The Queen's Librarian by Carole Cummings Read Free Book Online Page B

riffled the pages again, then pointed from Lucas to the book. “Scontun.” Then he jabbed two fingers toward Lucas’s eyes, said, “Libe-aar-in,” and he poked at the words on the open page. “Scontun.”
    Lucas frowned. “You want me to read you a book?”
    “Scontun.”
    Lucas was getting really tired of that word. “All right,” he sighed. “Enough’s enough.” He snatched the book from the man’s hands and set it back on the stack on the floor. “Come along, then, Mister Elenenn, or whoever you think you are.” He grabbed up his smelly coat and gestured for the man to follow him out of the bedroom and toward the front door. “I refuse to deal with this any further until I’ve had a cup of tea and a headache powder.” When the man didn’t move fast enough for him, Lucas doubled back, smacked another book out of the man’s hand, then took hold of his arm and dragged him along.
    “Den scontun mathlasa—”
    “No, no,” Lucas said airily when the man resisted a bit and started babbling at him again, “I’m afraid I won’t be leaving you to yourself in my house, and if you’re very nice, p’raps I’ll even give you a cup of tea before I send for a constable to come collect you and take you… somewhere that isn’t in my bedroom.” He shoved the man, still nattering, out the door ahead of him.
    “Daimin enthalsa fie scontun dei—”
    “Scontun, scontun, yes,” Lucas assured the man, still dragging and nodding amiably, “I’ve got lots of scontuns in my old room at the main house. I’m sure I can find one or two I can stand to part with and let you play with them while we wait for the nice constable, hmm?”
    “Tripp Libe-aar-in mathlasa thei scontun ne lasa Daimin enlathsa fie scontun dei celendi.”
    “Yes, exactly,” Lucas agreed, and he kept agreeing all the way up the lane to the house. It was only a five-minute walk, after all. Lucas could take it for another five minutes. And then he’d let Alex at the man. Alex could find the humor in anything. “And while we’re at it, I’ll beat Laurie until he either confesses to setting you on me, or until I feel better, whichever comes first. I might even let Alex help.” Lucas winked at Mister Whoever-he-was. “The smart money’s on the confession, because it’s not looking like I’m going to be feeling better anytime soon.” Although, the prospect of beating Laurie was rather starting to perk Lucas up a bit.
    “Here we are,” Lucas said, probably a bit too eagerly, as he let go of the man’s arm and swung the door to his mother’s house open then turned to shove the chattering man inside ahead of—
    He blinked. Bramble gave a low bark from inside the house, the sound of toenails on polished marble heralding his intent to investigate.
    “Mister Crazy Person?” Lucas stared at the blank spot on the porch step that had been a chattering nutter only a second ago then frowned to one side and then the other. Bramble arrived, panting through a doggy smile, and nearly knocked Lucas down the steps when he rubbed up against Lucas’s hip. Lucas ignored him, venturing down into the yard again, peering to all points, but…. “Nothing,” he told Bramble, and he patted him on his big, giant head. “He was right here a second ago. Where could he have got to?” And why wasn’t Bramble sensing anything? The man couldn’t have gotten far in three seconds, after all. “Huh.”
    Lucas shook his head, bemused, still scanning the garden. The manor was set up on a hillock that overlooked a great chunk of the property. Lucas had a clear line of sight down to his little carriage house, all of the outbuildings, the hedge maze, the fountain, everything, and there was no babbling crazy man between him and any of it. The man had simply… disappeared.
    “Huh,” Lucas said again.
     
     
    H E DIDN ’ T announce himself right away. He was hoping to catch Miss Emma alone in the kitchen, so he could hand off the coat without his mother knowing,