The Amaranth Enchantment by Julie Berry Read Free Book Online Page B

alone, doesn't it?"
    The wind pouring through broken windowpanes blew cold over my skin. "I suppose it does."
    "What would you give to have a friend? One true friend, who would never leave you?"
    "I suppose I'd give a lot for that." My mouth felt dry, parched. I wanted to end this interview. "You said there was something you needed from me?"
    A flicker of disappointment crossed her face, then it was gone. "Yes. Well."
    She folded her hands in her lap and sat more erect, businesslike. "Where is my stone?"
    Hope sank like a stone in my stomach. I had hoped that maybe the subject wouldn't come up again. "I don't know."
    66
    Outside on the lawn, Dog bleated. Beryl rose from her chair and stood at the window, looking down on the grounds. Moonlight on her pale features turned her into a marble sculpture. She kept her eyes fixed on some faraway sight--perhaps the sea.
    I joined her at the window, drawn by curiosity. Saint Sebastien sparkled like a field of stars, and beyond it lay the deep black of the ocean.
    "Who is this Peter that you mentioned?"
    "I hardly know him," I said. I told her the story of how Peter came bursting into the room, spent the night, and disappeared, leaving a pebble in my pocket. Beryl listened intently, frowning more and more as I went on.
    She seized my arm. "Lucinda," she said, when I was finished, "the day you wandered about the city, when your aunt and uncle had asked you to return the stone, but you didn't"--I felt my cheeks getting red--"did anyone approach you, or talk to you, or any such thing?"
    I thought I knew where she was headed--that perhaps the stone had been stolen Page 22
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    before Peter came.
    "No," I said, "not a soul. And anyway, I had the stone in my room that night.
    I remember looking at it. It almost felt... alive."
    Beryl clenched and unclenched her fists, growing more agitated by the minute.
    "It doesn't seem as if... it doesn't sound like... could it be?" She was talking to herself now.
    "Could it be what?"
    67
    Her eyes met mine. "Twice, in the city, someone has tried to steal the stone from me," she said. "A man. That's how the setting broke. I took it for repair in part to put it beyond the thief's reach. But I don't know who the thief is."
    I began to see the cause of her fear. "You think Peter was working for someone else?"
    She pressed her lips together tightly. "I hope not."
    I searched back in my mind, thinking of the night he came. "I'm sure it isn't so," I said. But whether it was or no, what could I do about it?
    Beryl began pacing the floor. "We don't know for certain that Peter took it, but it seems the most probable," she said. "And we don't know where he is, or how to find him, but we know he frequents the city streets, yes?"
    I nodded.
    "And he's likely to be out and about during the Winter Festival, would you say?"
    I nodded again.
    "Do you think you could find him and get it back from him?"
    I laughed. "Not a chance! He's as slippery as a tadpole!" Beryl leaned forward once more, her violet eyes seeming to have a light of their own.
    "What if," she said, biting off each word deliberately. "What if I gave you something in return?"
    She had my attention. But still, there was no way I could get the stone back from Peter.
    68
    "What if I gave you this house in return for my jewel?" A cold breeze from the window blew over me, but I was already frozen with shock.
    My house?
    It was impossible!
    My chances were miniscule at best.
    Yet, the fact that there was a chance at all was irresistible.
    She watched my face closely, apparently concerned that I hadn't answered yet.
    "And," she added, as if to sweeten the deal, "all the gold you'll ever need to live here comfortably for the rest of your life."
    I laughed out loud. The absurdity of it all was too much. She thought the first offer wasn't good enough for me? What else might I throw into this bargain--a royal crown?
    "Where did you get such wealth? And