the law is one thing. Establishing new law with every case seems like a very big responsibility.”
“It is. But not too much for you.”
“Because the powers are never wrong.”
“Precisely.” He smiled.
“When do you think Aisling will whelp?”
“I’m thinking another week or so. Are you truly interested in a pup?”
“I’m not sure I can figure out how to make it work. Keeping a wolf in a townhouse.”
“Oh. Well. That could be easily remedied.”
“What do you mean?”
He came to a dead stop. “I’ve been remiss. And I hope you’ll forgive me. It’s a dollop of an overlook to be sure.” He glanced at me. “The residence is yours to do with as you wish. You can change anything about it.”
“You mean like move the furniture around? Repaint the shutters?”
“No,” he said carefully. “I mean you can reshape it into anything you wish.”
I was shaking my head while marveling at the beauty of the lake country. “Lochlan. I don’t understand what you’re saying. Spell it out like I’m a Mundie because that is what I am.”
He inhaled deeply. “Sorry. Of course that was shorthand.” He chuckled. “You’re probably too young to know what shorthand is.” I said nothing. He glanced over at me then made some hand gesture that brought the dogs nearer. “Your house has windows to a little garden.”
“Yeah. I think of it as a courtyard, but that’s not accurate since there’s no entrance or exit.”
“Right. But if it doesn’t suit you to a T, your courtyard could be anything you want. If you’d like a larger house complete with acreage, stables and horses, or a tennis court, or a labyrinth… It can all be rearranged according to your preference.”
I laughed. “Okay. You really are joking now.”
“About what?”
“About finding any tennis players in Hallow Hill.”
He scowled. “You have a point.”
“I was kidding. I meant you have to be joking about redesigning reality to suit my whims.”
“Not a bit. We can prevail upon one of the creatives to make your environment what you please. It’s the least fae can do in exchange for your service as magistrate.”
What was being said was still too far outside my ability to comprehend. I was having a hard time processing reorganizing reality. But it may’ve been even harder to absorb all the respect and appreciation being directed my way.
“So you’re saying that, instead of looking out my kitchen window to a little courtyard with a tree that changes identities every day, I could be looking out at a piece of property large enough for a, um…” I looked over at the Border Collies. “Dog.”
“Or two!”
“Two!”
“Well, a pair is nice because they keep each other occupied.”
Rats. He’d planted a thought.
“With a dog door so that she could come and go when she needed to?”
“She?” he queried.
“I want one of the girl puppies.”
“I see. Well, yes. We could arrange for an entrance that appears only when your pets approach.”
“Don’t think I didn’t notice the plural, Lochlan. Are you thinking you’ll have trouble finding homes for the puppies?”
“Oh, not at all,” he scoffed. “Far from it. They’re a prize by any measure.”
“Are they…? Do they live a long time?”
“They do.” He took note of my ensuing silence and added, “Are you afraid they might outlive you?”
“Crossed my mind.”
“Well. None of us knows the whims of fate. But I can tell you this. Creatures such as these will always be in high demand by folk who’ll treat them like the treasure they are. Have you had dogs before?”
“Not since I was growing up. My husband…” I didn’t finish that sentence because it drew me up short, how many things I’d sacrificed for nothing.
“With this particular breed all that’s required is love and sustenance. Little training is required since they can sense your emotions and have an incomparable desire to please.”
I smiled, feeling a tingle of excitement rush through me like this was really happening. “But I still don’t understand how my house can become something so different. I mean there are houses behind my house.”
“Let’s come at this from another direction. If you were to imagine your dream house and place it somewhere around here.” He swept his arm in the direction of Hallow Hill below. “What would it look like and where would it be?”
I thought about that for a few minutes.
“I love the way your house looks. On the outside. I might make a few interior changes. But it’s like a fairytale cottage with a beautiful garden. And…” I changed my mind about finishing that thought.