A Great and Terrible Beauty
Page 38

"Oh, my, I see I've started a little fire." Miss Moore laughs. "Didn't you have any sadistic nannies who told you these tales to keep you quiet and well behaved at night? Heavens, what's to become of the Empire if governesses have lost their touch for scaring the wits out of their girls?"
"Please tell us, Miss Moore," Pippa begs, shooting a glance at Felicity.
"According to the legendsand my own vicious nanny, God rest her wicked soulthe sisters of the Order would hold hands and concentrate on a way ina doorway, a portal of some kind." A door of light.
"Did they need to do anything else to cross over? Did they have to say something, an incantation or some such?" I press. Behind me, Martha does her annoying mimicry, and if I weren't so absorbed, I'd find a way to take her down a peg.
Miss Moore laughs, shakes her head. "Gracious, I haven't the faintest idea! It's a myth. Like all of these symbols. A bit of story passed down through the generations. Or lost through them. Such legends tend to fade away in the face of industrialization."
"Are you saying we should go back to the way it was?" Felicity asks.
"I'm saying nothing of the kind. One can never go back. One always has to move forward."
"Miss Moore?" I ask, unable to stop myself. "Why would someone have given my mother the crescent eye?"
Miss Moore ponders this. "I suppose someone must have thought she needed protection."
A horrible thought works its way inside me. "But suppose a person was without the necklacewithout its protection. What would happen to her?"
Miss Moore shakes her head. "I hadn't considered you to be so impressionable, Miss Doyle." The girls snicker. My face goes hot. "These symbols are no more effective than a rabbit's foot. I shouldn't place too much stock in your amulet's protective powers, no matter how attractive a piece it may be."
I can't let it alone. "But what if"
Miss Moore cuts me off. "If you wish to know more about ancient legends, ladies, there is a place that can help you. It's called a library. And I believe that Spence is in possession of one."
She pulls a pocket watch from her canvas bag of art supplies. I've never seen a woman carry a man's watch before, and it only deepens the mystery that is Miss Moore. "It's almost time to go back," she says, closing the watch with a decisive snap. "Now, how did we end up wandering about with ancient goddesses when we came to admire art? I want to do a bit of sketching near the mouth of the cave. You may join me when you've gathered your things."
Tucking the bag under her arm, she strides confidently toward the mouth, leaving us alone in the semidarkness. My fingers are trembling so badly that I can barely bundle my supplies together. I'm vaguely aware of the other girls. Their gossipy whispers fill the cave like the buzzing of flies.
"Well, this was certainly a waste of our time," Cecily mutters. "I'll wager Mrs. Nightwing would be interested to know all about what Miss Moore is teaching us."
"She's a curious creature," Elizabeth agrees. "Strange."
"I found it all very interesting," Felicity says. "My future husband won't," Cecily grouses. "He'll want to know that I can draw something pleasant to impress our guests. Not ruin his dinner with talk about bloodthirsty witches."
"At least it got us out of that dreary old school for the afternoon," Felicity reminds them.
Ann's pencils slip from her hands and fall to the ground, the noise of their fall echoing loudly. She drops clumsily to her knees, trying to gather them all.
"That face of Ann's must be a talisman against all men," Elizabeth whispers just loudly enough to be heard. The others laugh in the way girls do when they can't believe someone has been cruel enough to say what they really feel. Ann doesn't even look up.
Felicity loops her arm through mine, whispers low. "Don't look so grim. They're harmless, really."
I shake my arm free. "They are the hounds of hell. Could you call them off, please?"
Cecily giggles. "Careful, Felicity, she might use her evil eye against us."
Even Felicity can't keep from sputtering with laughter. I wish I could use my evil eye. Or at least my evil boot right smack against Cecilys backside.
Miss Moore leads us back into the daylight and through the woods by a different path, which takes us to a small dirt road. Across the low stone wall that borders the road, I can see a Gypsy caravan nestled in the trees beyond. Felicity is suddenly by my side, using the advantage of my height to hide her from view, in case Ithal is near.