CHAPTER 6 – WAS IT A DREAM?

The first few days on the estate were pleasant. She didn’t see much of Eldridge, he needed to travel back to London on business. Mrs Thistle had tutted at her when she’d asked what he was doing. ‘We don’t question the nobility,’ she said sternly. ‘We do as we’re told.’ It put an end to any follow-up questions Elvie had.

That left her with the library or the grounds as her main source of entertainment. Any child might think days of endless running around and exploring Eldridge’s large estate would be the chance of a lifetime. But for Elvie, it was tinged with sadness. Exploring was fun if someone was with you. But how long could you play pretend games by yourself? How long could you battle your imaginary friends before they became just that – imaginary?

As Elvie traipsed along the edge of a thicket, she kicked the grass despondently. She needed someone to play with. She needed someone to talk to. She needed a friend.

And then there was someone. From the bushes, Elvie had the distinct feeling another person observed her. Small hairs on her arms rose like she was in a lightning storm, and her skin formed little goosebumps. She searched the trees, scanning every inch like a startled deer looking for a predator. But there was nothing. She walked closer, more confident.

‘Screeeeeeech!’ A large pile of rocks lay partially hidden in the thickets, and right on top, a startled squirrel flew away.

Elvie laughed aloud and took a step forward so she could climb up on the rocks and follow the squirrel’s path.

But she stopped dead in her tracks.

‘Leave.’ A voice whispered in her mind. ‘Danger. Leave!’

She wasn’t sure what to make of it, it was barely there. Was a maid playing a trick on her in the bushes? She stepped towards the rocks – and again stopped. Sitting in the same spot as the squirrel, was the cat from the forest. Its purple eyes glowed, set apart from its indistinct and hazy form.

‘Leave.’ It came again, softer this time, but clearly coming from the cat.

‘Who are you?’ she asked softly. ‘What are you?’

There was no reply. With a hiss, the cat leapt from the stone straight at her throat. Elvie didn’t hesitate, she turned and fled through the gardens for the refuge of the house. Twice – that evil cat!

She tore through Eldridge’s estate until breathless arriving to throw herself on the rear steps. The sun shone brighter here, and no shadows or sinister voices lurked. Most importantly, there were no cats. Elvie sat on the steps for five minutes just to be certain, but as her gasps for air became more controlled she went in search of an explanation.

‘Are there any other people here?’ she asked Mrs Thistle, having found her near the service entrance to the house.

‘People where?’ She replied, distractedly beating a rug draped over the garden fence. The effort clearly pained her, as she winced with every strike.

‘People on the grounds. Shall I have a turn?’

‘You’re a darling!’ Mrs Thistle passed the large wooden bat which served as the beater.

Elvie took a few swings, satisfied with the dust cloud rising as a result. ‘What I meant was, is there anyone else who lives on the grounds?’

‘Max does, but he has a small room at the front of the estate and won’t come back here unless he is doing the gardens. Some of the maids too, but they’d be in the house or close to it. Once you’re off the estate itself, Mr Eldridge’s farms have lots of workers, but again, there’d be no reason for them to be here. The person who haunts the grounds at the moment is you.’ Mrs Thistle smiled. ‘That’s an excellent cloud of dust you’re creating, Miss Elvie. Here, let me adjust it so you’ll hit it just so.’

Elvie gave it a few more solid hits to increase her dust cloud before Mrs Thistle waved her down.

‘That’ll do Miss Elvie. You’ve given me a break, which is more than I deserve. If I let you go on much longer, why Mr Eldridge will be looking to replace me with you!’ She chuckled to herself. ‘Thank you, but run along now – soon it’ll be time for dinner, so you might as well use up the last of the light.’

Elvie nodded and went back into the gardens. She knew exactly what she wanted to do.

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Her father had always told her to be brave, and she tried her best to be so at all times. So naturally, once she regained her confidence, she set out to find the spot where she’d been before. Inside, she wanted to believe the ghost cat existed and mystical danger lurked in the garden, what girl wouldn’t? But was it just her imagination running wild?

Unfortunately, after an hour of looking she couldn’t find where she’d originally been – all thickets looked the same after all. She couldn’t find the boulders the squirrel and cat had rested upon, and as the shadows lengthened, the dark thickets hastened the end of her quest. She’d proven her bravery, having searched for the cat again. What more did she need to do?

Dinner was another tasty affair, and Elvie celebrated the fact Eldridge had returned in time to eat together. Sitting at such a long table was a different experience for Elvie. Whereas her family had simple downlights, here a glossy glass chandelier floated overhead like crystallised air. An open fire roared and her cheeks flushed with warmth, as the lingering cold of the autumn evening was driven away.

Mrs Thistle and two maids bustled about bringing food in and taking plates out like it was an expensive restaurant. Elvie wished Mrs Thistle and the maids would stop and eat with them though. Wouldn’t they go hungry otherwise? It was a shame to waste so much delicious food on only two people.

Eldridge must have seen her looks back and forth between the maids and the food. ‘They’ll lay out the food for us to dine on and take their own in the kitchen.’

Elvie nodded. ‘Don’t they want to eat with us?’

‘I once made the mistake of asking Mrs Thistle,’ Eldridge chucked. ‘You would think I asked her to dine with a snake – the look she gave me! We all have our places, she told me. What could I say to that? Still, it’s a rarity for me to dine like this. I often take my supper in the study. Nobody wants to dine alone now, do they?’

There was a tightness around the corners of his eyes as he spoke. Eldridge was lonely. Why hadn’t she seen that before?

As she pushed soup around in her bowl, a thought which had flitted in and out of her mind took shape. ‘Will you teach me magic?’ she queried Eldridge from across the table. ‘I’m going to need to know magic to get home, so will you help me learn?’

He coughed and dabbed his mouth with a white cloth. ‘It’s possible, but difficult.’ He paused his eating to look at her directly. ‘I don’t even know your Great House.’

‘Great House?’

‘The Great Houses are trees which indicate your strengths in magic. Mine is Rowan, and I’ve achieved some mastery in charms and protections over the years. But yours… teaching you would involve a random guess, and it would be dangerous if you were to cast spells out of a different Great House with no skill or training. Assuming we could get them to work at all. You see, my dear, a test is done to find out which of the Great Houses you have an affinity with.’

‘But I’ve seen my tree. I could draw it for you.’ Without any doubt, the tree that had taken her blood was her Great House.

His eyebrow rose. ‘Seen it how? In a dream?’

‘Maybe…’ Was it a dream? The scab yet to heal on her hand told her otherwise, as did her heart.

Eldridge considered. ‘Very well… We’ll fetch you some writing charcoal and see if you can sketch the leaf. No promises though.’

She nodded and Eldridge had a maid scurry off to get writing paper and charcoal. Elvie returned to her meal and pushed the spoon around the bowl while her excitement built. If she could convince Eldridge to teach his magic, it might give her a chance of getting home. It was the first hope she’d had.

The maid returned, having only to go to Eldridge’s study desk to find the necessary equipment. She hesitated as she entered, wondering if Elvie would finish her meal first. But Elvie took the decision out of her hands as she leapt to her feet, grabbed the equipment, and cleared a space on the dining table. Eldridge gave a small laugh at her enthusiasm.

She wasn’t the world’s greatest artist, not with charcoal at least, but the starlike leaf wasn’t difficult to reproduce.

‘Hmmm… It’s not hard. It’s Elder.’ Eldridge said as she finished. ‘A masterful drawing too, my dear. You do have some hidden talents, don’t you?’ Elvie blushed and he smiled. ‘Well, there is some good news and some bad news for you. The good news is we might know your house. The bad news is I don’t know any spells… Elder magicians are a rare breed.’

‘What do you mean?’

‘Well, Elder is a unique house. Life hasn’t been the same for magicians in the last few hundred years – it’s a long story, for another time. Elder House has borne the brunt of a loss of knowledge. Indeed, at last count, only two or three magicians were capable of using Elder as their primary type of magic. Most of the their time they spend researching new spells.’

Frowning, Elvie returned to her soup. Whenever answers unfolded nicely, everything took a dive for the worst. How was she ever going to get back now? ‘They’re magicians who can’t do anything?’

He nodded. ‘Essentially, but I haven’t seen anyone from Elder House for several years now. They may have discovered new spells in my absence.’ He sensed his answers were bleak and sought to instil some hope.

‘So you will teach me?’

A thoughtful look swept over his face. ‘I’ll do what I can – I’ve some books around on spells for the various houses. Oak and Ash would be the other houses you could draw out of – and Oak would be the easiest place to start if you focus on plants. You would have to promise me one thing, however.’ Eldridge held up a finger.

‘Yes?’

‘Promise me, if you ever go off to a magician’s school, you won’t tell anyone I taught you?’

‘If that’s what you want, of course.’

‘It’s not illegal... It’s just frowned upon. Magicians think the best place to teach other magicians is in a school – one particular school in fact. But it’s their way, not mine. As far as I’m concerned, learning can occur anywhere. But I ah…’ he coughed awkwardly. ‘I like to keep my standing in the magician’s community, for contacts and influence, you know.’

‘I won’t tell anyone,’ Elvie promised.

‘I’ll tell you what, after dinner, we’ll meet in the library and I’ll tell you more about magic, but for now, our delicious dinner is getting cold.’

‘Oh. I’m sorry.’ Elvie had the decency to blush and returned to eating her food quietly.