Picking up the bag carefully, I lifted it over my shoulder. I did not want to give the Truscott’s a bumpy ride.
It felt as though there was a live snake in my stomach. I was nervous about seeing Helena. I wondered what state she would be in. I tried to push the horrible thoughts from my mind.
I jumped as I felt Jack’s hand on the small of my back.
‘Remember your alias?’ he asked me as R?ven swooped down and landed on his shoulder.
‘Annie Deacon,’ I said.
Jack nodded. ‘And my alias?’
‘You are Adam Deacon, my husband,’ I said.
Jack smiled and put the cap back on his head. ‘Correct.’
~
Jack and I passed the front gates and made our way up the never-ending drive that winded out of sight. R?ven was perched on Jack’s shoulder, as she needed to pass as his animal spirit and Hawthorne trotted along happily behind us. I held my handbag carefully, hoping that Penny and Tom were not too uncomfortable.
I noticed that Jack kept glancing at me out of the corner of his eye. On the fourth glance, I caught him doing so and gave him a questioning look.
‘What?’ I asked.
Jack straightened his tweed cap. ‘Nothing.’
‘You keep looking at me.’
‘No I don’t.’
Eventually the manor loomed into view, at which point Jack held out his arm for me to take. It was an exceedingly large property with many windows and vines covering the facade. Perfectly manicured hedges lined the way to the entrance.
Jack glanced at me again.
‘Stop it,’ I scolded him.
Jack frowned. ‘I can’t help it. You look different.’
‘You’re making me feel self-conscious.’
Jack’s lips curled into a smile as he put an arm around my waist. ‘You scrub up well, Redding,’ he said.
‘You don’t look too bad yourself.’
Two guards stood on either side of the oak front doors. I saw them inspect the invitation of another well-dress couple that had just dismounted a carriage.
As Jack and I approached the manor we heard the unmistakable sound of classical music and the constant drone of civilised chatter.
‘Don’t look so nervous,’ Jack muttered out of the corner of his mouth.
We were mere metres away from the front doors now. The guards eyed us beadily as we approached. I hitched my dress above my ankles as Jack and I ascended the stone steps. I concentrated hard on my feet, trying not to roll my ankle in the ridiculous boots.
I presented my invitation to the nearest guard, who was much taller than Jack. He scanned it quickly before looking over my head at Hawthorne.
‘You haff large spirit,’ he grunted in a thick accent that I did not recognise.
I twisted my neck to look at Hawthorne, who stared innocently back.
‘Yes,’ I confirmed, turning back to the guard. I was rather unsure of what I was meant to say.
‘He is trained?’ asked the guard.
‘Of – of course,’ I stammered.
‘Vot is your name?’
‘A-Annie Deacon.’
The second guard scribbled my name onto the end of a long roll of parchment, which was already filled with many names.
‘And your animal spirit?’
‘His name is Hawthorne.’ My response was automatic. I wondered whether I should have given him a false name.
The guard grunted again before consulting the invite and turning to Jack. ‘You are plus one?’
Jack nodded fervently.
‘Your name?’
‘Ja – um, Adam Deacon.’
The guard glared at Jack. ‘And your spirit?’ He pointed to the black bird.
‘Um, her name is R?ven.’ Jack glanced at me, seeking some kind of approval. I gave a tiny nod.
‘How do you spell?’ the second guard squinted at the parchment, ‘Ree-ven? R-E-E-’
Jack cleared his throat. ‘No, uh, it’s a grapheme formed by the letters a and e … never mind.’ Jack waved a hand. ‘How you spelled it is fine.’
Leaving the dim-witted guards behind, we entered the manor and were quickly chaperoned by a staff member down a wide hall lined with handsome tapestries.
‘Excuse me?’ I asked the man who was leading us towards the garden. ‘Can you show me the rest room, please?’
‘Yes ma’am,’ he complied.
It was important that I was alone, away from prying eyes, while I released Tom and Penny from my handbag. Once they were in the manor they would be able to hide until they were needed later in the evening.
I was shown to the rest room, which was immensely impressive with it’s high walls and marble columns. There was even a bath the size of a small swimming pool. Jack, Hawthorne and R?ven waited outside while I opened my handbag and placed it on the floor.
Within an instant, Tom and Penny blossomed from the bag, like absurd flowers growing in fast-motion.
‘Are you okay?’ I asked as they stretched with pained expressions.
Penny nodded. ‘Oh yes. Returning to normal size is more painful than shrinking.’
‘Painful?’ I asked with wide eyes. ‘Why didn’t you say so before?’
Tom shrugged, nonchalant. ‘You get used to it.’