The Wikkeling (28 page)

“That's got a nice ring to it.”

“Pun intended?”

Henrietta saw beads of sweat on her father's forehead, as if he'd been working on something.

“What are you doing, dad?” she asked.

“Your BedCam is broken again,” said her father. “I swear, I'm looking forward to this old place getting torn down!”

Henrietta's eyes widened. “I have homework to do!” she blurted, and she ran down the hallway, her mother calling after her, “It's almost bedtime!”

Henrietta closed her bedroom door and lifted her chair onto her desk. She climbed up past the broken eye of the BedCam, pressed her hands against the seam, and at long last entered the attic.

It was perfectly quiet and dark now that the windows were sealed off. Henrietta lit the candles in the candelabra and closed the trapdoor. She wondered if the moon was shining right now on that other town, lighting the bricks of its old street, or if those bricks had already been paved over.

Her eyes fell on the brown stain next to the trapdoor. It seemed like forever ago when she'd found this place. It seemed, furthermore, like a story about
someone else. And she
was
a different person then. Everything that had happened since had changed that girl into the person she was now.

A small noise came from behind her, interrupting her thoughts. She turned and searched the deep shadows cast by the candles. Her eyes traveled up the tallest bookcase. A familiar form was illuminated there by the candlelight.

Mister Lady jumped down and alighted easily on the armrest on the far end of the couch. She looked at Henrietta with her enormous eyes—clear green, like new leaves.

Henrietta's heart leapt. She wanted to spring from her seat and throw her arms around the cat. She wanted to rub her ears and kiss her between the eyes, and hold her soft paws in her hands. But instead she sat quietly.

If you or I had seen her, we might have thought Henrietta was afraid.

She wasn't, though. She was simply a considerate person—one who knew that wild animals don't like to be petted, even if you and they are friends.