She smiled seeing Argo and Agnes lying in the warmth of the sun on either side of the door. She had a nice smile but her face was so pale that she looked positively translucent. Argo and Agnes spotted her and ran down the path to greet her with a raucous round of barking and energy. She seemed really delighted to see them and dropped her backpack to embrace them both. “Is Uncle Seb home?” I heard her ask the dogs and looked to his office window to the right of the door. Hearing the noise, he appeared in the window and waved. Ophelia picked up her bag and went to push open the door but it swung in easily. The dogs followed her in. I stayed outside, hearing but not seeing. The house moaned, it could sense me nearby. “Hi Lia,” I heard Sebastian call from the hallway. “I’ve got a conference call in five minutes so I’ll be out in about half an hour.” “All good,” she called back and I heard her thump up the stairs two at a time to her level and to her room.
