To Whom Enchanters Are Familiar

The Matter with Cat

     It took some time for Tonino to sort out that when the Chant children referred to "Cat", they were really speaking of Eric, the young nine-lifed enchanter who would become the next Chrestomanci after Sir Christopher Chant retired. He assumed they had been referring to an actual feline for an awkward period during his stay at the Castle, and there are many felines at Chrestomanci Castle to be confused by. Upon noticing Tonino's confusion, Janet Chant - Chrestomanci's ward - took it upon herself to explain that "Cat" was a nickname Eric's sister had come up with. However, the matter then became a different sort of confusing, because Tonino had been quite sure that Janet was Eric's sister.

     It was rather more complicated than that: Janet was from another world, and a girl named Gwendolen - Janet's doppelgänger - was Cat's sister, really. No one had introduced Tonino to any Gwendolens yet, but according to Janet there would be no Gwendolens for Tonino to meet. In short, Gwendolen ran away to one of the related worlds, and Janet was her replacement. Janet didn't appear eager to tell the full story, so Tonino politely dropped the subject, despite his intense curiosity.

     At least Tonino now understood why Chrestomanci had introduced Eric at the station the way he did. Tonino thought he had misheard Sir Chant when he mentioned Cat - he did not think "Cat" was something one called people like Eric Chant: nine-lifed enchanter and Chrestomanci's successor. Nine-lifed enchanters wielded the most powerful magic in the worlds. Tonino had rarely ever felt powerful in his life. The Montana family was one of the foremost spell-houses in Italy, and Tonino was the one Montana who could not cast spells. Chrestomanci kept assuring him that while he could not cast his own spells, his newfound powers were unusual and highly fascinating. Tonino was pleased to know he had some sort of ability. Still, for years he wished he had the same magic as his brother Paolo and his sisters, and that wish would not die so easily.

    It was a bit of a shock to Tonino, when he first met Cat Chant, that Cat was very much unlike Sir Christopher Chant, Chrestomanci. Though Tonino could see the same enchanter's brilliance spilling out of both their eyes, Chrestomanci's irises were the darkest he had yet seen while Cat's were light and watery. Chrestomanci was tall, with smooth black hair in sharp contrast to his handsome pale face; he dressed impeccably and was keen on the most grandiose dressing gowns that Tonino had ever beheld in his life. Cat was small for his age (and he was not much older than Tonino, which was another shock), fair-haired, and preferred to dress as plainly as he could manage. It also became apparent that Cat had a vexing personality as well as a confusing name.

     Tonino did not actually see Cat very much at first. Mostly it was Janet, and Chrestomanci's children Julia and Roger, who kept Tonino company. Cat, meanwhile, was altogether aloof, and feigned an utter disinterest towards him. Whenever they happened to wander into each other's vicinity, Cat would look away and wordlessly pretend he had to be somewhere else very urgently.  Tonino was not oblivious to Cat's odd behavior around him, but he didn't know what to make of Cat either; did he mean to be rude, or was he just shy? Regardless of how this odd English boy felt about him, Tonino remained polite; yet Tonino's vexation with Eric Chant continued to boil quietly beneath the politeness.

     At the behest of Sir Chant, Eric did give Tonino a tour of the Castle at last. He thought Eric was being rather blunt with him, or maybe it was just the timid, homesick way Tonino was feeling that made Cat sound that way. Cat promptly dissipated when the task was done. Tonino was almost certain that he might never see Cat again. Then Julia, Roger and Janet all went down with the measles. It seemed that himself and Eric were the only two children immune to the disease. Tonino busied himself with reading one of the books that Julia gave him. He was curled up on a shabby sofa in the play room, when a solid thud very near to him broke his concentration. 

     "Here," said Cat, "Janet says these are good." 

     There, on the floor, was a pile of books. Before Tonino could say anything else, Cat was on the other battered sofa, looking pointedly away from him. And again, Tonino could not tell what Eric meant by this. Perhaps he really just wanted to keep Tonino distracted so that they wouldn't have to speak to one another; but Tonino had never told Cat he liked to read. . . so Cat cared to figure out what sorts of things he liked, but couldn't bear to look at him. Tonino realized after a moment, that Eric "Cat" Chant really did behave like some of the cats Tonino knew in Caprona. Tonino almost laughed out loud at the thought. Instead, he smiled quietly to himself and kept on reading. Tonino found Cat far more endearing thereafter.