The Inheritance Book 1

Ch 70 Solitude: Nancy Haversham [Sunday Afternoon, End of Week Three]

Nancy Haversham shut her office door and leaned against it. It had been another very long day, and it wasn't over yet. She still had to supervise dinner, be available for the kids during their free time if they needed her, and perform the nightly room check. There had been a disconcerting undercurrent among the kids lately. She couldn't quite put her finger on what was wrong, but it made her extremely wary.

She took off her glasses and rubbed her eyes.

The bag of Lindor truffles in her desk were calling her name. She had ten wonderful minutes of solitude, and at least 3 chocolates to savor before she had to go make her rounds. She fell into her chair with a sigh.

In her top drawer, next to the bag of truffles was an antique cork-stopper jar containing four dried white and yellow eirene flowers. Her hand hovered over the jar for a moment, but she reminded herself that she was saving them for emergencies only.

She paused to remember how incredibly grateful she had been when Allora had given her the valuable pale-green jar a few days after the kids had arrived. That in itself would have been a treasured gift, but to her surprise, inside were 15 of the precious blossoms!

Allora's eirene, like all the other plants in the greenhouse, was the only one of its kind in the entire world. Nancy had rarely entered the greenhouse as it was Allora's sole domain, but she did remember that the eirene was a beautiful plant. It resembled the daffodil, but with wider leaves, rounder petals, and a much shorter cup. It only bloomed during the second week of April each year, and provided just 26 flowers. For Allora to give Nancy over half of them was truly an honor.

Thankfully, Allora recognized that Nancy's duties this summer would be particularly difficult. The flowers had indeed helped see her through the more stressful moments.

She was able to deal with the dangers of their usual work because it all occurred outside the estate, when she was prepared and could be on guard constantly. They would accomplish the goal, the danger would be over, and she and Allora would retreat to the safety of Trecorin.

But now there were nine invaders right here inside the castle, and Allora apparently trusted them. So the burden of worrying and watching fell completely to Nancy.

But at the present moment, all seemed quiet. She desperately needed these few minutes to unwind. It was chocolate time, so she left the jar of eirenes alone for now and grabbed the bag of truffles. She set it on her desk.

As she closed the drawer, she heard a light tap on her door and glanced up to see Allora's intense blue eyes peering through the window. Nancy quickly scooted around her desk and unlocked her door.

"My dear," Allora said, "would you please invite Hannah to my office at 7 o'clock tonight?"

"Of course, ma'am." Nancy pointed at the bag of truffles on her desk. "Chocolate?"

"No, thank you, love. I'm not as young and fit as you are, I can't afford to indulge!" She tugged at a stray long white hair that had become entwined in her necklace.

"You are the youngest, fittest, most beautiful 80-something woman on the planet," Nancy assured her.

And she meant it too. Allora's small stature, and her long, loose dresses belied her superior strength and vitality. And while the precious old lady certainly took good care of herself, her prime physical condition was also enhanced by the restorative waters of the crystal fountain And, of course, the tinctures, ointments, tonics and other products made from the plants, fruits and herbs in the greenhouse.

Allora pushed the freed strand of hair back with the rest and fixed her necklace. "You flatter me so!"

"It's not flattery if it's true, ma'am."

"Oh, listen to you!" Allora laughed. "Enjoy your chocolates. I'll be out in the greenhouse for a bit."

"Yes, ma'am." Nancy smiled.

Allora's long panel of straight, silver-white hair flared along with her dress as she spun toward the kitchen.

Once again, Nancy locked her office door and sank into her chair. She could now fully enjoy these few minutes of desperately-needed alone time.

She pulled out a blue-foiled wrapped candy, peeled off the wrapper, and popped the whole piece into her mouth. Her taste buds were instantly flooded with silky-smooth, creamy dark chocolate heaven.

As she savored a second piece, she wondered whether Allora would offer Hannah the aletheia grapes, or perhaps a couple of peitharchia pods at their meeting tonight. Or maybe even one of her specialty teas. Nancy's money, if she were able to bet with herself, was on the grapes.

She reached for one more chocolate.