“I just knocked and left it outside his door.”
Willa sighed with relief as her dad returned to the parlour. By the time she had hustled Baz up the stairs and into her room (giving her the duck to keep her happy) the bottle had disappeared from outside Robert’s door. She knocked and peeked inside. Robert was sitting back on his hind legs in the corner opposite the birdcage. He leaned an elbow on the table strewn with chicken bones and glared across the room at the bird, gripping the bottle in much the same way that Baz had been clutching the catnip.
“Damn thing keeps staring at me!” snarled Robert, taking a swig from the bottle as he flung a bone at the cage. It bounced off the bars and Fadiyah’s eyes narrowed.
Willa hurried over and struggled to lift the cage, which was dreadfully heavy. “You know you shouldn’t be drinking. Miss Trang said so.”
Robert hugged the Scotch tighter to his chest and pouted. Willa rolled her eyes impatiently. “Look, I’ll make a deal with you. You can keep the bottle and I won’t even tell Miss Trang, if you’ll just stay in here and be quiet. Okay? Deal?”
Robert nodded and Willa dragged the cage out of the room. She thought about putting it in Baz’s room, but a cat and a bird in one room was probably just asking for trouble. She shoved the cage into the library and hurried back downstairs.
Now her mom and Belle were ignoring each other completely, staring icily into space. Willa’s heart sank. Horace and Dad glanced at them uncomfortably. Tengu was laughing so hard, he fell right off the ottoman he was perched on.
“What happened? Did they fight?” Willa whispered. Both her dad and Horace shook their heads in utter bewilderment.
“No. They haven’t said a single word.”
Willa looked back at Belle and her mom in surprise and for a split second was struck by their identical expressions; stony and unforgiving. That’s the end of my staying here, she thought. And the thought of letting Miss Trang down pained her more than she ever would have expected.
The pizza arrived and Willa tried to make the best of the meal. She still served the carrots and beans, and the garlic mashed potatoes, carefully smoothing over where her elbow had gone in while she was pulling Baz to her feet. It seemed like a rather bizarre menu. Horace and Belle both raised their eyebrows but said nothing. Surprisingly, her mom and dad seemed genuinely impressed when she gave them her apologies.
“That was quick thinking, Willa, ordering pizza. Well done,” her dad offered.
The rest of the evening went a lot smoother, since Willa had rolled Belle to be seated as far as possible from her mom. Dad, as diplomatic as ever, endeavoured to smooth things over with the old lady, and Belle reacted by turning on the charm as well. Horace in turn was impressing her mom with his encyclopedic knowledge of ancient history. Tengu crouched on his chair, his attention focussed solely on picking the mushrooms off his pizza slices and dropping them on the floor. Willa was finally able to sit back and relax a little. As she was leaving with her parents for home, however, Belle and her mom gave each other another long, icy look before Horace could wheel the old dame away.
They walked in silence and darkness, moving in and out of the pools of streetlight. Willa’s mom seemed totally lost in thought. Finally, in front of their house Willa could stand it no longer.
“So … is it okay? Can I stay there nights?”
Her dad tipped his head doubtfully and looked at her mom, who snapped out of her reverie at the question.
“Oh, right. I, uh …” Willa was surprised. Her mom hadn’t even been thinking about the issue. What was on her mind?
Dad jumped to her defence. “I thought you showed a lot of maturity there, Willa. Saving dinner and all. And looking after those poor old dears when they get sick. I was very impressed.” He put his arm around her shoulder and gave her a little squeeze. Willa smiled. Good old Dad. They both turned to Mom, expectant.
She gazed at the two of them for a moment and suddenly looked very tired. “Yes, you managed wonderfully. I think this is a good experience for you.” She paused. “You can stay there starting tomorrow, but if anything gets out of hand you give us a call, any time of the day or night, all right?”
Willa couldn’t believe her ears. She nodded eagerly. “Okay, I will. Thanks, Mom! Thanks, Dad!”
“Only ...” her mom wasn’t finished, “... about Belle. She’s … I wouldn’t trust her, honey. Just try to avoid her if you can. I mean it. Watch out for her.” And with that she turned on her heel and strode up to the front door.
Willa and Dad exchanged puzzled looks as Mom jangled the keys in the lock.
“They didn’t say anything to each other?” whispered Willa.
Her dad shook his head. “Not a word.”
Willa’s mom disappeared into the dark house.
Chapter Eight
Willa moves in and the place falls apart
The next morning Willa woke with a foggy brain. Her limbs felt heavy and slow. She had slept very strangely, a deep, smothering kind of sleep, with no dreams.
She packed a small bag of essentials and headed over to the boarding house, yawning all the way. She couldn’t shake off the drowsiness.
The house was very quiet, which made Willa uneasy. Belle sat in the upstairs hall, gloomily staring out at the backyard. Willa asked her which room she should stay in.
Belle shrugged. “I don’t care. Suit yourself.”
Willa chose a turret room on the top floor. It was smaller than the other rooms, but she liked it because it was round and had a little window seat with a worn red velvet cushion. She peered out the window, down at the people in the street. Ordinary people going to the store or work. Ordinary kids biking to the park and meeting up with their friends. They seemed very far away, like she was watching them through a telescope. She unpacked her clothes and toothbrush and such, and went in search of the others.
Horace was in the library as usual, but his book lay open and unread in his lap as he snoozed with his head propped in his hand. Fadiyah was hopping about restlessly on her perch. Willa put her hand on the bars of the cage and the bird stopped and looked at her. As usual, waves of reassurance wafted over her, like a gentle breeze. She took a deep breath and felt calm. The bird nodded.
Baz was still asleep. Willa could hear her snoring through the heavy door. Robert’s room, however, was empty. Willa hurried back to Belle, still at the window.
“Belle! Where’s Robert?”
The old lady raised an eyebrow. “Oh, Robert had a fine time last night, thanks to the Scotch. You should have heard him carrying on … the old goat.”
“But where is he? Where did he go?”
Belle nodded toward the yard. “He was partying with the floozies back there.”
“Who?” Willa was confused.
“The wood nymphs,” Belle answered wearily as she wheeled away. “I need a nap.”
Tengu was in the dining room with his head down on the table, fast asleep. Willa gently shook his arm.
“Tengu! Wake up! We have to go find Robert.”
He lifted his bleary head and blinked. “Okay.”
“Why is everyone so tired? How late did you stay up?”
“Oh, I went to bed right away, but I didn’t sleep well. Don’t feel rested at all.”
“I had the same kind of night.” Willa yawned, and they went out the kitchen door into the misty back garden.
The