she fibbed. At this he relaxed, his face falling into the smile she’d been expecting in the first place.
“You want to know if there is magic out there in the world. Well ... that depends on who is doing the looking.” And that’s all he would say on the matter.
She was still thinking about his words when she went up to bed. She found a small white card on her pillow and smiled, thinking it was from him. It wasn’t. It was not signed, but Willa knew in the pit of her stomach that the long, spidery handwriting had to be Miss Trang’s. The card read:
It is not necessary for you to come in to work tomorrow morning, but you are cordially invited to join us for dinner tomorrow night. 6 p.m. Do not be late.
How did the card get there? Was Miss Trang angry? Belle must have told. What was going to happen? At best she would probably lose her job. And at worst? She had no way of knowing. Even Horace said he didn’t know what Miss Trang was capable of. And yet she had to go to the dinner. If she didn’t, she knew she would never be able to go back, and the thought of all her questions about the house going unanswered forever was enough to drive her up the wall.
And so the next evening she walked up to the front door of the boarding house at exactly six o’clock, knees shaking, hands trembling, and brain rattling. Baz swung the door open. She didn’t say a word, simply waved Willa into the parlour.
The lights were so low she could barely see. Miss Trang stood in the centre of the room and seated around her were Belle, Horace, Baz, and another gentleman in an armchair in the darkest corner — she could barely make him out at all. Miss Trang stepped forward, her eyes glittering in the gloom.
“Willa, we have invited you here tonight for a reason. You know ... about Belle.” She raised an eyebrow and Willa nodded. “A very serious matter. We held a house meeting to discuss what was to be done about you.” A shiver ran down Willa’s spine. Miss Trang looked her straight in the eye.
“Willa Fuller. Would you like to continue working here?”
Willa nodded quickly.
Miss Trang regarded her for a moment before going on. “This house is exactly what it appears to be. An ordinary retirement home for seniors. The only part that isn’t so ordinary is that we have retired from, shall we say, rather unusual careers in ... a different world from yours. A different time.”
The others were all nodding.
Miss Trang pursed her lips thoughtfully. “You might be someone useful to us, someone from the outside we can trust. Someone of uncommon character. ”
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