My story isn’t boring you, is it, Miss Lea?“ I endured a number of sucs to suppress my yaed and rubbed my eyes o Miss inter’s narration.

    ‘I’m sorry. I’m just tired.“

    ‘tired!“ s you rigever’s tter h you?“

    I s tired. t’s all.”

    Sernly, but I said notook up ory.

    For six mont on. e sequestered ourselves in a cill slept at nigairs to get from tco t seemed secure. ttresses  on oo o move. t too big any more at ease in ty, ty of our smaller accommodation. All te forget t of tering behind closed doors, like a moribund limb.

    Emmeline spent mucime inventing card games. “Play er. Eventually I gave in and played. Obscure games ing rules, games only sood, and  deligook bat  er, spent ing in ter I’d ed for t begrudge  ter if at least one of us could be happy.

    Before o Isabelle and taken dresses and scent bottles and se of a bedroom. It rying to sleep in a dressing-up box. Emmeline  of date by ten years, oto Isabelle’s moty and forty years old. Emmeline entertained us in tic entrances into tcravagant outfits. teen; ter’s conversation or in t marry one day—and I remembered old me about Isabelle and t look at  ing to touc a sudden anxiety. But tcook a pack of cards from a silk purse and said, all c still, I made sure s leave the house in her finery.

    Joless. o do t a boy to ’ll be all rig’s only old Proctor’s boy, Ambrose.  lad. It  be for long. Only till I get the house fixed up.”

    t, I kneake forever.

    taller tood s, tarted. ient ant c on my nerves. “o ed to kno like thers.”

    But for some reason, t an outsider to Jo know.

    ‘ime and time again in anso my questions. ” ask too many questions, and  talk too much.“

    ‘ not ongue, but  eyes in his head.“

    John shrugged and looked away, uneasy.

    ‘I  al go on forever like tcure t took in ts inants, t. ”One day to change.“

    “Change?”

    ‘You’re gro  be t? It’s one t when you’re grown up…“

    But I   to kno was o say.

    Emmeline reasure box. I sat doo look up lessly at a sequin until it came a into t  time in t over toget once intent and dreamy. Every so often ouco reveal the green unchanged.

    Did I really look like t? I co  of red  t reet in matc still, I didn’t look like Emmeline, did I? My face could not do t placid concentration. It ration. I ing my lip, pus of tience. I  be tranquil like Emmeline. I e teeth.

    You  leave me, ed to say. Because I  leave you. e’ll stay ogetever Johe-dig says.

    ‘ we play?“

    Sinued   heard me.

    ‘Let’s play getting married. You can be tuff from t’s like a veil, look.“ S look up, not even  over  brus out of  her sequin.

    And so I turned my attention to reasure box. er’s keys ill in till sell, forgotten ts and pieces of Isabelle’s jes er tle, a lengt used to be mine, given to me by till be t of tains ter arrived. And  didn’t seem to belong. Somet my o get a better vie! Gold lettering. I A R.  ing my  siginy lock. And a tiny key. No  reasure box. Gold letters and a key. I s ruck me. I A R! Diary!

    I reac a hand.

    Quick as a flas and stopped me from toucill s look at me. S and broughe lid down on her box.

    te pressure marks on my  where she had held me.

    ‘I’m going to go aally. My voice didn’t sound terribly convincing. ”I am. And I’m going to leave you o grow up and live on my own.“

    ty, I stood up and  of the room.

    It  until ternoon t so find me on t in tain to  sraigo teps, felt tain move . Fore tc tantly tening to set off on one of t in trail beo me and rested  my s turn and speak to ook my o my finger.

    I ed for o go before I looked. A ring. She had given me a ring.

    I ted tone ino t it close to t brougone to life. Green, like to my palm and made a tig one at its .

    Joed buckets of rainer and emptied tables for t;  to turned ter. But after every task, ed, and every time I o able to get on  thing.

    ‘So topiary garden?“ I asked  s to do there.“

    reply.  it, then I asked again. And again. And again.

    Eventually  to ted do-of-doors. “Like to sy catcended t ticed ty catcimes, t up a fe and do  feel so secure ing against ye’s safe enoug it rigo get a feel for it.”

    And t to topiary garden. o a medium-size yeo rest t it, but “No, no,” oo impatient.” times ree. t do a cigarette. I sat dooo. “Never cut into told me. And “Don’t cut into your oe. “Be  let t. Find somet in your line of vision. A roof or a fence. t’s your ancimes as long in tting.” ed ree all time o ree , and t just cut o your shoulder.”

    e finistes and stubbed out toes of our boots.

    ‘And  noance, keep t in your  close up.“

    I was ready.

    times  me rest t tree before isfied it ook t up.

    I  first I , kept looking doo go one more step up time I moved t took me several goes to get it safe. But gradually task took me over. I ood by, mostly silent. Once in a c mostly  c ime, slipped ty catcelescoped it, t I realized  of t I didn’t care.

    I stood o study my imes around tree. My  leaped. It was good.

    Jo bad,” he pronounced. “You’ll do.”

    I  to get to trim t, and t like c up to   time I o him.

    ely. “Mr. Digence took it. , fixing the roof.”

    I o one of ttes Jo in t, sending mean looks to t enviously. taking my time, doing it ime, beone against t t it ting late to be starting on t. t to find John.

    ts tions made a crazy clock-al c o  a constant six o’clock  splinters protruded from t move oucaring straigo t trangely overcast.

    ted me. All of a sudden I  a stupid c not all.

    ‘ shall I do?“ I whispered.

    ‘ sened me.

    Stretc on tco my temple, I cime pass. t rungs of ter rung it crept up to reacy catch.

    ty catc cy catc? Of course  if , then how… why… ?

    It didn’t bear t.

    Rung, after rung, after rung, t nearer and nearer. It reaced trousers, t, t taken better care of him?

    It didn’t bear t. Yet  to ticing teness of Joiced, too, t into t of t lurc sand or sno does not print. No trace to s  ered at t tell me, it mig.

    Everyt.

    I stood up and left Jo looking back. I  around to tcill tting topped  me. And topped—Don’t faint! Don’t faint! I told myself—o catcc faint. Not quite. Instead,  I didn’t co say, but rangled t. “ anybody help me?”

    ly doo the grass. “I’ll help you,” he said. “I will.”

    itill freser’s face, bereft, still dominating my memory, I barely noticed tter t ing for me in my room.

    I didn’t open it until I ranscription, and .

    Dear Miss Lea,After all tance your fato be able in some small o return to er.

    My initial researced Kingdom ion of ts of Miss er Barroer  at Angelfield. I ain number of documents relating to  period, and I am compiling a report t you shin a few weeks.

    My researc an end. I  yet exed my investigation of talian connection, and it is more t some detail arising from throw up a new line of inquiry.

    Do not despair. If your governess can be found, I will find her.

    Yours sincerely, Emmanuel DrakeI put tter a and gloves. “Come on, to Shadow.

    airs and outdoors, and ook t to drift; imperceptibly it led ao ticements of ted its easy curve and continued straig meant squeezing be of densely groure sems caugo o avoid being scratc accompanied me so far, topped, overwh.

    I kept going. And I found  overgro and t t escaping from it iced.

    Directly inside ter’s sister sat at a table. Opposite cly tooo muc  toucer a moment’s pause, surned back to ask and carried on. But not before I iced sometrange about t ed A in tylized angel ornamenting the handle.

    I  before. A. Angel. Angelfield. Emmeline , and so did Aurelius.

    Keeping flat to tangling in my  of t cs of broken twig and dead leaves from my sleeves and shoulders.

    ‘Inside?“ I suggested, and o concur.

    Mr. Drake  been able to trace er for me. On ther hand, I had found Emmeline.