A week passed and no move was made against Kaarlo again. I was beginning to doubt the wisdom of sending Pardy away. Kaarlo was visibly agitated all the time, putting the whole household on edge. I had been told that men’s needs had to be fulfilled by a wife or they would sour, but I had never actually believed it much. After all, my whole life my father had been without a wife. Of course, he was as prickly as a blackberry bush, but I thought that was just the way he was naturally. I had never thought to ask anyone what he was like before my mother died.

  I decided to use the night as a cover to sneak around the manor and snoop into the offices and see what I could find. Kaarlo didn’t think this would yield anything new, but he gave me permission along with a set of master keys that should get me into anything locked in the house. I was aware that I had his full confidence and this weighed on me heavily. He was counting on me and, so far, I had yet to deliver despite all the costs I had incurred on him.

  Moreover, there had been no more goblin attacks in the near countryside either. Meig used the day to work on communication with the lizard people which she said was very slow going as our cultures didn’t allow for a lot of common ground and to gather reports from our men that had joined forces with the Wellswood garrison in their patrolling of the countryside and town.

  She thought the lizard people were in communication with the goblins. This had come as a complete, but welcome surprise. If we could negotiate with the goblins perhaps we could find a way to keep the countryside safe. We both thought this was well worth our time in pursuing. I was relying on Meig’s communication skills in this and she seemed confident a breakthrough could be made.

  In the manor, she would check the kitchen and pantry as well as each meal served during the day and I would check the food storage and supplies at night. It was the only way I could sleep without worry. I knew she would be on top of things while I slept.

  She and I would go over everything and plan for the next day when I woke in the evening. I’d also started consulting with a local historian down at the local pub where we would chat over my ‘breakfast’, his dinner. I was learning a lot, but relating it to the unknown culture and society of goblins was a difficult task one I was beginning to think impossible.

  It took me a few days to really be able to switch my days and nights and I was starting to get a feel for the manor house at night. I skulked about the kitchens, casting my spells about. I checked his office and library, even Pardy’s parlor, but came up empty.

  The Issakainen manor house was larger than my own home in Thornhill. I hadn’t realized how much more well off Kaarlo was than my own family. Of course, I had never cared about such things and during my betrothal to Kaarlo I was only worried about how my life was out of my control and my duties at his manor would be so out of line with what I was actually trained to do.

  I could see how well he and Pardy were suited to each other. Her touch was everywhere in the manor house. I could tell she loved lilies with their abundance in most common rooms. I also came to see how much she liked sunshine as her chosen parlor room had a south facing window which let light in throughout the year.

  I found out as I roamed the manor house at night, they had separate bedrooms, but with a joining door that was usually left open. From the maids I learned that often only one of their beds was used at all in the night, much to the delight and gossip of the maids sent to straighten and tend to their rooms.

  Pardy and Kaarlo had vast closets of lovely clothes, most of it formal and I spotted some small knitted blankets and clothes that I assumed Pardy had made in preparation for the addition of children into their home hidden in a chest in her parlor. I admired her skill with needles as well as her strength in her new-found position.

  All the staff respected and at the same time seemed to adore her. Their gossip was light-hearted and almost endearing when it came to the master and mistress of the manor. I must confess I envied them in this. What a different experience it would have been to have grown up in a house run by them! The rumor mill from my own family members had never been kind to me as the black sheep of my own house.

  I was both more determined to find the culprit and felt farther from this outcome as time went on. Then, at the end of the week, I had a vague trace of poison in Kaarlo’s office. I cast my spells multiple times to be sure. I detected it on the floor and not on any dish or goblet, so I sighed with relief, suddenly worried about Kaarlo's safety all over again. I arranged with Meig to meet with Kaarlo once I awoke to speak with him about his visitors that day.

  I skipped my usual breakfast with the historian to catch Kaarlo in his study. It was late for him, long after his dinner time. He looked tired and I felt bad for keeping him up.

  “Kaarlo, who visited you in this room yesterday?” I asked him, getting right to the point. He sighed and rubbed a hand over his face.

  “Let's see… there were many. As it’s the end of the week, I generally get updates from the manor staff and village.” I groaned at that information, but took out a bit of charcoal to start a list and take notes. “I had a report from your man Jornian and Derek of my own guard. I had Corra from the kitchens with her weekly inventory. Kinmon from the livery… Is this really necessary?”

  You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

  “Please, Kaarlo. I need to know everyone who set foot in here. It’s important,” I stressed. He sighed again.

  “Let's see, I met with Yonath, of course. Oh, I had some correspondence come, so the mail boy came in here…”

  “Is it the same boy each time?”

  “Usually, uhm, one of the kitchen maid’s boys. Galley is his name, I think. Likes to run out and meet the courier for a bit or two, save him the trip up into the manor,” he explained, shrugging, and I made my notes.

  “And none of these people had come into this office before yesterday this week?” I asked, to be sure.

  “Ah, no. Oh, and Matty brought me my tea, but she does that almost everyday,” he added. “It's Maddy or, maybe, Gelva. Someone in the kitchen staff.”

  “Do you know where these people live?” I asked him. He sighed again and it looked like he’d rather get to bed than continue with our discussion, but he went through and told me what he knew. When we were done, I thanked him for his time.

  “Get some rest, Kaarlo,” I said as I folded my notes away. He surprised me by grunting.

  “How can I rest? I’m worried sick about Pardy, haven’t heard one word from her since she left. Can’t eat or drink anything without feeling sick over it… Bah…” he nearly growled as he stood up to leave.

  “She’s only been gone a week. A letter will take time, right? We’ll get to the bottom of this. I think this information will help. Thanks,” I told him, hoping to calm his worries, but he only grunted again in response and looked irritated.

  I said nothing more. He got up, groaning, and left without looking back. The little experience I had with grumpy men told me to leave him on his own. I understood his frustration all to well, but these leads were just what I needed. I felt some hope bloom in my chest.

  I could have kicked myself for not having cast the spells out each of the doors to see if I could find a trail yesterday. When I tried tonight, there was nothing. Of course, the evidence, had their been any, had been washed or trampled away. I wondered if the thick carpets in Kaarlo’s study had allowed the tiniest bit of poison to become trapped, if only temporarily, and that’s why I had been able to pinpoint it. It worried me though because it must have been a tiny amount and if I had been able to pick it up with the spell, it must be a very potent poison indeed.

  Scouting around the town at night was not nearly as simple as sneaking about the manor with keys to every door. There was a great deal more activity in the town and finding the houses that Kaarlo had described in the dark was not straightforward either.

  I eliminated a few names from my list quickly. The maid who brought up his tea and koff each day as well as the mail boy. It would be too easy to target the maid and the boy could just as easily poison himself as a goblet. No. Besides, nothing had actually been poisoned, so why would someone carry poison into Kaarlo’s office, but not use it?

  Of course, after the first attempt, Kaarlo was much more cautious and watchful over his drinks and food, so another attempt would be more difficult. Perhaps they were just waiting for the right opportunity. That made my hackles rise. The threat was still near. It was too close by for my liking.

  I couldn’t find evidence of poison in or around the stable area. Someone who worked here would probably spill some and that could lead to an unforeseen and unexplained death of an animal. That would not go unnoticed. I asked around and was shocked to discover that one of the draft horses had died three weeks ago. That was before my arrival here. I asked what they had done with the animal’s body and found out that, like at my village, there was a place where they buried livestock.

  I wanted to dig it up immediately and cast my spells, but it was the dead of night and I wasn’t equipped to do it. I made a mental note and kept skulking around the town.

  I was pretty sure I found Corra’s house. It was close to the manor. The place was nicely kept and neat. Her husband worked in town at a tavern nights while she worked in the manor during the day. They had three children, one of which was old enough to apprentice as a stable boy. There was no trace of anything around the house and again, it seemed too likely for a person involved in food preparation to deal with poison. They would be the first people questioned and accused, wouldn’t they? Even an accusation like that could cost her position in the household.

  I knew from Kaarlo that she had worked many years in the kitchen. She’d started as a kitchen maid as a girl and apprenticed with the old cook for years. She ran a clean and efficient kitchen and hardly put up with the likes of me traipsing through even with Kaarlo’s permission. It reflected well on her and I couldn’t blame her for it in the least.

  And who would risk their children’s safety like that? What would she gain from Kaarlo’s death, anyway? No, it seemed very unlikely these townspeople were involved. From the look of it, they took pride in their work and Kaarlo was a generous employer. I knew he paid his people more than my father ever had. The town was prospering because of his generosity. It seemed counterintuitive to me, but the more he paid out his wealth, the more wealth that seemed to come back to him in terms of rents and revenues.

  One person stood out to me and that was Yonath, the steward. He lived alone. I was surprised he wasn’t married with children having such a position such as his. He should have been a very eligible bachelor. His position granted him significant wages, far superior to those that worked the kitchen, stables, and fields. So, why did it seem that he had not made much of a life for himself?

  His house was modest and dark when I found it. I wanted to go in, but I didn’t have the skills necessary to pick the lock and I didn’t really want a confrontation with him for no reason. I could find no evidence around the house, but the area was well watered and swept. I had to be sure before I accused anyone. Besides, he didn’t seem to have a motive that I could find.

  Still, I had to check on that horse. I thought that I could get Meig to mark it’s location for me and I could dig it up tomorrow night, without too many people noticing. I’d need some help. Maybe that boy, Galley, would be up for some late night work. He seemed eager enough to earn a shilling or two. Before sunrise, still cloaked in darkness, I made my way back to the manor to meet with Meig and work out details for tomorrow.