well as Mayor Otto Nibbs and the five village council members, milled about the bright and spacious rooms. Wine, ale and traditional Harvest berry punch flowed freely throughout the evening. A wide assortment of foods and desserts filled several tables. Plates heaping with roasted turkey, beef and ham were surrounded by raw and boiled vegetables. Blackened trout steamed with the scent of lemon and rosemary. Bowls of salted potatoes floating in melted butter nudged for room with wedges of cheese and platters of ripened fruit. Loaves of sliced breads–apple-walnut, blackberry-carrot and frosted cinnamon–took up another table entirely, accompanied by wooden vessels of freshly whipped butter and assorted spiced cream spreads. Trays of colorful hors d’oeuvres floated about the rooms upon the steady hands of the house staff. Framed against the large windows in one room were four musicians, dutifully playing stringed instruments and flutes, sending soothing sounds wafting through the air to the approving ears of Amanda Stewart.

Farnsworth quickly discovered that he wouldn’t have to broach the subject of the gristmill robbery. The names of Nicholas Raven and Dooley Kramer were on the lips of all the party guests. When encountering Ned Adams near a fireplace, who explained that he had only stopped by to make an appearance since he was too upset to enjoy himself for an entire evening, Farnsworth subtly suggested that perhaps Dooley would make an apt replacement during Nicholas’ absence.

“My thought precisely, Zachary, though I intend to give Dooley a trial run first.” Ned drank from his glass of ale. “I’ve underestimated Dooley. He can be quite conscientious when he puts his mind to it. I was mightily impressed with the man as he helped out during the robbery tonight, though he should consider taking a brush more often to that unruly mop on his head.”

Farnsworth chuckled. “He has a few good traits inside him. More responsibility might make a model citizen out of Dooley yet.”

“The book work at the mill is nearly complete for the year. All that’s left are some large deliveries out of county. I think I’ll let Dooley handle those in Nicholas’ stead. If he has no problems, then perhaps I might train him in the bookkeeping over the winter lull.”

“A fine idea, Ned.” Farnsworth helped himself to a slice of dessert bread at a nearby table. “And who can blame you for watching out for your interests? You have to act quickly to put the situation in order. If Dooley can help, so much the better.” He took a bite of the bread, savoring each morsel. “By the way, any word on Nicholas yet? I heard he fled before he was arrested.”

“It’s true.” Ned looked despondently into his drink. “I still can’t get over what happened. I never anticipated that he’d... I mean, Nicholas of all people! He’s been such a fine worker to all the sudden–” He looked up, his eyes red with anxiety. “I probably shouldn’t have come here tonight. I’ll give my regrets to Amanda and Oscar and head home. I’m feeling tired. Excuse me, Zachary.”