Then the fox had to wait while the kit disappeared, presumably having it out with the bug. He stood, shivering, with the tired pads of his feet in the snow. He could just barely feel Lovisa in a different part of the building, if he strained his mind. But she was asleep. That was good, at least, that she was able to sleep. The fox himself wasn’t getting much sleep these days.

I’m back! yelled the kit.

Could you tell me what Lovisa has been worrying about? he asked.

No, but can you believe that Nev has sex with a boy I don’t like? Almost every night! At the Cliff Farm! I don’t know why she likes him!

I’m sorry, said the fox. Humans can be very aggravating.

I wish he would get impaled by an icicle! said the kit. I wish he would get trampled by a horse! I wish someone would bite off his penis while he’s sleeping!

You’re not . . . going to do that, are you? said the fox, briefly diverted from his purpose.

Of course not, said the kit. I’m not supposed to know what’s going on. It would be a betrayal of the secrets of foxkind.

Indeed, it would.

I tried to convince a goose at the Cliff Farm to do it, but she was too stupid.

The fox, who considered a disinterest in biting off a human penis to be a mark of intelligence, tried to refocus the conversation. Is there nothing you can tell me about Lovisa?

Nothing really! Wait! I smell a biscuit!

Wait! Wait a moment. Why does Quona want you to keep an eye on Lovisa?

Mostly she asks me about Nev, said the kit. I’m supposed to report whenever I can and tell her if Nev is safe. But I also tell her if others are safe, including Lovisa.

Why would she care if Lovisa is safe?

I don’t think she likes Lovisa’s parents. She doesn’t like a lot of the students’ parents.

Is Lovisa safe?

How would I know? said the kit. At least she’s not having sex with a horrible boy!

This was a waste of time. The fox ran back home on numb paws, the journey long and cold. He climbed into his bed again, relieved to find the house quiet, no fox visitors, no new dramas. Ferla lay twisted in her blankets, stilled by the effects of a soporific tea that brought unconsciousness, but not true rest. She would wake with a spinning mind, trying to find her way out of the trap she found herself in, thinking confused thoughts about her husband, her daughter. Grasping at her options for eliminating the problem of the queen.

The fox shivered, unable to sleep. Like everyone else, he didn’t know what he was going to do. And he had the sense that he was running out of time.

Chapter Twenty-six