into his front door. He wanted to know what they knew.
The first of the three reached over, and with a long, pale, pointed finger, she gently tapped Silas’s chest in the very place where his pendant lay under his shirt. She smiled as she withdrew her hand. “You’re going for more than a Sunday dinner, I warrant.”
Silas avoided her comment and continued.
“I mean, will the place look like that?” He gestured at the tapestry.
“Perhaps it will. At some other time, for someone else, perhaps only a ruin.”
“For me?”
“Much more than that, I suspect. If you can get past the gates, it is very likely that a fine supper and many more familial curiosities await you. Onerous obligations, too. Isn’t family funny like that?”
“Will I be welcome there?”
“Oh, that is certain, for you’re family—” said the third before being cut off by the second.
“Though it’s always wise to have a care, yes, even with kin. Especially with a clan so large and old as yours. The values of one age do not always hold true for another. And family secrets can be so curious, can’t they? Who knows what skeletons you’ll find in the closets, or what dark, forgotten caskets lie strewn in the basement? Oh, the things we fill our houses with! Remember who you are and what your father has taught—”
“Enough!” said the first. “Let him see what he shall see.”
Silas could tell they were weary with being questioned and were becoming annoyed. There were no particularly terrible portents; that was a comfort. But they had begun teasing him and arguing among themselves, which usually meant it was a good time to go.
“I thank you, ladies. With your blessing, I’ll take my leave.”
“Isn’t he clever?” the third said, looking at the first, who nodded in agreement. “Very well.”
The three raised their bone-white hands with their palms open toward Silas and bowed their heads. On the air between them flowed a low chorus of indiscernibly ancient words that fell upon Silas like a breeze scented with the perfume of lavender and rosemary and the salt tang of the sea. Then the three said, “With our blessing, then.”
Silas walked toward the stairs.
“And Silas, dear?” said the first.
He paused at the landing. “Yes? Most fateful and reverend ladies.”
The second leaned over to the third and whispered dreamily, “I love it when he talks like that, really I do.”
Ignoring the other two, the first of the three continued, “See you on the other side.”
“You are going to Arvale too?” Silas asked with surprise.
“Not exactly. Simply, we have sometimes been there before, or rather, we have been places that were once connected to what that place has now become.” They gestured once more toward the weaving. “That house and its domains are very old indeed, and share more than one frontier with our own . . . sphere of influence . Perhaps we shall pass one another in the halls, if you can stand the presence of even more old women meddling in your life. Yes, yes. We may see you on the other side of the gate, though we may not be as you are used to seeing us. Who can say? For over there , we often appear as we were, not as we are.”
“Ladies, I beg you. Can you speak more plainly?”
“Simply then, because you’re so polite: We used to travel a lot, in our earlier, more fashionable days. We were older then, and perhaps a little wiser, never staying too long in one place. We used to keep a little pied-à-terre at Arvale. The light was always so good and the views are still accounted very fine. Depending on when you arrive, you may find us in residence.”
“I am going today—”
The third shook her head.
“He really doesn’t get it, does he?”
“Ladies, do you mean that you’re already there, or that you’re—”
“It is as we’ve said: We are who we were, and for that matter, so are you.”
Impatient with explication, the three faded back into the dark interior of the room to
The first of the three reached over, and with a long, pale, pointed finger, she gently tapped Silas’s chest in the very place where his pendant lay under his shirt. She smiled as she withdrew her hand. “You’re going for more than a Sunday dinner, I warrant.”
Silas avoided her comment and continued.
“I mean, will the place look like that?” He gestured at the tapestry.
“Perhaps it will. At some other time, for someone else, perhaps only a ruin.”
“For me?”
“Much more than that, I suspect. If you can get past the gates, it is very likely that a fine supper and many more familial curiosities await you. Onerous obligations, too. Isn’t family funny like that?”
“Will I be welcome there?”
“Oh, that is certain, for you’re family—” said the third before being cut off by the second.
“Though it’s always wise to have a care, yes, even with kin. Especially with a clan so large and old as yours. The values of one age do not always hold true for another. And family secrets can be so curious, can’t they? Who knows what skeletons you’ll find in the closets, or what dark, forgotten caskets lie strewn in the basement? Oh, the things we fill our houses with! Remember who you are and what your father has taught—”
“Enough!” said the first. “Let him see what he shall see.”
Silas could tell they were weary with being questioned and were becoming annoyed. There were no particularly terrible portents; that was a comfort. But they had begun teasing him and arguing among themselves, which usually meant it was a good time to go.
“I thank you, ladies. With your blessing, I’ll take my leave.”
“Isn’t he clever?” the third said, looking at the first, who nodded in agreement. “Very well.”
The three raised their bone-white hands with their palms open toward Silas and bowed their heads. On the air between them flowed a low chorus of indiscernibly ancient words that fell upon Silas like a breeze scented with the perfume of lavender and rosemary and the salt tang of the sea. Then the three said, “With our blessing, then.”
Silas walked toward the stairs.
“And Silas, dear?” said the first.
He paused at the landing. “Yes? Most fateful and reverend ladies.”
The second leaned over to the third and whispered dreamily, “I love it when he talks like that, really I do.”
Ignoring the other two, the first of the three continued, “See you on the other side.”
“You are going to Arvale too?” Silas asked with surprise.
“Not exactly. Simply, we have sometimes been there before, or rather, we have been places that were once connected to what that place has now become.” They gestured once more toward the weaving. “That house and its domains are very old indeed, and share more than one frontier with our own . . . sphere of influence . Perhaps we shall pass one another in the halls, if you can stand the presence of even more old women meddling in your life. Yes, yes. We may see you on the other side of the gate, though we may not be as you are used to seeing us. Who can say? For over there , we often appear as we were, not as we are.”
“Ladies, I beg you. Can you speak more plainly?”
“Simply then, because you’re so polite: We used to travel a lot, in our earlier, more fashionable days. We were older then, and perhaps a little wiser, never staying too long in one place. We used to keep a little pied-à-terre at Arvale. The light was always so good and the views are still accounted very fine. Depending on when you arrive, you may find us in residence.”
“I am going today—”
The third shook her head.
“He really doesn’t get it, does he?”
“Ladies, do you mean that you’re already there, or that you’re—”
“It is as we’ve said: We are who we were, and for that matter, so are you.”
Impatient with explication, the three faded back into the dark interior of the room to
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