by Webb, Holly
The pale green girls smiled at her sweetly – with not a hint of apology. Lily smiled a thin-lipped grimace back, and Georgie blinked anxiously between them.
Aunt Clara stood up, and murmured something incoherent, something to do with seeing about the fish. Then she walked out of the room, with a slight list to one side, as though she wasn’t entirely in control of her own feet.
‘Thank goodness she’s gone.’
‘I quite despise your aunt.’
Cora and Penelope spoke at the same time, and Lily found it hard to separate out their humming voices.
‘Such a waste of talent – only a minor one, admittedly, but she could be so much better if she tried.’
‘She’s quite good at her glamour,’ Lily pointed out. It felt odd, defending Aunt Clara when she couldn’t stand her either, but Aunt Clara was theirs. She wasn’t going to let a pair of strangers insult her. Not yet, anyway.
‘That!’ One of them sniffed. ‘Only because she’s been using it so long she’s forgotten she does it. I’m sure she thinks she’s completely natural.’ They sniggered, together.
‘There’s a deadening spell on the house too,’ the other one said, shaking her dark curls irritably. ‘It makes my ears buzz. Anyway. None of that matters. Who are you two? And why are you here? We only came because our father said we must, that the dreadful Fish woman wouldn’t let up until we did. And we were mildly interested to meet you.’
Lily was certain they had been. She could just imagine what fun these two would have with a pair of non-magical sisters living next door.
‘What on earth is the Fish doing, having you here? She can’t stand magic, it’s obvious. Doesn’t she know what you are?’
Lily shrugged, elbowing Georgie in the silken flounces, to remind her sister that she was actually capable of talking.
‘She thinks she can hide us better here, that’s all,’ she explained. ‘She didn’t even know we existed, until she met us by chance, and recognised us. Georgie resembles our mother, you see. Aunt Clara’s sister.’ She decided not to mention the theatre. Something about the icy perfection of the twins made her think that they would disapprove. It wasn’t that Lily was ashamed – or so she told herself, very firmly. But she felt she needed every advantage she had in this little game.
‘Your magic is a great deal stronger than your aunt’s. I’m Penelope, by the way; I can see that you can’t remember.’
Lily smiled, refusing to apologise. ‘Thank you.’ The remnants of the tussle over the spell to banish Aunt Clara were still floating about so powerfully that she could borrow a little of the girls’ own magic. One dark lock of hair crawled slowly into the shape of a P, lying flat against Penelope’s shoulder. Lily could feel Henrietta shaking with amusement, pressed up next to her ankle. Penelope didn’t seem to notice – perhaps she just didn’t think anyone would dare use a spell on her.
‘Aunt Clara’s spent so long trying to pretend she hasn’t got any magic that she’s almost spelled it out of herself. I expect she was a lot stronger once. The spell on this house is horrible.’
‘She didn’t tell our father your surname,’ Cora put in, staring at Lily and Georgie curiously still.
Lily swallowed. It felt important – admitting who they were to another magician. Aunt Clara had already known, or almost. She wondered if Cora and Penelope would have heard of Merrythought.
‘I’m Lily Powers,’ she said, trying not to sound either too proud or too apologetic.
‘Georgiana Powers,’ Georgie admitted.
Cora and Penelope looked slightly less than certain of themselves for the first time since they’d arrived. ‘The Merrythought girls?’ Cora asked, with almost a snap.
Lily nodded, holding back a smile. She felt absurdly pleased that the Dysarts had heard of them. But then, Daniel had known about Merrythought too. She should have expected it. And she had never heard of a family of magicians called Dysart – still, she and Georgie hadn’t been very well educated.
Cora and Penelope were looking at each other, the glassy shallowness of their green eyes spoilt a little. They were most definitely rattled, Lily realised, watching them. She was trying to think how to ask what they knew about her and Georgie, when Penelope spoke, some of the sweet humming tone missing from her voice this time. ‘We’ve heard of you.’
‘Oh. Really?’ Lily raised a polite eyebrow, the way Aunt Clara did when she wanted to make them feel particularly graceless.
‘Your mother, more than you, actually.’
Lily swallowed. There seemed to be a strange frightened lump stuck inside her somewhere, so she could hardly get any words out. ‘Oh?’ she managed. She was impressed with how calm she sounded, and it seemed the Dysarts were too. They glanced at each other, and she could feel their magic, more tentative this time – soft, silky-stroking fingers instead of claws. She tried not to flinch as they played around her hair, tiny wisps of magic stealing into her with every breath.
‘And your father is, ah…’ Cora smirked sweetly at Penelope. ‘Detained?’
Lily glared at her. ‘Unfortunately,’ she admitted coldly. Then, much as she hated asking these girls for a favour, she forced herself to smile a little, despite the fear inside her. ‘We’d like to find him…’
Penelope and Cora snorted in unison, a delicate, ladylike little noise, that wonderfully expressed how stupid Lily was being.
‘Well, that isn’t going to happen, is it?’ Cora purred.
Lily gritted her teeth. ‘You don’t know where he might be?’ she pressed.
‘No,’ Penelope said flatly. ‘Of course not. No one knows.’
Even with all her magic, Lily couldn’t tell if the girl was lying. But it was obvious that the Dysarts either couldn’t, or wouldn’t, tell them anything useful. Lily’s shoulders sagged. If Aunt Clara knew nothing, and neither did these two, what was the point of being here? They should just have stayed at the theatre.
No. If the Dysarts knew something about Mama, Lily and Georgie needed to find out exactly what. Lily flinched, feeling the twins’ magic coiling around her in soft, sticky strands.
Georgie batted her hands across her face, and frowned. ‘You could just ask whatever it is, instead of spying.’
Lily stared at her, and Georgie shrugged. ‘Well, that’s what they’re doing. Why don’t they just come out with it? We all know what we are.’
Lily nodded, her eyes still wide. Every so often Georgie surprised her with a return to the confident, loving older sister she had been before Mama’s magic lessons crushed her. Perhaps a day of quiet embroidery had restored her spirits a little.
‘Then you are part of it too. We thought so.’ Cora nodded in satisfaction. ‘Not that you’ll manage it, you know. You can see how strong we are. We’re going to be the ones to get rid of her. It might take us a year or so more, but we shall do it. Everyone says so.’
The fearful lump was growing, and Lily felt she could hardly breathe through it now. Georgie had seized her hand, and her nails were digging into Lily’s fingers, hard enough to hurt. Lily knew they must be hurting, but she couldn’t feel them at all.
How very strange, was all she could think. They actually want it to happen. We ran away from Mama, and our home. We ran away to nowhere with a couple of dresses each, and a painted dog, and a bag of stolen gold. And they’re boasting about the same plot we’re trying to outrun.
She coughed, squashing the fright away somewhere. It would come back later, she was sure, but for now she smiled. She felt Henrietta nip Georgie’s fingers to make her let go. Dull half-moons of pain were rising on the back of her hand, and it helped to clear her head. Hopefully Penelope and Cora would think she was only frightened they were going to win.
‘Do they really?’ she asked, widening the smile a little as the thoughts buzzed anxiously inside her. Everyone says so? Everyone? How many people were involved in this plot? They had vaguely known that other magician children were working to restore magic to the country, but Lily had always im
agined they were hidden away in remote corners, as she and Georgie had been. Cora and Penelope were as unhidden as they could possibly be, and it sounded as though there were a circle of magicians around them, too.
Lily wondered just how they were planning to assassinate Queen Sophia. She didn’t think they had spells implanted deep inside them, as Georgie had. There was no need, when they obviously knew exactly what they were supposed to do, and were rather looking forward to it. There was an identical expression of slight annoyance on their faces now, as though the girls weren’t used to being doubted. Lily could feel the magic seething inside them. As though they were preparing to prove exactly how good they were…
It was probably lucky that Fraser opened the door to usher in a trio of footmen with silver trays of tea, and cake, and very delicate sandwiches.
The four girls sat staring frostily at each other, while the footmen moved spindly little tables, and unloaded trays. There was very little magic that could be done while holding a plate of cucumber sandwiches, Lily thought gratefully.
Eventually, the footmen marched out again, and Fraser closed the door behind him with a velvet thump.
‘Your aunt is desperately vulgar, but she serves good cake,’ Penelope murmured, after a little while.
Lily nodded, although she didn’t really know. She could hardly taste the food. She was waiting for one of them to fling something at her, perhaps a fireball, like the one Georgie had thrown at Daniel, the first time they met. Aunt Clara would blame her if it singed the curtains, Lily thought vaguely.
But it seemed that the Dysart girls had decided it would be impolite to nobble the competition in their own house. Or perhaps they thought that Lily and Georgie might be stronger on their own territory. They finished their tea with only occasional delicate spells floating across the room, most of which Lily and Georgie ignored. The flower arrangements became more voluptuous, and grew several odd additions, as spells were deflected into them, and at one point the sunburst clock melted slightly. That was Lily’s fault, as she was wondering how much longer the Dysarts could possibly stay.
Then, with an amused glance at the seeping clock, Cora rose, and bowed a little. ‘So very pleasant to meet you. You will call on us, won’t you? It’s so lovely to have company next door – such very nice company.’
Lily nodded, and Georgie murmured, ‘Of course,’ and rang for Fraser.
As he ushered Cora and Penelope out, Lily sank back against the brocade of the sofa, and moaned.
Henrietta jumped up beside her. ‘What on earth are you going to tell your aunt?’
‘What have you done to my mother?’
The drawing-room door swung open with a bang, and Lily jumped up like a cornered cat. Penelope and Cora had left her nervous, and the door slamming into the wall like that was the loudest noise the girls had heard in this house. Aunt Clara’s spell usually seemed to muffle everything.
‘Nothing!’ Lily gasped, as her cousin snarled at her. ‘I mean, what are you talking about?’
‘She didn’t even see me! I was talking to her, and she didn’t know who I was. She just said something about trout.’ Louis was hissing with anger, but his eyes were frightened.
Lily glanced helplessly at Georgie. What should they say? Aunt Clara had been so determined that Louis wasn’t to know about the magic. ‘She – er – went off to lie down, while the Dysart girls were here visiting. Perhaps she isn’t feeling well?’ she suggested. She wondered how long Aunt Clara would keep talking about fish – Penelope and Cora had obviously included their nickname for her in the spell somehow.
‘Them… I might have known.’ Louis looked behind him, and obviously saw one of the servants lurking, for he closed the door quickly. ‘You’re like them, aren’t you? You are, anyway,’ he added, nodding to Lily.
‘What are you talking about?’ Lily repeated feebly. He wasn’t supposed to know any of this…
‘They’re tainted. Magic-tainted, I’m sure of it. I can’t prove anything, that’s all. And no one would believe me.’
That awful word again. It wasn’t a taint. Lily seethed silently. But how did he know?
‘I can tell,’ he muttered, leaning back against the door, looking lost. ‘They feel strange, and so do you. All wrong.’
‘He does have some magic in him then,’ Georgie muttered in her ear. ‘Or he wouldn’t notice.’
‘Not very much.’ Lily sniffed. ‘Strange how?’ she demanded.
He shrugged. ‘Just strange. You’ve got it, haven’t you? Mama’s always trying to see if I have too, it runs in her family.’
Lily nodded. She still disliked Louis, but he was suddenly a great deal more interesting. ‘She thinks you don’t know anything about it,’ she murmured, watching him carefully.
Louis grunted in disgust. ‘I’m not stupid.’ He shivered suddenly. ‘I wish I didn’t know. Every morning I wake up thinking it’ll be today when it happens.’
Lily nodded. She’d felt the same – only she had been desperately wishing for the magic to come, not dreading it. ‘You might like it.’
Louis stared up at her through his tangled fringe. ‘Are you mad?’ he demanded coldly. ‘I don’t want to be shut up in Fell Hall, even if you do!’
‘Fell Hall?’ Lily echoed. Then she gasped, and ran across the room, seizing his hands. ‘Is that the prison? The magicians’ prison? Do you know where it is?’
Louis pushed her away. ‘Don’t you know anything?’ he snapped, dusting down his sleeves, as though he were exquisitely dressed, and Lily had fatally crumpled a perfect outfit. ‘Of course it isn’t a prison. No one knows where the magicians’ prison is.’ He hesitated, and added miserably, ‘Although I suppose Fell Hall probably feels like one, when you’re there. It’s a school. A reform school, for the children of magicians.’
‘Like us…?’ Georgie asked, her voice very small.
Louis didn’t even bother answering her. ‘I don’t understand why those snakes from next door aren’t there,’ he muttered. ‘If anyone needs reforming, it’s them.’
‘Too well-connected,’ Lily pointed out. ‘That’s why they were here. For us to get on their good side.’
‘Did you?’ Louis asked suspiciously.
‘I don’t think so. They – er—’ Lily wasn’t quite sure what to tell him. It obviously wasn’t safe to mention the plot. ‘They seemed worried that our magic might be as strong as theirs,’ she admitted.
‘But it isn’t, because we don’t actually do any. Of course,’ Georgie put in hurriedly.
Louis snorted.
‘We really haven’t done any magic in this house,’ Lily told him. It was only a very little bit of a lie.
‘So you could? If you wanted?’ he asked, peering at her, round-eyed.
‘If we were doing magic here, our first spell would be to teach you some manners,’ Henrietta remarked calmly from the sofa. ‘You’ve been remarkably rude, ever since we arrived.’
Louis gawped at her for a few seconds, and then drew himself up straight. ‘I knew there was something unnatural about you,’ he told her, trying not to sound scared.
‘Magic is perfectly natural.’ Henrietta smirked at him. ‘It’s denying it that’s wrong. You’ll come to a bad end, if you try to hide it.’
‘And I’ll be shut up in a school full of freaks if I don’t!’ he snapped back. ‘Besides, I might not have any magic. I probably won’t. Mama doesn’t. What?’ He glared at Henrietta and the girls as they all began to laugh.
‘Her bad end is taking rather a long time to arrive, that’s all…’ Henrietta explained. ‘She has been denying her magic for years, except for a few spells she has on this house, and herself. She has a remarkably determined way of looking at things, it seems to me. She thinks the spells are just her high standards, and society manners, but it’s far more than that. And they’re grown into her now. She’ll never be rid of them.’
‘She doesn’t…’ Louis faltered, as he seemed to realise what he was saying – and what he’d
been seeing, ever since he’d been old enough to understand. ‘She just doesn’t,’ he muttered again. But the girls could tell he knew, deep down. He was silent for a moment, staring unseeingly at the melted clock, and then he seemed to harden, shaking off his fear, and looking sharply at Lily. ‘Why did you think Fell Hall was a prison? What do you want to know about prisons for?’
‘Our father is in one.’
‘A gaolbird! Does Mama know?’ Louis’s eyes brightened at the thought of scandal. ‘She’d have a fit.’ He almost giggled, as if he was so scared he’d turned silly.
‘She probably put him there,’ Lily told him bitterly. ‘He wouldn’t give up his magic. She would have been desperate to get him out of the way, wouldn’t she?’
Louis nodded. ‘She would only have been doing her duty as an Englishwoman,’ he murmured, but he seemed uncertain about it. ‘Family…’ He shrugged. ‘Her sister’s husband, though, she ought not to have done it.’
‘She would have been protecting her good name – and yours,’ Henrietta told him sternly. ‘Should she care more for her sister’s family, or her own?’
‘You can’t defend her!’ Lily protested, staring at Henrietta in surprise.
‘I may not agree with her, but that’s not to say I can’t understand her reasoning.’ Henrietta yawned, so widely that the ridged underside of her jaw glinted in the sunny drawing room. She shut her mouth with a snap, and looked sideways at Lily. ‘Water under the bridge, now, anyway.’
‘I suppose.’ Lily sighed.
Louis glanced up, and then left the doorway, and came to crouch by Henrietta on the sofa. He clearly didn’t dare touch her, but she darted out her purplish tongue, and licked his hand, so he squeaked with surprise, and smiled shyly. ‘Mama won’t let me have a dog. She says it wouldn’t be fair, since I’m away at school for most of the time. She’s right, but I would so love one.’
‘Rude, but essentially good-natured,’ Henrietta pronounced, licking him again. ‘Like most boys.’