Lovisa cried out in disbelief, but Benni’s face was smooth and calm as he continued. “We asked him where he meant to go, but he wouldn’t say. Impulsive boy, isn’t he? You’ll be hearing the rumors soon. I think you understand how your mother will feel if you contradict those rumors in any way, Lovisa? She’s already disappointed in your behavior. As am I, I’m afraid.”

Lovisa couldn’t answer. Her mind was whirling with new, bewildered thoughts of Katu. “My own brother!” Ferla had cried last night, blaming Benni for things Lovisa hadn’t understood. Katu had also supposedly taken it into his head to travel, leaving no word, saying no goodbyes. Her father had been the one to tell her so. What if he’d lied about Katu, the way he was lying about Pari? But hadn’t Katu been cashing checks in Kamassar and Borza? Arni Devret, who was Katu’s banker, had mentioned it once. Lovisa was almost certain. So then, why had Ferla yelled “My own brother”?

“How did you get a key to the attic room?” asked Benni.

“I’ve had it since I was a child,” Lovisa whispered, making up a likely story. “I stole it from Mother years ago and had a copy made. I was scared she would put me in there and forget about me.”

“So you’ve been lying to us for years,” he said. “And sneaking, and stealing. And now we’re all faced with the consequences. Give me the key.”

“I don’t have it.”

“Your mother told me to come home with that key,” said Benni. “If I don’t, I expect your brothers will be the ones to suffer for it. I also expect she’ll come to you herself, looking for it.”

Lovisa knew this was meant to frighten and shame her into acquiescence. It was also probably true. She reached into her shirt, pulled the string over her head, and held the attic key, its glass gemstone sparkling, out to him. Benni rose, took it from her, and looked down at her for a moment with a grave and mournful expression.

“Your mother and I love you, Lovisa,” he said again.

Then he left the room.

—

Alone, Lovisa lay on her bed, curled into a ball.

The queen was dead. Pari was dead. Katu was “traveling,” and Lovisa found herself unable to prod that thought any further for the moment. Her father was a stranger. Lovisa’s mind was blank, her body empty of instinct or feeling.

After a while, she got up and lit her stove. A soporific tea would make her sleep.