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‘Fairy tales,’ Ana murmured. ‘Always a nightmare.’
‘Would I have to stay here?’ Sophia regarded him anxiously.
‘Sometimes,’ he said.
‘Maman doesn’t want to stay here.’
‘I know.’ The glance he slid Ana was enigmatic. ‘So, for now, perhaps we will have to find somewhere else for you and your mère to live, and you can visit me here when you would like to practice being a princess. And when you want to see Jelly the Ninth and Alberto the eagle owl.’
‘Alberto the eagle owl?’ Sophia regarded her father with owl eyes of her own.
‘You haven’t seen Alberto the eagle owl yet? He came here when he was very young and sick and didn’t know to be afraid of people handling him. Tomas the falconer hand raised him and uses him today to help settle other injured birds that arrive here scared and afraid. He’s big, very big, with orange eyes and ears that stick out and can go up and down and sideways and he can hear very well.’
‘Does he come when you call?’
‘He does. I like that in a bird. But he’s asleep now, and I would not abuse my power by rousing him for no good reason. Perhaps later this evening when he is awake we can call him and feed him.’
‘Will Tomas be there?’ asked Sophia.
‘He usually is when it comes to feeding the birds.’
‘Tomas doesn’t like me,’ Sophia announced.
‘Oh?’ Casimir studied his daughter coolly. ‘How do you know?’
‘Lor took me to see the hawks in the big cage while Tomas was there and when he saw me he looked like he wanted to cry. And then he didn’t look at me again the whole time and then he left and he didn’t even say goodbye. Everyone else here says hello and goodbye.’
‘I see,’ said Casimir.
‘So he doesn’t like me.’
‘I really don’t think that’s the problem.’
Sophia waited for more but Cas had clearly said all he was going to say on the subject of Tomas and his lack of goodbyes. ‘Eat,’ he said instead, pointing to Sophia’s plate, at which point she dutifully pushed a tiny tomato around her plate with a fork.
‘What does Alberto the eagle owl eat?’ she asked.
‘Dead things,’ said Cas. ‘Preferably still warm.’
‘Boy, do you have a lot to learn about father-daughter conversations,’ Ana murmured and he smiled, brief but sure.
‘I thought I was doing rather well. Staying on topic.’
‘Are you sure you don’t have a dragon?’ asked Sophia. ‘Because this would be a good place for a dragon to live.’
‘No dragons,’ he said firmly.
‘Because it could come when you called. Down from the mountains to guard the princess from the evil frogs.’
‘Do we have evil frogs?’ he asked with considerable calm.
‘Yes,’ said Sophia. ‘They’re very big. But they don’t have ears.’
Cas silently offered to fill their glasses with juice. ‘You can add to this conversation any time you like,’ he told Ana.
‘Wouldn’t dream of interrupting.’ It wasn’t a regular family conversation, by any means. Ana had no experience when it came to sharing her daughter, and Casimir had no experience with daughters at all, but somehow she was enjoying herself.
They ate. Cas and her daughter talked about all manner of things. From places they’d been to favourite foods to good names for puppies. Only when a butterfly landed on a cake and Sophia held out her hand to attract it did he falter, standing up with an abruptness that made them stare, and sent the butterfly flying off into the garden.
Sophia followed its progress before turning reproachful eyes on Cas.
‘Sorry to startle you,’ he muttered. ‘I need to be…not here. Excuse me.’
‘Yes, of course.’ Not that he needed anyone’s permission to leave, but the man seemed downright rattled. ‘Everything okay?’
‘Saw a ghost,’ he muttered, and Sophia’s eyes widened. He looked at his daughter and winced. ‘Not a ghost, ghost,’ he corrected rapidly. ‘We don’t have ghosts here. At all. Ever. Or dragons. No dragons here.’
