Miss Ellerby and the Ferryman Read Online Free PDF Page B

exhaustively, upon each
succeeding morning.’
    Her
aunt’s sarcastic tone troubled Isabel a little, as to her mind
these delights sounded reassuringly familiar. But she did not say
so. Instead, she nodded her acquiescence to these plans and rose
from her chair. ‘If you will excuse me, aunt—’ she began, but an
interruption unluckily occurred to prevent her immediate
departure.
    Mrs.
Grey, inattentive, had rung the bell, and a servant entered the
room immediately afterwards; so promptly that Isabel could not help
suspecting that the girl had been hovering outside the door. ‘Ah,
Jane! Please remove the tray,’ said Mrs. Grey, and the girl
complied at once.
    Entering the parlour in her wake was a household brownie. To
Isabel, this was no unusual sight, for it was common enough for
Tilby households to house one or two of the creatures — or more
than that, in some cases. It was not so common in York. Some
speculated that the beings of Aylfenhame disliked the bustle of
human cities, which might very well be true, though Isabel had
never enquired into the matter. Perhaps Sophy would
know.
    What
struck her more than the brownie’s appearance was the way in which
the little creature reacted to Isabel’s presence. The brownie was a
female, Isabel judged from the ragged dress she was wearing. Her
hair was a mop of black curls, her eyes wide and dark. Those eyes
were fixed upon Isabel with an arrested expression; so intent was
she in her scrutiny that she stopped in the doorway, her errand
forgotten.
    Isabel looked away, confused. Did she present so very odd an
appearance? Discreet examination assured her that there was nothing
amiss with her gown, but perhaps something untoward had happened to
her hair. She caught her aunt’s eye, questioning her with a silent
look as to the respectability of her appearance.
    Mrs.
Grey merely looked intrigued. ‘What is it, Rossan?’ she
said.
    The
brownie, Rossan, inched closer to Mrs. Grey and said to her in a
hoarse whisper: ‘Is it she? Is that the one?’
    Mrs.
Grey’s eyes twinkled at Isabel. ‘My niece, Miss
Ellerby.’
    Rossan stared at Isabel. She appeared to reach no particular
conclusion, for she finally turned away without comment and offered
something to Mrs. Grey in her two small hands. This offering was
accepted with care, and the object tucked into Mrs. Grey’s
reticule. Isabel could not see what it was, but she heard Rossan
say in a low voice, ‘Well fed, and fast asleep.’
    Mrs.
Grey nodded, and murmured her thanks. Isabel watched these
proceedings in utter mystification, but her aunt did not see fit to
explain. She merely rose from her chair with enviable grace and
gestured Isabel out of the room. ‘You will wish to rest, I imagine?
We will enjoy some cosy outing together tomorrow.’
    Isabel was too well brought-up to display a vulgar curiosity
where none was either expected or wanted. She left her questions
unvoiced, and allowed herself to be gently shepherded back to her
room. Mrs. Grey had always been among Isabel’s favourites of her
relatives, but her habits and behaviours did sometimes puzzle her
niece — particularly since the death of Isabel’s uncle two years
before. Her aunt had settled into her solitary state with alacrity,
and though nothing about her life had undergone any significant
change in the intervening years, the woman herself had certainly
changed. It had happened by such slow degrees that for some time
Isabel had barely noticed. Reflecting upon it now, she was aware
that the respectable, dutiful aunt she had known in her first youth
had faded away. Standing in her place was the woman who could speak
slightingly of matters which meant a great deal to her family;
could disparage the social niceties around which their worlds
revolved; and who could display an inordinate degree of interest in
matters magical, when all those around her strove to hide or
explain them away.
    Isabel loved her aunt as much as ever, but the alteration
puzzled