Flamethroat (38 page)

If all went well we would be able to get our families off the grounds within the hour. The manor would awaken from their slumber and be none the wiser.

At least, that was the plan.

The morning of the garden party we visited Tom and Penny Truscott to borrow a suit for Jack. Luckily it fit him perfectly, but I had been rather horrible and laughed when I saw the suit. Jack’s ears turned bright pink as he paraded around Tom’s sitting room, showing off the suit, which was a woven brown material. It came with a matching vest, bright blue shoes and a lurid turquoise shirt. I had never seen Jack wear a suit before, so I found it rather hilarious. The matching tweed cap set the whole ensemble off nicely.

Now Jack, Ræ
ve
n, Hawthorne, Penny, Tom and I were all at Robert and Marias house. This was where I would be getting ready and from here we would go to the party together.

‘It’s a little tight,’ I complained to Maria as she tightened the corset.

I was standing behind the vanity screen in the master bedroom while Maria helped me dress.

‘Oh, be quiet,’ she scolded, yanking at the ties. ‘Suck in your stomach!’

Jack was currently waiting in the sitting room with Robert, Penny and Tom. Ræ
ven
was perched on Hawthorne’s shoulder. They watched as I got ready.

Maria was fitting me into one of her best dresses. I had never worn anything so elegant before. Maria had chosen a periwinkle blue dress covered in ruffles and bows, lined with lace. She said it matched my eyes.

I felt girly. I disliked it.

Maria was currently pulling as hard as she could on the corset, tightening it to the point that I could barely breathe.

‘I hope Jack likes eet. Your man must approve.’

‘Jack isn’t
my
man,’ I folded my arms across my chest.

‘I see zee way ‘ee looks at you,’ Maria teased. Ræ
ve
n whistled approvingly as she flew onto the vanity-screen.

‘It’s squishing everything together.’ I looked down at my bust, which showed a great deal of cleavage now that I was bound like a hog.

‘Zat is zee point,’ said Maria as she finished tying everything up. I heaved a sigh, but was promptly scolded. ‘Stop slouching and ’old your chin up.’

I did as I was told and Maria stood back to admire her work.

‘Ah, you look
magnifique
!’ she said happily.

Hawthorne peered nervously around the screen and let out a groan at the sight of me.

‘Oh, what do you know?’ I said to Hawthorne as I turned on the spot. Ræ
ve
n clicked her beak in approval.

‘But what shall we do with zat ‘air of yours?’

‘I think its fine,’ I said, noticing Maria’s perfect blonde curls.

‘When was zee last time you brushed eet?’ Maria asked.

‘Oh, I’m not sure,’ I said. Honestly, I didn’t own a brush, but Maria might have a heart attack if I told her that.

‘Ugh and your nails,’ she said, grabbing my hand and inspecting them. ‘We will need to fix zem.’

I snatched my hand back and looked at my nails. They were all chewed as far as they could go. I was a nail-biter. Maria’s hands were perfectly manicured.

I felt worse and worse every second. Maria forced a brush through my hair, which brought tears to my eyes. She then fixed it into an elegant bun.

‘Is this really necessary?’ I asked as a blue bow was put in my hair.

‘Of course!’ Maria exclaimed. ‘You must be presentable. You are such a pretty girl, too. Eet is a shame.’

I bit down on my tongue. It would be rude to snap when Maria was doing me a favour. Next, she brought out a pair of tweezers.

‘What are they for?’ I demanded.

‘Your eyebrows,’ she said, holding up the tweezers, an innocent expression on her face. ‘Zey are much too thick.’

‘Oh, come on,’ I said. ‘That is going too far.’

Maria folded her arms and pursed her lips. ‘What ‘arm will eet do?’

I sighed. ‘All right, all right. Just do it.’

I spent the next half an hour being tweezed, prodded, poked and painted. Maria sprayed me with various perfumes, waxed my legs and underarms and then lathered me in makeup. When she was finished, I didn’t want to look at myself. The perfume made Hawthorne sneeze.

I was very grateful, but would have been much more comfortable in my regular dress and shoes. I was currently wearing a pair of high-cut embroidered boots that were a little bit too large. They were extremely feminine and had a high heel. I practiced walking in them and almost rolled my ankle twice.

‘Jack will ‘ave to ‘old you up,’ Maria tutted.

‘I can barely move in these shoes and this corset,’ I whined.

‘Eet is fashionable!’ Maria reassured me.

‘Is it fashionable to suffocate?’ I said, rubbing my ribs, which were being crushed by the
bones.

Maria ignored me, so I held up my arms and turned to Hawthorne.

‘Well?’ I asked him. ‘How do I look?’

Hawthorne stared blankly back at me.

‘Fine,’ I turned to Ræ
ve
n. ‘What do you think?’

Ræ
ve
n hopped down from the vanity-screen and morphed into her Mage-self. Of course, I would never be as beautiful as Ræ
ve
n. She was otherworldly.

Ræ
ve
n pursed her lips. ‘You are missing something.’

I looked down at myself, but wasn’t quite sure what else there could be. I had undergone every feminine ritual known to Mage-kind.

‘Oh, I know!’ Maria exclaimed, rushing out of the room.

I gave Ræ
ve
n a puzzled look before Maria came bustling back and fixed something around my neck.

I looked down and touched the pendant that rested on my bosom.

‘Eet is sapphire,’ Maria said fondly. ‘Eet matches your eyes.’

I smiled. ‘Thank you. The other guests might actually believe that I am a lady.’

I hadn’t yet seen myself and didn’t really want to.

Maria smiled warmly. ‘Now, let’s show Jack my creation.’

Staggering down Maria’s hallway, with Ræ
ve
n and Hawthorne following in my shadow, I walked into the sitting room. I dreaded Jack’s reaction and sorely regretted laughing at his outfit earlier.

Maria led me through the doorway and I caught a glimpse of everyone in the room as I entered. They were all sitting on comfy lounges around a coffee table, chatting amongst themselves. Maria cleared her throat and everyone looked up.

Upon seeing me, Penny gasped and clapped her hands to her mouth. ‘You look great!’ she said.

Tom looked mildly surprised.

Robert grinned broadly and nodded. ‘Fits perfectly.’

But it was Jack’s reaction I sought. My eyes locked with his as he stood up from the sofa and removed the tweed cap from his head.

‘Well?’ I said. ‘Aren’t you going to laugh?’

Jack looked me up and down, smirking. ‘No.’

Maria clapped her hands together. ‘You had better be going! Zee party began ten minutes ago! Take zis.’ She thrust earplugs into my hands. ‘For when zee bird sings.’

I opened the handbag that Maria had leant me. ‘Uh, in you go, I guess.’ I said to Penny and Tom.

It was a strange sight. Penny took the bag from me and placed it on the floor before her and Tom. They put their feet inside the bag and began to shrink before my eyes, until I could not see them at all. I peered inside the handbag to see a tiny Penny and Tom waving up at me. They were mere inches in height. I couldn’t help but laugh at the absurdity.

Picking up the bag carefully, I lifted it over my shoulder. I did not want to give the Truscott’s a bumpy ride.

It felt as though there was a live snake in my stomach. I was nervous about seeing Helena. I wondered what state she would be in. I tried to push the horrible thoughts from my mind.

I jumped as I felt Jack’s hand on the small of my back.

‘Remember your alias?’ he asked me as Ræ
ve
n swooped down and landed on his shoulder.

‘Annie Deacon,’ I said.

Jack nodded. ‘And
my
alias?’

‘You are Adam Deacon, my husband,’ I said.

Jack smiled and put the cap back on his head. ‘Correct.’

~

Jack and I passed the front gates and made our way up the never-ending drive that winded out of sight. Ræ
ve
n was perched on Jack’s shoulder, as she needed to pass as his animal spirit and Hawthorne trotted along happily behind us. I held my handbag carefully, hoping that Penny and Tom were not too uncomfortable.

I noticed that Jack kept glancing at me out of the corner of his eye. On the fourth glance, I caught him doing so and gave him a questioning look.

‘What?’ I asked.

Jack straightened his tweed cap. ‘Nothing.’

‘You keep looking at me.’

‘No I don’t.’

Eventually the manor loomed into view, at which point Jack held out his arm for me to take. It was an exceedingly large property with many windows and vines covering the facade. Perfectly manicured hedges lined the way to the entrance.

Jack glanced at me again.

‘Stop it,’ I scolded him.

Jack frowned. ‘I can’t help it. You look different.’

‘You’re making me feel self-conscious.’

Jack’s lips curled into a smile as he put an arm around my waist. ‘You scrub up well, Redding,’ he said.

‘You don’t look too bad yourself.’

Two guards stood on either side of the oak front doors. I saw them inspect the invitation of another well-dress couple that had just dismounted a carriage.

As Jack and I approached the manor we heard the unmistakable sound of classical music and the constant drone of civilised chatter.

‘Don’t look so nervous,’ Jack muttered out of the corner of his mouth.

We were mere metres away from the front doors now. The guards eyed us beadily as we approached. I hitched my dress above my ankles as Jack and I ascended the stone steps. I concentrated hard on my feet, trying not to roll my ankle in the ridiculous boots.

I presented my invitation to the nearest guard, who was much taller than Jack. He scanned it quickly before looking over my head at Hawthorne.

‘You haff large spirit,’ he grunted in a thick accent that I did not recognise.

I twisted my neck to look at Hawthorne, who stared innocently back.

‘Yes,’ I confirmed, turning back to the guard. I was rather unsure of what I was meant to say.

‘He is trained?’ asked the guard.

‘Of – of course,’ I stammered.

‘Vot is your name?’

‘A-Annie Deacon.’

The second guard scribbled my name onto the end of a long roll of parchment, which was already filled with many names.

‘And your animal spirit?’

‘His name is Hawthorne.’ My response was automatic. I wondered whether I should have given him a false name.

The guard grunted again before consulting the invite and turning to Jack. ‘You are plus one?’

Jack nodded fervently.

‘Your name?’

‘Ja – um, Adam Deacon.’

The guard glared at Jack. ‘And your spirit?’ He pointed to the black bird.

‘Um, her name is Ræ
ve
n.’ Jack glanced at me, seeking some kind of approval. I gave a tiny nod.

‘How do you spell?’ the second guard squinted at the parchment, ‘Ree-ven? R-E-E-’

Jack cleared his throat. ‘No, uh, it’s a grapheme formed by the letters a and e … never mind.’ Jack waved a hand. ‘How you spelled it is fine.’

Leaving the dim-witted guards behind, we entered the manor and were quickly chaperoned by a staff member down a wide hall lined with handsome tapestries.

‘Excuse me?’ I asked the man who was leading us towards the garden. ‘Can you show me the rest room, please?’

‘Yes ma’am,’ he complied.

It was important that I was alone, away from prying eyes, while I released Tom and Penny from my handbag. Once they were in the manor they would be able to hide until they were needed later in the evening.

I was shown to the rest room, which was immensely impressive with it’s high walls and marble columns. There was even a bath the size of a small swimming pool. Jack, Hawthorne and Ræ
ve
n waited outside while I opened my handbag and placed it on the floor.

Within an instant, Tom and Penny blossomed from the bag, like absurd flowers growing in fast-motion.