They made the Professor as comfortable as possible in his room, despite his constant protests that they needn't make such a great fuss. After supper, Lucy had gone to the room she and Jill shared to write to Peter and to their parents, while the boys played chess in the parlor. Jill had sat with Aunt Polly for a while, talking and watching the game, until finally she felt herself dozing and decided to make a cup of tea before going up for the night.

She stood by the stove, waiting for the water to be ready, when Edmund came into the kitchen. "Good, here you are," he said. "We should talk."

Jill raised her eyebrows. "About what?"

"What we're to do next, of course. Did you finish reading the rest of the Professor's writings?"

Jill pulled down a teacup from a cabinet overhead. "No, I didn't. I don't feel right about this. We should tell the Professor what we found, and tell the others as well. They deserve to know."

Edmund was silent for a moment before answering, "And what if it's all true? What if there are pieces of Narnia out there?"

Jill turned around and faced him. "What of it? What difference does it make? If the Professor had found something, he would have told us—"

"He did find something."

"We don't know that." There were footsteps in the hall, and the two looked toward the door. "Shh, they'll hear," Edmund whispered. He looked around, and then grabbed Jill's hand and pulled her into the small storage pantry next to the kitchen. As Edmund shut the door, she said, "Is this really necessary?"

"You don't want the others to know, do you?"

Jill folded her arms. "And why shouldn't they? We've always shared everything about Narnia. It's not right to keep this from them."

Edmund shook his head. "The Professor kept his discovery from us, Jill. And I want to find out why."

"By locking ourselves in the pantry?"

"I have a plan." Jill noticed that Edmund's eyes were shining with excitement. Edmund leaned in closely to her (which Jill thought was very silly—the pantry was not built to be a meeting room and they were cramped together as it was) and in a low voice continued, "The Professor noted a few of the dealers he was planning to visit soon. I think we should go and investigate for ourselves. Find these people and hear what they have to say. See if their items really are from Narnia."

"I still don't see why we can't just ask the Professor about it."

"What if you are right, and it's not true? What if he's making it all up? What if there's a reason he didn't want us to know? Or what if he's cracking up and just thinks he's found Narnian artifacts? We need to know the truth for ourselves. After we find that out, then we can tell everyone, including the Professor."

Jill was silent for a moment. She could see that Edmund was already imagining his plan to be the start of some great adventure. To be honest, Jill started to get excited herself, as Edmund's eagerness became contagious. Finding a link to Narnia—whatever that link may be—would be an incredible gift. And she felt the lure of a quest to be even more affecting. "Fine," she finally said. "When do we go?"

In the meantime Eustace, wondering what had happened to his chess partner, wandered into the kitchen to ask Jill if she had seen him when he heard a great deal of scuffling and very loud whispering coming from the pantry. He stood debating whether he hoped it was only robbers or only very large rats (neither of which he was actually hoping to find), until finally he grabbed a large spoon from a nearby drawer and flung open the door. Inside, both Edmund and Jill jumped at the sudden intrusion. They all looked at each other in shock for a long moment before Eustace narrowed his eyes and said, "What's going on?"

"Nothing at all," Jill said with a warning tone.

"Nothing at all, eh?" said Eustace, grinning.

"No," said Edmund. "Now if you don't mind, we're in the middle of a conversation." With that, he reached out and shut the door firmly. Jill giggled. "We'll go tomorrow, all right? The Professor was planning on looking at a ring in a shop near here. We can leave first thing in the morning."

"What about the others?" Jill asked.

"We'll tell them everything tomorrow, after we've learned more."

Jill agreed, and with that settled, they walked out of the pantry. Eustace was still standing in the kitchen, looking very confused, but neither offered any further explanations. Jill finished making her cup, and took it carefully up the stairs to her room.

Lucy looked up when she entered. "Nearly finished," she said happily. Jill sat on the windowsill, sipping thoughtfully from her cup, listening to the sound of Lucy's pen scratching. When she was finished, Lucy addressed the envelope and set her things aside. Turning in her chair, she caught sight of Jill's faraway look. "Everything all right, Jill?" she asked.

"Lucy," she said, "if you could have something from Narnia, what would it be?"

"Something from Narnia?" Lucy laughed. "Like a souvenir?"

"Something like that."

"Hmm." Lucy leaned back in her chair, thinking. "There are a lot of things that I miss and think about from time to time. My cordial of course—it would come in terribly useful sometimes, especially when I'm sick, but I think I'd rather it stay in Narnia. I know it is being used well there, and besides, the magic might not work here. I miss my beautiful dagger, too, although I wouldn't know what to do with it. Imagine walking around London with a dagger on your hip! But I suppose that is what I would want." Lucy paused. "Sometimes I think about Coriakin's book, too. There was a beautiful story in it, and I wish I could remember. I think I dream about it sometimes." She sighed. "What about you? What would you want?"

"A Marsh-wiggle's wigwam," Jill said promptly. "It was the loveliest night's sleep."

The next morning, as planned, Jill and Edmund woke before everyone else and left the house. Eustace was the last to get up, and joined Lucy and Polly in the kitchen. Polly handed him a bowl of oatmeal and left to take a tray up to the Professor. "Where's Jill and Ed?" Eustace asked Lucy.

"They went out," she replied. "Jill left a note saying they were going on some errands." She noticed Eustace's twisted expression and asked, "What is it?"

"Have you noticed anything . . . strange going on between those two?"

Lucy frowned. "Strange? In what way?"

"I'm not sure. But I'm going to get some answers."

Jill and Edmund had taken the streetcar to the section of London where the antique shop was located. It was a very small shop, with apartments above and neatly scrubbed windows. "Gardner's Antiques" had been carefully lettered above the door. A little bell sounded when Edmund pushed the door open.

"Can I help you?" said a voice from the back of the store. A short man appeared, and to Jill he looked very young, only a few years older than Peter, in fact. He walked with a bit of a limp.

"Yes," said Edmund, very business-like. "We are assistants to Professor Kirke. You spoke to him about a ring you have, and he sent us to collect it for him."

"Ah, yes, the old Professor," the man replied. He went behind the counter and started looking through the shelves. "My father spoke to him last week. He collects unusual artifacts from all over, isn't that right? Quite a collection he must have already. Love to see it one day myself." He pulled down a small box from one of the shelves. "Ah, here we are. You're very lucky, you know. A man came in yesterday to see the ring. It would have been sold before the Professor got a look at it." The man laid the box down on the counter, and Edmund and Jill stood together as he opened it. A collection of rings lay inside, but he pulled out one very large ring that stood out among the rest and laid it gently on the counter.

Edmund gave a little gasp. Jill looked at him curiously, and then bent down to take a closer look at the ring. It seemed very old, and made of gold that had dulled a little over time. The band was the body of a snake, and the setting was the snake's head, whose huge mouth opened, baring its sharp teeth. Inside its mouth was a huge round stone, unlike anything Jill had ever seen. She may have called it a pearl, except for its deep red color, almost like blood. She reached out to pick it up, but Edmund grabbed her hand, stopping her.

The little bell over the front door chimed again, and the man excused himself and went to see after the new customer. Jill looked at Edmund, who had gone quite white, and whispered to him, "What is it? Do you recognize it?"

Edmund slowly nodded. He remembered on his first real trip to Narnia, when he was still with the Witch. She had him tied to a tree, and he was so tired, after riding on her sled, and then walking for days, as the snow began to thaw. He was fighting the sleep that was threatening to take him over, listening to the Witch and the Dwarf plotting to kill someone, and slowly the realization dawned on him that she meant to kill him. He watched her sharpen her long black knife, unable to move, wishing more than anything that he had not been such a fool, and that he could see his siblings again.

Swallowing with some difficulty, he answered, "It's the White Witch's ring. She wore it on her right hand. I remember how it looked—as she sharpened her knife that day—" His voice faded away.

Jill's heart was beating hard in her chest. "This ring belonged to the White Witch? Are you sure?"

With a trembling hand, Edmund reached out and picked up the ring. He turned it over and over, looking at it closely. "Her stone was blue. But other than that, it was this ring, I know it." He handed it to Jill, and he suddenly shivered, as if he had felt a chill. "Don't you feel it? Can you feel the power in it?"

Jill looked down at the ring in her palm. Now that it was in her hand, there was definitely something undeniably special about it. She struggled to breathe slowly. "This ring—how could it be?" she whispered.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" The shopkeeper came back around the counter. "Been in the family for a while now. My father can't say exactly where it came from, although he brought it with him when he came to England as a young man. Now then, do you know anything of its origins?"

Edmund and Jill exchanged a look. "Possibly," Edmund answered. "How much for it?"

"How much, eh?" The man looked thoughtful, but Jill could see that he was quickly making calculations in his mind so that he could charge the most possible. "A ring like this—and so important to my family—it's so hard to put a price on something that is priceless, isn't it?"

Edmund did not answer, but just looked at the man evenly. He stared back, but after a few moments, the man lowered his eyes and said, "One hundred pounds."

"One hundred!" Jill exclaimed. But Edmund stated calmly, "Certainly we can negotiate the price. I can offer you—"

"No," he interrupted. "The price is firm. I had a buyer in here just yesterday, willing to pay at least that." With that, he took the ring and placed it back in the box.

"Be reasonable," said Edmund. "No one would actually pay a hundred pounds for this ring!"

"If you cannot purchase it, then we have no further business here. Good day to you both." He took the box and placed it behind the counter, turning around in dismissal. But then a voice came from behind them saying, "You fool! Do not turn your back on this young man."

"Grandfather," said the seller in an exasperated tone. "Go back upstairs."

Jill turned to see the old man who approached. He looked as though he must be more than a hundred years old, and was hunched over, leaning heavily on a cane. He walked up to the counter, and stood next to Edmund, peering closely into his face. Edmund looked back at him, and after a moment the old man smiled. "My fool of a grandson," he said to Edmund. "You must forgive him. He doesn't know what you are, but I do. You are a king, plain as day. And this ring is meant for you."