‘Mother pushed me out in about five minutes flat, if that’s what you’re asking. Apparently Gavar was an enormous baby, so Sil and I came into the world very easily.’ He pulled a face. ‘I’ve never felt the need for more information on that.
‘The funny thing is, no one noticed at first – about me, I mean. Some babies show their Skill very early. Silyen apparently set the nursery curtains on fire when he was just a few days old. And Nanny was constantly finding birds perched on his crib singing to him. They had to watch him every minute. But it’s also perfectly normal for there to be no strong showing until the age of four or five.
‘Mother swears I did a few things that resembled Skill, but they must have just been accidents, because by my fourth birthday – nothing. Nor by my fifth. Nor my sixth. Apparently, though I don’t remember this, I then announced that I wasn’t going to have any more birthdays. I must have understood that each one was an important milestone that I kept missing.’
He had finished fussing with the box. The painting had been swaddled, the lid closed, the tape secured. Jenner’s hands rested on top of the box, curled around nothing. He lifted his eyes. They were suspiciously bright.
‘The wall still recognizes me, because I have the family blood. The gate appears for me, but I can’t open it. It’s the same for little Libby. When I was younger, there was even some hoo-ha about whether I was my father’s son. As if that could ever be doubted.’
Jenner pushed his fingers through his hair, the exact same colour as his father’s. Tugged, as if he wanted to tear a bit out and show her, as proof of his parentage.
‘Anyway, I know you’ve wondered about it all. I’ve seen it in your face. So now you know. No great mystery.’ He forced a smile. ‘In my own way, I’m even more remarkable than Silyen.’
Abi felt like her heart had been replaced with one that was several sizes too big for her chest. She took a step closer.
‘Yes, you are,’ she told him. ‘Remarkable. Amazing.’
‘Amazing?’
She touched his cheek, feeling guiltily grateful he didn’t have Skill. If he did, he would surely blast her through the bookcases for her impertinence. But he didn’t move, only raised his own fingers to cover hers, as if to confirm that her gesture was real.
Then Abi practically slapped him as she recoiled at the sound of the library door opening.
The box was knocked off the table and Jenner bent to pick it up. That left Abi, cheeks flaming like the Parva salamander, to face whoever had interrupted them.
It could have been worse – but it could have been a lot better. Lady Thalia was walking towards them, the hem of her silken housecoat swinging, while in the doorway waited Lady Hypatia Vernay.
As Lady Thalia cooed at her son over how smoothly the deep clean was progressing, the older woman stared flintily at Abi. She extended her arm and, with a sinking feeling, Abi saw that the elderly Equal’s leather-gloved claw held the end of a leash.
‘Girl, take this animal to the kennels,’ she commanded. And when Abi hesitated, ‘Now.’
Abi didn’t dare look at Jenner, merely bobbed a curtsey. Keeping her head down, she went to take the leash. The dog-man lay on the carpet in the corridor outside. Abi stepped out and heard the door close firmly behind her.
She’d seen Lady Hypatia’s hound several times since that first day, but only ever from a distance. Being confronted with him like this almost froze her with shock.
He was crouched awkwardly, his back forced lower than would be natural for a human on all fours, as if trying to replicate the gait of a dog. His torso was emaciated, and though his legs and arms were sinewy, the muscles looked all wrong. He was entirely naked, coarse dark hair covering much of his legs, buttocks and lower back. The hair on his head was thin and flowed down his neck in a greasy pelt. His age was entirely unguessable.
‘Hello,’ Abi tried, when her voice was back under control. ‘What’s your name?’
The man whined and trembled. If he really had been a dog, his ears would have been pressed flat to his skull, his tail between his legs.
‘No? How long have you been like this? Why?’
His hands pattered against the carpet, the nails snagging audibly. He ducked his head and slung back his haunches, just like a dog in distress.
‘Can you even speak? What have they done to you?’ Abi’s mouth went dry with horror.
The whining came again, louder and more urgent, almost gulping. The last thing Abi wanted was to be caught like that, as if she were the one tormenting the man. Fright made her do what reason would not and she tugged on the leash.
‘Come on, then. Let’s get you to the kennels.’
They crossed the Solar, and Abi sensed the other slaves’ heads turning to stare. She stopped by Kyneston’s great front door. Even though it was closed, icy air leaked over the threshold, and she knew that outside frost lay thick on the ground. Surely the man would catch his death of cold?