At Mrs. Barnes’ nod, Maisie scurried off to do Cecily’s bidding.
At first, there was no answer from inside the bedroom, but after a few seconds’ pause, a sullen little voice asked, “What do you want?”
“It’s time for you to come out now,” Cecily replied pleasantly. “There has been enough trouble caused.”
“I do not care what you say. You’re not my mother!” Lilian spat back.
“No, but I’m your stepmother, and you might as well get used to that because we are likely to be spending a great deal of time together,” Cecily told her in a firm and factual tone, knowing that if Nathaniel did return to London soon, this would be even more true.
“I don’t even want you here,” Lilian protested. “Why can’t you go away and leave me alone?”
“Because you’re only seven years old, Lilian. No one will be leaving you alone.”
“Papa will,” the girl replied rebelliously. “He always leaves me.”
Cecily suppressed a sigh, unable to argue on this point. Thankfully, Maisie had returned with the items requested.
“Now, I’m going to teach you something interesting, Lilian. Would you like to learn how to unlock a door from the outside?”
“What do you mean?” Lilian asked, sounding intrigued.
“Well, when my sister Mary was your age, she sometimes used to lock herself in rooms too. I had to get her out so that she wouldn’t get into trouble with our uncle. He would have been very, very angry with her.”
“The nasty man who came to the wedding?” Lilian said artlessly.
“Yes,” Cecily sighed, seeing no point in hiding what was already plain to a child. “Anyway, I’m going to show you how it’s done now, and I want you to pay attention. Are you ready?”
“Yes,” Lilian answered straight away.
Cecily pushed the piece of paper beneath the door until it lay directly under the lock, half on one side and half on the other.
“Can you see the paper?”
“Yes. Is this magic? Like Uncle Patrick does sometimes?”
“It’s better than magic,” Cecily assured her, taking the tweezers and inserting them into the lock. “Watch very carefully, but don’t touch anything.”
Thankfully, the shape and size of the key allowed her to turn it slightly with the metal pincers so that its teeth were perpendicular to the lock, making it slide out easily.
Gently pushing it from her side with the tweezers, she heard a satisfying thunk as the key dropped to the floor. Pulling the paper back toward her, she was relieved to find the key flat enough to pass through the gap under the door.
“You got the key!” Lilian called out excitedly from inside the room. “You did it!”
“Yes, I did,” Cecily answered, rising to her feet and inserting the key in the lock. “Now, for my second trick…”
She unlocked the door and turned the handle, opening it softly to find Lilian standing entranced. She was smiling, but her eyes were red from crying, and her messy hair and clothes could have rivaled her father’s.
“Well done!” Patrick praised, evidently impressed.
Mrs. Barnes, Miss Osborne, and the maids all made sounds of relief and congratulation.
“I had forgotten you could do that, Cecily,” Mary remarked. “How long ago it was!”
“Yes, you were once a very trying child, indeed,” Cecily answered with good humor, while holding out her hand to Lilian.
Hesitantly, the child took one step forward and then another, before putting her hand in Cecily’s.
“Will you show me again?” Lilian asked. “I want to know more about getting out of locked rooms.”
