The Fire Star
Page 21
I manage a smile at that. ‘I will go to Myra. She will have something to help my neck.’
‘I’ll come,’ Reeve immediately says. ‘She has something for me, too. I was supposed to collect a tincture the other day but got . . . sidetracked.’
I look at him curiously, but he says no more.
The music changes, and the space between the tables fills with whirling, clapping couples, driven on by the lively melody of the fiddle. Cassandra asks Sir Garrick a teasing question, and they retire from the dance floor, hand in hand.
‘I hope you’re ready to travel,’ Reeve says after a moment.
‘Why? A lady doesn’t travel. She stays in one place and awaits her lord’s leisure. As does her companion.’
He runs a hand through his hair, and I can almost see the blond curls that he had when I first met him on the road. I wonder how long they will take to grow back – or if Sir Garrick will allow it.
‘Well, given that your lady will be travelling with Sir Garrick and I, you’ll be going, too,’ he says with a smile. ‘Unless you’d rather stay here with Anice.’
I gasp, both at the very idea and at the alternative he is posing. ‘You’d best explain.’
‘It seems that Sir Garrick feels that you will be of use on his next delicate mission,’ Reeve says, before adding, ‘Lord knows why.’
I punch him on the arm but there is no menace in it, and I cannot suppress my grin.
‘Does he indeed?’ I say, looking over to where the knight is now whispering into the ear of a blushing Cassandra.
‘He does,’ says Reeve. ‘It seems that your knowledge of chess, not to mention the unearthing of the Fire Star, has impressed him greatly.’
‘Is that so?’ I say, and I feel lighter inside than I have since I was ten years old, learning about the stars from my father.
‘Indeed,’ says Reeve. ‘But –’
I wait. ‘But?’
‘Well, it was when I told him about . . .’
I wait, on edge. Surely he hasn’t mentioned the Beech Circle? Our network is not for the benefit of any man.
‘About your superior goat-herding skills that he really came on board,’ Reeve says, dissolving into guffaws.
I can’t help but laugh with Reeve, and, as we giggle on and the fiddle player spins into a wilder and wilder melody and the Airl mutters to his co-conspirators and my Lady Cassandra glows in the candlelight, I wonder if we are now friends.
I stop laughing as I turn the word ‘friend’ over in my mind for, if truth be told, Reeve may be the first and only person that I have ever considered for this role. Cassandra and I have much that ties us, but, as I told Reeve that first day I met him, it never does to forget one’s place.
But, as Reeve turns to me with a puzzled look, I realise he has, through words and actions, proven himself a very good friend to me over the past few days. A strange feeling of joy floods through me, pushing the headache from my mind. ‘Let’s dance,’ I say, suddenly jumping to my feet. ‘Give Anice something to gossip about.’
With a half smile, Reeve grabs my hand and leads me through the tables towards a clearer space. Cassandra catches my eye and gives me a most unladylike wink, which I return.
My plans have not gone exactly as I’d hoped, but it seems that we have landed in an interesting place. With treason swirling around us, it may not be a safe landing, but we have each other, and, now, we have Sir Garrick, and we have Reeve.
And we have the Beech Circle.
It is all and nothing. Enough. For now.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Every book I write takes me on a whole new adventure – and not just a fictional one. It has taken so much hard work and several years to bring Maven and Reeve and the Kingdom of Cartreff to life in this novel, and I could not have done it without some wonderful people in our very real world.
Thank you to the wonderful and supportive team at Penguin Random House, particularly Zoe Walton, Mary Verney, Dot Tonkin, Tijana Aronson, Angela Duke, and everyone in the Marketing, Publicity and Sales teams. Special thanks to Joseph Mills from Blacksheep-UK for the sensational cover.
I am lucky to have my own Beech Circle and its branches are broad and numerous. Special thanks to those who walk with me along the winding writing path – Alex Brooks, Valerie Khoo, Allison Rushby, Megan Daley, Anna Spargo-Ryan, Sophie Hamley, Jacqueline Harvey, Sue Whiting, Deborah Abela, Louise Park, Rachel Spratt, Belinda Murrell, Kelly Exeter, and so many more.
My extended family is large in number and loud on cheerleading, so thank you to Bev, Dennis, Bronwyn, Christine, Michael, Bart, Greg, Kate, Max, Noah, Ari, Declan, Lottie, Jake, Gemma, Elliot and Lois. Plus, Scout, world’s best writing companion and goodest dog ever.
A huge and grateful thank you to the readers around the world for your letters, emails, reviews and photos. I hope you love Maven and Reeve as much as I do! Special gratitude to super reader Jasmine Sim of Jazzy’s Bookshelf blog who read a very early draft of this book and gave me invaluable feedback.
As always saving the best for last, thanks and love to my boys – John, Joseph and Lucas. Here’s to the next adventure!
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Allison Tait (A. L. Tait) is the internationally published bestselling author of middle-grade adventure series The Mapmaker Chronicles and The Ateban Cipher. A multi-genre writer, teacher and speaker with many years’ experience in magazines, newspapers and online publishing, Allison is the co-host of the top-rating So You Want To Be A Writer podcast. The Fire Star: A Maven & Reeve Mystery taps into her passion for historical fiction and adventure. Allison lives on the south coast of New South Wales with her family. Find out more about Allison at allisontait.com
PENGUIN BOOKS
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Penguin Random House Australia is part of the Penguin Random House group of companies whose addresses can be found at global.penguinrandomhouse.com.
First published by Penguin Books, an imprint of Penguin Random House Australia Pty Ltd, in 2020
Text copyright © A. L. Tait 2020
The moral right of the author has been asserted.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, published, performed in public or communicated to the public in any form or by any means without prior written permission from Penguin Random House Australia Pty Ltd or its authorised licensees.
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Cover image credits: Knight’s helmet: T Studio/Shutterstock.com; Gemstone: Ievgeniia Pidgorna/Alamy Stock Photo; Tree: Heron Project/Alamy Stock Vector
Author photo © Jon Harris Photography
Internal design and typesetting by Midland Typesetters, Australia
ISBN 9781760147754
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