She ought to have confided in James, after all. She suddenly felt it had been a mistake to let him leave like that. He might have helped them to depart … But, no, she had no right to ask such a thing of him. She had to get out of this mess herself. She clicked her fingers again and the raven returned to her shoulder. Eustace had shielded his face, but Rosa felt a fierce rush of pleasure at the sight of the bleeding welts on the backs of his hands. ‘We are leaving. All three of us. This moment.’

She refused to think about the fact that, by law, she simply wasn’t allowed to walk out on Eustace, never mind take his children from him. She had become his property when she married him, and he would be within his rights to break down the door of any house that harboured her. Well, let him try and he’d see what happened! She had an unkindness of ravens to protect her and she wasn’t afraid to use them. She had to get her daughters out of this house – she had to. She would not be shackled to unhappiness like some meek little mouse. Beatrice had had the guts to set herself free, and Rosa could certainly do the same.

A servant arrived in response to Eustace’s bell then, so Rosa ordered them to help her take the twins up to the nursery, along with the book, the star and the orchids. Eustace did not protest – or if he did, then she didn’t hear him over her daughter’s cries. Once in the nursery, she dismissed the servant and examined Ada’s arm. A small bruise had formed already, but it did not appear to be a serious injury. Relieved, Rosa attempted to quieten her, but nothing worked. The baby sobbed for hours.

By the time Ada finally fell into an exhausted sleep, it was too late to leave Raven Hall. The thought of going anywhere other than a comfortable chair was beyond shattering to Rosa anyway, so she had to accept that they would be spending another night in the house after all. But she promised herself it would only be the one. There was nothing worth saving here. As soon as morning came, they would go. And they would never return.

Later that evening both twins were sleeping, and Rosa had snatched the opportunity to nap on the narrow bed alongside them when there was a knock at the door. She jerked awake with a start and could have wept when Ada awoke too and started to cry again. Was it too much to ask to be left alone just for a few hours? To sleep for more than five minutes at a time? Her mind felt fogged with the need to rest, and her stinging eyes were like peeled grapes in her head.