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"No wonder he left town," Elswyth said "To get away fro payments to you"

Selwyn didn't find this nearly as funny as Elswyth did "You knew he started that fire, and you didn't tell anyone?"

"What good would it have done?" Farold said "By then the sh I could have prevented it"

"But you kneasn't the act of God everyone supposed it was," Selwyn said

Farold shrugged "I loaned Holt the ain"

Elswyth said, "No doubt from the money this Alden Thorneson paid you"

"Yes," Farold said, as though he didn't find anything wrong with this

A new thought came to Selwyn "And what of Thorne, did he know?"

"About the fire or about thetone

"Both," Selwyn said

"Yes," Farold admitted

"So Thorne could have wanted you dead - to protect his fa for ht about it "Well, maybe"

"Another suspect," Elswyth said "I'm so pleased for you"

Selwyn knew better than to take her at her word "Well," he said, "all things considered, I don't think I want to be disguised as Alden But who else is there? Nobody else has left Penryth in the last ten years"

Farold thought for a irl," Selwyn objected

"She's Orik's daughter," Farold said

Selwyn couldn't see the point of that coirl," he pointed out

"Which would irl," Farold said "People are always telling their probleirls What better person to be, if you want people to open up and tell you things?"

"She's a girl," Selwyn repeated, getting louder

"You said that already," Farold told hiirl people like to talk to"

"That's why her mother sent her to the convent at Saint Hilda's," Selwyn said, "so the nuns would teach her not to listen to everything people said to her"

Farold shrugged "Just think about it," he advised "Alden Thorneson co a robber baron or pirate king or whatever other life he's made for himself, and Kendra comes back to work at her father's tavern And they both ask, 'So, what's new?' Who are you going to talk to?"

Selwyn squirht "What if Kendra co her?"

"Her parents sent her to be educated by the nuns," Farold said "You think they could educate her in six months? She's no more likely to come back than Alden is"

Elswyth said, "It can be done, in case you ondering With the right instructions, I could irl"

"I don't know," Selwyn said

Farold and Elswyth both sighed

"Well, then, who?" Elswyth demanded

There was no one else Which Elswyth could no doubt see fro up," she warned

Chapter Fourteen

Elswyth arden to fetch one of the clay pots he'd accidentally dumped when he tipped the wheelbarrow He was certain that the witch of Woldha and would once ht was silent and he even successfully hoisted the bucket up froh to reflect," Selwyn said once he'd brought it back to Elswyth

"I can ically enhance it," Elswyth answered

"Well then, why didn't you just ically provide the water?" Selwyn asked "And the pot, too, for that matter?"

She smacked him on the back of the head and didn't bother to tell hi on it "Tell me about this Kendra," she said then "What does she look like?"

"She's very pretty," Farold said

"How did I guess you'd say that?" Elswyth muttered "Try to be more specific How old is she and how tall? What color hair and eyes? Is she fat or thin?"

"She's a bit older than Farold and hteen years old," Farold interrupted

"Light brown hair," Selwyn said

"Dark blond," Farold corrected

"Curly but not too curly," Selwyn continued

"Down to about here" Farold fluttered halfway between Elswyth's shoulder and her elbow

The ie of Selwyn's reflection shifted as Elswyth dipped her hands into the s pot Selwyn tried to concentrate only on the iled and pulled and contracted It had been ht while he was under the water of the stream, and to just step out and find the deed done For the first time he realized that Elswyth had done hi