Ellie nodded enthusiastically, clutching Lottie’s hands until they were sat like they were praying. ‘And then I’ll make everything right, I promise.’

Lottie watched as her princess put on that fake plastic smile once more, helping herself to another handful of food, all the while humming happily, like she’d just solved a problem. And in a dark part of her mind she wondered whether she was the problem Ellie needed to solve.

Lottie tried not to let slip the fear that had just settled in her stomach. Tomorrow, she told herself, tomorrow she’d get to work on Leviathan and finding Jamie.

She’d prove she was still useful as a Portman.

33

By Monday the snow had melted. There was not a single trace of it anywhere, leaving the world glowing with dew. The air smelled fresh and clear; spring finally starting to break through the harsh winter. Lottie would have been able to enjoy it, if not for her personal shadow, also known as Samuel.

She was taking a risk with her plan to get away from him, relying on an assumption she’d made about the bodyguard and her own ability to act.

It was lunchtime, with Ellie off at fencing practice, when Lottie made her move.

Walking past the Stratus building, Lottie stopped abruptly, letting Samuel walk a few steps in front of her until he realized she’d paused.

‘What’s the matter?’ he asked.

Samuel was not a bad person. He did his job for the Wolfsons and he did it well. His only problem was he entirely lacked a sense of humour, and he was painfully shy when it came to anything personal.

‘I can’t say,’ Lottie demanded, balling her hands into fists and doing her best to look embarrassed and angry at the same time.

‘If something is wrong, it’s my job as your –’

Lottie let out a grumble, looking down at the floor. ‘No, I can’t tell you; it’s too humiliating.’

Samuel seemed confused. He took a step forward and she could already see the sweat building on his brow, and Lottie took her chance.

‘If you insist on knowing and you’re so determined to give me absolutely no privacy, I’ve had an accident,’ she huffed, staring him down indignantly. ‘The kind that only happens once a month. Are you happy now?’

Samuel baulked, his usual stoic and calculated appearance bursting into stutters and sweating, his feet betraying him as he stumbled backwards.

It was just as Lottie had suspected. Samuel was a prude.

‘I, um, I can perhaps escort you, um, back to your dorm, if, um, that would help?’

Lottie let out an exasperated noise, rolling her eyes to make the bodyguard feel even more out of his depth. ‘There’s no time for that,’ she moaned. ‘I have a friend in Stratus. She can lend me a change of clothes and give me some personal products.’