Jamie glowered at his teacup. Lucie and Ken seemed just as unhappy with the turn the conversation had taken, and didn’t appear to know what to say. Mika’s confusion grew. After a moment’s pause, Ian let out a mournful sigh. “Edward Foxhaven is Lillian’s solicitor. He thinks the sun shines out of her arse, but he loathes the rest of us.”

“Why?”

Ian raised an eyebrow. “We’re an unconventional household.”

“Which part troubles him the most?” Mika asked. “You and Ken? Or the foreign children?”

“It’s difficult to say,” said Ian, considering. “Jamie’s in the running, too, on account of his Northern Irish roots.”

“Why hasn’t Lillian replaced him?”

“She doesn’t see it. He frames it all so politely, so nicely. I’m sure you’ve experienced that kind of thing yourself.” She had. “Still, Edward’s bigotry hasn’t mattered until now. He’s only ever been to the house a couple of times, and the children were much littler the last time. But now we’re in a pickle because he’ll be coming here in December. He has to collect some sensitive documents from Lillian’s study.”

Mika grimaced. “And you’re afraid that when he’s here, he’ll see the children set a rope ladder on fire.”

“Or something of that ilk,” said Ian. “If it were a different solicitor, we’d take our chances and hope that if something did go wrong, they would behave reasonably. But Edward detests us. If he finds out the girls are witches, he’ll be vicious.”

“You can’t collect these documents yourself? And take them to his office?”

“We wouldn’t know what we’re looking for.” Ian made a grumbly noise. “Like I said, Lillian tells us as little as possible. Edward handles her will, her investments, and her stocks. She says these documents are in her study, and that only she and Edward know what they are, so I’m afraid we have no choice but to take her word for it. What this amounts to is, like it or not, Edward is coming here.”

“Can’t she just come home and sort out these documents herself?” Mika asked, completely flummoxed by Lillian’s cavalier attitude. “Then Edward wouldn’t need to come here at all.”

“That would solve the problem, wouldn’t it? Unfortunately, Lillian doesn’t see it that way. She says she can’t possibly leave the excavation at such a delicate time.”

“We can’t take the girls out for the day, either,” Lucie said, correctly guessing Mika’s next question. “It’s been two years since they last left Nowhere House. Two years since their magic became too unpredictable to risk taking them beyond the wards.”

“But all is not lost!” Ian said brightly, abruptly disrupting the sombre mood. “Because you’re here!”