23 A SILKEN THREAD

I had a dove and the sweet dove died;

And I have thought it died of grieving.

O, what could it grieve for? Its feet were tied,

With a silken thread of my own hand’s weaving.

—John Keats, “I had a dove”

“Jessamine,” Lucie said crossly. “I told you, I am about to summon a ghost, and you won’t like it at all. You don’t even like other ghosts.”

“But I do like you,” said Jessamine. “And besides, your father told me to look after you while he was in Paris. I am quite sure he would not have approved of you summoning a ghost or other undead personage.”

Lucie sank onto her bed with an exasperated sigh. Usually she didn’t mind Jessamine floating about the place. When she was small, they’d had excellent games of hide-and-seek during which Jessamine continuously cheated by concealing herself in Lucie’s shoeboxes or glove drawer (Jessamine saw no reason why she should be required to remain person-size just because Lucie was). Now that she was older, Jessamine often helped her find lost items or chatted with her while Tessa did her hair.

Now, however, having her here was decidedly inconvenient. Lucie had rushed home from the shop in Limehouse, entirely determined on what to do next, only to find Jessamine wafting about her bedroom with the curtains, complaining about being lonely. Getting rid of her without raising too much suspicion was turning out to be more difficult than she’d thought.

“See here,” Lucie said. “I need to understand a—a thing that happened years ago. I can’t get it out of the living, so…” She allowed her voice to trail off meaningfully.

“So you will go to the dead?” Jessamine said. “Lucie, as I have told you before, not all ghosts are like me, with kind eyes and a wonderful personality. This could turn out very badly.”

“I know. I’ve met this ghost before. It’s going to be extremely unpleasant,” Lucie added, “and you won’t like to see it. You should spare yourself and leave now.”

Jessamine drew herself up. She had firmed up quite a bit around the edges and was giving Lucie her darkest glare. “I should say not. I will not leave your side. Whatever it is you have in mind, you should not be doing it without supervision!”

“I wouldn’t do it at all, if it weren’t absolutely necessary. But there is no need for you to trouble yourself over the matter, Jessamine.”

“I am troubled over the matter,” Jessamine said, making the lights flicker a bit for effect. “But I am not going anywhere.” She crossed her arms over her chest and stuck her chin in the air.