Beatrice raised her brows.“My, you must really care about this friend of yours.Is he someone special?”
I bit my lip before I said something impolite.“Not in the way you think!”
Before she could ask any more prying questions, I turned and trotted back down the stairs.
***
“ANY GOOD NEWS?”ALEXANDERasked when Beatrice came down.
Her face was impassive as she entered the dining room and accepted the tea Alexander offered her.She took a sip, then set the cup down with a clatter.“You didn’t tell me he was a human,” she said, shooting an accusing look at me.“And I suppose that other fellow I saw is a human too?”
I merely pressed my lips together.
“I am very disappointed in you, Giselle!When your mother hears about this she’ll—” Beatrice gave a start when Maddox entered with Gio in tow.She looked at their conjoined hands in horror.
“Gio, don’t touch that strange man!”Beatrice cried.“You don’t know whatdiseaseshe carries!”
Maddox’s mouth parted, as if he couldn’t quite believe the insult he had just been dealt.He let go of Gio’s hand.“It was dark.I was just making sure he didn’t trip.”
Beatrice wrinkled her lips as if she tasted something sour.
Alexander cleared his throat.“Beatrice.News?”
She exhaled and took another gulp of tea.“I have rebandaged his ankle and applied a stronger healing balm specifically for fractured bones.It should be healed within a week.His fever, however...”
“What is it?”I asked impatiently.
“He has most likely caught something due to his vulnerable state.I do not know what he has caught, but judging from his current symptoms, which seem common enough, he’ll survive,” Beatrice said.“However, he must be quarantined in case he is contagious.”
“Contagious?”I asked, disbelieving.Edmund had a broken ankle, not a disease!“Surely there are potions to make him better.He only has two weeks here, he has to recover!”
Beatrice sighed.“A witch’s healing potion works best on witches, dear.Humans take longer to heal, even with the help of magic.I’ll do what I can, but it is unlikely he’ll get better as quickly as you want him to.”
I pinched the bridge of my nose.Of course.Nothingwas going as planned.
Alexander worried his lip.“If there’s a chance Edmund is contagious...perhaps it is best to move him to a more isolated place.Somewhere well-stocked with healing potions?”
Beatrice’s eyes widened when Alexander looked at her meaningfully.“Mycottage?Certainly not!”
The next thirty minutes were spent arguing back and forth about whether Beatrice should take Edmund to her cottage.As I was about to jump in and argue that Edmund shouldn’t be moved at all, Maddox took Gio’s hand, then mine, and walked us both out of the dining room into the hallway.
Gio climbed onto a tall stool pushed against the wall.
“What’s going on?”he asked, swinging his feet back and forth from his perch.
“It’s nothing for you to worry about,” Maddox said, patting the boy’s shoulder affectionately.He was surprisingly good with children.“Do you want to play cards?”
Gio nodded enthusiastically.
“Go to the parlor and get some.I’ll show you one of my favorite games,” Maddox said.
“Okay!”Gio stood and trotted to the parlor.
“This is hardly the time to play games,” I said, when Gio disappeared into the other room.
“There aren’t any cards in the parlor.”Maddox pulled a card-shaped packet out of his waistcoat pocket and let it drop back in.
“Are you stealing now?”
