Until, that is, there came a knock on the door.
The footman who opened the door was understandably surprised to find a courier in palace livery on the step. It was an unprecedented occurrence. Lucrative though Mr. Chandler's business may be, the family had never rubbed elbows with royalty before. Perhaps...a guest at the palace had sent the courier? But that seemed unlikely. At a loss, the footman nonetheless accepted the package which the courier bore. Imagine his shock when he found that it was not, in fact, addressed to Mr. Chandler, but to young Miss Olivia Chandler.
This was certainly not the first time that the young miss had been known to attract the attention of unusual company, but she generally tended toward the other direction - street urchins and the like. To garner the attention of someone at the palace was...a rather disturbing turn of events.
Nonetheless, it was not his place to question these things. So, the footman made his way through the house to deliver the package. As luck would have it, Mrs. Chandler was with both the governess and the young miss. "A package for Miss Olivia, madams," he informed the room with a bow. "From the palace." Having thus delivered the news and placed the parcel on a table, he fled the room, uninterested in bearing the brunt of the fallout. Messengers of such news, after all, were rarely well received.
Scarcely noticing the footman's hasty departure, the two grown women stared in shock - first at the package, then at Olivia. The girl, however, seemed undaunted by the prospect of a package from the palace. Instead, she was glad of the reprieve from monotony. Hopefully, it would be enough to see her through the rest of the day and whatever tedious tasks her governess has planned.
Curious as to who is could possibly be from, she stepped closer and unwrapped the plain, brown parcel paper to reveal a beautifully decorated box with a lovely red ribbon tied around it just so. There was a tag hanging from the ribbon, which she proceeded to read.
A brilliant smile spread across her face.
The two women shared a most troubled glance. Anything that made the girl smile so radiantly could not be considered good by normal standards. "Olivia, darling," Mrs. Chandler began, concern clear in her tone. Did she really want to ask this question? "Who is the package from?"
The girl was carefully untying the ribbon. "Mister Llyr sent it, mother," she replied, setting the ribbon aside.
"Mister..." Mrs. Chandler blanched. Dear lord, what could that spirit want with her little girl? What could be in that package? What if it was something terrible? She gasped. "Olivia-!" But the girl was already opening the package to reveal...
...a pudding?
Oh, it was the loveliest solstice pudding that Livy had ever laid eyes on. Why, the chocolate looked so moist and the icing smelled so sugary and sweet, and the pretty pink raspberries were so very plump. It surely tasted divine.
"Oh, dear," she said, as though something had suddenly occurred to her. Her doll-like features were the very picture of concern - something which did nothing to assuage the pounding of either woman's heart. The governess had one hand on her chest and the other over her mouth. Mrs. Chandler, meanwhile, seemed frozen with one hand still hovering outstretched, as though to stop her daughter from doing anything rash.
"I do hope he didn't eat any pudding, himself," Olivia continued. "I would hate for him to have gotten ill on my account." She wondered, then, if perhaps this pudding had been a gift to him from someone else, and that was why he had sent it to her. The better to keep from being tempted. Though the thought that this might be a second hand present might be slightly disappointing, the prospect did not offend Livy. At any rate, she would be glad to be of service.
Despite herself - indeed, seemingly against her will - Mrs. Chandler wondered, "What do you mean, darling?"
Livy turned innocent blue eyes on her mother. "Why, baked goods are terrible for spirits, mother. They make them sick. You see, spirits much prefer raw meat and blood."
The governess looked positively ill, and Mrs. Chandler appeared a little green herself. Her horror, however, apparently won out over all else. "Blood?" she screeched. "Olivia Chandler! Where on earth are you learning such things?"
"Mister Llyr told me so, himself," the girl replied, unperturbed by her mother's displeasure.
"When did..." Deciding that being horrified and fearful wasn't enough, Mrs. Chandler added exasperated and despairing to the emotions roiling about inside of her. "Where did you meet him?"
"At the Warden grounds, of course," the girl replied. Though not necessarily enjoying the inquisition, Llyr was certainly a topic which she enjoyed expounding upon. She simply hadn't brought him up to her mother before because she had wanted to keep him to herself for a while. However, now that the subject was there, well. She was beginning to warm to it. "Did you know that when spirits hunt, they use their teeth to kill their game?"
A strangled sound escaped the governess and she fled the room. Apparently a little more strong-stomached than the former, Mrs. Chandler stood her ground. However, she did clutch the back of the chair for support.
"And did you know that flowers grow from their blood?" Olivia was considerably less enthusiastic when mentioning this. Perhaps the idea of spirits bleeding did not appeal to her. However, it was still interesting information in its own way. Of course, that wicked woman on the horse had been mean about it, asking questions that made Mister Llyr unhappy.
Displeased with this train of thought, Livy latched onto another part of the conversation, one that made her light right back up. "Mother," she said sweetly. "Do you know what else Mister Llyr said? He said that my ancestor was probably a spirit from the House of Autumn. Why, he said I could even be his descendant." Though, that possibility was admittedly slim. "Wouldn't that be marvelous, mother?"
There was a soft thump.
"...mother?"
* * *
After Mrs. Chandler had come to, she had, indeed, had fits. At first, she had wanted nothing more than to be rid of the pudding, convinced that there was something evil or dangerous about it. However, Olivia had pointed out that Llyr had sent it. It would be rude to throw it away. Superstition and the fear that the spirit would somehow know and enact some sort of revenge stayed her hand. However, no amount of persuasion could convince her that it was safe to eat. So, at an impasse, the pudding remained in Livy's room, untouched and uneaten. It was a terrible temptation, of course, but it went through that night untouched.
Or so it seemed to most.
In fact, upon waking, Olivia had remembered her gift and rushed over to it with renewed excitement. Oh, but it was as lovely as she remembered! If only mama were not so silly and she were allowed to eat it. Her thoughts, however, were quickly waylaid by the discovery that the pudding was missing a berry. Yes. She was quite certain that there had been six when it had arrived, yet there were only five now.
Livy frowned, feeling terribly betrayed. Who could possibly have stolen a berry from her pudding? The one Mister Llyr had sent her? It wasn't fair!
All the rest of that day, both Mrs. Chandler and the governess were baffled by how upset Olivia was. Mrs. Chandler, of course, was convinced that it was a curse from that terrible spirit. She knew she should have gotten rid of that pudding! Oh, but what worse thing would befall them if she did?
The next morning, Olivia found another berry missing, and she was just as displeased. However, instead of sulking, she instead decided that she must discover the culprit. Yes. That very night she would find a way to capture the thief. She would enlist Abel's aid to do so.
The rook did not seem overly eager about being kept awake that night, but all things considered, it was a very mild plan as far as Olivia's adventures went, so for that he seemed as grateful as any familiar could be.
However, plans rarely go according to their creators' desires. Try though she might, young Livy could not stay awake all night and thus, the berry thief remained free to strike again.
* * *
On the fourth day, as Miss Olivia Chandler was trying to decide on another plan of attack, there came another knock on the door. Though the footman was pleased that this courier was not wearing royal livery, he was dismayed to find that the package was addressed, once again, to Miss Olivia. Given the violent reaction of the household to the last such package received, he was almost afraid to know who it was from. However, he decided that it would be better to be forewarned this time around. Braving a look at the sender's name, he found it to be...
...someone whom he had never heard of before. The footman thought that it was promising. At least it was not someone whose reputation preceded him. Encouraged, he delivered the package to the ladies of the house and - better safe than sorry - quickly departed.
Neither Mrs. Chandler nor the governess recognized the sender. However, one glance at the tag sent Livy into a right pout. Why, oh, why did that detestable man have to send her a pudding? Well. If Renaud Gadsby was expecting a pudding in return, he was sorely mistaken. Good manners or no, he would get nothing from her!
Although Mrs. Chandler made no move to forbid her daughter from eating the pudding, it remained stubbornly untouched...but well away from her present from Llyr, out of the way on a lower shelf where she wouldn't have to look at it. She could not help but notice, perhaps spitefully, that it had less berries on it than Llyr's pudding had started with - never mind that they had an equal number now. Besides that, they were plain, boring, red berries. Not the pretty pink ones Llyr had given her.
With a sniff, she turned away from the pudding, intent on ignoring it.
However, when she found, the next morning, another berry missing from Llyr's pudding, she could not help but inspect the other pudding. But just as a reference. It seemed that the thief was indiscriminate. He clearly had no taste if he had stolen a berry from that pudding, as well.
* * *
This happened again - one berry gone from each pudding - and Livy was still no closer to discovering the culprit than she had been the very first morning. There was only one berry left! So, she thought and she though and she thought some more. Suddenly, a smile lit upon her face. Oh, yes. She knew just when to look for the thief.
Rather than attempting to stay up another night, Livy instead went to bed quite early, without fuss. Nestled snugly in bed, she drifted off to sleep.
* * *
The first sign of morning was a gentle tugging on her hair. Then, it was a soft stream of light falling across her eyes. Abel, she remembered. She had asked him to wake her. The little girl opened her mouth in a wide yawn and stretched as far as she could, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. Then, she remembered why she was up so early and froze, her eyes darting over to the puddings.
There! What was that? Something was moving over there.
Quietly, she crept from bed, inching her way across the floor to peer at Llyr's pudding. Sure enough, the last berry was missing. Slowly, she looked around the back to find first, a long, pink tail, followed by a white, furry body; big, round ears; bright, pink eyes; and a twitching whiskered nose. Clutched in tiny, clawed paws was what remained of that final pink berry.
Oh.
The two of them blinked at each other for a long moment before Livy said, "Hello." Rather than fleeing, the mouse tilted its head and inched closer. Olivia obligingly offered her finger to the mouse, which it proceeded to sniff delicately. Suddenly, the girl remembered the exact phrasing on the tag of the pudding.
You may have more use for this than I.
She hadn't thought anything about it at the time, but come to think of it, it wasn't the sort of thing someone might usually say about food. Perhaps...perhaps he could have known that the pudding would attract the little mouse?
Upon closer inspection, Olivia decided that the little white thing was the most adorable creature she had ever seen - so pretty and elegant. "You look like a Lady." The mouse seemed pleased with this sentiment.
"Would you like to stay with me?" the girl wondered. "There are not many berries to be found in the winter, but I'm sure there is plenty for you to eat in the kitchen." As though in answer, the mouse climbed onto the girl's hand, making her giggle.
Remembering that Llyr's was not the only pudding she had, Olivia stooped down to look at his pudding. Sure enough, there was another mouse - this one with tawny fur and brown eyes - staring at her quite boldly.
Livy sniffed.
Well. Of course Lady would have more taste than to eat a berry from this pudding. "If she's a Lady, you must be a Tramp," Livy decided, having no idea what the words really meant, but having heard it before. Either way, the mouse did not seem to mind, and instead simply edged closer to her, intent on inspecting her. "Well, alright, then," she sighed. "I suppose it's not your fault that it came from him. I guess you can stay, too."
* * *
It was lucky, perhaps, that Olivia was so well versed in arguing in Llyr's favor. After seeing the pair of mice, Mrs. Chandler had fainted, then proceeded to have fits once more. However, upon learning that it was the accursed pudding that had drawn the mice into her home, she could hardly be rid of them. What if the spirit would seek revenge for the foul creatures? Better to weather the mice than a spirit's ire.
Thus, the Chandler household gained two more members and their routine shifted ever so slightly. Mr. Chandler still tended to matters of business. Mrs. Chandler still ran her home, practiced embroidery, and helped the poor governess keep reign on her daughter. The staff carried on. But young Olivia Chandler was not quite so bored anymore. Not with her two new friends to keep her company - and perhaps help her frighten her governess. All was well in the Chandler household.
