Advanced Mythology by Jody Lynn Nye Read Free Book Online Page B

forty thousand dollars.” He stopped, and looked at the others suspiciously. “Where’d you get the money?”
    “Fair and square, Keith Doyle,” Enoch said sourly.
    “eBay,” Marcy explained. “The computer’s only been here for a couple of months, but you know how fast the Folk learn. Once they saw how many different things people were selling, Tiron carved a bust of Candlepat out of beechwood, and we put it up on the web for sale. It sold for nine hundred dollars.”
    “Wow!”
    “It could have gone for more, but we didn’t want to attract too much attention,” Marcy said. “But we bought a digital camera with the proceeds. They made more things, all of them one-of-a-kind carvings, good ones, photographed them and uploaded the images. Those auctions are fierce. You ought to see how fast the price goes up.”
    “I’ll bet,” Keith said, doing calculations in his head. “What about merchandise for the gift shops?”
    “Oh, the bread-and-butter pieces are still being done. Not everyone is good enough to create high-end art, but we …” she paused, blushing.
    Enoch took her hand and squeezed it. “Ye can say ‘we.’ You’re considered one of us now.” He glared at Keith, daring him to contradict the statement. Keith held up his hands.
    “Hey, I’ve already stopped seeing the difference in height.”
    Enoch gave a curt nod. Marcy made a little face and continued, her confidence restored. “ We are thinking of making the higher-class art a business.”
    “Well, I hope they don’t stop doing the bread-and-butter,” Keith said. “I need the commissions.” He started to say more, but realized Diane was in the room, and clapped his mouth shut. A surprise wasn’t a surprise if the surprisee heard about it in advance.
    “You’d do better on the commissions from fine art,” Enoch pointed out. “It would be worth your while to visit galleries as our representative.”
    “Why not?” Keith said, thinking of moonlight and blue velvet boxes. “I’ll need a nicer suit.”
    “Have you not seen the television reports from art galleries? They wear nothing but plain black. That shouldn’t be expensive.”
    “Now there you’re wrong,” Diane said positively, getting into the spirit of things. She’d made no secret of the fact she wanted to see Keith start dressing a little more fashionably. “ Armani black will set you back several hundred dollars just for a shirt. ”
    “Armani black is an expensive color, then,” Enoch said.
    “You have no idea. But if Keith wants to look the part, he’ll have to get some.”
    “I’ll look like a lighted match,” Keith said wryly, tugging at his red hair. “But anything for a sale.”
    * * *
    “So, you two,” Diane said, as they locked up the barn and headed up the hill toward the house, “when’s the wedding?”
    Marcy’s face fell. She came to a halt and clutched Keith’s arm. “Could we wait to go back inside for a moment?”
    “Is there a problem?” Keith asked.
    “Oh, not with them,” Marcy said, gesturing at the lighted windows above. “I just don’t want any of the others to hear. Not this. You’re the only ones who might understand. It’s my parents.”
    “Should I go away?” Holl asked.
    “Should I?” Diane asked. Marcy caught at the other girl’s hand.
    “Oh, no. If you could help …”
    Marcy looked so desperate, Diane dropped the jealousy that had been brewing inside her, and her mother-hen aspect, as Keith called it, manifested itself. She squeezed Marcy’s hand comfortingly. “Whatever I can do. What we both can do. Right?”
    “Right,” Keith said at once. “Dr. Ruth and Dr. Spock at your service. Only Enoch’s got the ears. What’s up with your folks?”
    “Well … they don’t really like the fact that I’m living down here with Enoch. They’ve been after me to introduce them to him, but I’m still nervous about it. I’m trying to find a good way to bring up the subject so they won’t reject us