Read A Witch Alone (The Winter Witch Trilogy #3) for Free Online Page B

‘why—?’
    ‘Presumably you’ve got a lot of catching up to do on Ealdwitan gossip, so why don’t I fill you in?’
    As we finished our meal he chatted easily, telling stories about the Ealdwitan that made me see another side entirely from the fierce cut-throat politics that preoccupied my grandmother – funny anecdotes about old retainers and accounts of the dazzling parties held in the underground ballroom and tea-dances in the conservatory.
    ‘Ballrooms, conservatories, libraries – what isn’t down here?’ I asked.
    ‘Mmm … good question. There’s no swimming pool, as far as I know. Ironic really, considering the whole thing is rooted in river-water. But yes, it is a warren. I’ve been exploring these corridors all my life and I still find myself lost every now and again.’
    ‘Did you live here? Growing up?’ I wasn’t sure if it was a stupid question, but I honestly didn’t know.
    ‘No, not in the sense of sleeping here. This is an office building – we all have homes above ground. For a while, after my mother died, I ran wild here in the day while my father worked. But then my father noticed I was becoming – hmm, shall we say, a bit feral. So he sent me off to boarding school. I was there from seven to fourteen.’
    Seven. The word was like a slap. Seven . But I only asked, ‘Why did you stop boarding?’
    ‘Oh, it became awkward, you know. When my magic started to come in. It was all right at first, I practised in the holidays and tried to keep it under wraps at school. But there were a few slip-ups.’ His knife screeched on the plate, and he winced and then gave a rueful laugh. ‘I don’t mean to start special pleading – I mean we’re all in the same boat as regards secrecy – but believe me, a dormitory full of twenty outwith boys can be a tough place to come into your powers.’
    I tried to imagine – and failed. God, it had been hard enough becoming a witch in Winter, let alone in the unrelenting hothouse of a boys’ boarding school.
    ‘Were there any others like you?’ I asked. ‘I mean, at your school?’
    He shook his head.
    ‘No. None. So it was quite a relief to come back here. But enough of me – what about you?’
    ‘Oh …’ I looked down at my hands, wrapped around the crystal stem of the wineglass. The seaglass ring winked in the candlelight. What to say? ‘It’s – it’s complicated. My mother left and my father – well, as you know, he’s an outwith.’
    ‘So what happened?’ Marcus looked at me, his brows drawn together into a frown. ‘That must have been very difficult to negotiate?’
    ‘Yes and no. My mother …’ I bit my lip. Was this very, very stupid? I had no idea whether I could trust him. He was an Ealdwitan. And a Corax. But on the other hand, my grandmother seemed to trust him – and really, what did I have left to hide? If I wanted answers to my own questions, I had to start talking. ‘My mother left a charm that kind of crippled my magic until I was in my late teens. So it wasn’t something I had to deal with until I was quite old.’
    ‘Really?’ Marcus put his chin on his hand and stared at me across the table. Little candle-flames flickered in his chocolate-coloured eyes. ‘And why did she do that?’
    I shrugged helplessly.
    If only I knew.
     
    Later, much later, Franklin had cleared the dinner plates and brought us coffee and petits fours, and there was still no sign of my grandmother.
    ‘You should go home.’ Marcus looked at me. ‘It’s late. You look very tired. I think the Chairs have been called back to the chamber.’
    ‘And what does that mean?’
    ‘A very long wait until they come out. I assume you’re staying with your grandmother – do you have a key?’
    ‘No, I’ll just wait. I’m fine, honestly,’ I said. Then I spoiled the remark by failing to suppress a huge yawn.
    ‘You’re dropping on your feet,’ Marcus said. He stood and picked up the telephone on the desk. ‘Hello, Miss Vane. Yes,