Wiping my eyes, I said, “Do you have any raspberry tarts, Theodora?”
After thrusting a generous amount of pastries in my hands, Theodora and Rowena ushered me upstairs with gentle smiles. I excused myself to bed after dropping a few tarts off to Genevieve, leaving my portion untouched.
I rearranged my blanket, staring out the gap between the curtains of my window. The chirping of crickets was the only sound that filled the silence. At the gap under my door, Genevieve’s light doused. I wondered what she would think of the whole affair. That I was half witch. That I possessed magic—actual, dangerous magic.
But the purple smudge at the garden didn’t seem dangerous at all. Was my magic merely seeing strange colors?
Rowena had made things move on their own accord. I squinted hard at the ottoman a few feet away from my bed, willing it to spin as she had done to my armchair.
Nothing happened.
I was too exhausted to know if I was relieved or disappointed.
8
When the sun rose,we set off to the Strongfoots. I had almost forgotten last night’s ordeal until Theodora and Rowena met me outside.
“Are you sure you don’t want us to come with you?” Theodora said, gripping my hands.
I looked earnestly at my nannies. I was half-tempted to take them with me but I knew Lydia wouldn’t be pleased. “I’ll be fine,” I said.
They looked doubtful, like how I felt.
Rowena pulled me into a hug and pinched my cheek—something she hadn’t stopped doing even after my face lost the chubbiness of girlhood. “We won’t be far. Write us if anything disastrous happens, alright?”
I pulled back. “Will anything disastrous happen?”
“Now look! You’ve gone and scared her again,” Theodora scolded.
Rowena put her hands on her hips. “Well, better expect the unexpected. During my Emergence I set a house on fire.”
“You what?”
“It was harmless fire. It was quite pretty, actually, from what I remember.”
“What Rowena means to say is that some things will take you by surprise,” Theodora said, nudging her out of the way. “But I doubt your magic will misbehave at this stage. Remember to stay calm.”
