Corbie really didn't notice at first, her mind a whole world away as she looked at the pictures spread over the table. Something had tickled her ankle, but she didn't pay any particular attention to it.

It wasn't until she felt a little head resting on her knee that she had a moment of clarity and calm where she looked down into the snake's eyes and thought, Mildmay would have noticed this immediately.

Then she screamed and scrambled out of the chair.