Hallie came back to the main living space to find Cotovatre and Emmet standing. Emmet had put her bag down on the floor next to the door leading to the bedrooms.
“What do you think?” Cotovatre asked. She sounded oddly nervous.
“It’s lovely, thank you,” Hallie said, trying to put as much sincerity into the words as she could. It was true. Despite the large size of the rooms and the beautiful craftsmanship, it felt like someone’s home rather than a show piece. The wall colour was a soft, neutral grey that felt warm rather than cold, and there were accents of colour here and there in the chairs in the living area and wall art around the dining table. It felt like somewhere she could relax in after a long day.
“Oh, I’m so glad. There were a few apartments available, but this one just felt like you, somehow,” Cotovatre said. “Now, Alys has been in and stocked the fridge and cupboards for you, and also made up one of the bedrooms and put some clothes in for you. You don’t have to use that room, of course, but we thought you would like the view.”
“I do,” Hallie said, glancing at the long windows looking out over the city. “That was kind of you both.”
“Not at all. We wanted to make sure you would be comfortable here, after such a big change.” Cotovatre hesitated, and Hallie sharpened her focus. The lady rarely seemed uncertain. “The more proper thing might have been to invite you into my ownhome to live there, but I had a feeling you would appreciate the independence of your own space a lot more.”
By way of an answer, responding as much to the hint of nervousness Cotovatre was showing as to her own reaction, Hallie crossed the room and gave her ancestor a brief, warm hug. She didn’t think she’d ever hugged people as much as she had today. Perhaps it was the jet lag, which was still weighing her down despite Cotovatre’s magic.
“I am really honoured that you went to so much trouble for me,” Hallie said, her voice low, trying to talk through a tightness in her throat. “I would have been happy to stay with you, but you are right. I am used to my own space. I think we both are.”
“Very true,” Cotovatre said, giving a little laugh. “Now, it is very late, and you are exhausted. If you have need of anything, please let me or Emmet know. Oh, and I will send Alys to you tomorrow evening to help you dress.”
Hallie was about to say she could manage to dress herself, when she glanced at Cotovatre’s formal attire and decided that, actually, she would love to have Alys’ help.
Once Emmet and Cotovatre had left, Hallie took her bag through to the bedroom and stood for a long moment, looking out at the city views, the sense of disconnection and displacement threatening to overwhelm her. The ugly confrontation with her mother felt like half a lifetime ago, numbed not only by the tiredness weighing her body but by the quiet luxury around her. It seemed impossible to believe that this was real, that this was her life now. And yet, it was. She knew it was. Her truth sense told her so. She was standing on soft carpet, warm and safe in a place her ancestor had chosen for her, looking out at a view of her city. A great yawn took her unawares. However displaced she might feel, her body and her mind needed rest. She found the cord that would close thecurtains and, with some reluctance, shut out the view, turning to the mundane and necessary need for rest.
To her surprise, despite the events of the day, she was asleep almost as soon as her head met the pillow, sleeping until the alarm on her phone woke her at her normal time.
Chapter fourteen
Halliewassurprisedhoweasy it was to get ready for the day in a completely new space, and how comfortable she felt. She had been in a lot of new places over the past two weeks - far more than ever before in her life - and all of those had felt slightly strange. The apartment didn’t feel odd to her, though. Instead, the quiet felt comfortable and welcoming and home-like. Finding the fridge and freezer full of an amazing variety of prepared meals, all with clearly marked dates to use by, Hallie decided to have a proper breakfast. She made herself coffee and found a box in the fridge that someone - she presumed Alys - had labelled asbreakfast hash. She sat at the dining table, facing the windows, and thought she might never get tired of the view, even as it reminded her of how far she was from the familiar streets of low city. This wasn’t even midtown, but all the way up in high city, where her neighbours would behochlen. Not the absolute elite, though. She’d picked up enough from what Cotovatre had said and not said to understandthat the people living in these apartments worked for a living, possibly for the Conclave. And Girard was one of the occupants, too. Then she took a bite of the dish and was distracted again. Apparently, breakfast hash was a mix of eggs, potatoes, bacon, onion and other things she didn’t recognise. It was absolutely delicious, on a par with Rosalia’s cooking, which made Hallie wonder how her roommate was doing. She dragged herself away from the food and very fine coffee to send a message to Rosalia, and also to Girard, checking when and where she should meet him.
As she was clearing away her breakfast dishes, she had a reply from Girard saying he’d meet her at the front door and giving a time which was only a few minutes away, so she loaded the dishwasher - a luxury she’d never had access to before - and then got her jacket. At least her clothes were familiar. She had dressed in normal working clothes of boots, jeans and leather jacket, with the extra layer of a sweatshirt over her t-shirt. The city was still in winter, even though the sun was trying to make an appearance.
As she was leaving the apartment, she remembered to pick up the notebooks she’d been using as well as the electronic tablet the investigators had provided. As she’d been finding it helpful to take notes, she didn’t want to leave them behind, and she was sure that whatever car Girard was driving would have a glove compartment big enough for her to stow the notebooks and tablet.
She took the stairs down to the ground level and found a different watchman on duty. This one looked equally grey-haired and had the same sharp gaze. He nodded to her as she passed.
“Good morning, Miss Talbot. Master Abbott is just bringing the car around.”
“Thank you,” Hallie said, and headed out into the bite of a winter morning. She’d already seen that it was a grey day, with a brisk wind.
Seen in the morning light, the gardens around the building were even more impressive than the night before. She wanted to go and explore, touch the silvered bark of a group of trees she could see not that far away, and brush her hands over the frothy leaves of a short plant to see if they were as soft as they looked. Perhaps she’d get a chance to do that another day. Thinking that made her unsettled all over again. Being surrounded by vibrant plant life, even in the middle of winter, was not something she was used to. For a moment she wished she’d stayed in low city, in the house that Rosalia had worked so hard on, waking up in her own, narrow bed. It was only a moment. It felt ungrateful after the effort and expense that Cotovatre and her people had put into finding the apartment. And staying in low city, in that house, would only have put Rosalia at risk of Wilona’s wrath. Better for everyone that Hallie was here, even if she felt more like a visitor than a resident for now.
Before her mind could spiral any farther, a sleek, dark town car pulled up on the street a short distance in front of her and Girard got out, coming around the car towards her.
Happy to have someone familiar to anchor to, Hallie went to meet him and surprised herself by drawing him into a hug, holding tight for the space of three breaths, drawing in the familiar weight and warmth of him. From the way his arms came around her and held her back, she thought he welcomed the contact as much as she did. When she loosened her hold and took a step back, he raised a hand to touch her cheek. Heat rose in her face. They might be standing alone for the moment, but they were outside an apartment building with the doorman not far away, and she still had a strong instinct to keep whatever wasbetween her and Girard private, something just for them, at least for now.
“You look better,” Hallie said, almost involuntarily. The unhealthy pallor and sheen of sweat were gone, and there were no shadows under his pale blue eyes. His blond hair was tousled, as if he’d been running his hands through it, but that was normal.
He grinned, eyes bright, and a faint hint of colour washed over his face. “I feel a lot better. Sorry I wasn’t in touch overnight. I was actually sleeping right up until about an hour ago. I woke up to Lady Cotovatre’s message that you’d moved in here.”
“Should you still be sleeping?” Hallie asked immediately, concern spiking.
“No,” he said, the lack of hesitation reassuring Hallie almost as much as her truth sense. “The medics have cleared me. And I don’t want to lose any more time.”
“Right. We have work to do, and the Conclave starts tomorrow,” Hallie said, setting aside her relief that he was healed and turning her attention back to the job at hand.
Girard moved to the back of the car and took something out of the boot, holding it out to her. The gun and holster she had left in the investigators’ offices. “The admins are ordering up a gun safe and permit for you so you don’t need to leave this behind every day.”
“Alright,” Hallie said, taking the gun and settling the holster and extra ammunition onto her belt. The move was becoming more familiar with practice although she thought she still had a long way to go before carrying a gun was second nature to her. She shook her head slightly, remembering that she’d felt just as strange leaving the gun behind the day before as she did putting it back on.
“Lady Cotovatre didn’t tell me what happened to prompt your move,” Girard said, as Hallie settled the holster. “I can’t imaginethat you and Rosalia had an argument. You don’t need to tell me, but I am happy to listen if you want to talk.”
