Page 47 of Tell Me Why
“England,” Tina said, not actually certain if that counted. Isabella wrinkled her nose. Apparently not.
“The English are…” She shook her head. “Barbarians, horded into a single corner behind their wooden moat and their boiled food. They never learned anything of what itisto be one of us, one of the truly aged.”
“This is like Illuminati stuff, isn’t it?” Tina asked, and Isabella shook her head.
“Silly stories that people tell to excuse how they made the world,” she said. “Thinking that some tiny group of men could guide the course of history, as hard as so many have tried tobecomethat. No. You don’t have the first idea of what you can’t ask or understand.”
Tell sighed.
“She’s new country,” he said. “The place you ranawayto, because the old country was otherwise inescapable. You oughtn’t speak to her with so much patronization. In many ways, she is the solution to many of our intractable ills.”
“Ignorance?” Isabella asked, still managing not toquitebe backhanded.
“Optimism,” Tell said. “And unencumbrance.”
She snorted, but her expression changed subtly.
“Enough philosophy,” she said. “We must find a way to get yououtof my house without bringing Keon down on us.”
“You think I’m leaving you alone in the midst of this?” Tell asked.
“I’m certainly not alone, and you have her to worry about,” Isabella said. “You go back to Keon and tell him that you tried and you thought you’d found me, but it turned out that you were wrong and you never found any signs of me.”
“You’d trust me to keep your secret, but you won’t trust me with what’s going on here?” Tell asked, and Isabella looked troubled.
“I can handle Keon if I must,” she said.
“What’s goingonhere that you’d rather some hyper-powerful man who made you pretend to be his daughter forcenturiesis less scary than this getting messed up for a minute?” Tina asked, and Isabella tipped her head at her with a quiet exasperation, then acted like she hadn’t spoken.
“He isn’t going to hurt me,” Isabella said.
“He will close the door to you ever leaving again,” Tell said. “We both know he has a plan by now. And she has a valid point.”
Isabella frowned.
“The two of you have no business being a part of this,” she said.
Tell shrugged.
“I find that the things I have no business with are the ones that I have the most fun blowing up,” he answered. She sighed, looking around once more.
“I’m not prepared to discuss it right now,” she said. “Tomorrow night, during the party. You see the great oak at the very back of the garden?”
Tell nodded without looking. Ofcoursehe’d noticed it in the first moments they’d been out.
“Clear it,” Isabella said. “I needyouto be certain that there is no one there to eavesdrop. Daryll will be occupied enough that…” She nodded. “I’ll tell you what I can then.”
Tell nodded.
“You can trust her,” he said. “Daryll was rude to her, and she takes that kind of thing personally.”
“I’ll stab him for you if you want,” Tina affirmed. “I’ve done it before.”
“You’ve stabbed a vampire?” Isabella asked with humor.
“Oh, lady,” Tina said. “I’ve stabbed worse.”
They madea show of being around Isabella for a few more hours, venturing to the kitchen and then a game room where Tell demonstrated his unexpected skill in air hockey, then they went back to their room, where Tell resumed his book.
