330. Questioning Fancy

330. Questioning Fancy

Going about helping Fancy Feverfew got to be complicated. Nobody wanted to involve Henbeddestyr Parry in a search for his missing brother. Nobody really knew why they didn’t want this, but they just didn’t. He is such a nice person no one wants to associate him in any way with trouble, though being an apothecary he sees more than his share of unpleasantness. However, it was only right to warn Henny that the search was on. So he was warned.

“Try to find Umbrian if you please,” said Henny. “He’s not that terrible to have around. But I have no idea how to help you. When he first disappeared, I did try to find him. But nobody knew anything. No clues, no leads, no trace, no info of any kind, useful or not.”

Once Gentlerain and Richearth had Henny’s approval, we all concluded the next step was to speak with Fancy herself. There was the question of who would do that. Gentlerain couldn’t go alone, and much less so Richearth. There might be gossips to worry about. They could go together and they would. But there were others who wished to come too. Little Neferclari had spoken with her young aunt Azuline and her uncle Esmeraldo. And these two were interested in helping Fancy because they had said they would even before anyone else had thought of doing this. The Bluebell Twins were asked to come too, because they might be needed. After all, they had done their part in the Umbrian and Fancy entanglement. 

On the whole, there were like fifty people who had reasons to want to interfere in this business, including Ambivolo Parry, who was obsessed with the idea that his son Umbrian might be a victim of foul play. Being a very prepotent person, he insisted on consulting the Memorion, who, as everyone knows, can’t be consulted at all about anything though he knows everything, because it would kill the already overworked man to be at everyone's beck and call like a public oracle. Belvedere could only say it was Fancy who would in a rambling way give us a lead to follow, and that we should be attentive to her every word so this information wouldn’t escape us. And that was a lot of saying for someone who isn’t allowed to be an oracle.    

So it was looking like a mob was about to storm the dolmen when we all got to the hill where Fancy kept herself. Not wanting to frighten Fancy, all save Richie and Gentie remained at a prudent distance, but not so prudent that we couldn’t hear the conversation that was to take place.

Richie and Gentie sat down crosslegged on the ground before the opening of the dolmen because they felt this would take a while and Richearth called out to Fancy, “Fancy, hi! This is Richie. Do you remember how we sang a duet during our Crowned Heads concert? It was our coming of age year.”

And after some small talk meant to get Fancy to trust them, and once Gentie and Richie had revealed their intentions to help her return to a normal life, Fancy said, “I would love to help you help me. I’m really touched you want to. But I can’t help good people. I am under a curse that doesn’t let me. But yes, I will tell you all I know, and all I suspect, though this curse I am under might make my efforts backfire. Well, here goes.”

She rambled on, just as the Memorion had said she would, and among the many things she said was that Umbrian had had a girlfriend before he fell in love with her and might have returned to this girl. Unfortunately, that person had disappeared too. But that only made Fancy feel this person and Umbrian had probably run off together, though she couldn’t see why they would have to hide. Umbrian had broken with her and was free to return to this other girl if he chose.

“That must be it,” said Gentie, “what my father-in-law said Fancy would say. Nothing else she has said leads anywhere.”

“I have always been very afraid of this person,” said Fancy.

“I take it this person has a name?” asked Gentie.

Fancy was scared to pronounce it, so she wrote it on a piece of paper and stuck her arm out the opening to the dolmen and Richie took that bit of paper and glanced at it and said, “Oh, heck!” and handed it to Gentie.

“He always liked conflictive women,” said Uncle Rich. “I got involved with such ladies, because I used to get involved with anyone available, but I am not sure I ever really liked them as much as he did. The meaner they were, the more he admired them. Look no further. This is the one who laid the curse.”

And Ambivolo Parry started shouting what he would do once we had tracked down Malina Badlight. And Esmeraldo, annoyed by the uproar, gave the grand old man a kick in the shin.

 “What?” said Ambivolo, stunned by this attack. “What is the meaning of this?”

“It means I want to be a do-gooder. And I am doing you good. You will bust a vein if you continue acting up.”

“Weeeeell,” said Ambivolo slowly, “you maaaaaay have something there, little boy.” And he made no more of the kick, but turned to Gentie and said, “If nobody knows where that vixen is, and your father-in-law is being such a legalist, we will have to consult Nick of Time.”