City of Swords by Mary Hoffman Page B

Brother,’ said Francesca.
    Sulien gave them his congratulations.
    ‘So you see,’ said Gaetano, ‘the last thing I want to do is go haring back off to Fortezza to fight in a battle.’
    ‘I should like to extend my own protection to the Princess,’ said the friar. ‘While you are away, I mean, if you really have to go. I could come each day and visit the Princess and send a report to Fabio of Fortezza through our mirrors. I don’t know if you will be able to contact him when you are outside the city, but if not, I expect there will be other Stravaganti gathering at the walls of Fortezza.’
    ‘That would be a great relief to me,’ said Gaetano.
    ‘But you don’t have to come here, Brother,’ said Francesca. ‘I am not ill. I shall visit you each day at Saint-Mary-among-the-Vines. It will do me good to walk there.’
    ‘Then there’s nothing for it, I suppose,’ said Gaetano. ‘I must find some armour and saddle up.’

    Isabel, Georgia and Ayesha were shocked by how pale Laura looked when they visited her after school two days after she got out of hospital. Her mother had not let them come before. Laura was lying on the sofa in her family’s sitting room, propped up with cushions. Her arm was still bandaged and lay across her chest as if it didn’t belong to her. Her face and hands looked almost translucent.
    ‘How are you?’ asked Isabel, knowing it was a silly question but needing to say it all the same.
    ‘Well – you know,’ said Laura. ‘I’ve felt better. The worst thing is my parents.’
    ‘I thought they were OK,’ said Ayesha. ‘Just worried about you.’
    ‘Oh, they’re that all right,’ said Laura. ‘I have to see a psychiatrist. And they’ve taken everything sharp away – including my talisman.’
    She wiped tears of frustration away with the back of her bandaged hand. She seemed exhausted.
    ‘Well, if you’re not going back . . .’ said Georgia.
    The others thought this was harsh but it got a reaction.
    Laura glared at Georgia. ‘I want the option, don’t I? It should be my decision, not theirs. And they’re watching me like hawks.’
    As if on cue, Ellen, Laura’s mother, came in with a tray of tea and biscuits. She sat down with them and poured for everyone. Isabel saw that she took a mug for herself. If she was going to stay it would be impossible to talk to Laura about Talia and stravagating.
    ‘Now, girls,’ said Ellen, ‘I know this is difficult for everyone to talk about, but did any of you know what Laura had been doing? I have to ask.’
    ‘Oh, Mum,’ said Laura, her pale face tinged with pink.
    ‘It’s OK, Lol,’ said Isabel. ‘I’m really sorry, Mrs Reid. I didn’t know anything for sure, till you texted from the hospital. But I was beginning to suspect something. I should have said.’
    Ellen Reid relaxed as the other girls nodded in agreement.
    ‘It’s all right,’ she said. ‘I believe you. But James and I are just so angry with ourselves that we didn’t realise how miserable Laura had been.’
    She was right; it was impossibly difficult to talk about, with Laura sitting right there, her left arm bandaged from wrist to elbow, looking as if she was going to die of embarrassment.
    ‘One thing though,’ said Isabel, her heart thumping. ‘I don’t think Laura bought that antique paperknife to – you know. It was just an ornament.’
    ‘I told them that,’ said Laura wearily.
    ‘But you understand why we can’t let her have it back,’ said Ellen. ‘At least not till the psychiatrist says she can have it. It’s really sharp.’
    Laura buried her face in a cushion. Her mother showed no signs of being about to leave the girls on their own.
    Georgia cleared her throat. ‘Matt went to see, you know, Lucy, on Monday night,’ she said.
    ‘Lucy?’ said Laura. ‘Oh, I see, yes. Did he? Did he tell her about me?’
    ‘Yes,’ said Isabel. ‘He asked her to tell, um, your other friend that you’d be out of action for a few