Amongst the boxes of auction records, Aaron found the name of the estate's executors: Blackwater, Kingsley, and Forth. Their secretary accepted Aaron's request for information and promised that the firm would "be in touch," after due research was conducted.

Some weeks later, after two further requests, the pharmacist received a polite letter from the lawyers, informing him that no "dragon's eggs" were listed among the items sold at auction. However, Mr. Kingsley recalled that Lady von Sedgewick owned an object called a "Dragon's Egg", which may have been a betrothal gift from Lord Titus haut Mikide, and might therefore be the item Mr. Lightfoot is seeking.

"Sedgewick, Sedgewick," the Lapi muses. "Doesn't ring a bell, but she should be in the registry of nobles." He then takes out the latest edition of said listing (it pays to know who can afford luxury items, after all) and looks up the name.

Lady Evelyn von Sedgewick is, indeed, listed in the registry, along with her townhouse address. Not one of the most prominent of nobles – she does not own a countryside estate – but wealthy enough and with an old, well-respected, name. She has a separate address from her brother, who inherited their estate, and is listed as single – and therefore a spinster, at the age of almost thirty.

Aaron takes care to clean up and look as dapper as he can before visiting, worried that as an unmarried woman, Lady Evelyn may be reluctant to give up the keepsake of her late fiancée. Just to be safe, he also packs a few perfume and soap samples – no need to waste a visit, even if the egg search doesn't pan out. He lets Jasmine know where he's going, and heads over to the noble's townhouse.

The townhouse has a spacious yard, both front and back, well-maintained and featuring a number of flowerbeds and garden statuary. A stone walkway leads to the front porch and an arched front door, while a side path from the driveway, towards the carriage house, leads to the servant's entrance.

Since the shopkeeper's business is with the mistress of the house, he decides to try the main entrance, giving the bell-pull next to the door a tug.

A whippet in a butler's uniform answers the door, and sniffs disdainfully at the Lapi's appearance. "Yes?" he asks, his voice high-pitched and squeaky.

Aaron bows, and presents the servant with his business card. "Good day, sir. I was hoping to speak with the Lady Evelyn about a business matter, if she is not indisposed."

He sniffs again, accepting the card between forefinger and thumb, like a dead vermite he had no wish to touch. "I will ask Madame," he replies dubiously, closing the door again.

While waiting, Aaron looks out at the garden, wishing he had space to plant one of his own.

A plump, silvery-grey poodle wearing a tough cotton shirt and dark gray overalls, carrying a spade in her right hand and a few other gardening tools holstered in her belt, comes around to the front, humming as she walks. She shades her eyes from the sunlight as she notes the Lapi standing on the porch, and smiles. "Halloo," she calls to him.

Aaron smiles and waves back to the poodle, "Good day, Madam. This is a fine garden you've cultivated, I must say."

The poodle beams, the expression brightening an otherwise ordinary face. "Thank you, you're very kind," she replies. "It's my favorite part of the house, I must say." Her eyes roam over the nearest flowerbed, and she kneels down to pull up a weed.

"I don't suppose you know if Lady Evelyn is in today?" the Lapi asks, sounding hopeful.

The gardener puts one hand to her mouth to stifle a chuckle. "I suppose you could say that technically she's out," the poodle answers. She casts the weed to one side after working it out of the ground, and stands, brushing her hands off on her overalls.

Aaron's ears droop slightly, the black one flopping across his face. He brushes it aside, and asks, "Do you know when she'll be around? I needed to ask her about the Dragon's Egg."

"Oh, I think she'll be around, well … now." The poodle holsters her forked weed puller, and strolls over to the porch, offering the Lapi her hand. "Lady Evelyn von Sedgewick," she introduces herself. "And you are… ?"

Aaron says, "Oh!" Aaron exclaims, and kisses the back of the offered hand. "I am Aaron Lightfoot, of Lightfoot's Apothecary. I hope you don't mind the intrusion into your gardening, milady!"

"Oh, not at all, sir," Lady von Sedgewick replies politely. "People can come and say nice things about my garden any time they like." She smiles again, walking up the steps to take a seat on the padded porch swing. "Now, you were asking about my Dragon's Egg, Mr. Lightfoot?"

Aaron stands before the poodle, and explains, "Yes milady. I was wondering if the Dragon's Egg that Lord Titus gave you was actually a genuine egg, rather than a gem or other piece of artwork."

The poodle smiles again. "It's a piece of artwork, leastwise I've always thought of it as such. A lovely thing, about as big as your head – well, minus the ears, anyway – with a shell of gold and inlaid with precious gemstones." Her eyes gaze off into the distance. "Poor sweet Titus," she murmurs. "I've not looked at my precious Egg in an age, it seems. You can come have a look, if you like," she offers the Lapi, returning her attention to the present.

Aaron smiles, despite feeling a bit disappointed. "I would be honored, milady. I seldom get to see such exotic artifacts in my line of business."

"I'm sure it will enjoy the attention," Lady von Sedgewick declares, standing and opening the door, her eyes bright and pleased. "Come along," she says, beckoning her guest inside.

The Lapi follows along as bidden, trying not to seem too obviously gawky. He doesn't get to see the insides of such households often, after all.

The interior of the house seems dim by contrast with the bright sunlight without, despite the lavish appointments and rich furnishings. The poodle leads him up the front staircase, shooing away the whippet as the butler starts to speak, and down a corridor to a large room set up like a gallery, with a variety of paintings hung on the walls, and a number of sculptures and artifacts scattered around on pedestals and in display cases. Most of the relics look old, like archaeological artifacts. "My Precious Room," the lady announces, with some satisfaction.

"You have quite an impressive collection, milady!" Aaron says, with genuine respect. Whenever he tries to collect things, they usually turn out to be illegal or troublesome in some way.

"Thank you. I accumulated much when I was younger, especially when Lord Titus was alive. I've not gotten anything new in so long, I seldom come here to look at them any more," the canine murmurs wistfully. "Here, the Dragon's Egg is over this way." She gestures to the far right, where a gold ovoid rests on a stand within a glass case. It actually looks as large as Aaron's head, ears included, perhaps a foot and a half tall.

"Hmmm," Aaron muses, as he leans in for a closer look. It does seem awfully big, after all. He looks to see if the gems are truly embedded, or just attached to the surface.

Close examination shows von Sedgewick's Egg to be the right shape for a true egg, as well. It looks gold-plated, about eighteen inches tall and ten wide, with a pair of intertwined serpentine dragons wrapped around its exterior. The gems that encrust it do not seem embedded – instead, hooked onto the surface by raised gold facings. "Let me get you better light," Lady von Sedgewick says, opening the curtains on a nearby window. The brilliant sunlight almost blinds eyes accustomed to the dimness.

Aaron blinks to clear the glare from his vision, and checks the egg again for any spots where the plating is worn off or bare, so he can confirm that it really is an egg underneath the ornamentation.

"I know some say the Egg's solid gold," Lady von Sedgewick chatters as she opens another set of curtains, letting sunlight flood in, "but she's just a thick gold shell, over ceramic, I believe. Much too light to be solid gold. I've held her." After Aaron's eyes adjust, the bright light makes the artifact easier to study. The gems on it, in full sunlight, don't seem to glitter quite the way he'd have expected them to, making them look a little cheap and tawdry. Near the base, where it's in contact with the stand, he spies a little scrape in the gold plate, revealing whiteness beneath.

"May I hold it, milady?" the Lapi asks. "If it is an actual egg, it might feel lighter than one made of ceramic."

She chuckles. "Oh, I don't think you could tell the difference, the gold makes it so heavy as it is. It's a good pound and a half of gold on it, Mr. Lightfoot. Let me see if I've got the key to the case here… " She starts rummaging through her pockets.

"If it is ceramic though, I might be able to smell it," the Lapi explains. "I have a very sensitive nose, milady. It's essential for the sort of work I do."

After a few moments, she produces a ring of keys, nodding to the Lapi. "It'll do her good to feel the air, I think," the poodle muses, selecting one key and unlocking the latch on the glass display box. She swings the door open, and reaches inside for the Egg, cradling it out like a mother holding her baby. "Oof," Lady von Sedgewick offers the burden to the Lapi, a little frown creasing her brow. "Careful with it, now."

Aaron takes the heavy object carefully, rotating it to bring the worn spot close to his nose, where he gives it a good sniff for traces of clay – or any other scents that might indicate something other than ceramic.

The ovoid doesn't seem especially heavy for its size, certainly weighing more than a pound and a half, however – perhaps six pounds or more. When the Lapi sniffs at it, however, it doesn't smell of clay or ceramic – instead, it smells like… lead. The scrape at the bottom doesn't show through to white after all, but rather a dull gray. "You know, it's lighter than I remember," Lady von Sedgewick is saying as the shopkeeper inspects it.

"It smells like lead," the rabbit says, a bit surprised. He holds it up to one of his large ears and taps the side, listening for the sound of a hollow object.

"Lead?" Lady von Sedgewick blinks in surprise. "There's no lead in it." At the Lapi's tap, it rings a hollow tung.

Aaron carefully replaces the egg on its stand. "And you remember it weighing more, you said? I don't suppose you had it appraised when you first received it, milady?"

"Yes, of course I did." The poodle looks a little faint and nervous, and she reaches for the egg after Aaron puts it back, cradling it in her arms and stroking it. "Oh dear… ," she murmurs, worried.

Frowning, Aaron says, "Then I'm afraid you may have been burglarized, madam. Do you remember anyone else showing an interest in the egg? A skilled Earth Mage could have produced a counterfeit, with false gems and fool's gold, but someone would still have needed to make the switch, and been able to describe it in great enough detail for the counterfeit to be created."

"Oh dear," She doesn't seem to really hear the Lapi's words. "Many people have inquired about my egg … but … " The poodle trails off, then suddenly clutches the object to her chest. "This isn't my egg!" she wails, and bursts into tears.

Aaron blinks at the outburst, and immediately puts an arm around the poodle's shoulder and tries to comfort her. "Don't worry, Lady Evelyn, I'm sure we can figure out who took it. I'll get your egg back for you!"