Inside were some papers, a little aged but not terribly. Matt pulled them out.
"No silk," I said, peering into the now empty box. "How strange."
But no one heard me. They crowded around Matt. Willie held the lamp so they could read. She gasped.
"What is it?" I asked, trying to peer at the paper. "A letter?"
"Records," Matt said, his voice hoarse. "From the convent. Two sets. One is about Phineas Millroy's arrival here and who brought him. The second references a different baby."
He handed one of the papers to me and I scanned the tight, neat scrawl. The brief account listed Phineas's name at the top, his date of birth and the date of his arrival. A woman's name was listed as bringing him to the convent. I didn't recognize it and wondered if it was Lady Buckland's name, without the title. She was noted as being a friend to the baby's mother. There was no information about who adopted him.
"Who's the other record for?" I asked, indicating the second sheet of paper.
"James John Smith," Matt said. "His date of birth, date of arrival, and who brought him in. That's it."
Willie snatched the papers off him and read through them. She turned the pages over several times, held them to the light, and eventually threw them into the box in disgust.
"God damned waste of time," she said, forgetting her rule of not swearing on holy land.
Duke pushed to his feet and threw the trowel at a tree trunk.
"Not necessarily," Matt said. "India felt magic, so we know Abigail Pilcher infused some silk with magic then perhaps placed those silks inside the box. She probably kept scraps in it and took them out, replacing them with these records. What happened to the magical silk is irrelevant. What is relevant is that this box was either in her possession or contained something precious to her. I'd wager she placed these records in there and buried the box."
"She lied to you," Willie said. "She goddamn lied when she told you she don't know what happened to Phineas."
"No. You're wrong." I pointed at the box, not willing to touch it yet. "The magic I felt did not come from something no longer inside. It came from the box itself. It's excellently made and water tight too. These papers are in good condition."
I was met with four frowns. "You mean," Matt said slowly, "that box was made by a magician."
I nodded. "One that infused their magic into the wood. The same magician who caused the wooden cross to fall off the wall and nearly crush me."
Chapter 11
I hoped Matt got more sleep than I did in the few hours of nighttime remaining after we returned home. I tossed and turned, considering what our find meant. While there were a number of possibilities, at least we had a clear focus now—find the woodworking magician.
There was also another issue playing on my mind and banishing much-needed sleep—Matt being forced to marry Patience. What could his uncle possibly have said to back Matt into a corner he couldn't find a way out of?
I managed to fall asleep around dawn, but the house still felt quiet when I awoke. It was only half-past eight, so I spent some time taking my watch apart and putting it back together. It wasn't enough to soothe my nerves, however, so I went in search of a clock. I found Willie, Duke and Cyclops in the dining room, already eating breakfast.
"Sleep soundly?" Cyclops asked.
"Not at all." I poured a cup of coffee and placed a piece of toast on my plate. "Did you three come to a conclusion about the box?"
"Aye." Duke got up and closed the door. "We should ask the Mother Superior if someone at the convent is good with wood."
"Or we show her the box and ask who made it," Willie countered. "If we ask a general question, we might not get the answer we want. What if the magician is hiding their magical ability by making inferior quality things? No, we ask about the box direct and we'll get a direct answer."
Duke shook his head. "She'll get suspicious and won't tell us nothing."
"She don't know who the magician is!"
"We don't know that. She might."
Cyclops picked up his cup and blew on the steaming contents. "They've been like this ever since they got here. I was enjoying a quiet breakfast alone until they arrived."
"What do you think, India?" Duke asked.
"I don't think we should ask the mother superior anything," I said.
"You want to ask one of the other nuns? Someone who won't glare at you with those icy eyes?" He screwed up his nose. "Good idea. She scares me."
"I don't think we should ask any of the nuns, either. There's a chance they'll all close up to protect the woodwork magician, if they realize why we're asking. I have a better idea, but let's wait for Matt to join us before we discuss it."
They grumbled a little but agreed. We lingered in the dining room for a good hour, but Matt did not join us. Willie didn't hide her frustration at having to wait. She huffed, drummed her fingers on the table, and drank copious amounts of tea. Cyclops merely ate, and ate, and ate. There would probably be nothing left for Matt if he didn't come down soon.
I glanced at the door, as I had been doing every minute or so. Should I worry that he wasn't up yet? Usually he would be, but we'd had a late night so it was understandable that he would sleep late
Then again, what if the pain in his chest returned? What if he needed to use his watch but slept on?
I eyed the door, willing it to open.
Willie cracked first. She pushed her chair back and rose. "I'll see if he's awake."
"Let him sleep longer," I said. "He needs it."
"It's getting on to ten. That's seven hours since we got back. That's enough sleep for him."
"Usually," I said and sipped my coffee.
She frowned. "Something you not telling us, India? Something about Matt's health?"
I sipped and considered whether to lie or not.
"You better not be keeping secrets," Duke said darkly. "Not about this."
"India?" Cyclops managed to put a threat into his tone and his one good eye, even though I considered him the gentlest of the three.
"Perhaps we should check," I said, attempting cheerfulness.
The three of them beat me to the door.
"Slow down!" I snapped. "Remain calm or you'll scare Miss Glass and the servants if we come across them. Now," I said, having gained their attention, "we'll sneak into Matt's room and quietly check on him."
Matt did not answer my light knock and Willie wouldn't wait. She opened the door but did not cross the threshold. She was short enough that I could see over her head. What I saw filled me with immeasurable relief. Matt was asleep, not…something worse. He'd opened the watchcase and tied it to his hand with his tie. The watch glowed softly, as did his veins. Too softly for my liking, but it was better than not at all.
I tried to signal to Willie to let him sleep, but he began to stir and opened his eyes. Then his hand whipped out and gripped Willie's arm. She gasped.
"What is it? What's wrong?" he asked, voice gravely.
"Nothing," she said. "We wanted to see if you were…"
"Dead?"
She looked away.