Billie and Leroy arrived right on time, zapping in straight from the office and directly to the patio. Libby had an arm around Billie's waist as Leroy was attempting to look cool with Jonah when Bobbie and her date zapped in.
Ian, standing off to the side, raised an eyebrow at this, but merely warned Edwards there'd be another for luncheon. It was when Ian got a good look at Bobbie that he began to think this lovely little family reunion might be a real mess real soon.
Lev, also observant, noticed it, and sauntered over to stand near Jonah just in case.
"Welcome to Avery Manor, Sam. I had no idea..." Ian said as Jonah looked up and directly at his daughter.
Libby, as observant as the others slipped her arm through Jonah's as he drew breath to speak. He glanced down at her, read the message in her eyes and ignored it utterly. "What the hell happened?" he demanded, asking Simon, not Bobbie.
"Uh oh," Billie said to Betty and they both took up a position behind Bobbie.
Leroy stood back out of firing range.
"Hullo, Mr. DuBois. I'm Simon Baptiste. I, uhm, it's complicated."
"Did he hurt you?" Jonah said, just short of a roar, ignoring Simon's response utterly.
"No he didn't Daddy," Bobbie said.
"Then what the hell happened?"
"I got punched in the face," she said.
"I can see that, Roberta Josephine. Now tell me what happened," Jonah said, even closer to roaring.
"Simon, perhaps you can clarify for us," Ian said using his lord of the manor voice.
Simon looked over at him and answered, "A couple of men wanted to leave me a message. I'm sorry. I take full responsibility for what happened."
"They did this because of you?" Jonah said. "And what did you do?"
"Daddy, please. It's all under control. And it isn't going to happen again."
"Damn right it won't," Jonah said.
Libby put her hand on his chest. "She just said that, honey. Now I think Ian was wondering what you wanted to drink."
Ian thrust a scotch into Jonah's chest. "I guessed, Libby. Bobbie, is there anything we can do for you?"
"I think Simon and I both could use one of those, too," she said.
Jonah glared at her and downed his drink in one swallow. "We'll discuss this later."
"No you won't," Libby said flatly. "She's an adult, she said she's fine and that it's under control and won't happen again. That's all you need to know. Now behave."
Jonah gave her a baffled look.
"So, Bobbie say hello to Dia," Ian said, in an effort to deflect the attention from things that threatened to get out of control. Lev, at his nod, stepped back and away from Jonah.
She gave him a grateful look, put her arm through Simon's and moved over to where Dia was standing with Leroy.
"So, how long have you two been seeing one another?" Leroy asked, frowning. "And keeping it secret."
Bobbie kicked him. "It wasn't a secret. You guys have just been to busy to notice or even talk to."
"Hey!" Leroy yelped, making Billie look around from where she was talking to Lev and Ian.
"Dia's been catching me up on all the details about your childhood, Bobbie," Leroy said. "I had no idea you guys were into snipe hunts."
"And a lot of other things," she said, laughing. "But Dia was the one with the best ideas."
"Oh don't blame it all on me. I was the one that kept us out of all the trouble you guys were bent on getting into."
"Sounds about right," Leroy agreed laughing.
Ian began rounding up people to get them into lunch. He made quite certain Simon was as far away from Jonah as possible.
"So," Bobbie said to Dia, when they were sitting down. "What's this Betty's been telling me about you and some book?"
Dia grimaced and filled her in while Edwards and the maids served the soup. "Right now we're trying to figure out what to do with it," she said.
"Do we get to see it?" Leroy asked. And leaning in closer he asked, "And what's up with Betty's security guy? He's generally frowning at you. You tell him not just no but hell no?"
Dia glanced at him and shook her head. "He blames me for the cats," she said. "And if you want to see it I'll show it to you after lunch, just do us all a favor and don't try to touch it."
"Oh yeah? How come?" Leroy asked, all wide eyed curiosity.
"Because of the way it's warded. It would give you the magical equivalent of a punch in the face."
"Ah, well, I think we've had one too many of those lately," he said. "Man why weren't we home ..." he muttered, looking over at Bobbie's battered face.
"Leroy there was nothing you could have done," Bobbie said. "But I appreciate it. And truly, we do have it under control. So if you want to help me don't make it harder for Simon with Daddy, okay?"
Leroy nodded. "So, like, you really love him?"
Bobbie nodded. "Yeah, like I really love him and he loves me."
Leroy just said, "Okay, got it. Do I get props for taking Jonah's punch when it comes and saving Simon the pain?"
"Props?" Dia asked.
"Like do I get kudos, thank yous, you're a great guy Leroy - like that."
"Of course you do," Dia said. "Why would you even need to ask?"
"Well, I always wanna makes sure I'm not risky my manly handsome jaw for nothing, you know," Leroy replied waggling his eyebrows at her.
Dia stuck her tongue out at him. "You got nothing to worry about, darlin'."
Leroy laughed out loud making a lot of eyes turn toward them. Lev's included.
"So, let's ditch the adults and go out and party," Leroy suggested. "Oh, sorry Betty, that means you gotta go dateless."
She almost spewed her soup. "Man, what does Billie feed you?"
"Grits, honey, pure grits."
Betty shook her head. "Tell her I said you need more red meat."
"Well, someone seems to be having fun," Ian said to Jonah who wasn't.
"And if it had been Adele?" Jonah asked.
"I hope I'd find out who did it and only then kill him," Ian replied quietly.
Jonah met his eyes and then sighed. "You're right."
"Still, it's good to see all three, make that all four, of them together," Ian said to Libby.
She smiled. "It is, thank you for arranging it. It seems so strange that they're spreading out finally. But I'm glad for them."
"Yes, I'm sorry Betty is so far away from her sisters," Ian said. "I'm sorry she's no longer working at what she loves."
Libby looked at him like he was speaking a strange language. "She is working at what she loves."
Ian colored. "I meant her profession."
"I know exactly what you meant," Libby said. "She doesn't miss it at all or haven't you noticed?"
Ian looked over at Betty Jo where she was laughing with Dia and Bobbie over something. "I'm never really sure," he said more to himself than to Libby.
"Guilt will do that," Libby said.
Ian looked over at her. "Do you speak from experience?"
"Yes," she said, smiling at him. "Many years."
Ian reached out and squeezed her hand. "I don't think he misses it."
"Thank you," she said, blushing. "I certainly hope not."
After luncheon they all gathered in the study and looked expectantly at Dia. She shook her head slightly and held out her hand palm up, flicking her fingers and then making a grabbing motion. The book appeared instantly as did both cats. Salem rubbed herself against Dia's ankles while Cele went over to Lev. Dia set the book on the desk and removed the covering of silk and then opened the cover and set the book upright. "The cause of all the fuss," she said.
"It's beautiful," Leroy said, staring at it. "I wouldn't have expected that. What are all those symbols? Can you read 'em?"
"Most of them," Dia said. "The small ones are signs for guarding and warding spells, sigils really. The others...The one on the top is a Pythagorean tetractys made by the four letters of the unmentionable name and by it the seventy-two powers of the great name of God are manifested. The one on the bottom the Tetragrammaton, or four-lettered Name of God, is here arranged as a tetractys within the inverted human heart. Beneath, the name Jehovah is shown transformed into Jehoshua by the interpolation of the radiant Hebrew letter, Shin. The drawing as a whole represents the throne of God and His hierarchies within the heart of man.
"On the sides, the one on the left...In the central triangle are the three Mother Letters from which come forth the seven Double Letters—the planets and the heavens. Surrounding the black star are the signs of the zodiac symbolized by the twelve Simple Letters. In the midst of this star is the Invisible Throne of the Most Ancient of the Ancients—the Supreme Definitionless Creator.
"On the right is what is called The Four Sephirothic Trees. The forty concentric circles are shown arranged as four trees, each consisting of ten circles. These trees disclose the organization of the hierarchies controlling the destinies of all of the creations. The trees are the same in each of the four worlds, but the powers vested in the globes express themselves differently through the substance of each world, resulting in endless differentiation. "
She shrugged. "Sorry about the lecture. The important one, the main one in the center surrounded by the rest, that is the fascinating one. I'm trying to trace it now, but none of the symbologists I've contacted know it, though they are all happy to speculate. All I know for certain is that the image in the center is the Ancient of Days, over what is traditionally understood to be the great Seal of Solomon. Surrounding it is the triangle with the circle inside of it that normally contains the Hebrew letter 'shin" and in that form is the Hebrew Triangle. Here the letter is missing, replaced by the seal and the image and I don't know why."
"It kinda looks familiar to me," Leroy was saying, squinting at it and turning his head sideways. "No idea where I might have seen such a thing, but I've got a good memory for figures."
Simon was sitting back, apparently having gotten bored, as his expression had turned inward. Lev kicked at Cele who still rubbed the side of his leg regardless.
"Really?" Dia said. "Well if it comes to you, let me know."
"Yeah I will," Leroy promised.
Simon was frowning and avoiding Bobbie's eye
Ian, standing off to the side, raised an eyebrow at this, but merely warned Edwards there'd be another for luncheon. It was when Ian got a good look at Bobbie that he began to think this lovely little family reunion might be a real mess real soon.
Lev, also observant, noticed it, and sauntered over to stand near Jonah just in case.
"Welcome to Avery Manor, Sam. I had no idea..." Ian said as Jonah looked up and directly at his daughter.
Libby, as observant as the others slipped her arm through Jonah's as he drew breath to speak. He glanced down at her, read the message in her eyes and ignored it utterly. "What the hell happened?" he demanded, asking Simon, not Bobbie.
"Uh oh," Billie said to Betty and they both took up a position behind Bobbie.
Leroy stood back out of firing range.
"Hullo, Mr. DuBois. I'm Simon Baptiste. I, uhm, it's complicated."
"Did he hurt you?" Jonah said, just short of a roar, ignoring Simon's response utterly.
"No he didn't Daddy," Bobbie said.
"Then what the hell happened?"
"I got punched in the face," she said.
"I can see that, Roberta Josephine. Now tell me what happened," Jonah said, even closer to roaring.
"Simon, perhaps you can clarify for us," Ian said using his lord of the manor voice.
Simon looked over at him and answered, "A couple of men wanted to leave me a message. I'm sorry. I take full responsibility for what happened."
"They did this because of you?" Jonah said. "And what did you do?"
"Daddy, please. It's all under control. And it isn't going to happen again."
"Damn right it won't," Jonah said.
Libby put her hand on his chest. "She just said that, honey. Now I think Ian was wondering what you wanted to drink."
Ian thrust a scotch into Jonah's chest. "I guessed, Libby. Bobbie, is there anything we can do for you?"
"I think Simon and I both could use one of those, too," she said.
Jonah glared at her and downed his drink in one swallow. "We'll discuss this later."
"No you won't," Libby said flatly. "She's an adult, she said she's fine and that it's under control and won't happen again. That's all you need to know. Now behave."
Jonah gave her a baffled look.
"So, Bobbie say hello to Dia," Ian said, in an effort to deflect the attention from things that threatened to get out of control. Lev, at his nod, stepped back and away from Jonah.
She gave him a grateful look, put her arm through Simon's and moved over to where Dia was standing with Leroy.
"So, how long have you two been seeing one another?" Leroy asked, frowning. "And keeping it secret."
Bobbie kicked him. "It wasn't a secret. You guys have just been to busy to notice or even talk to."
"Hey!" Leroy yelped, making Billie look around from where she was talking to Lev and Ian.
"Dia's been catching me up on all the details about your childhood, Bobbie," Leroy said. "I had no idea you guys were into snipe hunts."
"And a lot of other things," she said, laughing. "But Dia was the one with the best ideas."
"Oh don't blame it all on me. I was the one that kept us out of all the trouble you guys were bent on getting into."
"Sounds about right," Leroy agreed laughing.
Ian began rounding up people to get them into lunch. He made quite certain Simon was as far away from Jonah as possible.
"So," Bobbie said to Dia, when they were sitting down. "What's this Betty's been telling me about you and some book?"
Dia grimaced and filled her in while Edwards and the maids served the soup. "Right now we're trying to figure out what to do with it," she said.
"Do we get to see it?" Leroy asked. And leaning in closer he asked, "And what's up with Betty's security guy? He's generally frowning at you. You tell him not just no but hell no?"
Dia glanced at him and shook her head. "He blames me for the cats," she said. "And if you want to see it I'll show it to you after lunch, just do us all a favor and don't try to touch it."
"Oh yeah? How come?" Leroy asked, all wide eyed curiosity.
"Because of the way it's warded. It would give you the magical equivalent of a punch in the face."
"Ah, well, I think we've had one too many of those lately," he said. "Man why weren't we home ..." he muttered, looking over at Bobbie's battered face.
"Leroy there was nothing you could have done," Bobbie said. "But I appreciate it. And truly, we do have it under control. So if you want to help me don't make it harder for Simon with Daddy, okay?"
Leroy nodded. "So, like, you really love him?"
Bobbie nodded. "Yeah, like I really love him and he loves me."
Leroy just said, "Okay, got it. Do I get props for taking Jonah's punch when it comes and saving Simon the pain?"
"Props?" Dia asked.
"Like do I get kudos, thank yous, you're a great guy Leroy - like that."
"Of course you do," Dia said. "Why would you even need to ask?"
"Well, I always wanna makes sure I'm not risky my manly handsome jaw for nothing, you know," Leroy replied waggling his eyebrows at her.
Dia stuck her tongue out at him. "You got nothing to worry about, darlin'."
Leroy laughed out loud making a lot of eyes turn toward them. Lev's included.
"So, let's ditch the adults and go out and party," Leroy suggested. "Oh, sorry Betty, that means you gotta go dateless."
She almost spewed her soup. "Man, what does Billie feed you?"
"Grits, honey, pure grits."
Betty shook her head. "Tell her I said you need more red meat."
"Well, someone seems to be having fun," Ian said to Jonah who wasn't.
"And if it had been Adele?" Jonah asked.
"I hope I'd find out who did it and only then kill him," Ian replied quietly.
Jonah met his eyes and then sighed. "You're right."
"Still, it's good to see all three, make that all four, of them together," Ian said to Libby.
She smiled. "It is, thank you for arranging it. It seems so strange that they're spreading out finally. But I'm glad for them."
"Yes, I'm sorry Betty is so far away from her sisters," Ian said. "I'm sorry she's no longer working at what she loves."
Libby looked at him like he was speaking a strange language. "She is working at what she loves."
Ian colored. "I meant her profession."
"I know exactly what you meant," Libby said. "She doesn't miss it at all or haven't you noticed?"
Ian looked over at Betty Jo where she was laughing with Dia and Bobbie over something. "I'm never really sure," he said more to himself than to Libby.
"Guilt will do that," Libby said.
Ian looked over at her. "Do you speak from experience?"
"Yes," she said, smiling at him. "Many years."
Ian reached out and squeezed her hand. "I don't think he misses it."
"Thank you," she said, blushing. "I certainly hope not."
After luncheon they all gathered in the study and looked expectantly at Dia. She shook her head slightly and held out her hand palm up, flicking her fingers and then making a grabbing motion. The book appeared instantly as did both cats. Salem rubbed herself against Dia's ankles while Cele went over to Lev. Dia set the book on the desk and removed the covering of silk and then opened the cover and set the book upright. "The cause of all the fuss," she said.
"It's beautiful," Leroy said, staring at it. "I wouldn't have expected that. What are all those symbols? Can you read 'em?"
"Most of them," Dia said. "The small ones are signs for guarding and warding spells, sigils really. The others...The one on the top is a Pythagorean tetractys made by the four letters of the unmentionable name and by it the seventy-two powers of the great name of God are manifested. The one on the bottom the Tetragrammaton, or four-lettered Name of God, is here arranged as a tetractys within the inverted human heart. Beneath, the name Jehovah is shown transformed into Jehoshua by the interpolation of the radiant Hebrew letter, Shin. The drawing as a whole represents the throne of God and His hierarchies within the heart of man.
"On the sides, the one on the left...In the central triangle are the three Mother Letters from which come forth the seven Double Letters—the planets and the heavens. Surrounding the black star are the signs of the zodiac symbolized by the twelve Simple Letters. In the midst of this star is the Invisible Throne of the Most Ancient of the Ancients—the Supreme Definitionless Creator.
"On the right is what is called The Four Sephirothic Trees. The forty concentric circles are shown arranged as four trees, each consisting of ten circles. These trees disclose the organization of the hierarchies controlling the destinies of all of the creations. The trees are the same in each of the four worlds, but the powers vested in the globes express themselves differently through the substance of each world, resulting in endless differentiation. "
She shrugged. "Sorry about the lecture. The important one, the main one in the center surrounded by the rest, that is the fascinating one. I'm trying to trace it now, but none of the symbologists I've contacted know it, though they are all happy to speculate. All I know for certain is that the image in the center is the Ancient of Days, over what is traditionally understood to be the great Seal of Solomon. Surrounding it is the triangle with the circle inside of it that normally contains the Hebrew letter 'shin" and in that form is the Hebrew Triangle. Here the letter is missing, replaced by the seal and the image and I don't know why."
"It kinda looks familiar to me," Leroy was saying, squinting at it and turning his head sideways. "No idea where I might have seen such a thing, but I've got a good memory for figures."
Simon was sitting back, apparently having gotten bored, as his expression had turned inward. Lev kicked at Cele who still rubbed the side of his leg regardless.
"Really?" Dia said. "Well if it comes to you, let me know."
"Yeah I will," Leroy promised.
Simon was frowning and avoiding Bobbie's eye
The Seal of Solomon
Chapter Thirteen