signed the papers that Crow held out to her. As usual Charlie had a sinking feeling that she was signing away more of her inheritance, but what could she do?
The fiercer part of her soul wanted to scream out in protest or at least question him about what she was signing. But the other part of her soul – perhaps the wiser part – kept her mouth shut. She remembered the first time she’d dared to ask, how his face had changed and how he had beaten her back and forth across the study until her skin was black and blue. Now she always signed. Quick and easy was better than battered and bruised.
She had told her grandmother, who was only too willing to help, but halfway through confronting Mr Crow her amnesia would kick in, she’d lose track of the conversation and end up asking him for tea and biscuits. Charlie had tried to tell the teachers at her school, but because the lawyer paid them so handsomely they simply wouldn’t hear a bad word said against the ‘charming Mr Crow’. All in all, Charlie honestly had no idea what to do. And apart from sticking her tongue out at his back and the few occasions she had gathered up the nerve to put ink in his tea (Crow would walk home with blue lips and an odd feeling that people were laughing at him) she didn’t feel as though this was a situation she could fix.
The lawyer’s words pulled her back to the present.
‘Thank you, dear Charlie,’ he purred, with a look of ill-disguised greed. ‘That was easy, wasn’t it? Never let it be said that work should be hard! And now, my little filly, I must ask you to leave me in peace, as I have much to do. Oh yes! Crow’s work is never done!’ And, so saying, he ushered Charlie out through the study door.
As soon as the door was shut, she promptly screwed up her face and stamped her foot. She hated him! He took her money but wouldn’t arrange to fix things and he certainly didn’t pay for the heating in the winter – Charlie always froze. But, worst of all, he wouldn’t get the right medical treatment for her gran.
Furious, she turned her back on the study and headed into the depths of the house.
She had known from a young age that her home was different from most buildings. Since her parents had disappeared, it was the only place that she ever felt safe, but it didn’t obey the rules that all other houses were inclined to follow. Charlie was pretty sure that it was bigger on the inside than it was on the outside. Much bigger. She had been running riot around the house all her life, yet she was still discovering doors that led into new unexplored parts. Fortunately her grandmother stayed to the front of the house and never strayed, which meant that Charlie could wander to her heart’s content.
Now she found herself striding through dusty corridors and along deserted hallways that echoed with the sound of her footfalls. She stumbled down stone staircases carved with strange and ornate mythical animals, and passed marble archways and cavernous rooms full of ancient and eroded statues. Emblems and old signs of chivalry and heraldry stood proud on the walls and doors. Lions, unicorns, griffins and even stranger-looking creatures were depicted with such skill that they appeared to wriggle and writhe as she walked past. But Charlie, used to these everyday wonders, ignored the intriguing surroundings and stomped deeper and deeper into the house. Every once in a while, unable to contain her rage, she would shout, ‘It’s not fair!’ and kick the wall. Midway through yet another shout of, ‘It’s not fair!’ and halfway through a wall-kicking a voice rudely interrupted her rampage.
‘Child, wotcha think yer doing? Don’t go kickin’ the wall. It’s bad for the house, bad for business and also, methinks, bad for yer feet!’
Losing all composure and kicking grace, Charlie squawked and spun round.
Standing there was a man quite unlike any she had ever seen before. His rich brown hair was tied into a topknot that danced merrily above his head. He wore a green sleeveless shirt, olive shorts that reached just below his knees and a pair of wooden sandals. His big beak of a nose was pierced with a shell and a large plumed feather was stuck through his topknot. But strangest of all was his