Home from church, the family ate lunch, and then spent some time outside, sitting and talking to Beets, before he was to leave
for the stage.
When Murdoch prepared to take Beets to town, Charlie left her swing to come and tell him goodbye. After that, Charlie followed
Johnny as he prepared to replace some shoes on one of the horses.
Charlie sat and watched him as he worked, sitting cross-legged on the ground.
"Do you know any magic tricks?" Charlie asked.
"Nope."
"None at all?" Charlie asked, disappointed.
"Maybe a couple of card tricks," Johnny amended. "Why do you wanna know about that?"
"I want to learn some," Charlie said. "Will you show me the card tricks?"
"I spose I can." Johnny straightened up, stretching his back. "If Scott doesn't care."
"He shouldn't," Charlie said, and then hesitated. "Should he?"
"It's not really lady-like, knowin' card tricks," Johnny said, his eyes laughing at her. He knew how Charlie felt about
being challenged to be more 'lady-like'.
"I don't see why girls can't learn the same things boys can," Charlie said, in protest.
"No young ones ought to be messin' around with cards," Johnny said. "Including boys."
"But, you'll show me, right?" Charlie persisted.
"Maybe later. We'll see," Johnny said.
That night after supper, Charlie went to retrieve a deck of cards from Murdoch's library, and brought them out to Johnny, where the family
was sitting.
"Will you show me the card tricks?" she asked.
"What do ya say, Scott?" Johnny asked, looking to his brother.
Scott held out a hand to indicate his permission. "Let's see what you know," he said.
Johnny did a couple of card tricks, and then he explained to Charlie how he'd done them, but when she tried, she couldn't seem to
get them right at all.
"How long before I'll be able to do it like you?" Charlie asked him, impatiently.
"It takes practice, pequeno."
"Don't you know any other tricks?" Charlie asked.
"Why are you so interested in card tricks?" Murdoch asked, from where he sat, watching.
"It doesn't have to be card tricks. Any tricks would be alright," Charlie said.
"I asked why you're so interested," Murdoch reminded her.
Faced with all three of the Lancer men, looking at her with interest, Charlie hesitated. She had no intention of telling any of them
why she wanted to know how to do a magic trick or two.
"I think it would be fun to know some," she said, in answer. There. That was the truth. Just not the whole truth.
"I think I might know somethin' you can do," Johnny said.
"What?" Charlie asked, eagerly.
"Go get a couple of apples," Johnny instructed, and Charlie ran to comply. When she returned, she watched as Johnny bit into one
of the apples, and then demonstrated the trick. It fooled Charlie, and had her wondering how he'd done what he had done.
Johnny explained it, and, amazed at the simplicity of the trick, Charlie was estatic.
"That's a good one!" she said. "Thanks, Johnny!"
That night, after she and Scott had done their nightly reading, Scott put in the book mark and closed the book.
This was their time to talk, and Charlie asked him about what Beets had mentioned. About how Scott might go to Stockton
to talk to the men who were in charge of the inheritance.
"Did Beets tell you about that?" Scott asked.
"Yes. He said you might have to go."
"I'm actually going sometime next week," Scott said.
"Oh." Charlie considered. "He said you might have to make decisions about investments and things like that."
"I don't think I'll have the final decision on anything," Scott corrected. "More just weighing in on my opinions."
"Could you suggest things, though?" Charlie asked.
"I'm not sure. I might be able to, at some point."
"I'd like to buy a house," Charlie said.
"A house?" Scott asked, quite obviously surprised.
Charlie nodded. "For Burl," she explained. "So he can have something better, and warmer than that shack."
"Ah. Well, that's a kind thought, kiddo. I don't think that it's an option, though."
"Why not?" Charlie asked.
"Buying a house for somebody isn't what Beets or the other men have in mind, I don't think."
"He talked about investments," Charlie reminded him. "And isn't a house sort of like an investment?"
For a long moment, Scott looked nonplussed. Then he gave her a half-smile, and shook his head. "You are something else,
you know that?" he said.
"Is that bad?" Charlie asked him.
"No. It's not bad. I meant that you have a kind heart, and empathy for other people. Like Burl. But, I don't think that
buying a house is something that's going to happen."
"Oh," Charlie said, a trifle disappointed.
"Get under the covers there," Scott told her, and Charlie obediently scrambled under the quilt. When she'd done that, Scott
pulled the quilt up around her, tucking it in at her sides.
"Why do you think Burl didn't want to come today, to eat with us?" Charlie asked.
"I'm not certain that he didn't want to come," Scott said.
"If he'd wanted to come, though, wouldn't he have?"
"He probably had some conflicting emotions about it all."
At Charlie's puzzled look, Scott continued. "He may have wanted to come in some ways, but then felt as though he shouldn't."
"You mean because he felt strange? Like as though he wouldn't fit in?" Charlie asked.
"Right."
"We would have been kind to him, though," Charlie protested. "We would have made feel really welcome here."
"We would have," Scott agreed. "I think, though, that he's been alone for some time, and he just prefers his own company
to that of others."
Charlie wrinkled her forehead in a frown. "He likes it when we come to visit, though. I can tell."
"That's in his own home, in his own environment. He's probably more comfortable that way."
Charlie considered that. "That makes me feel sad for him," she said.
"I know it does," Scott said.
"People around here haven't been nice to him at all. We're his only friends."
When Scott was quiet, Charlie went on.
"Can we go and visit him this week?" she asked.
"We'll talk about it, and try to pick an evening," Scott said.
"Okay."
Scott leaned down to kiss her on the forehead.
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At school the next day, Charlie told Rebecca about the trick using the apple that Johnny had showed her.
Rebecca agreed it was a good trick.
"Are you going to do it?" Rebecca asked.
"Only if he bothers me," Charlie said.
The day went by peacefully enough. Charlie did well on a arithmetic lesson, and enjoyed lunch outside with her friends in the
sunshine. There was talk of a birthday party that upcoming Saturday morning, for one of the other girls.
Going to gather Gurth after school, Charlie saw John lurking yet again, by the road near the stable. He had a long stick in his hand,
and he was running it along the picket fence.
Charlie led the saddled Gurth out of the stable, and John began to follow along behind her, albeit at a bit of a distance.
Charlie turned to look at John.
"Why are you following me?" she demanded bluntly, stopping there in the road to confront him.
John paused, as well. "I can walk where I want," he said, in his typical bravado style.
He was right. Charlie knew that. And, it wasn't as though John was actually doing anything to cause her harm.
Just vast irritation. Charlie gave herself that talking to, saying all those things to herself. Then, the bit of an ornery imp
rose up, stronger than the self-talking to.
She turned away, and walked a few steps, pulling out one of the apples from her bag. She took a bite so it would appear as though
she was chewing apple. Then she took the sliver she'd cut from the apple earlier, and tucked it into her palm. Turning again to John,
she said, "Are you brave enough to watch me do magic?"
John's eyes widened.
Seizing her opportunity, Charlie went on, showing the second apple, with the sliver attached to the skin. And then, without
waiting for John's permission, she turned the apple to show John.
"So?" John said. "It's an apple with a bite out of it-"
"I can heal the apple," Charlie interrupted. "That's the magic part."
"Whadaya mean, heal it?" John asked.
"I can make it as though the apple didn't have a bite out of it."
"Uh uh," John said.
Charlie lowered her tone to one of a shared secret. "I can," she stated. And, then, she proceeded to do just that.
When she was done, John looked properly startled. A bit wary. Frightened, even.
"I can make other things disappear, too," Charlie said, trying her utmost to sound ominous.
John got her meaning, and now he looked all out frightened.
"You're a witch," he accused.
Charlie laughed, tossing the 'healed' apple into the air, and then catching it. She made no attempt to deny the 'witch'
comment, and John said, again, sounding horrified, "You are. You're a real witch."
Still congratulating herself in her mind, Charlie smiled.
"I'm tellin' my pa," John said, and began to back up a few steps.
Uh oh.
"You don't need to tell your father-" Charlie began.
"I am. I'm gonna tell him that you're using magic on me-"
"I didn't do anything to you," Charlie protested.
"You said you can make me disappear!" John said.
Charlie saw all her plans going terribly, terribly wrong.
"I did not-" she began to defend herself.
"You did so!" And, with that, John turned, and ran.
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