The Luck Dragon

Chapter 3

Chapter 3A few days later, Ryland was busy in the laboratory, tinkering with an automaton. He looked up as Henry came in, an unusually serious expression on his normally jovial face.

“I thought I should let you know, Ryland. Your father approached me with an offer to buy the business.”

“What?” A bolt of fear sizzled along Ryland’s veins, followed by a wave of shock as Henry chuckled. “Have you…did you—?” Ryland didn’t think he’d ever been so tongue-tied.

“Oh, I’m surprised it didn’t come sooner.” Henry waved a hand as if dismissing the notion. “I always expected such a move on his part. Every week, he wanted to know how you were progressing. I never told him just how well or fast you were learning. Just enough to keep him happy.”

“You…you did?” Ryland began to pace, then stopped. “I just assumed he’d expect me to continue working for you.”

“He’s a man who keeps his cards close to his chest. And as much as I have loved having you as my protégé, I hated having him anywhere near me. He has a dark aura, Ryland. Very dark.” Henry shuddered. “He had a purpose for you having this position. And I got the impression that once you were qualified, so to speak, he wanted you away from here.”

“But what happens now? If my father wants something, he generally gets it.” Ryland’s shoulders slumped.

“Well, he can’t get this place. It already belongs to someone else.” Henry smirked, and Ryland stared at his mentor.

“Someone…else? But I thought—”

“I didn’t trust your father, so on your twenty-first birthday, I made you the owner here. The business, the laboratory, the living quarters, and everything therein. In addition to that, my will is in the safekeeping of my barrister, along with the relevant paperwork showing you own this.” Henry waved his hands. “Your father may be a powerful man, but I have many powerful friends of my own. This is not my only property. I own my own home as well. A long way from here. That’s yours, too, should anything happen here. Or to me.”

“What? No. I…I can’t.” Ryland shook his head, but Henry gripped Ryland’s shoulders and squeezed firmly.

“My wife and I never had children and I immersed myself in work when she died. You were like a breath of Spring in my life. I’d have taken you without any persuasion from your father. But I sensed that if I were to appear over-eager, he’d look elsewhere. I listened to my instincts. You need to listen to yours. You do it every day when creating potions for medicines, when you perform surgery, or even when you tinker with automatons. You need to apply it to your day today life, too. The ability has been badly crushed, but it lives within you, still.” Henry patted Ryland’s chest. “Listen to it, my boy.”

“I…I’ll try.” Ryland’s head was spinning, but he came back to the revelation that had precipitated the rest. “What did you tell my father about the business?”

“I told him he was too late and that I was no longer the proprietor.” This time Henry laughed aloud. “Oh, his face was a picture. He thought he was one step ahead. Not several behind. Hubris, my boy. He’s filled with hubris. He asked me who’d bought it, and I told him it wasn’t my place to say. He’ll use his position, of course. But my barrister is a nobleman, as well as an honourable one. It’ll take time Jabez may not wish to invest to find out.”

“I…I don’t know quite what to say.” Ryland looked at the man who he thought he knew so well, and yet had so completely surprised him.

“My niece Amelia knows the way to my home in Wales. That’s the place to go to when the time comes. Now, let’s get back to work.” Henry was already walking away before Ryland could engage his brain enough to ask a single vital question.

“When what time comes?” he blurted out.

“You’ll know when.” Henry glanced over his shoulder. “If you trust your instincts.”

Unsure what to say, Ryland simply stared as Henry went back into the shop, leaving him with his thoughts and the automaton on which he worked. He dropped down onto the stool he used to work on the mechanicals’ lower limbs.

If it hadn’t been for Henry’s forward thinking, all my plans would be in tatters. It’s as if he knew, yet I never spoke to him or even to Mother. Do I really use instinct? Fixing or healing, it all came so naturally to me. I thought it was due to my hard work, my dedication, but perhaps, just perhaps, there is more.