‘That was my second mistake.’ Willemena sighed. ‘And one it has taken me much longer to admit to.’ She closed her eyes, composing herself before continuing. ‘I wanted to give Jamie a place in the family, but I was panicked, too afraid to let anyone know the truth about my son, and, above all, fearful of what Claude might do if he found out his son was alive.’ Lottie wondered at what point Claude had discovered who Jamie really was, and how long he’d been plotting. ‘I did not mean it as punishment by demoting him in social standing, and yet that is precisely what it became, my own grandson paying for the mistakes of his father, who he didn’t even know, and by the time I realized what I had done we couldn’t bring ourselves to tell him. We had persuaded ourselves he was happy.’

‘Were you ever planning to tell him?’ Ellie asked.

Willemena nodded, clearing her throat. ‘Next year, after the completion of your school studies. But after you discovered Claude’s link to Leviathan, I was scared Jamie might find out the truth on his own. And now he has. We are too late.’

The light from the crack in the curtain returned, stretching like a long pointed finger up to Ellie’s grandmother where it split her face down the middle, one yellowed eye shrinking, and beside her Ellie’s hand began to unwind itself from the bedsheets, the fabric turning slack again.

Lottie’s head was still sore from the information and she was racked with exhaustion, but she watched Ellie, knowing it all fell on her. She seemed calm, and it was the simmering storm she was used to; it was decisive. She saw Ellie bring her hand to her ribcage, rubbing something that made her wince.

‘Lottie,’ she finally said, as soft as sleep, ‘could you give me a moment alone with my grandmother? I’ll come and find you later.’

Picking herself up, Lottie instinctively went to put a comforting hand on Ellie’s shoulder, withdrawing it at the last second. Instead she put on the bravest face she could so they’d all have one less thing to worry about. ‘Of course,’ she said. ‘I’ll see you later.’

30

Someone had lit candles in Lottie’s quarters. They flickered in their silver holders, casting the illusion of shivering leaves over her otherwise empty room. In the many hours since she’d found Jamie’s wolf, this was the first time Lottie had been truly alone, and she knew if she didn’t do something to distract herself soon, it would all catch up with her.