“I wasn’t going to risk Smith casting that spell on you!”
“So you endangeredyourself?” Penelope demands.
“He couldn’t hurt me!” I say. “I knew his spells would bounce off.”
“You couldn’t have known that, Simon.”
“Well, theydidbounce off . . .”
Baz is still standing behind her, looking pale and furious.
“Baz . . .” I say.
“Are you hurt?” he asks.
“Only superficially; Penny’s mum cast a thousand spells on me to make sure. I’m fine.”
He shakes his head. “You lied to us, Snow.”
“I . . .” I did lie. But it was the right thing to do in the moment. I couldn’t risk either of them getting hurt. “I did what I had to do.”
“Oh,shit,” Penelope says. She’s looking past me. Her mum is walking out of the Weeping Tower. Penny tries to head her off. “Dad,” she calls over her shoulder, “don’t let Mum cast on Shepard!”
Baz steps closer to me. There’s a line between his eyebrows. He’s unfolded his arms, only to put his hands on his hips. He doesn’t say anything.
“Did you get your wand back?” I ask.
His shoulders drop a bit. He looks down. “Yeah.” He runs one hand through his hair and sighs. I can’t tell what the sigh means or what he wants from me. “Daphne’s waiting for me,” he says. “I said I’d drive her home.”
“Oh,” I say. “That’s good.”
“Yeah, it’s a relief.” He looks up at me, without lifting his head. “Do you . . .”
“I’ve got to get Jamie home. He’s dead tired.”
“To Lady Salisbury’s?”
“Yeah.”
“She’ll be happy.”
“She will. Baz . . .” I start, not sure how I’ll finish.
He shakes his head again. “You can’t lie to me, Simon.”
“I—”
“Daphne is waiting for me,” he says. He turns to go.
79
AGATHA
Niamh wipes my hands clean, finger by finger.
The doe has nursed her kid. Niamh says they’re both doing well, though the mother is clearly exhausted.
“I wish we could take them back to the barn,” I say.
