Grace’s eyes widened. ‘Yes, Daddy.’ She held the plate up higher.
He took one and bit into it. ‘Not bad,’ he decided. ‘I think I feel better already.’
‘Really?’ Grace stepped forward, the biscuits sliding perilously close to the edge of the plate.
‘Careful, mon ange,’ Eva intervened, steadying her hand.
Jonathan Maudley was looking at her, at the mark on her palm.
She let go. ‘We should let your father get back to his work,’ she said briskly, laying a hand gently on Grace’s shoulder. ‘He is a busy man.’
But Grace didn’t want to leave. She’d never been allowed inside the greenhouse before. ‘What are you doing, Daddy? May I watch?’
Jonathan hesitated. Then he took the plate from her and set it on the desk. ‘Come with me.’ He held out his hand and she slipped her palm into his. It was large and warm and calloused.
He led her into the laboratory where almost a dozen small plants were lined up in identical pots, each numbered and labelled.
‘I am studying this common plant, called belladonna,’ he explained. ‘It grows wild all around Great Britain and has many possible medicinal properties but it’s also highly toxic.’
Grace stared at him.
‘It can be made into medicine,’ Eva interjected gently, ‘only it is also very poisonous.’
‘But how can poison be medicine?’ Grace asked. Jonathan smiled. ‘That’s a clever question. Many medicines can be helpful in small doses but if you have too much, they will make you extremely ill.’
‘Like sugar,’ Grace added, eager to prove she understood what he meant.
‘A little like sugar,’ he agreed, ‘only much more serious. For example aspirin, which you take when you have a fever, is made from willow bark. If you were ill and didn’t have any aspirin, you could brew yourself some willow bark tea instead. Nature is miraculous that way. But you can’t do that with belladonna.’ He pointed to the row of tiny plants. ‘My job is to see if I can breed a form of this species that has the good qualities without the harmful ones. But, in the wild, you must remember that they have terribly poisonous berries and you must never eat them. Promise?’
Grace nodded solemnly. ‘I won’t ever!’
Eva looked around her, at the fragrant heat and greenery. It reminded her of Andre’s workshop – the long wooden table lined with notebooks, the various vials; a private world of creation.
‘We should leave your father now.’ Again, she tried to move Grace towards the door.
Grace pulled away. ‘But we haven’t finished yet, have we?’
‘We shall see your father at supper,’ Eva reminded her. ‘But we must allow him time to work.’
Jonathan reached out, laid his hand gently upon the top of Grace’s head. ‘Perhaps another time.’
‘But supper’s ages away!’ All of sudden Grace felt panicked. She’d only just arrived; who knew when she would have another chance?
She wrapped her arms around her father’s legs, tight. ‘Don’t make me go, please! Let me stay with you. I promise I’ll be good, please, Daddy. Please!’
Jonathan Maudley went rigid.
‘Please, Daddy. Let me, please!’
‘Grace!’ The look on Jonathan’s face was one of blank horror.
‘Please, Daddy!’ Her voice rose to a hysterical pitch. ‘Please! Please!’
‘Don’t, Grace . . . you must stop!’ He tried to pull her hands off but she held on even tighter, pressing into him. ‘I cannot . . .’ He looked desperately at Eva. ‘Take her, damn it! Just take her away!’
Prising Grace’s fingers off, Eva hauled the screaming child up over her shoulder.
She carried her out of the greenhouse, just as Catherine Maudley came running down the path.
‘What is going on here?’ she demanded furiously. ‘Grace! Stop that at once!’
But Grace couldn’t stop. ‘I want to go back, please, Mummy! Please!’
Eva put her down and before she could do anything to settle Grace, Catherine had grabbed her by the shoulders. ‘Just stop it now!’ She turned to Eva. ‘What in God’s name were you doing in there anyway?’
‘We . . . we just took him his tea.’
‘I told you to take it to him. What were you thinking of ? Stop it!’ She shook the child. ‘Stop it! Do you hear me? No more of that noise! Your father must have quiet. Do you understand? You’re hurting him!’ She slapped Grace across the face, hard. ‘Do you want to hurt him?’
Grace stopped, too shocked and frightened to make another sound.