Chen doesn’t like that Luana woman, and I can’t say I do, either.”
“She’s a political sharklet,” Tess said. “I’ve seen plenty like her—they show up at our house all the time currying favor—young and hungry and just waiting for a chance to make her mark. I think she smells it here. Which is bad, because such people are remarkably good at stirring up trouble where there wasn’t any before. But I know how to get word to Humphrey alone.” Tess actually smirked as she said that, and Thea was instantly distracted.
“You know something,” she said.
Tess leaned forward a little in a conspiratorial manner. “He’s smitten with our Woodling,apparently, from what I hear,” she said.
“Signe? Signe Lovransdottir?”
“Yup. He practically ran our gorgeous Environmental Studies teacher down in a corridor just outside the infirmary after he left you here, and he looked into her eyes and was lost. He’s been following her around adoringly ever since. What’s more, it’s mutual.”
“How do you know? You’ve been in here with me,” Thea said.
“Well, I have the first from eyewitness testimony—Terry saw them trip over each other.”
“Terry wouldn’t know smitten if it bit him on the nose,” Thea said succinctly.
Tess laughed. “Not all wrong, but in this case he was just reporting on what he saw, not stating an opinion.”
“Ugh, enough, already,” Thea said. “Is there anything to eat around here?”
“I’ll see what I can do,” Tess said with a grin, and slipped out of the room.
About fifteen minutes later, a plate of chicken and mashed potatoes in front of her, Thea was feeling much better—but increasingly frustrated.
“I think you’d better call Humphrey May,” she said to Tess through a mouthful of potato. “Ineed to know what happened back there. I’ll be no use to anyone if I just wilt away like a scythed flower every time I try to do anything with…you know. I need a vacation….”
“I don’t think you can count on having one this summer,” Tess said frankly. “You had a reprieve because nobody outside your family and a few trustworthy friends knew what you could do. Now you’ve done it in public. The Feds know. They’ll want a piece of you. Trust me.”
“But we can all do it,” Thea said, rebellious. “With the whale…when we hunted the Nothing…you guys followed me….”
“You left a trail,” Tess said. “ You led the way there. You left us a message, however cryptic, on the computer—and we knew what it meant, because of what we had all done before. But that was before anyone else knew about it—before you ripped away the curtain, and Luana was there to see it. You’re dead meat. They’ll cut you up and serve you with relish.”
“Thanks a lot,” Thea said.
“My uncle will make sure of it,” Tess said morosely.
“Knock, knock,” said Humphrey May from the door. “Okay if I come in? Your uncle willmake sure of what, Tess?”
Tess had looked up, startled, and her look quickly passed from surprise to wariness. “I’m just saying,” she said, with a touch of defensiveness in her voice, “Thea is toast. After this. What with the Bureau…”
Humphrey raised a hand, palm out, in a gesture of oath-taking. “I will not let anyone toast Thea,” he said solemnly. “That’s a promise. Glad you’re finally awake. Are you feeling better now?”
“A little,” Thea said. It was hard to believe, after having slept for so long, but now that she was safe and fed and warm, she was beginning to feel drowsy again.
Humphrey saw her eyelids fluttering, and smiled.
“I do want to talk to you—no toasting involved—but it can wait until tomorrow. I am going to strongly suggest to Mrs. Chen that you spend tonight here before going back to the residence hall. And I’ll keep Luana away from you, at least until you’re well enough to run and hide by yourself.”
“Is everything…all right?” Thea asked carefully.
“Everything is
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