It wasn’t much later when Eldridge found her in the dark, curled into a ball with the blankets surrounding her like a nest. He took the opportunity to switch on a lamp, casting a warm glow across both their faces.

‘It’s not your fault, Elvie.’ He said it with such sincerity as he turned to face her. ‘It’s not your fault when I know the risks and I asked you to do it anyway.’

‘But I made a tree appear in your house! I ruined your beautiful home.’

He laughed genuinely in response. ‘That you did my dear, that you did. But I don’t know whether I’d go so far as to say it’s ruined. The floor is a bit damaged but it’s an easy fix, and besides, how many other people do you know who can say they have such a lovely tree blossoming in their own bedroom? That’s where it tore through, you know? Up into my bedroom, covering my bed with its leafy canopy. It will certainly be an interesting night’s sleep.’

‘But I broke the roof – the floor. I heard it! I saw it!’ Tears built up at the corners of her eyes.

‘What you did was exactly what I asked you to do. Nothing more, nothing less. The blame lies with me – I didn’t stop to think about what type of seed I gave you. A couple of small flowers I thought, but a cedar tree! Made a right fool of myself, didn’t I? Well, I’ll be sleeping with the draft on my feet but thankfully no rain on my head, so at least I’ll pay the price for the error and no other. Come now, you’ve no reason for tears. In fact, you should be celebrating. Your first spell and it went so very well – beautifully well. You grew the whole tree!’

Elvie pushed herself to a sitting position. ‘But I wanted to grow a sprout like yours.’

‘The spell isn’t for a sprout, it’s a growth spell. And yours grew ever so well. You should be proud Elvie! You’re natural to the magician’s arts. Why I’ve never seen such a first casting. With such skill, Oak House has to be your main house, not Elder.

‘But we can’t do the test to find out, can we?’ The shock was passing, helped by Eldridge’s refusal to blame her.

‘It’s an easy test but I don’t have the means to do it. If you were to go to Winters Island, they could tell you.’ He paused, eyes weighing like earlier. ‘Is that what you want? Would you like to go to the Island to learn magic – I could arrange it for you?’

Elvie blinked in surprise. She’d been intrigued by the thought of it, as any girl would be when discovering magic for the first time. But she’d never thought she could go there! ‘I… maybe. I guess I would.’

‘It’s settled.’ He smiled warmly in the lamplight. ‘I will make the arrangements as swiftly as I am able.

‘Will you continue to teach me?’

‘I will. We’ll be a little bit more careful, however. We’ll go outside next time.’ He chuckled to himself and bade her goodnight.

After ‘the incident,’ life fell into a comfortable routine for Elvie. Each morning, she would dine with Eldridge, eating a hearty breakfast of eggs, toast and the occasional piece of bacon. Sometimes Mrs Thistle would have the chef – whose name was Anne – serve mostly fruits to ‘help with the digestion’, she would say. After breakfast Elvie would have lessons in magic with Eldridge, predominantly working on memorising different spells, and by the end of a week, she had learnt a dozen spells from Oak House. Grow, shrink, and flower. Another for calming an angry dog, another for a cat. She also worked on a spell to make trees bend in the direction she desired, which was ‘great when walking through a forest’, or so Eldridge said.

For lunch she ate a sandwich and wandered outside, taking the opportunity to further explore Eldridge’s estate. Outside was pleasant, but not overly warm. Some days the rain would set in, and she’d be forced back to her room to read books, or sit behind a big chess board wondering how to play – but overall, the time passed easily enough for her so she couldn’t complain.

Each day, Eldridge performed his duties, or occasionally travelled to London. For some time, he travelled back and forth to oversee reconstruction around the tree in his house. When Eldridge left, she longed to ask him to take her along, to show her the wonders of England in the 1930s but didn’t want to intrude upon any work he was actually doing. He would return in time to dine together before her favourite part of the day arrived – Eldridge would tell her stories. It started simply enough, with Elvie asking Eldridge about magical figures she’d read in books, such as Lorne Stonehaven, who controlled earth to the point she could make her body into solid rock. Sometimes she’d ask about his past, or sometimes for stories about what life was like in London during the 1930s. Eldridge happily supplied stories and information – he enjoyed her company. Deep down, however, she suspected another reason. Telling stories and tutoring made him happy.

She didn’t understand why, until the afternoon she came into the library with its newfound tree, to find him staring at an old gun with a knife attachment. Flecks of blood or rust decorated the side – Elvie couldn’t tell which from where it hung above the mantle. Either way, it didn’t look like it would fire anymore.

‘I keep it as a memento,’ Eldridge said to her without turning.

‘What are you trying to remember?’

Eldridge winced in reply, his eyes drifting out of focus as memories overwhelmed him. ‘Some memories you shouldn’t forget. Some others, you can’t forget, no matter how hard you try. I’ve seen enough violence in my life to fill hundreds of lifetimes – the pain and suffering. No glory, no heroism – just pain.’

‘Which war did you fight in?’

‘They called it the Great War, at the time. When we sailed across the channel we had glory and honour ringing in our ears. I’d signed up thinking I could use magic for greatness during the war. I have charms which work well, but how naïve I was! What could I do in the face of thousands upon thousands of artillery shells as they fell from the sky?’ He shook his head in disgust. ‘I tried and I failed, but I learnt an important lesson. Magic cannot solve the problems of the world – that will take people, good people willing to work together in order to make the world right.’

Elvie didn’t know what to say. Her father taught history, and he secretly delighted in telling her endless facts she would never remember, like those about World War One. He’d talked about a war between different countries. England, France, the United States – all fighting Germany. That must be what Eldridge referred to.

He continued when she didn’t speak. ‘The worst part of it all, was while I sought glory, my young wife and child…’ He shook his head. ‘I couldn’t do anything, I know that – but it doesn’t change the guilt I feel. Consumption, we call it. A cough that keeps getting worse and worse. By fighting in that horrible war I lost everything important.’

‘I’m so sorry,’ Elvie grabbed his arm, mortified. She couldn’t even think what it would be like if she lost her mother. Being away was hard enough, but Elvie hoped and prayed she would be there when she returned. No, her mother would be there still; she would never leave her.

‘Thank you, Elvie. I try to remember the better times, but I find myself drawn back there lately. You’re from the future Elvie, and you’ve travelled to the past. What if…’

What if he could travel back in time and save his family? That was what he was thinking, even if he didn’t voice it.

‘I don’t know the answer to that,’ she told him honestly.

‘There must be so much about what happens that you do know. You could…’ He trailed off with a concerned look in his eyes as some other thought occurred to him, then nodded slowly. Eldridge physically collected himself, then said with a smile: ‘I’d like to think you and my daughter would be friends if she were here today.’

‘Of course we would! If she’s anything like you, she’d be kind and thoughtful.’

He smiled and ruffled her hair in a familiar gesture. ‘Enough babbling from me, go on. Explore, have fun! Have time off to do as you please. I’ve been told the pond is interesting for the fish and the frogs – why don’t you go have a look at that whilst the sun is warm. Or have you already explored everything?’