Oh, well. She’s still thinking of good questions.
“No… now that you mention it, I don’t believe they did.” Gail paused, her eyes crinkling around the edges.
She’s uncomfortable with House Tellier, and I don’t think it’s just because they’re wizards as she seems fine with us.
“How did they give you the statue?” I asked.
Once again I didn’t realize I hadn’t done the best job phrasing my question until it popped out of my mouth. Even Binx raised an eyebrow at this one.
Thankfully, Gail settled back in her chair. “It was very… sudden,” she said. “They showed up with the statue in the bed of a truck and dropped it off the day before we ended the fundraising.”
“Wait, they didn’t tell you about it beforehand?” April asked.
Gail shook her head. “No. We weren’t aware they were planning to give us a donation until they arrived and asked to place the statue in a prominent place inside the garden.”
That’s suspicious.
It was especially odd considering House Tellier had been vocal in its beliefs that humans were unimportant.
They weren’t anti-human, but they didn’t care about them. Supposedly, they used to give Elite Bellus—the wizard leader of the Midwest—a lot more grief about his desire to work with humans.
Then Adept Medeis became his protegee, and they magically shut up. Adept Medeis probably forced their hand after they failed in their bid to help a different member of House Medeis become the Adept.
It had been a huge scandal as House inheritance was never meddled with. Wizard Houses were somewhat sentient and had their own magic—and ideas.
If the wizards of House Tellier were stupid enough to mess around in the inheritance of an entirely different House, just what kind of sketchy behavior are they capable of pulling?
I exchanged looks with April—or rather, I tried to, but she couldn’t see me giving her a look with my mask on.
“That was very kind of you to take the statue even though they hadn’t asked you about it,” April said.
Gail smiled. “It is rather rare for supernaturals to be involved in human matters. No supernaturals have helped the library before.” Her kind expression froze, and even though I didn’t have vampire-hearing I was pretty sure her heart sped up. “I’m so sorry, I’ve misspoke! We do occasionally receive monetary donations from the Curia Cloisters, which we are very thankful for!”
Gail looked from me, to April, to Binx. Binx’s expression had relaxed enough that she gave the librarian a little nod, which seemed to reassure Gail enough that she leaned back in her chair. “What I meant to say is individual supernaturals aren’t donating to the library—which they don’t need to feel obligated to do as I imagine you all contribute to the sums the Cloisters donate. We are very honored whenever supernaturals choose to use the library—we actually have a few wizards on staff.”
She’s saying they took the donation because it was the first time individual supernaturals donated anything—even if it was a weird statue.
“You said the statue burned in the fire?” I asked. “What stone was it made of?”
“I’m afraid I’m not certain what kind of material it was,” Gail said. “I do know it was hollow—that was why they could carry it with just a few wizards. Unfortunately, that’s also probably why the statue was so easily destroyed. Between the artistic cracks and the hollow core, it seems like the fire devoured it. Perhaps it was made of marble—you know it was discovered in Rome that ancient statues were often broken and then burned in a lime-kiln to make lime—oh, there I go spouting facts again! I do beg your pardon.” Gail laughed breezily, and her book earrings clattered with the happy sound.
I picked at a detail that bothered me. “It was the only statue destroyed in the fire?”
“Correct. The other sculptures in the garden were bronze-cast statues that were donated when the library was built,” Gail said. “They’re made of real bronze, so they are very durable.”
“I see.” I glanced at April, but she seemed to be stewing and wasn’t inclined to ask any more questions. “Then—I know it’s dark and we might not be able to see anything—do you mind if we take a look around the wreckage?”
“By all means, please do.” Gail stood up, a wrinkle of worry connecting her eyebrows. “I hope you’ll tell us if you find anything. The firemen said they found no proof of arson, so we have virtually no idea how the fire started.”