The din in the room was so loud that Jeannie rushed in to see what the ruckus was about. ‘Em,’ said Simon, ‘you look pale. Are you feeling okay?’ ‘Just a tummy ache,’ Em whispered. ‘But don’t tell Jeannie. She’ll make me drink a cabbage-water tonic.’ Zach picked up the key and held it up in front of the desk drawer on the still-life again. ‘Now there’s even more reason to believe this might fit that lock,’ he signed. ‘Em and I need to animate into that painting,’ said Matt at once. ‘They may be on to something, Renard,’ Simon murmured. ‘But where might they end up?’ Renard gestured at the painting. ‘If that picture is by Fox, you will end up in 1848. If it was painted by your mother, you may find that you only travel back two months. You travel to the time in which the image was created, do you not?’ The question made Em feel light-headed. Outside it was drizzling. The light and the rain reflecting on the great mirror installation made the trees look as if they were walking backwards on the lawn.
