The Pinhoe Egg
Diana Wynne Jones
 Marianne Pinhoe's family tries to keep their magic a secret. They don't want the "Big Man", or Chrestomanci, interfering, as he tends to do when people misuse magic. And the Pinhoes certainly are guilty of that. Gammer, the head of the Pinhoe clan, has ostensibly gone mad, but Marianne doesn't believe that she's completely 'round the twist. She's sure that Gammer's the one sending plagues to the Farleighs, a related clan that also wishes to stay out of the sights of the "Big Man". Until recently, the Farleighs and the Pinhoes had been working together, but it seems that Gammer has started a war, and it'll be hard to keep their operations under wraps for long. Meanwhile, up at the Castle, Cat acquires a horse. He also meets the man who was bootboy at the Castle when the current Chrestomanci was a lad, Jason, and helps him and his new wife choose a house. They finally settle on Woods House, Gammer's old place, and Marianne, while showing Cat around, gives him an old egg from the attic, an egg with strong "Don't Notice" spells placed on it. An egg that is sure to arouse the interest of the "Big Man" up at the castle – something the rest of the Pinhoe clan, and Gammer in particular, doesn't want at all.