"Zayda enlightened me on a few things."
-0-
"Why would Dame Alice call on me?"
"Because of the cards I read for her. Yes, I do read the cards for her. I warned about a false holy man. That's Reverend Moore who has too much influence on Theresa."
"But why me?'
"You kept showing up as a magician, and in a favorable position. I mentioned a stranger who was a friend, and of course, you are the stranger that the family did not want her to meet."
"So, you got me involved. And you seem to have no qualms getting a vampire in with them."
"I have to say what the cards show. And you are no danger. You have no harmed anyone."
"I have fed from many of the villagers."
"And none seems the worse for it. Titus is doing all right, after all."
"And you do not like Reverend Moore."
"I am protecting myself. He wants to have me, and Titus evicted. I want to make sure he does not. And he is a danger to the family. The cards show up. He influences Theresa, and when she becomes the Administrator, he is in a position to embezzle as he sees fit."
"Or he might get greedy and wonder what would happen if something happened to Frederick's children" Amos said grimly, remembering what Joseph Porter had tried to do, and it was only thanks to Margaret Lafferty that he had failed.
"So, I warned Dame Alice against him. "
-0-
"It made sense. And in the meantime, Thomas had gone for help."
-0-
"Can you make Grandmama name me as the Administrator?"
Evan Terrence. the sorcerer, smiled a bit pitifully "I can make her do anything. But nothing that would not make your brothers and sister, not to mention the lawyer, question her sanity. Think about it, you are the black sheep of the family. You have proven yourself reckless. Running away with your brother's wife should be enough to prove it. People wonder why you were welcomed back. Making you the Administrator would prove that Dame Alice was insane. The lawyer might name an interim Administrator. No, your best bet is to wait for that Administrator to be named, and then make him well disposed towards you, and to give you a generous allowance, plus pay other bills. Which is what you really want? Not the actual work, just the money."
"What about this new relative of ours? Amos Benchley? Could he influence Grandmama, could he even be named the Administrator?"
Even Terrence frowned. "I heard of him. I will ask the runes about him. When I have the answer, I will contact you."
"Now?"
"No, it requires preparation." He laughed then. "Do you think that I do not know what you want? To get knowledge from me, so that you can cast your own spells? Yes, I should let you try a few spells by yourself. Except that like so many amateurs, you'd do it wrong and go up in flames. And I would lose a customer. Go, Thomas Benchley, and let me do."