‘If I may,’ said the boy, glancing again at Dot. There was a flicker of malice to his expression, as if her being on the couch inconvenienced him terribly.
‘Of course,’ said Theodora.
Rupert promptly left.
‘Is Lio alright?’ asked Dot. ‘He was in the river. He was screaming.’
‘He’s quite fine,’ said Theodora, leaning back against the armchair. ‘I gave him the other spare room to sleep in. Thanks to my talent for wards, my home is unfortunately the safest place for him. I have been generous, and you know how he’s repaying me? By whinging.’ She paused, then asked, ‘What did he tell you about me?’
‘Only that he wanted to warn you about those women.’
Theodora relaxed a little.
‘Most of what Lio says is rubbish,’ said the witch. ‘If he tries to tell you anything more, don’t listen to a word of it. And, Dorothy, I should say . . .’ Theodora smiled. Her face held so much warmth Dot almost had to look away. ‘Next time a bizarre man asks you to deliver something for him, sayno.’
‘It got me to you,’ said Dot.
‘It got you half drowned and injured with a nasty cut,’ said Theodora. ‘Why Moira pounced into the water holding her knife, I cannot fathom. Nevertheless, do you know how much salve I had to put on your shoulder to stop an infection? With a revolver to my head, I would not place my littlest toein that river, much less dunk a bleeding wound into it.’
‘Perhaps it was the river, then, that did this?’ asked Dot, raising her bandaged hand.
‘It was you.’
‘Me?’
‘You and your magic,’ said Theodora, eyes glittering. ‘That was your spell that sent a wave across the Lourdes.’
Dot’s brow furrowed. The witch was surely mistaken.
‘Why are you looking at me like I’ve just insulted you?’ laughed Theodora. ‘Don’t you want to learn magic? Isn’t that why you sought me out?’
‘Well – yes,’ said Dot. ‘But—’
‘What do you remember?’
‘Not very much,’ said Dot.
‘I saw it,’ said Theodora. ‘I watched you slap Moira and Agytha right out of the water.’
‘That was real?’asked Dot.
‘It wasn’t just real,’ said Theodora. ‘It was you. The proof of it is underneath that bandage.’
Dot stared down at the whiteness censoring her hand.
‘This isn’t common magic,’ said Theodora. ‘I can’t cast spells like that. Lio certainly can’t.’
‘Can you fix it?’ asked Dot, her voice wobbling.
The witch’s face faltered.
‘There are a lot of things I can do,’ said Theodora. ‘Returning your hand to the way it was is not one of them.’
Dot nodded and she rubbed at her stinging eyes. The witch asked a little more softly, ‘How old are you?’
‘Twenty-three,’ said Dot.
‘When did you turn twenty-three?’
