Lily wondered what extra chores her father had given him, but decided not to risk drawing attention to her involvement. Worse, she didn’t know what Jasper had told them. Complicating or compromising his lie was not an option. After dinner, she retired to her room, busying herself with the delicate care of her three bonsai trees. She had space in her windows for all of them, but Lily liked to keep one on her bookcase, rotating the trees once a week. Currently, the feltleaf willow was on display. With a flourish, she unrolled her bonsai tools, a gift from Gwen on Lily’s seventh birthday, and picked up a kiri bonsai shear in one hand and a satsuki in the other. Clipping bonsai was like meditation for Lily and always made time pass quickly. At nine o’clock, a very tired-looking Jasper shuffled in. He closed and locked the door behind him. Lily wiped off her tools before rolling them up and swept the clippings into a pile for the compost.
