“I agree. It’s time to end this bizarre turn of events and go home,” Blanche said, eyeing the shop with distaste.
“Me too,” Kitty added, though she just seemed to be following the prevailing winds.
“Oh, alright. Um, let me think.”
Aurelia had absolutely no idea what was going on, but she wasn’t quite ready to take their books off the table. What if Lizzy and the others would return the following evening? Maybe this was just a random blip in the shop’s usual workings and it would all be straightened out tomorrow?
“Here’s what we’ll do. I’m going to open the shop door, and then you’ll disappear back into your books.” In response to blank stares, she added, “You’ll go home.”
“Yes, do that at once,” Mrs. Jamieson said, waving her parasol imperiously.
Suppressing a sigh, Aurelia went to the door and opened it as quietly as she could, hoping that the faint tinkle of the bell wouldn’t wake Biscuit and startle him into thinking someone was breaking into the shop. She turned around and stepped outside, pulling the door closed behind her.
Through the blinds that covered the door’s glass panes, she spotted three columns of mist rising up, floating across the shop, and disappearing into the three stacks of books on the Recommended Reads table. The light dimmed, and Aurelia let herself back inside, her eyes wide.
“What in the bloody hell just happened?” she wondered aloud.
But, of course, there was no one there to answer her.
16
Itwasyetanotherrestless night as Aurelia barely slept, her mind too busy whirling through the oddity of Mrs. Jamieson, Blanche, and Kitty suddenly appearing in the shop. It was a Sunday, so she had the benefit of letting Julia sleep in while she continued thinking through everything that had happened. At one point, Aurelia went downstairs to look again at the books on the Recommended Reads table. The same three titles she’d set out before Julia’s arrival were still there. What did it mean? First Julia had seen the characters, and now a whole new set had replaced them. Was it something to do with Julia?
Back upstairs, the phone rang and Aurelia answered, her mind still far away.
“Is everything alright? Is it Julia?”
The slight anxiety in her sister’s voice brought Aurelia back to the present.
“Antonia? No—Julia’s fine. I let her sleep in this morning.”
“Oh. I just had this strange feeling… Are you alright?”
“Yeah. I’m a bit off today, but nothing’s wrong.”
For a moment, Aurelia wished she could confide in Antonia, tell her everything and see what she’d make of it, but it was far too late for that after keeping her double life a secret from her for nearly three years.
“I haven’t been sleeping well. It’s the heat and Oliver being away… I’ll be fine.”
“Is it too much having Julia there? You can send her back. I can make something up, pretend it’s me that wants her home.”
“No, don’t do that! We had a great day yesterday—Kali took us around the National Gallery.”
Julia appeared in the doorway to the guest room, her eyes half open and a giant wrinkle from her pillow marking her cheek.
“Is that Mum?”
“Your daughter has emerged from her slumbers. Hang on,” Aurelia told her sister before holding the phone out to Julia.
Julia became more animated as she wandered around the flat, chatting with her mother. That gave Aurelia time to consider Antonia’s offer: maybe it would be easiest to send Julia home so that she could figure out what was happening with the characters? Then she could come and go from the shop at night without worrying that Julia would hear and find her sitting amongst fictional characters again. But Julia had been looking forward to her visit for a full year, and Aurelia liked having her there, in spite of the slight chaos that had arrived with her.
“Here,” Julia said, suddenly standing in front of Aurelia and handing her the phone. “Mum wants to talk to you again.”
“Hi,” Aurelia said into the phone.
“It sounds like she’s having a great time. But are you sure you’re alright having her there?” Antonia asked.
“I am. She’s a very good duster,” Aurelia added loudly, to an eye roll from Julia.
