Chapter 7
That night’s entertainment did not end up being a game.
Instead, Mr. Sappington offered to sketch the Quiet Queen while she and Signora Bellona shared stories with the group.
At first, Testy Tolver objected to the choice as being insufficiently interesting, but after only one story, even he was captivated.
“Queen Elizabeth did not overly like that there was another ‘queen’ in her court, but as it was my name before it was her title, there wasn’t much she could say.
” Only the tiniest twist of the Quiet Queen’s mouth—not drastic enough to deform it—gave any indication that she took some satisfaction in the recollection.
“Her Majesty had only one ghostly attachment and was wise enough not to dismiss a lady-in-waiting who boasted three. It gave her royal court added prestige, which impressed her allies and intimidated her enemies.”
“And now you reside at Aventine Manor,” Mr. Padmore said, though whether he thought it a come down for the Queen or a source of pride for Aventine was not clear in his tone.
“I like Aventine better.” On that declaration, the Queen grew still once more, resuming the pose she had chosen when Mr. Sappington first started sketching her.
Tacey turned to Mercury. “That must be gratifying, hearing that your home is superior to a royal palace.”
“I’m certain the current royal family would be horrified,” Mercury said. “But I’m happy about it.”
“I was in Tuscany during Elizabeth’s time,” Signora Bellona said. “Attached to a member of the Medici family.”
“Which one?” the Other Hand asked. “Although, which doesn’t matter overly much, I suppose. Being connected to that family in any way would have been very interesting. Although, some would have been more interesting than others.”
“And some were no doubt more terrifying than others,” Professor Daskalov said. He was sitting on the same sofa as Mercury, Baby Blue curled up between them.
“Indeed.” The Other Hand nodded.
Mr. Sappington knocked one of his charcoal pencils off the small table he had spread his supplies on. Before he could bend over to retrieve it, Testy Tolver flicked his fingers in a quick upward motion. The pencil floated off the floor and onto the table.
The artist dipped his head at Testy, who deigned to return the silent expression of gratitude with a single raised eyebrow.
“When did you leave Tuscany?” Tacey asked Signora Bellona.
“Nearly a century now. I’ve been back only once, and only briefly.”
“You must miss it,” Granny Grey said.
“I do. But I also like living here. Not just at Aventine Manor. I like England.”
“One can feel at home in more than one country,” the Other Hand said. “But, then again, one does always feel a strong connection to one’s country of origin. But, also, a new home can feel just as important.”
The Cream Canary groaned almost silently and turned away.
Mercury rose and crossed to her. He offered an empathetic smile.
“There are a great many quiet corners of the estate that are well within five hundred feet of here. You could easily grant yourself a respite from . . .” He let the sentence dangle, knowing she would realize he was referencing the Other Hand.
And he hoped she also would realize that Aventine Manor could be a fine place for her to make her home.
For just a moment she smiled in return. But then her aspect shifted to the searching one she always seemed to wear when looking at him.
Mercury tucked his hands into his pockets, keeping his expression blithe despite his very real concern. He returned to his seat on the sofa, the key in his pocket feeling heavier than it actually was.
“Where is Tuscany?” Baby Blue asked in a tired voice, his little eyes closed, though apparently he wasn’t actually sleeping. He did sleep, the only ghost Mercury had ever known who did.
“On the Italian peninsula,” Mrs. Padmore said tenderly. “In the south of Europe.”
Baby Blue opened his eyes and glanced over at her, and she smiled back. The little boy’s gaze shifted to Professor Daskalov. “Have you been to the Italian peninsula?”
The Professor shook his head. “I don’t care much for travel, though I do enjoy reading about faraway places.”
Baby’s eyes fluttered closed again. Mercury sometimes wished it was possible to touch ghosts, as he often felt the urge to hug the little boy.
He himself had once been a lonely child who could have used an embrace.
And no one ever gave him one. As far as he knew, he’d arrived at the orphanage as an infant, perhaps within hours of being born.
“Tell us more about your time in Tuscany,” Mr. Padmore requested.
The Signora didn’t have to be asked twice.
The remainder of the evening was spent listening to interesting tales spanning centuries.
Mr. Sappington sketched not only the Queen but also Testy Tolver and Granny Grey.
Everyone seemed to enjoy their time together.
And, to Mercury’s relief, the Cream Canary didn’t study him again.
Perhaps her Phantomic Memories were not returning after all.
Mercury fell asleep quickly and deeply, having been rendered absolutely exhausted by his lack of sleep the night before.
Thus, it took him longer than usual to fully awaken when the all-too-familiar sensation of being watched crept over him in the wee hours of the morning.
His ghosts generally didn’t disrupt his sleep, but when they did, it was usually by hovering at the foot of his bed in unnerving silence.
A few blinks and the dark room came into focus. His heart dropped at seeing Baby Blue sitting on the foot of his bed watching him with a look bordering on misery.
“What’s happened?” Mercury asked.
Baby sunk a few inches through the mattress. “Mrs. Padmore keeps”—his little chin quivered—“smiling at me.”
Mercury sat up all the way and leaned back against his headboard. “You don’t like her smiling at you?”
“It’s not the smiling.”
“Then what is it? You seem distressed.”
Baby curled more tightly into himself. “I think she—I think she might want to—” He lowered his gaze.
“You think she might want to swap for you?”
Baby Blue nodded without looking up at Mercury. So he scooted closer to the little one.
“What have I told you from the very beginning?” Mercury asked softly.
“That I could stay with you for as long as I wanted.” Baby Blue met his eyes again. “But what if I’m the only one the Padmores want? What if they won’t make a swap with you unless it’s for me?”
That would be a disastrous thing, in all honesty. The Cream Canary needed to stay at Aventine Manor. But what if the Padmores wouldn’t make a swap Mercury was willing to make?
“I promised you,” Mercury said. “I won’t break that promise.”
“Ever?” Baby Blue lifted a little out of the mattress.
“Ever.”
Baby Blue’s gaze grew more pointed. “Never ever?”
“Never ever ever.”
He emerged fully, “sitting” atop the bed once more. “Because you promised.”
Mercury nodded.
Baby Blue shifted from sitting to lying on his side. “Zizzy doesn’t want to leave either.”
“And she won’t have to.” Mercury had promised them both.
Baby Blue closed his eyes. “Never ever ever.”
Were the little ghost a living child, Mercury would have given him a pillow and laid a blanket over him. The orphanage had often been cold, and Mercury had seldom had a blanket when he’d needed one.
“Is he sleeping?”
Mercury’s attention snapped in the direction of the wall, where Granny Grey had just emerged. His bedchamber was to be busy that night, apparently.
“I believe he is.”
Granny studied the little boy for a moment. “I haven’t known any ghosts that sleep.”
“He is the only one I’ve ever heard of who does.”
After a moment, Granny looked at Mercury. “You truly wouldn’t trade him to the Padmores, even if it were the only way of keeping the Cream Canary here?”
“You think I am intent on keeping the Cream Canary here?”
She nodded firmly. “Because she knows about you.”
Mercury pushed out a tense breath. That declaration hadn’t sat well since she made it. “I’m not certain I want to know what it is she knows about me.”
“I don’t think she knows. Yet.”
Phantomic Memories. Just as the Scholar had said.
Mercury moved carefully off his bed, not wishing to disturb Baby. He motioned for Granny to sit if she’d like. But she shook her head.
“I do need the Cream Canary to stay here.” Mercury didn’t want to think about what would happen otherwise. “But I won’t trade Baby Blue, even to secure her presence here. I gave him my word.”
“Mercury Raine keeps his word,” Granny said.
He nodded.
“Do you know what canaries do?” Something in her question was a little ominous. “Eventually, a canary will sing.”