Gliding on silent feet, she paused at the door to listen. No sound emerged, so Clio held her breath and twisted the handle, hoping Anna wasn’t prone to screams.
The nursery was exactly what one might expect. It was painted in soft pinks and dewy greens. Large windows let in the wintry morning light. A fire crackled in a hearth on the far side of the large open space, and lamps had been lit to bring false cheer to the room. Lemon oil and fresh linen lent the air a comforting cleanliness.
Clio’s eyes stalled on a young girl sitting in a bay window, a book on her lap and a doll leaning drunkenly against the girl’s side. She was dressed in a beautiful white lace affair that heightened the sense of fragile innocence surrounding her. She looked very much like the half-finished painting Clio had found in Lord Beachley’s home. Her dark-blonde hair lay around her shoulders in perfect ringlets. Huge, brown eyes only grew larger in a face that was porcelain-doll pale. Anna’s pink lips opened in a silent, ‘Oh.’
Before she could make a sound, Clio moved swiftly to whereAnna sat and crouched so she was at the same level as the girl. She smiled kindly, and Sir Robin cooed a gentle, melodic whistle.
Anna’s gaze moved from Clio to the bird and back again. ‘W-who are you?’
‘Hullo, Anna. I’m Clio. A friend of your aunt’s.’ She turned to look over her shoulder at Thomas. ‘And this is Lieutenant General Grey.’
Goddess, he is handsome. And looks as sinister as the Devil on Samhain. The poor girl will be terrified.
She turned back to gauge the child’s reaction. Instead of screaming or jumping from her seat and attempting escape, Anna turned to Sir Robin. ‘Is that a raven?’ She pointed her finger at the bird.
Sir Robin fluffed his feathers, clearly pleased the clever girl had correctly identified him. He stretched his neck forward, and the young girl bravely extended her hand, running chubby fingers over his sleek head.
‘Yes. Your aunt thought you might like to meet him.’
‘He is very beautiful.’ Anna’s gaze remained locked onto Sir Robin.
‘Beautiful!’ Sir Robin chirped. Anna’s face broke into a delighted grin, the book falling from her lap as she clapped her hands and giggled.
‘He talks! A bird who really talks!’
Clio couldn’t stop her own smile. The girl’s joy was infectious. While she knew Anna had been very sick, she seemed to be moving towards recovery. Her cheeks held the faint blush of health, her eyes were bright and flashed with intelligence, and there was a glow about her that defied any lingering illness.
‘Sometimes, he talks entirely too much.’ Grey’s rough voice stroked over Clio’s senses, but she refused to be distracted.
‘Mother told me not to speak to strangers. She said I mustalways be very careful. Even now. But a bird can’t possibly be a stranger.’ The girl’s brows drew down in confusion as she looked from Clio to Thomas. ‘But you are strangers. Mother wouldn’t want you here. Are you going to take me to my father?’
Clio’s heart stalled.
Dear goddess. Did the girl not realise her mother was missing, and her father was dead? Had grief pulled her into madness?
‘He said a woman would come with black hair and a bird. But Mother told me to stay away from him.’ Tears filled Anna’s eyes, and Clio tried to follow her skipping logic. Who told her they would be coming?
Sir Robin hopped onto the girl’s lap, tucking his head under her chin and leaning his body against her narrow chest, chirping in his version of a soothing murmur.
Anna’s eyes flew wide for a moment before she lifted her hand and stroked his wing. ‘You’re such a lovely raven. I don’t think Mother would tell me to stay away from you, Sir Robin.’
A cold ball of dread formed in Clio’s belly.
‘How did you know his name?’ She asked the question in tandem with Thomas, but fear eclipsed any annoyance she might feel at Thomas for stepping into her investigation.
Anna blinked owlish eyes at Clio, then over her shoulder at Thomas. Shrugging, she resumed stroking Sir Robin’s midnight feathers. ‘Father told me, silly. When he said you would come to visit.’
16
Clio looked back at Thomas, her mouth going dry as her thoughts raced. His worried gaze communicated everything she felt. Carefully relaxing her features to be neutral, she turned back to the child.
‘Anna, when did your father tell you that?’
‘A few days ago. Mother told me not to listen. She said Father is full of lies, but he said a girl would come with a raven, and look. Here you are.’
Damnation. Can she see the dead?
Witches weren’t the only ones who had strange powers. Clio had heard of others, mages and mediums who could commune with the dead, but she’d never met one who wasn’t a cheap charlatan.
