Hawke & Johnson, C.N.M (1.8)

   Hawke glanced at Em as they both sat waiting for the girl to begin her story. He had been a bit shocked to see her standing in the doorway. He didn’t know who she was, but she was obviously of some social rank. She had the look of nobility ‘dressing down’ to pass through the poorer parts of town. Her green dress was simple but of a fine, soft wool with delicate fancywork at the cuffs and collar. She didn’t appear to be a day over fifteen and there were no hints of a dweomer adjusting her age.
   "Well, it's my father."
   "Your father?" Em asked.
   "Yes my father."
   "Is he dead?" Em asked. This earned him an elbow to the ribs from Hawke.
   Liel frowned. "No. At least he wasn't this morning."
   Theo smiled encouragingly. "What about your father?"
   "I think he's being haunted."
   Em's brows rose. "Haunted? That's promising."
   Liel frowned again and Theo gave Em a sharp, warning glance. "What makes you think that he's being haunted, m'lady?"
   "He's not been himself lately. Distracted, pale, jumping at shadows."
   Hawke leaned back in his chair. "Well, that could mean any number of things."
   "When I ask him about it he won't answer me directly. Then, when I was at tea yesterday I found your card under my plate. I took it as a sign."
   Em brightened. "Told you those cards were a good idea."
   "Em," Hawke said warningly.
   Unperturbed, Em asked, "How did the card get there?"
   "I'm not sure, really. It could have been one of my friends or one of the servants."
   Em continued. "Had you been talking about how you thought your father was being haunted?"
   "Not directly, no, but I had mentioned that I thought I heard voices in the portrait gallery the other night and teased that it was a ghost."
   "Is there supposed to be a ghost in the portrait gallery?"
   "Well, that's an old story that my nanny used to tell but I've never seen any sign of it being true. It just came to mind when I heard voices."
   "Do you have any idea who the voices could have been?" Theo asked.
   "It's hard to say. Papa… my father is active in politics and entertains, sometimes at odd hours."
   "Politics," Theo said. "That seems like an occupation that could make a man distracted and jumpy."
   Liel frowned again and Em cut in, "If you could excuse us a moment?" He dragged Hawke across to the other office.

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