Page 27 of Grave Expectations
"Not the word I were going to say."
Lincoln entered the kitchen and eyed each of us in turn. I'd not heard the door to the courtyard open or close. Cook stood quickly and resumed chopping vegetables, his head studiously down.
I gave Lincoln what I hoped was a cheerful smile. "Welcome back. Where's Seth and Gus?"
He whipped off his gloves and unbuttoned his jacket. "Coach house. What happened?"
"What makes you think something happened?"
"You look guilty."
"I do not!"
He tilted his head to the side. "You're neither dead nor injured, so I'll assume there is no immediate danger."
"Something did happen, and if you give me a chance, I'll tell you." I rose. "But first, may I make you tea? Or would you like something stronger?"
"Sit down."
I sat. "Very well, but I'm only thinking of your comfort." Where to begin? With the worst incident or best? Which one was the worst? "The imp escaped from the amber, but we caught it and returned it to the necklace where it fell asleep. Now, the tea…"
He perched on the edge of the table, his arms and ankles crossed, and watched me prepare a pot of tea. I tried not to feel awkward, but his silence eventually grew too taut and I felt compelled to break it.
"The imp understands English. Isn't that clever of it?"
"And you spoke the words in English to release it."
"Unintentionally, of course."
"Of course."
I handed a cup to him. "It then escaped from the house, despite the doors and windows being closed and locked."
"How?"
"It distorted itself to fit through the keyhole."
"Magic," Cook added with a knowing nod.
"Then it ran off. We chased it, caught it and said the words for it to return, which it did. Simple."
He set the teacup aside and picked up the necklace. The amber dangled from his fingers as he held it up to the light. "What did it look like?"
"Ugly," Cook said.
"Like a hairless cat," I added. "It moved like a cat too, and it sounded a little like one. It was quite a friendly little thing once it tired itself out."
He put the necklace down again and fixed me with one of his penetrating glares. "It was fast?"
"Very."
"And yet you caught it."
I sighed again. There was no point delaying the inevitable. "It grew very tired after it saved my life."
He stiffened. "Go on."
"Someone was in the tree near the front gate. I followed the imp to the street and the person shot at me. The imp pushed—"
