was satisfied with Ryker’s assurances, he touched the brim of his black slouch hat as he gave Thalia a small bow. Then the Skinner left, no longer limping.
“My goodness,” said Nell. “Wasn’t that exciting?”
“Indoors, both of you,” said Ryker.
Chapter Nine
“What do you mean by keep her with us, exactly?” Thalia had followed Nell and her brother back indoors to the music room. Nell settled Thalia in the most comfortable chair and sent Rogers to organize refreshments.
“Hush.” Nell put a comforting hand on Thalia’s sleeve. “I know I am only your student, but if our situations were reversed, I’m sure you would keep me safe and show exactly the same concern for my welfare that we’re obliged to show any Trader in your situation.”
Thalia thought Nell was being optimistic, but she’d let it slide since it seemed to be working in her favor. “Okay.”
Nell continued. “Nowhere safer for you to learn to control your Trades than right here with us. Our house has sheltered the young Traders of the Ryker family for generations.”
“You want me to stay here? Indefinitely?” Thalia remembered her manners. “That is very kind of you, and I thank you. But I can’t do that. I have responsibilities.”
“No responsibility outweighs your safety and the safety of those around you,” Ryker said. His stiffness had been replaced by concern.
“No, really. I can’t stay here.”
“It isn’t up to you,” Ryker said.
“And why can’t you stay here, I’d like to know,” asked Nell.
“I have doves,” Thalia admitted.
“Doves!” Nell clapped her hands with delight. “Wonderful.”
Thalia played her last bad-houseguest card. “I have a snake.”
“Poisonous, no doubt,” Ryker muttered. “Some sort of rattlesnake.”
With great difficulty, Thalia resisted the urge to lie and agree. “No. It’s only a corn snake. It eats mice.”
Nell dismissed the snake and its mice with an airy wave of her hand. “You shall be our welcome houseguest, and so shall your doves and your corn snake. I can hardly wait.”
“Send for your luggage and your pets and anything else you please, Miss Cutler.” Ryker sounded tired. “Nell, when we’ve had a chance to calm down a bit, put her in the nursery. That room is most convenient for the Changing room.”
The tray of refreshments arrived. There were a cut-crystal decanter of brandy and suitable glasses, a plate of sandwiches, and a teapot flanked by cups and saucers. Ryker poured them each a measure of brandy. Nell distributed sandwiches. Thalia, still slightly light-headed, managed a cup of tea. She declined both the brandy and the sandwich. She didn’t trust her stomach yet.
When the refreshments had been cleared away, Nell led Thalia along a ground-floor passage papered in an elaborate wallpaper pattern that made Thalia feel as if she were walking underwater.
“This is the nursery.” Nell opened a white-painted door and led Thalia into a whitewashed room with simple furniture and no windows.
Thalia looked around. There was a drab rag rug on the floor beside the iron bedstead. Otherwise the floor was bare wood. There was a wardrobe with no clothing in it. There was a dressing table with a mirror. There was a small writing desk with a simple chair. Counting the door they had come through, there were three doors in the room, all painted glossy white.
Nell opened the door to the left. “Here’s the bathroom. You’ll love it. This was one of the first houses in Manhattan to have full indoor plumbing. Our grandmother got the idea from her friends in London.”
Thalia praised the bathroom plumbing sincerely, but she was distracted by the door to the right. “Is that a closet?”
Nell opened the door to reveal a flight of steps running downward into darkness. “This goes to the Changing room.”
“There’s plenty of room to change clothes here,” Thalia pointed out, then caught herself. “Wait. That’s where you Trade?”
Nell regarded Thalia with approval. “We learn to Trade here in the nursery, so that’s why there’s nothing fancy or breakable in here. But sometimes it turns out a member of the family Trades to something wet. Or something large. That’s what the Changing room is for. Anyway, it’s fun.”
Thalia took another look around. “Why aren’t there any windows?”
“Manticores, of course.” Nell sat on the narrow bed and gestured to the writing desk. “I expect you’ll want to tell someone that you’re moving your things here to stay. Write a letter. We’ll send a messenger with it. It’s not something you can explain in a telegram, is it?”
In the drawer of the writing desk, Thalia found writing paper with the Ryker