208. The Bleak House With Light Within

208. The Bleak House With Light Within

“Alpin,” I said to my friend and charge, “I’m sorry, but we have to leave the party. We have to rescue my uncle Wildgale.”

I explained to Alpin how I suspected Mathilde had walled him alive within his property. It seemed a highly reasonable suspicion, all things considered.

“You’re out of your mind,” said Alpin. “Mathilde wouldn’t do something like that. And there’s no way I’m leaving this party. I’m not done eating yet.”

“My grandmother did something like that to her. To protect my father. My father’s mother put Mathilde inside a glass container set in the middle of a well hidden grove and kept her asleep with pungent narcotic herbs and a shady  spell. For ages, Alpin. Mathilde has probably gone crazy and may think that’s how things are done to protect those you love. If you don’t believe me, ask the dragon. Where is Neidy? He guarded Mathilde while she was asleep.”

“Your paternal gran may be nuts, I don’t doubt it. That can be hereditary and I only have to look at you to know its possible. But that doesn’t mean Mathilde is quirky too. We don’t do those things nowadays, do we? Or someone would have locked me up.”

It took some doing, but I finally got Alpin to accompany me to Uncle Wildgale’s moors. When we got there, we were able to fly to Wildgale’s tree wihout obstacles. There was a huge wall all around Uncle Wild’s lands, but it didn’t reach the sky and could be flown over easily.

“You see?” said Alpin. “What have we come all the way here for? You could have just asked her if she had put Wildgale away. If she really thinks she’s doing the right thing, she would just admit this, wouldn’t she?”

“Let’s go see if he’s in his tree.”

He wasn’t. It was a pretty dark night, but even so we could see that. There was no trace of Uncle Wildgale or of the dragons.

“Maybe he’s in a dungeon or something,” I said, glancing at the fortress the dragons had built.

“Who’s in a dungeon?”

Uncle Wild had asked that. We turned around and there he was, behind us.

“Were you being invisible?” asked Alpin. “Why?”

“In case Richearth comes to kill me.”

“What? What have you done to him?” I asked.

“Nothing much yet. You see, Mathilde says  there is no way she is going to be made to marry Richie.”

“What? We were with her just now, at her engagement party. She didn’t look like she wanted to break up with Richie at all. They were like lovebirds.”

Uncle Wildgale shrugged.

“She said she wouldn’t break up with Richie until she had fortified this place to her satisfaction.”

“I don’t understand anything,” I said. But Alpin probably did, because he was smiling.

“She’s moving here. Like she’s taking over the place. She said I could stay because I am easy to feed. She thinks I only eat crunchies.”

Uncle Wildgale pointed at a pile of bags of cheese crunchies that were exactly where the heap of stones had been before. None of them was open.

“Now I understand even less,” I said.

“Arley, you idiot,” said Alpin, “can’t you see she’s marrying this man instead of the other?”

“Is that true?” I asked Uncle Wild.

Uncle Wildgale shrugged.

“She says she noticed I was a victim of bullies just like she was the moment her mother snatched my bag of crunchies from me and I did nothing about it but warn my brother he was going to be dominated. Be sat on top of, that’s what I said to him. And he just laughed in my face.”

“I see,” I said, for I thought I was beginning to see.

“Mathilde says she is going to make these lands inexpugnable and nobody will be able to come here and bully us ever again. She says we both have reasons to be resentful. So we are going to live in a microcosm and do nothing but  wander about the moors for the rest of our days being as sullen and oppugnant as we please.”

“You want that?” I asked Uncle Wild.

“I have no idea. Maybe it´s like Mathilde says and I don’t know what I want. By the way, you can come visiting when you please, she says, because you haven’t tried to bully her. Or me.”

“Why would I bully her? Or you?”

“She says bullies don’t need reasons. They are just bullies and that’s it. She says that when your grandmother Alista asked her to keep away from Oberon, she told that lady right away that she wasn’t interested in how powerful Obi was, or anything like that. She would feel the same way about him if he were the least of the fay. And your grandmother smiled and said that was exactly the problem. She didn’t understand what Alista said then, but she does now.”

“Does this have anything to do with Dad?”

“No. She says that since your dad never searched for her and came to rescue her or anything till it was so late that she had already realized he had never taken her seriously, she wants nothing to do with him. She’s not upset with him, she just isn’t interested in him any longer.”

“I think you should speak to Uncle Rich as soon as you can,” I said. “The poor man thinks Mathilde adores him.”

“Mathilde says Rich stole my wife from me and therefore I can take his intended from him without feeling the least bit guilty or repentant. Of course, I wasn’t too keen on that wife. Do you think I’m doing wrong? Is Richie really interested in Mathilde? She wants to live here. What am I supposed to do? Blow her away?”

“I don’t think what you are doing is wrong. I think it’s crazy,” I said.

Alpin thought it was then time for him to intervene and he did.

“Look here, Arley. I happen to have an interest in what is going on here. I won’t tell you exactly why yet, but if you spoil things for me, I will never forgive you.”

“But what can you possibly have to do with this affair?” I asked.

“That’s what I am telling you I am not telling you. But if you ruin my plans, I won’t hole up somewhere and sulk like these two crybabies mean to do. I will make your life hell.”

By this time I was beginning to wonder if there was something wrong with me. Why could I not understand what was going on?

“What if Mathilde only wants revenge and is manipulating both my uncles?”

“Why would she want to hurt your uncles? It’s your dad’s mother that caused her problems, not your mum’s. Not theirs.”

“What you say about Mattie manipulating us both is possible. But I’m just going to wait and see what happens,” said Uncle Wildgale. “I don’t know how this will turn out, but I don’t mean to do a thing about it. I will accept whatever fortune hands me.”

“You see? Your uncle is being sensible for the first time in his life. You wait too, Arley. I’m telling you this will all turn out right once things fall into place. All’s well that ends well, eh?”

“Have you seen my ideal house?” said Uncle Wild. “I claimed it and Mathilde said I could put it over there. Oh, sorry. I forgot I made it invisible.”

And Uncle Wild made a house appear before us. It looked just like a house in the moors should look.  Grotesque, with strong narrow windows, the corners defended by large, jutting stones and all that was necessary to make it look like a bleak and cold place. Still, light came from within.

“And I also claimed my sheep and my ponies,” said Uncle Wild, making two handsome grey ponies and a very fluffy flock of sheep visible too.      

“Can I have those bags of crunchies?” Alpin asked Uncle Wild. “Before the sheep get to them?”

“Yes. And I’ll invite you to tea and cheese and toast and some peach and white cream tarts  if you step inside the house. It’s rather cold and quite dark out here,” said Uncle Wild.

“Don’t bother. We’re returning to the Halloween Party. I’m not done eating there yet. These bags are for the road. But I’ll be back for the toast and tarts another time,” said Alpin.

“Don’t tell Mathilde you have eaten up all the crunchies,” said Uncle Wild. “She literally went all the way to the end of the world to that wee fisherman’s village where the local snack frier makes them. You know, where Clepeta and Finny live.”

“Okay,” I said, “let happen what may. We´re out of here!”

And we left that bewildering site.