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Sunday breakfast, Ada reflected, was probably her favourite of the rituals they had drifted into over the past few months. Hecate usually worked through Saturday, but in deference to her strict religious upbringing she always took Sundays off. They had settled into a comfortable routine of taking turns to make breakfast, using Ada's kitchen in cooler weather and Hecate's when it was mild enough to sit with the back door open onto the garden.
This was the case today, and a warm rose-scented breeze stole through the kitchen, drying Ada's freshly washed hair and fluttering the pages of Hecate's newspaper. Their tea and coffee pots sat amiably side by side in front of a plate which had been heaped with toast and honey and now contained one solitary slice.
Hecate looked up from her crossword, tapping her pen against her lower lip.
"I don't suppose there is such a creature as an empress brilliant?"
"It rings a bell," mused Ada. "...Oh yes! It's a kind of hummingbird. Lovely little thing."
She smiled, watching the triumph spread over Hecate's face as her pen scratched the final letters into place.
"Done!" Hecate glanced at the clock. "Two minutes faster than last week," she announced with satisfaction.
"Well done, dear."
Hecate's smile widened slightly at the praise. She inclined her head.
"Thank you for your help, as always."
"I really don't do much."
Hecate dismissed this with a wave of her hand.
"You're always a valuable asset, she said seriously. "You know a lot of things I don't."
A knock sounded and Hecate rolled her eyes.
"I'm thinking of putting a sign on the front door saying Woe betide anyone who knocks before I finish my morning coffee. ...No, I'll go, Ada, you finish your toast."
Hecate reappeared almost immediately.
"It's for you. Your tenants? They're in the hall."
Ada wiped her mouth and took a last swig of tea.
"Come in," she called. "We're just finishing breakfast."
Dimity followed Hecate into the kitchen, wearing a bright turquoise shirt to match the colour woven through her braids. Little Mildred tagged in their wake, wide-eyed and pigtailed.
Dimity nodded. "Morning, Ada. Sorry to interrupt your breakfast. I sometimes forget not everyone gets woken at the crack of dawn."
"That's quite alright. Hello Mildred!"
Mildred, so bright and chatty the last time they met, had taken refuge behind Dimity's leg and was scrutinising Ada intently.
"Mama," she said in a stage whisper. "She doesn't have her mean face on now."
Dimity squeezed her shoulder. "It's a different lady, sweetheart. This is Ada, she's our friend."
Mildred still hung back. "She looks the same as the mean lady."
Ada had a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach. "You've had a visit from Agatha."
Dimity nodded. "She tried to let herself in with a key. We're very grateful that you changed the locks. She got quite angry when she realised what was going on."
Ada crouched to be at Mildred's eye level. "The other lady is my sister, that's why we look the same. Sometimes she can be a bit mean and I'm sorry if she made you sad."
"She shouted," Mildred mumbled. "Bad words." She reached out and poked the intricate cable-knit of Ada's sleeve. "Are you nice?"
"I try to be."
"She is," Hecate said firmly.
Ada looked back up at Dimity. "Agatha's not still there?"
"No, she left."
"How did you manage to get rid of her?"
Dimity cleared her throat. "Er…"
"I bit her," Mildred said conversationally. "On the leg. She was being scary to my mum so I bit her. And she runned away."
"Oh Mildred!" exclaimed Ada, biting her lip in an effort not to laugh at this unexpected conclusion. She saw Hecate abruptly turn to look out at the garden, shoulders shaking slightly. "...That was…"
"-Very wrong of you," broke in Dimity, also struggling to keep a straight face. "And we've had a chat, haven't we, about how it's not ok to bite people just because you don't like them?"
"Yeah," said Mildred, without enthusiasm. "Can I have some toast?"
"Mildred!"
"Very well," Hecate said unexpectedly, turning back. She cut the last slice in half and handed a piece to Mildred, who gazed at her with adoring eyes. "Now come and eat it in the garden and let your mother finish talking to Ada in peace."
"Ok. Can I play with your cats? I want a cat."
"You can play with the little one. The big one isn't very sociable."
"Does she bite people too?"
"Sometimes." Their voices faded as they walked away down the sunlit lawn.
Dimity grimaced. "I'm really sorry about the biting."
"It's ok," Ada said, letting her amusement show this time. "Mildred's quite a character, isn't she?"
"Ha! You're not wrong there. And it's tricky to preach non violent behaviour when inside you can't help cheering her on, just a bit. Mildred has a very strong sense of justice. She keeps getting in trouble for fighting at nursery. It's mostly with this awful girl who keeps bullying the other kids. Ethel usually starts it as far as we can tell. But it's Mildred who gets told off because her retaliation is more obvious. Julie's very into teaching her to be more calm and reasonable, but I say maybe she should just learn to be a bit sneakier with her revenge."
"She's certainly quite direct." Ada chuckled. "It seems to work. Perhaps I would have had less trouble with my sister if I'd tried biting her."
Ada glanced out at the garden, where Mildred, Pendle under one arm, was reaching up her free hand for Hecate's. She saw Hecate wince at the contact with Mildred's sticky toast crumbs, but to her credit she did not pull away.
Ada couldn't help smiling to herself. Only six months ago, Hecate had barely even been able to look at baby Azura. Now here she was quietly taking charge of a small child she'd never met before, and judging from the way Mildred was responding, doing it rather well.
Ada wouldn't have minded more time to dwell on this interesting train of thought, but Hecate was sacrificing her breakfast quiet time for a reason. She forced her attention back to the purpose of Dimity's visit.
"What did Agatha say?"
"She kept saying we had no right to be there. Went on about having joint ownership of the house. Julie's worried she might be able to chuck us out somehow behind your back?"
Ada shook her head. "No. Granny Cackle only left the house to me. Agatha was cut out of her will completely. She lived with me rent free for a few years, and certainly treated the place as her own, but she has no legal claim on it. I'm sorry she's caused you distress. She has no power to make you leave."
"Well that's a relief! I wasn't too worried but Julie does get anxious so I wanted to make sure it was all straightened out."
"Quite understandable. I doubt she'll come back now she knows I'm not there, but if she does turn up again, give me a call right away and I'll come and sort things out. It's not fair for you to be dragged into my family drama."
"All's well that ends well," said Dimity cheerfully. "And you were so generous about the rent while I was off work with my injury that I'm not going to complain about the house coming with the occasional nuisance caller."
"How is your injury now?"
Dimity's smile faded a little.
"Getting there. It's a long old process. All a bit frustrating. At least I'm well enough to coach now, even if I can't play yet."
"I'm sorry you're finding it hard. But I'm glad you're feeling better than the last time we spoke."
"Thanks. ...Oh, I almost forgot, Agatha hasn't been our only visitor. Another woman showed up last week. Penelope something? She said she was an old flame. I didn't give her your address in case she was connected with your sister but I thought I should let you know."
"She managed to find her way here anyhow, but I appreciate it."
"That must have been awkward now you're living with your new girlfriend."
"Hecate's not actually my girlfriend."
"Oh sorry. I just assumed, when I found you having breakfast together..."
"No, we're just friends." Ada tried not to sound wistful. Her heart skipped a beat at the memory of the way it had felt to have Hecate pretend she loved her.
Dimity gave her a searching glance. "It's like that is it? Well don't lose hope. You seem very close, and you never know what might be around the corner."
"What corner?" demanded Mildred, poking her head through the back door. "I picked a flower," she went on, not waiting for an answer. "Hecate said I can take it home to my mum."
Ada's eyes darted to the doorway, hoping against hope that Hecate had not been close enough to overhear the last part of their conversation. She sighed with relief on seeing her still a few feet away, apparently absorbed in examining Pendle's back.
Ada returned her attention to Mildred, opening her eyes wide. "A rose! Goodness me, Hecate doesn't give those out to just anyone. You must be a very important visitor."
Mildred stood tall and beamed, her chest swelling with pride.
"I cut the thorns off for her." Hecate stepped over the threshold, snapping her penknife closed and slipping it into her pocket.
"Right, come on then, Little Miss Important," said Dimity, tugging Mildred's pigtail. "Time to go and buy your new shoes."
Mildred skipped on the spot. "I want ones with cats on!"
Ada smiled. "Oh, so do I. Let me know if you see any in my size." She took Dimity's hand. "Keep in touch, ok?"
"Ok. See you."
Ada saw them to the door before returning to find Hecate scrubbing her hands in the sink.
"What an extraordinarily sticky child."
Ada chuckled. "You're the one who gave her toast and honey."
"I didn't expect her to contaminate every available surface. Pendle is having a fine time licking it off his fur. ...Did you manage to sort things out with Dimity?"
"For now, I think. I hope Agatha won't bother them again. She doesn't like coming back to somewhere her pride's been hurt."
"Will she come looking for you now?" Hecate was taut as a bowstring, ready to defend their home at a moment's notice. Ada sat back down and put her face in her hands.
"I don't know. I'm so tired, Hecate. I just don't think I can face her at the moment, not after Penelope last week."
Hecate moved closer, her hand on the back of Ada's chair.
"I know it's not generally conducive to your mental health but might you get an idea from checking her social media? Of whether she's staying long in town? I can look if you'd prefer."
"Maybe. She does enjoy boasting about her travel plans. No, I'll do it."
Ada pulled out her phone. For the first time in months she clicked through to her sister's Twitter feed. This country is going to the dogs, she read, above a photo of Agatha's favourite designer suitcase . Monte Carlo, here I come.
"Posted half an hour ago," Hecate observed over her shoulder. "I think you're probably safe."
"It does seem that way, for the moment." Ada sighed and leaned back in her chair. "She will come back eventually though, and I will have to deal with her. And Hecate-"
"What?"
"You ought to know that if she turns up when I'm not here, she might pretend to be me. It- it wouldn't be the first time. So if I ever come home and say I've lost my keys, or, I don't know, if I just seem a bit off one day…"
"I'd know," insisted Hecate softly. "I'd always know you, Ada."
She gazed down with such intensity that Ada felt her heart flutter in her chest. Hecate's fingers flexed and hovered over Ada's shoulder, making her hope she might be granted another rare hug. But the moment was broken by the shrilling of the telephone in the next room. Hecate's mouth tightened in irritation and she strode off to answer it.
"Well, Pendle," Ada murmured as he wandered over to be petted, "What did you make of that?"
Pendle purred and closed one eye.
"…Did you just wink at me?"
Pendle rubbed his head against her hand in what could just about have been a nod. And that, Ada thought, glancing over at the closed door of Hecate's study, seemed to be all the answer she was likely to get.