The following morning at breakfast, Ellie and her friends received a summons to an emergency staff meeting. Only the human and dwarf staff members were required to attend, the brownies having no interest in such things. As entirely volunteer employees, they were free to come and go as they pleased. They never pleased to go, which worked for everyone. The hobgoblins were freeloaders, allowed to stay because it wasn’t worth the effort to send them away. Besides, Geraldo and his kin had lived at Faraway Castle for as long as anyone could remember, and no doubt much longer.
Staff meetings took place in the large lecture room next to the director’s office. The two entry doors were at the front of the room on either side of the lectern, and the rows of folding theater seats rose toward the back of the room, meaning that no one could arrive late or sneak out without being noticed by every person in the room. Madame Genevieve sat in her usual place in the front row, where she could observe and direct the proceedings.
Ellie was not at all surprised when the meeting turned out to be a discussion of the previous day’s events. Bence, the lake supervisor, gripped the lectern with both hands while he opened the meeting with a rundown of the situation. “We lost a rowboat to sirens last week, and now, not only was our most expensive boat taken out by two young men,” he said, “but safety standards seem to have been ignored. Where was the spotter? Our policy is no fewer than three people in a ski boat, at least two of them being responsible adults, and the driver a female.”
There was shuffling of feet and averted eyes among the staff, but no one spoke. Bence continued, “I understand that this week’s fine weather has greatly increased the number of guests at our lake, but safety must always come first. Our two patrollers were out on the lake, one at each end, but where were the lifeguards on shore?”
Ellie’s old friend Savannah raised her hand. “We must have been setting up for the children’s birthday party when those men took the boat. None of us saw them take it.”
Madame Genevieve suddenly rose and stepped forward, and Bence deferred to her. She took his place behind the lectern and scanned the crowd of summer workers with a grand air. “I first must inform you all that Lord Magnussen has been examined by our magical psychiatrist and found to be in good mental health. He was administered a palliative injection and will be under observation for the next few days. It need hardly be said that he is banned from the lake until further notice.”
It took Ellie a moment or two to realize that this Lord Magnussen person was Tor. What, exactly, was a palliative injection? Was it a placebo or a tranquilizer?
“It is unpardonable to suggest,” continued the director, “that a noble guest of the resort, let alone a royal guest, could be to blame for this catastrophe. If our staff members cannot take responsibility for their own actions and failures, they will not long be employed here. There were twelve people working at the lake yesterday; all of them will be fined a full day’s pay. Perhaps then we may avoid such oversights in future. And for a patroller to allow this guest to drive a ski boat all the way to the island and run it ashore—this is beyond the pale.”
She leveled her stern gaze at Ellie. “You. Miss Calmer, did you or did you not see the ski boat pass you with a man at its wheel?”
“I did,” Ellie said.
“At what point did you realize that the driver was a man?”
“The boat was approximately three hundred feet from the island.”
“Why did you not pursue it and prevent the driver from running it ashore? You had plenty of time to do so, from all accounts.”
“I was rescuing the skier, who had been knocked down by the lake monster,” Ellie said. “He seemed to be in the most imminent danger. I thought he might be unconscious or wounded.”
“The serpent has never harmed a human,” Madame said, her manicured fingernails tapping the edge of the lectern. “Yet you decided the guest in the water was at greater risk than the male guest driving a boat directly to the island?”
“I did,” Ellie answered firmly.
Madame looked satisfied, as if she had carried an important point. “You will remain here to fill out all paperwork regarding the accident and your actions. And when you are finished, you will work today at the riding stables, not the lake. This meeting is over.”
Her chin went up a notch, and she left the room.
A troubled buzz started as soon as the door closed behind her. Several of Ellie’s friends gave her commiserating glances as they moved toward the door, and Bence stopped beside her chair to assure her that she had done everything right.
Ellie tipped her head back to meet the supervisor’s gaze. “Why does she blame me for this, Bence? I know she’s never liked me, but really?”
He folded his arms and looked grim. “You know how she does sometimes—takes a particular dislike to a female staff member, especially if a guest pays attention to the girl. It tends to build over the course of a summer and then boom, the girl gets fired. It’s happened more than once during my years here. You’ve been here a long time, so I doubt she would fire you, but I recommend you lay low for a while and let her attention and anger shift to someone else.”
“How can I do that and still get my work done?” Ellie asked.
Bence shook his head and said, “That’s a tough one.” Which answer was no help at all.
Ellie spent the rest of the morning filling out paperwork about the accident and her actions, wondering how any of it could be useful. If the guests were never at fault even when they broke the rules, how could a staff member ever be right? She wasn’t seriously worried, since the Gamekeeper had long ago made clear that Ellie worked directly under his authority.
But Madame could certainly make her life more difficult.
Ellie ate a quick lunch in the staff dining hall with Jeralee and Rosa, who both ranted quietly about her public reprimand. But the situation was too painful and puzzling for her to discuss easily. “You two are the best,” she said sincerely as she rose to carry her tray to the counter. “I really do appreciate your support.”
Rosa nodded. “We understand. When and if you’re ready to talk about it, we’ll be here.”
“She won’t dare fire you, Ellie,” Jeralee repeated for at least the third time. “You work for the Gamekeeper.”
Ellie tried to smile. “Hope you’re right. See you later. I’ve got to report at the stables.”
At least, she thought while taking a shortcut through the garden, she enjoyed working with horses, though she wasn’t much of a rider. The three dwarfs and two brownies who ran the stables were her old friends, so this “punishment” assignment should be enjoyable.
A few hours of shoveling manure and toting carts of muck outside to dump on a compost heap gave Ellie plenty of time to think. Perhaps a few days of stable work involving no contact with Prince Omar would allow Madame’s displeasure to fasten on someone else. One could hope.
She enjoyed listening while Cog the stable manager, Tea, his wife, and their son, Kai, discussed the arrival of new foals. Horses shifted in their box stalls, and through the open barn door she could see others grazing peacefully at pasture. A sense of deep contentment pushed worry from her heart.
Then a message came from the castle: Six hunters were required for a cross-country outing in thirty minutes.