If I looked surprised by his words, it was nothing compared to the professor’s and Elizabeth’s faces.The professor made as if to speak, but no words came out. Elizabeth’s beautiful blue eyes scoured every inch of our hand-holding, my muddy dress, Montgomery’s loose hair. Both of their mouths were folded hard, their deep-set eyes peering at us like a pair of birds from the cuckoo clock.“It seems this evening’s surprises just keep coming,” she said. “Perhaps you should come inside, Mr. James.”“There is one other thing,” Montgomery said, and looked over his shoulder to where Balthazar stood half hidden in the shadows. The moonlight had a way of highlighting the deformity of his back and darkening the shadows under his eyes, so he looked the very picture of a monster.“I have a friend with me,” Montgomery continued. “We’ve been traveling together for some time, and I’d be much obliged if he could warm himself by your fire.”As Balthazar lumbered up to join us on the front stoop, Elizabeth’s eyes went even wider.
