“ ‘I have another promise I want from you,’ he said, looking out the door, as if to make certain no one was coming up on us. ‘If you do see this creature again, try not to think of anything that she can read from your mind. I know this is obvious, but try to use definite techniques to cleanse your mind of anything important. You wouldn’t want her finding out, for instance, as I have this very afternoon, that you have a new relation by the name of Tommy Harrison whom you’ve come to like—if not love—in a brief meeting yesterday morning.’

“I was shocked. I wasn’t conscious of having thought of Tommy.

“ ‘You give that fodder to Petronia,’ Stirling said, ‘and she’ll use it against you, the same way she might use Mona. And believe me when I tell you that it’s a good thing Aunt Queen will soon be beyond her apparent reach as well.’

“I shuddered. ‘Aunt Queen,’ I whispered. Then I remembered the way that Petronia had taken her leave of Aunt Queen and the words she’d spoken: You’ve been very gracious to me. I won’t forget it.

“ ‘I wish I had this gift for reading minds,’ I said. ‘I’d know what you’re holding back.’

“ ‘It isn’t such a great gift,’ he said as we walked on up the slope towards the house again. ‘You can’t take Tommy to Europe with you, can you?’ he asked.

“ ‘Oh, that would be splendid. I don’t see why not. I bet Terry Sue would allow it. Not with Brittany of course. That’s the little girl. She’s the workhorse. But Tommy. Tommy’s the dreamer who reads books in the woods. I’ll talk to Aunt Queen about it.’

“ ‘Whatever you do, try not to do it after nightfall. If you must make plans, and certainly you must, do it in New Orleans. Do it perhaps at the Grand Luminière Café in Mayfair Medical. That ought to give you time to see Mona. She’ll be in the center all day today and into the evening. I’m meeting her and Michael and Rowan there for dinner myself.’

“ ‘You know, I like your outspoken manner but it amazes me, the ease with which you make your suggestions. Again, I know you’re holding something back.’

“ ‘Know this, and I mean it from the heart. I hold back what I think I should hold back and nothing more than that. Take your Aunt Queen and Nash to dinner at the Grand Luminière Café tonight. Heed my advice on that.’

“ ‘But why is it so important?’

“ ‘Because creatures like Petronia don’t like witches. And they never go where they are.’

“I was dumbstruck. I couldn’t quite imagine what he meant.

“ ‘She’s a mind reader, no? And a trickster on top of it, wouldn’t you say?’

“ ‘Yes,’ I answered.