Fredericks began groping in his pocket for a knife.
“Oh, never fear, I shan’t harm it,” said that gentleman.
I gasped and, struck by inspiration, clutched at my throat. “I—I require some air or I shall faint! I must ascend to the roof. I pray you, gentlemen, follow me at once!” And I pulled the picture from Mr. Fredericks’s grasp, set it down, and staggered towards the stair to the rooftop walkway.
Mr. Fredericks looked rather startled, but followed me meekly enough, once Lord Boring gave him a push in the proper direction. Once out on the parapet, with its splendid view of the sea, however, it occurred to me that the drop from where we stood to the beach below was prodigious. I eyed him nervously and moved a safe distance away. The danger, however, was not to my person but to my family’s property; he began prodding at the massive stone making up the battlement in front of him, trying to see if he could pry it from its position. (“This one’s loose,” was his comment.)
“Fredericks, stop that at once,” said Lord Boring. “You’ve done enough damage for one day.” And he pulled his cousin bodily back from the edge.
“ I? I have done damage?”
“You have. And if you knock that stone over you’ll be held criminally liable for doing to death a whole family of fisher folk.”
Indeed, peering over the edge I could see our tenants, John Snyder and his sons, dragging their boat and nets onto the beach far below us. I gasped at their peril.
“Gentlemen, indeed I pray you! Shall we not go downstairs? And—and—” I wracked my brain for some activity which would engross Mr. Fredericks’s energies without resulting in murder or mayhem.
“And we shall take our leave,” finished Lord Boring. “We have trespassed on your kindness for far too long.” As we moved towards the staircase he addressed me privately. “My apologies. I shall ensure that reparations are made for any harm our visit has caused.”
Mr. Fredericks was still looking out to sea. “Yes, do let’s go down. I was examining the cliff face that supports this portion of the castle earlier, and it is my opinion that a good storm could fatally weaken it. That moat was a foolish idea of your great-grandfather’s—it undercuts the integrity of the ground this building stands on. The only thing that prevents the waters of the moat from breaking through are two thin stone walls, and a major flood could breach them. All this”—he gestured about us—“is quite apt to fall into the sea at any time.”
Most thankfully we arrived downstairs without further mishap, Mr. Fredericks complaining fretfully that he had not been shown over the whole of the property. “I have not inspected the dungeons yet, Sidney, and you know how I wished to.”
Lord Boring darted a swift look at my face and, smiling, said, “Another time, Hugh. I fear that today Miss Crawley might show us in and then forget to let us out again.”
To my surprise, Mr. Fredericks apologized for any alarm he may have caused—“I am enthusiastic, you see,” he explained—and then he sought out my little brother, solemnly shaking hands in farewell. “I am sorry I made you cry,” he said. Alexander rewarded him with a large smile and skipped alongside him in a friendly fashion all the way out to the drawbridge, prattling happily and begging his new friend to visit us again as soon and as often as possible.
I myself could not help but wonder if entertaining Lord Boring would mean entertaining Mr. Fredericks as well. As delightful as I found His Lordship, that would be a rather heavy price to pay for his company.
The next morning a stone mason appeared at our gate, saying he had been instructed to secure the stone that so nearly had crashed down upon our tenants’ heads, with the compliments of our new neighbors. Greengages questioned him and then brought him along to me.
“I—I beg leave to send my thanks to Lord Boring,” I said, amazed but grateful.
“Yes,
“Oh, never fear, I shan’t harm it,” said that gentleman.
I gasped and, struck by inspiration, clutched at my throat. “I—I require some air or I shall faint! I must ascend to the roof. I pray you, gentlemen, follow me at once!” And I pulled the picture from Mr. Fredericks’s grasp, set it down, and staggered towards the stair to the rooftop walkway.
Mr. Fredericks looked rather startled, but followed me meekly enough, once Lord Boring gave him a push in the proper direction. Once out on the parapet, with its splendid view of the sea, however, it occurred to me that the drop from where we stood to the beach below was prodigious. I eyed him nervously and moved a safe distance away. The danger, however, was not to my person but to my family’s property; he began prodding at the massive stone making up the battlement in front of him, trying to see if he could pry it from its position. (“This one’s loose,” was his comment.)
“Fredericks, stop that at once,” said Lord Boring. “You’ve done enough damage for one day.” And he pulled his cousin bodily back from the edge.
“ I? I have done damage?”
“You have. And if you knock that stone over you’ll be held criminally liable for doing to death a whole family of fisher folk.”
Indeed, peering over the edge I could see our tenants, John Snyder and his sons, dragging their boat and nets onto the beach far below us. I gasped at their peril.
“Gentlemen, indeed I pray you! Shall we not go downstairs? And—and—” I wracked my brain for some activity which would engross Mr. Fredericks’s energies without resulting in murder or mayhem.
“And we shall take our leave,” finished Lord Boring. “We have trespassed on your kindness for far too long.” As we moved towards the staircase he addressed me privately. “My apologies. I shall ensure that reparations are made for any harm our visit has caused.”
Mr. Fredericks was still looking out to sea. “Yes, do let’s go down. I was examining the cliff face that supports this portion of the castle earlier, and it is my opinion that a good storm could fatally weaken it. That moat was a foolish idea of your great-grandfather’s—it undercuts the integrity of the ground this building stands on. The only thing that prevents the waters of the moat from breaking through are two thin stone walls, and a major flood could breach them. All this”—he gestured about us—“is quite apt to fall into the sea at any time.”
Most thankfully we arrived downstairs without further mishap, Mr. Fredericks complaining fretfully that he had not been shown over the whole of the property. “I have not inspected the dungeons yet, Sidney, and you know how I wished to.”
Lord Boring darted a swift look at my face and, smiling, said, “Another time, Hugh. I fear that today Miss Crawley might show us in and then forget to let us out again.”
To my surprise, Mr. Fredericks apologized for any alarm he may have caused—“I am enthusiastic, you see,” he explained—and then he sought out my little brother, solemnly shaking hands in farewell. “I am sorry I made you cry,” he said. Alexander rewarded him with a large smile and skipped alongside him in a friendly fashion all the way out to the drawbridge, prattling happily and begging his new friend to visit us again as soon and as often as possible.
I myself could not help but wonder if entertaining Lord Boring would mean entertaining Mr. Fredericks as well. As delightful as I found His Lordship, that would be a rather heavy price to pay for his company.
The next morning a stone mason appeared at our gate, saying he had been instructed to secure the stone that so nearly had crashed down upon our tenants’ heads, with the compliments of our new neighbors. Greengages questioned him and then brought him along to me.
“I—I beg leave to send my thanks to Lord Boring,” I said, amazed but grateful.
“Yes,
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