Anna looked at us, her mischievous smile mirroring that of little Tilly.  They looked at each other, and Anna gave a slight nod.  I was sure there had been a wink of her eye in there, too, although her head was turned away from me.

Little Tilly skipped over to the writing desk, withdrawing a particularly small but official seeming document with great care.  Then, turning to face me, she folded her body into the most graceful curtsy I had ever seen from a child so young.  I glanced in confusion at…