Ch 28.2 — Ezra took a small bottle from his coat pocket and handed it to Josiah the grandson. “Add three drops to a kettle of steaming water, and bring it in here. Set it by the bed so your grandfather can breathe in the vapors.”
Josiah the Thirteenth obeyed. A pleasing scent of greenery and summer days filled the room, and Mr. Dumfries began to breathe easier.
He opened his eyes and squeezed Ezra’s hand. “Don’t know if I’m going to make it or not, but that sure smells nice. Thank you.”
Ezra’s heart rejoiced. His formula had worked. When he’d heard that the old man was ill, he knew he had to do something. After all, Josiah T. Dumfries the Eleventh was the reason Ezra was so well informed about news in the kingdom. But beyond that, Ezra cared about his friend.
Ezra had never known his grandparents. Stories told by his father had revealed that his paternal grandfather had been a fierce warrior who swung his sword or fist first and thought later, and his grandmother had been a stern woman who never smiled. His maternal grandparents, who had lived in Southland, had been killed during a war with a great beast. All that was left of their kingdom was a ruined castle in a treacherous forest.
Mr. Dumfries, on the other hand, was always kind to Ezra. He always had time to listen to Ezra as he told about his latest invention. Because of all the mail Ezra received, the guards allowed Mr. Dumfries into the castle to visit with Ezra in the sitting room — under supervision of course.
Ezra patted Josiah’s frail hand. “A good night’s sleep and you’ll be good as new.” He took an object from his pocket. “I’ve invented something to help you see better. I’m calling them spectacles. These are the prototype.”
Ezra set the spectacles on Mr. Dumfries’s nose and placed the wires around his ears. “How’s that?”
“Amazing. I can see you clear as anything. Thank you.” Josiah’s eyes were anxious. “Gotta tell you something before I forget it again.”
Ezra nodded. “Go on.”
“My donkey is really a boy.”
Josiah the Thirteenth scoffed. “Now Gramps, I’ve told you over and over, that’s not possible.”
Carol Nicolas 