The Butler (Household Magic Book 1), page 1
The Butler
Household Magic Book 1
J A Moffitt
Copyright © 2023 Judith Moffitt
All rights reserved
The characters and events portrayed in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author.
No part of this book may be reproduced, or stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without express written permission of the publisher.
ISBN-13: 9781234567890
ISBN-10: 1477123456
Cover design by: Art Painter
Library of Congress Control Number: 2018675309
Printed in the United States of America
For Alicia Wright Dekker. Teacher, mentor, friend.
Contents
Title Page
Copyright
Dedication
Rokkaku Inn
Witchhunters
Pixie Rescue
Escape through a Tunnel
Meeting James and Marjorie
Gentry School?
Winston’s Men Attack
A More Serious Attack
Wellspring
Becoming Duchess
Arrest
Hanging
So Much to Learn
Meeting the Staff
The Funeral Preparation
Edmund Loses His Composure
A Spy and a Breakdown
Magic Lessons
A Vacancy
Kidnapping
Toshi’s Finger
Rescue
Disgraced Girls
The Cartel Hears Bad News
The King’s Price
The Dowager Duchess
The Well
1000 Men?
Attack on Wellspring
Aftermath
About The Author
Rokkaku Inn
“Did you know that I’m dying, Blake?” Duke Wellspring said as the healer left the room.
I was standing right here when the healer told you just now. “Yes, Your Grace,” the Butler, Edmund Blake, said.
“My sons are dead. Who will inherit, do you know?”
Inwardly, Edmund sighed. It frustrated him that the Duke had not kept track of something this important. “Your closest legitimate heir is Marcus Winslow.”
“And is he someone who will take care of Wellspring?”
“I do not believe so. He owes a great deal of money to the Greenville Cartel. He is known as a gambler and a rake.”
“Then I must do it, mustn’t I?”
Edmund had thought the action the Duke referred to should have happened two years ago when his second son died in battle. “We have had excellent reports concerning her character.”
“I suppose. I had been hoping Glennis would get pregnant again before she reached the Change. But it’s not to be, is it?”
“I wouldn't know, My Lord, but time seems to be at a premium.”
“Go find her and bring her back. I’ll have my attorney draw up the papers legitimizing her today. You can leave in the morning.”
Edmund Blake’s bad leg twitched as he contemplating riding more than 700 miles to the inn where Ilene worked. He had been injured 10 years earlier during his mandatory military service and the leg had never been right since. Healers had made it so he could move about even if he needed a cane by the end of his work shift. He had taken care that the Duke never saw that cane because it could have cost him his position. And the bland expression required of a Butler had kept the pain from his face as well. But at least ten healers, including the man who had just left, had told him that they could not rebuild the missing muscle. He had simply lost too much tissue for magical healing to help.
Relief flooded him as he caught sight of the inn. Only a bit further, and he could rest his leg.
It was a pretty place, even if the architecture seemed odd to Edmund’s Albi esthetic. Three stories, wood with a tile roof. A few parts were whitewashed, but the grain of the wood stood out. Instead of the shutters an Albi village inn would have, there were wood slatted screens on the windows. And the doors slid instead of opening. Colorful lanterns hung on the eaves. A charming place indeed, but nothing compared to the majesty of Wellspring Manor. Edmund hoped this would be his last stop before returning to Wellspring. He hoped the young woman still made her home at her mother’s inn.
He slid off the horse in the stable-yard and his leg buckled. The stable boy caught him, or Edmund would have fallen.
“Thank you.” Edmund spoke in Haiki, the language of Edoran. He’d studied it, anticipating this trip. His accent was execrable, but he was at least understandable.
“You are welcome, sir.” The stable boy replied in accented Anglish.
Edmund sighed with relief. People inside the inn were likely to speak Anglish if the stable boy did. “I’m just Edmund, not sir.” He put out his hand to shake.
“Toshiro. Those are two excellent horses, sir, I mean Edmund.” Toshiro stumbled over the unfamiliar name.
“My employer can afford excellent stock.”
“I can help you inside if you wait a minute until I put them in a stall. We have a first-floor room available if you plan to spend the night?”
“Based on how my leg feels, I doubt if I could go farther today. I’ll be fine by tomorrow.”
Toshiro bit his tongue, knowing better than to argue with a customer.
Ilene was wiping the bar when he entered. More for something to do than because it needed it. The inn was quiet this early. The bar was in an alcove and unlit, as they weren't serving yet. Ilene often preferred the shadows where she was less likely to be noticed.
Ilene told herself to breathe as she examined the latest customer. He was as close to perfect as any man that Ilene had seen. A firm, powerful body with just a touch of fat to soften him. His limp was the only imperfection she noticed. The pale skin meant this man didn't spend much time outside. That didn't bother her; many of the outdoorsy types were obnoxious drunkards when they stayed at the inn. He was about six feet tall, which was, in her mind, exactly the proper height for a man. Brown hair. Short and neatly trimmed. Clean shaven. His eyes didn't slant, which was normal in Edoran, but the warm brown color and the crinkles around his eyes made her comfortable. This was not an angry man, but one who found much of life amusing. But no corresponding laugh lines around the mouth. So he keeps his amusement to himself. Interesting. Some of the wrinkles were from pain. She knew that, too, in a way that only a person with healing magic would notice.
Many Albians had passed through the inn, and they were uniformly humorless businessmen. Most of them had been pushy about sexual favors, which she had discouraged with a hairpin that she kept in her pocket because it wouldn’t stay in her fine, straight hair. She didn’t think she would need to hairpin this man. She didn't even want to, which was unusual. A barmaid was used to unwanted importuning. This man would never stoop to such. She suspected that even desired importuning would have to come from her side. He was unusually self-contained. Maybe it was the firm chin that made her think that, coupled with the missing laugh lines around his mouth. Oh yes, she thought, he will stand firm and give nothing away. She wondered what had created that characteristic. In her experience, few men had it.
As she watched him sign the register, something about his stance spoke to her of solidity. Even his hands were firm. If she could read his signature from here, she was sure it would be legible and absolutely correct in the construction of his letters.
Ilene didn't trust easily, no bar girl did. But this man was trustworthy. She knew it deep in her bones. People with healing talents saw more of the inner person when they looked; Ilene had learned to trust her own judgment of people. Her observations piqued her curiosity; she wondered who he was.
Toshiro stood by her shoulder. “He’s in a lot of pain,” he whispered.
“I can see that, Toshiro.”
“But he was still kind and polite to me. How many men are like that?”
“He seems the kind to always behave correctly, so that doesn't surprise me. I wonder what he does for a living.”
“Can you heal him?”
Ilene bit her lower lip. “I expect I can. I’d have to examine him to be sure. Certainly, I can relieve the immediate pain of overusing that leg. Are you asking me to do so?”
“I am.”
“He won't appreciate that my healing methods cause pain.”
Toshiro thought for a moment. “I think he has so much pain that any price would be worth the relief. I had to catch him when he got off his horse.”
Twenty minutes later, Edmund lay in a very comfortable bed. He was worried because he hadn’t seen a young woman the right age, but hopefully the owner of the inn, Rinyo Tatsuya, could tell him where her daughter was.
A gentle knock pulled Edmund out of his thoughts. “Come in.”
A young woman with a silver streak in her straight black hair entered. Even with no makeup, loose-fitting clothes, and short hair, Edmund was struck by her beauty. It took a couple of seconds before he realized she was carrying a tray with his lunch.
Edmund sent a quick prayer of gratitude to the gods. He had found her. Now to convince her.
“Good morning, sir. I’m Ilene,” she said as she put the tray on the table next to Edmund. “Many of our Albian customers dislike spicy food, so the sauce is on the side.”
“You get many customers from Albi?”
“A fair number, sir. We are on the direct route to the capital. Is that where you’re headed?”
“I am not free right this minute to discuss my master’s business. And it is not sir. I am merely a servant. Edmund Blake.”
“Mr. Blake, welcome to Rokkaku Inn.” She took a hot brick wrapped in a towel off the tray and offered it to Edmund. She stepped back, hesitating. “I have the strongest healing magic in the district and can heal your leg. I’d need to bring in an assistant.”
“Ilene-san, I would be forever grateful if you can help.” Edmund was proud of getting that out in Haiki.
“Oh, you speak our language. Few of your countrymen do.”
“A little, yes. But I am most grateful that the staff here speaks Anglish.”
“Why don't you eat your lunch? I will get everything I need ready for the healing.” Then she left.
The owner of the Inn, Rinyo, slipped into the room in her wake. “I know who you are. Your name was on the letters with the money you sent from the Duke.”
Edmund did not waste time. “His sons are dead; he wants to legitimize her.”
“I’ve never told her who her father was. Didn’t want her to get above her station in life. It's hard enough on her being half Albian.”
“He’s dying. She’ll be a Duchess in a matter of weeks if she comes with me.”
She stared in shock for a few seconds, then paced the room, looking anywhere except at Edmund. He heard a deep sigh as she stared out of the window. In a low voice, she said, “She’s not happy here. The others don’t like the half-breed. Maybe it would be for the best.” She turned to face him. “Will she be treated better in Albi?”
“Will she face prejudice for being half Edoran? That’s virtually certain. But she will have resources to offset that. And I can promise that none of her staff will feel that way. She’ll have the loyalty and support of the house, and that is of considerable value. We know the content of her character from the letters you sent to the Duke. She will make the House of Wellspring proud of her.”
“How can you guarantee the staff will treat her well?”
He drew himself up as far as he could go while in bed with a bad leg. “Because I am the Butler. I will dismiss any staff that doesn't meet my standards. And my standards include a fierce loyalty to the Duchess.”
Since he was already sitting up, Edmund pulled the lunch tray over to his lap and started eating. The tray had the proper Edoran sticks for eating, as well as Albi silverware. Sticks and rice. I hope I can get the blasted things to work. I always have trouble with rice. Still, they are the proper way to eat here. I must try. No, I must succeed. He chose the sticks and added the spicy sauce to the dish.
“Your skill with our sticks is quite unusual in an Albian.”
“A Butler must at all times do things properly. I practiced, knowing that I would one day serve the Duchess.”
Finishing his lunch, he neatly and precisely stacked the dishes and put the tray back, perfectly straight and properly aligned precisely two inches from the edge of the nightstand.
A minute later, Ilene returned with Toshiro, the young man from the stables. “Tell me where the problem is. I’d strip you down and look for myself, but my mother frowns on me stripping men.”
Rinyo shook her head with disapproval.
“It’s my right calf. An old war wound. It cramps when I ride. But it is not something you can heal permanently. Just reducing the pain will help immensely.”
Ilene rolled up his pants leg and suppressed a gasp. Half of his calf was missing; the rest was red and swollen. Her gentle touch could feel the cramping. She thought about how to approach the problem.
“I can release the cramping and reduce the inflammation. That will relieve the pain, but it will come back when you ride. I can probably regrow the muscle, but it would take several sessions. Even a little regrowth would probably reduce the overall pain you live with daily. The healing session will hurt, I can't avoid that. I hear that is unusual for healing, but it is, unfortunately, true for me. I’ll reduce the current pain first, and then you can decide if you want me to regrow the tissue. Toshiro, please turn him on the side, so I can best access the wound. Then hold him still for me.”
Edmund said, “Many healers have told me it was not possible to regrow the missing muscle.”
“But they weren't my half-sister,” Toshiro said. “Her healing is not like the others.”
“As long as you reduce the current pain first, I have no objections to you trying to grow more muscle unless that could backfire and make me worse.”
“I can promise that won't happen.” She entered a trance by taking a deep breath and visualizing a flame until nothing else existed. Then she put her hands on Edmund’s leg. Interested in why her healing would be painful, he tranced and monitored what she did. Her healing was different because she had inherited both High Magic and household magic, and she was using the High Magic to power her household healing magic. That made it critical to take her to Albi. The Edoran Emperor did not allow High Magic outside of the Samurai class. Eventually, she would be burned at the stake.
He only monitored for a minute as the pain swept through him. Oh shit, oh shit. Damn, that hurts. It felt as if every nerve in his body was on fire. He clenched the sheets, determined not to cry out. That would be undignified, and Butlers did not do undignified.
Even through the pain, he watched, fascinated, as the redness left his wound. His leg slowly plumped up as more tissue grew. She stopped after a twenty-five percent gain in tissue.
“That’s all I should do in one session if you want to walk tomorrow. The new muscle needs to strengthen before I add more. You will want to continue your journey to complete whatever business you have. When that is done, come back and I will heal the rest. You should rest for a couple of hours, then walk around the grounds to strengthen that new muscle. I’ll come check on you in two hours and again this evening.”
Before he could even say thank you, she left. Edmund turned to her mother. “Thank her for me.”
Rinyo smiled. “She won't be expecting that. She left because usually she gets yelled at for the pain she causes. People think she does it deliberately because of the way they treat her when they aren't sick.”
“Is she angry at her treatment, then?”
“What do you think? Oddly though, the angrier she is, the more determined she is to be kind. She rarely offers to heal because she hates the pain she causes. She has to believe the healing will help more than hurt. It surprised me she offered to help you.”
“I told her you collapsed getting off your horse,” Toshiro said. “Yet, you were still polite to the stable boy. I asked her to look at healing you as a favor to me.”
Witchhunters
Edmund waited impatiently for her return. His two hours of rest were over, and he felt better. He hoped that Ilene would come to check on him by herself, and he could tell her about his mission. In the meantime, he had straightened the room to the standard of Wellspring Manor. Once his pain had eased, he hadn’t been able to rest until that was done. Luckily, it took only a little magic to make it perfect. He followed the spell with a short, but welcome, nap, restoring his magical energies.
Edorans didn't use chairs, so he settled on the cushions on the floor, reading a novel. They weren't comfortable to someone not used to them, but Edmund felt accepting the culture of the place without quibble or complaining was critical.
A quiet knock on the door.
“Come in.”
Ilene smiled as she entered. A genuine smile, not an I-have-to-smile-for-the-customers smile. Edmund suspected very few people saw her real one. “Oh, I see you’re feeling better since you’re up.”
“Indeed, I am. Better than I’ve felt in years. Am I free to wander a bit and exercise my new muscle?”
“Let me look at it first.” She sat on the floor, far more gracefully than he had. Taking off his boot and rolling up his pants leg, she said, “It looks good. You can start walking.”
“Please stay a minute. I need to talk to you about something important.”
