Chapter 10C
onnie wakes to a stillness unbroken by birdsong, to light diffuse, opaque. A scrim of lacy snow tumbles outside the window, the accumulation visible in the time she takes to pull on a robe, draw the curtains wide. Big flakes like cold cotton cling to twig and branch, rock and roof. Vince would love this. The thought closes her throat, pricks her eyes. He’s forfeited his place in her enchantments.
Although Connie’s grateful to be far away from Vince, she’d also missed him last night when, in the chill dark waiting for sleep, she’d heard a distant thwack. Unnerved, she inclined her body toward the window, alert as any creature to a foreign sound.
“Mama, I hear ghostses,” Ceci whimpered. Connie turned on the lamp.
“She’s scared of the noise.” Anna was scornful but scanned her
