Then I returned aimlessly to the book beside my bed. My mother’s grimoire. I turned a few pages restlessly, not reading the words but viewing them in a daze. I was alone with Richard, and glad of his company. Kat and Blanche had scurried anxiously away to talk when we were all sent upstairs, and Alice had sidled into William’s room, leaving me and Richard alone. From the Great Hall we could hear the rumble of male voices, and occasionally her ladyship interrupting. Richard had been lying on the bed, watching me with expressionless eyes as I paced back and forth. But when I abruptly turned and made for the door, he leaped up to stop me. ‘No,’ Richard insisted, pinning my arms effortlessly to my sides when I struggled. ‘Don’t be a fool, Meg. You are not wanted down there. Let this play out.’ ‘They won’t see me. I can make myself invisible.’ Richard cocked his head to one side, regarding me steadily. ‘Eavesdroppers hear no good of themselves. Besides, I know you. You won’t be able to enter a room unseen and not make your presence felt.
