by Nancy Warren
He digested this. “Well, no reason for her to take her troubles out on you.”
And that was an opinion I could totally get behind. “But you didn’t come here to talk about Violet.”
“No.” He walked up and down, looked out the window as though the almost nonexistent traffic on Harrington Street fascinated him. “You’re not going to like what I have to tell you,” he said.
Before he could get further, Nyx came running down the stairs. She must have been sleeping on my bed upstairs and heard his voice. I thought I got pretty excited when Rafe turned up, but my passion was nothing compared with that of my cat. She was supposed to be my familiar, but she seemed to forget that whenever the handsome vampire was around. She meowed piteously, which I translated loosely to, “Love me, love me, love me.”
He picked her up, and she immediately began to purr like a chainsaw. She glanced at me with her green-gold eyes as though daring me to be jealous.
Rafe said, “You’d better sit down.” And then he joined me, sitting by my side. Nyx immediately curled up on his lap, purring loudly. “I had the material in your rune box analyzed.”
I didn’t like the tone of his voice. “Okay.”
“You have to understand, some of the top scientists in all the world practice here in Oxford. I don’t think there can be any question.”
I was really getting nervous now. “Spit it out, Rafe.”
“If you had so much as tasted what was in that box, it would have killed you.”
I hadn’t been expecting good news, but getting death as a wedding present? I hadn’t seen that one coming.
I asked the obvious question. “Are you sure?”
“Believe me, I had them test it a second time. The ingredients are altogether curious. But it’s the arsenic that would have killed you.”
I was stunned. “Who would do such a thing? Who hates me that much?”
He took my hand. “That’s a question that’s puzzling me, too. Think, Lucy. Have you upset someone?”
“No. Not that I can think of.”
I looked down at Nyx, who was so possessive about Rafe, and wondered if someone had tried to get rid of me in hopes of winning my fiancé when I was gone. “What about you? Could there be someone so infatuated with you that they would get rid of me rather than see you married and unavailable?”
He looked at me the way my mother used to when she caught me reading a Harlequin romance. “Really, Lucy.”
“What? It’s possible.”
And then he just said, “No.”
Which was rather comforting.
I said, “I think I know where this came from. Rafe, this is witch business. Do you have proof that the stuff in that box was laced with arsenic?”
He nodded and withdrew a piece of paper from his inner pocket. “This is the breakdown of ingredients that were identified. A couple of them puzzled even the top chemists. They’re still trying to identify them. But I only care about the poison.”
I nodded. We both knew there were substances that mere mortals knew nothing about. But I didn’t like that somebody had tried to kill me with an old standby like arsenic.
The downstairs door opened and closed, and I heard footsteps on the stairs. There were very few people who would come up to my flat unannounced, so I suspected immediately it was my grandmother. Sure enough, Gran came into the room. But instead of looking like my comfortable Gran, she looked shaken and pale, even for her.
“Oh, Lucy, the most terrible thing happened,” my grandmother said.
Sylvia followed her, looking grim and somehow guilty. “Oh, Rafe. You’re here.” She sounded as though she wished he weren’t.
“What happened?” I asked them.
They came all the way into the lounge, and Gran said, “I’m sorry, dear. I didn’t know Rafe was here.”
He said, “Would you like me to leave?”
“No,” I answered before they could. I had a sneaking suspicion I might need him, depending on why these two were looking guilty and upset. “That’s okay. What’s going on?”
Gran squeezed her hands together. “I couldn’t sleep, you see. It’s the excitement over the wedding. And there’s so much to do. I just popped out to get some seed pear—” She glanced at Rafe. “Some things, and I bumped smack into Mrs. Darlington.”
Now I saw why she was looking so horrified. “Mrs. Darlington, our customer?”
“That’s the one. She’s got the daughter your age and three boys. Knits a lot of sweaters.”
I nodded. “What exactly happened?”
This was disastrous, but I wasn’t sure yet how disastrous. Based on the expressions on these two vampires’ faces, though, it was on the bad end of disastrous.
“I smacked right into her. I was thinking about something else or I never would have gone out at all. Not in the middle of the day.” And with my mother and father in town, she’d promised me she’d stay out of sight. But yelling at her wasn’t going to help. I kept my voice calm.
“You bumped into her, and then what happened?”
“Well, she looked so pleased to see me. She said, ‘Agnes Bartlett.’ And I, of course, complimented her on the sweater she was wearing. It was really very lovely. One of the Teddy Lamont designs, done in shades of mauve.”
“Never mind her sweater,” I said with what patience I could muster. I was picturing this as though the scene were happening in front of me, and I couldn’t even imagine where it was going from here.
“I was about to ask after her husband when it suddenly it struck me that I probably shouldn’t be talking to her at all.”
Really?
“I made to walk away, and then Mrs. Darlington grabbed her chest, took a step back and said, ‘Wait a minute. I thought you died.’”
Oh dear, oh dear.
“That’s when I told Agnes to do the forgetting spell,” Sylvia put in.
“But there were so many people around, I didn’t dare.”
“So, what did you do?” If Mrs. Darlington was running around claiming she’d seen my dead grandmother, then we were going to have all kinds of problems.
“Sylvia dragged her off the High Street and into an alley.”
I didn’t think the story could get worse. And then it did. “You did what?”
“It was all I could think of,” Sylvia said, sounding defensive.
Mrs. Darlington had brought up three rough-and-tumble boys. I doubted very much that she’d gone willingly into a back alley with two old ladies.
“Who knew she had such lungs on her?” Sylvia said, confirming what I’d feared.
“So you dragged a screaming woman down into an alley?” I glanced at Rafe, but he sat still as stone. And as impassive. He’d probably been witness to worse disasters, but I hadn’t.
“It was all we could think of. We had to get her away from the crowd so that Agnes could do her forgetting spell.”
“Did anyone follow you?” Rafe asked. Excellent question.
“Two large men. They said, ‘Hey there, what you doing?’” Sylvia, being an actress, managed to sound like a local man with a deep voice.
Oh, this was not good.
“Were the police involved?” Another excellent question. I was so glad I’d told Rafe to remain.
“No. It didn’t come to that. I have to say, Sylvia showed great presence of mind,” Gran said admiringly. “I was in a panic. One woman screaming and struggling, two burly men bearing down on me as though I were a common criminal. I went quite blank with fright.”
I was feeling quite blank with fright myself.
Gran continued, “But Sylvia was as calm as a cucumber. While the men were advancing on me, she opened the door that leads down a steep flight of stairs into the tunnels. She pushed the men through the door.”
I stared at Sylvia, who said rather smugly, “We’re much stronger than we look.”
“Then I managed the forgetting spell on poor Mrs. Darlington. I had to hide myself the minute I did it, and then Sylvi
a helped her back out to the street, where she wandered off looking slightly confused but with no memory of me.”
“And what happened to the two men you pushed down the stairs?” I asked Sylvia.
“Here we come to the problem. I’m afraid I had to tie them up and gag them. In order for your grandmother to do her forgetting spell, they need to be somewhere where it’s logical for them to be. Not tied up in a dark tunnel underneath the streets of Oxford.”
Only one part of that sentence had lodged into my brain like a huge thorn. “They’re still down there?”
“They are. We’re in a bit of a quandary. Don’t know what to do with them.”
I glanced at Rafe, who still looked carefully expressionless, though there was some tension around his jaw that suggested he might be clenching his teeth.
He thought about it for a moment. We all remained quiet as he made a decision. I felt sweat begin to pool everywhere sweat could. I had a mental image of two huge and angry men breaking out of their bonds and causing havoc. “Right. Get Theodore and Alfred up, and they can keep a watch. I’m sorry for it, but they’ll have to stay there until after dark, when we can move them.”
“I’ll get Theodore and Alfred,” Sylvia said, when Gran rose. “You stay here.”
Gran slumped on the couch as though her legs wouldn’t hold her anymore. “I feel terrible. I’m so sorry to cause you this trouble.”
I sat beside her and patted her hand. “I know you didn’t mean it, but this can’t go on, Gran.”
She nodded at me, looking sad. “I know, dear. I’ve so loved being here to help you get the shop running and on its feet, but you have Rafe now. You’ll be a married woman soon.” She looked at him appealingly. “I know I’ll have to leave Oxford, but would you mind very much if I stay until after the wedding? I’d so like to see my granddaughter get married. And then I’ll go somewhere far away.” She sounded so sad, I felt tears prick at my eyes. I didn’t want to lose her.
“Of course,” Rafe answered. At least I’d have Gran nearby a little longer.
“While you’re here, can you think of any reason why Karmen, the witch in Wallingford, might want to kill me?”
Gran had obviously been worrying about the men downstairs, but now she sharpened her gaze on mine. “Kill you? Why would she do that?”
“I was wondering if you might know.”
She looked stunned. “Are you certain?”
I went through the gift arriving at Rafe’s place and how he’d had the contents of the box analyzed and found it contained massive amounts of arsenic.
“I wonder if Sylvia might know something,” she said.
“Know something about what?” Sylvia asked, returning from her errand. I sometimes forgot how fast vampires could move when they wanted to.
“Everything all right?” Rafe asked her.
“Yes. Alfred and Theodore are both keeping watch. Don’t worry. We’ll take those men somewhere safe tonight, put lots of alcohol around them, and Agnes will do her forgetting spell. They’ll think they got intoxicated at the pub.”
“Good.”
Gran looked at her old friend. “We’ve been talking of me leaving Oxford. I’m afraid it’s time.”
Sylvia looked sad too. She said, “Wherever you go, Agnes, I shall go with you. You’d be lost without me. Besides, I was the one who turned you into a vampire. I feel you’re my responsibility.”
My grandmother perked up a bit. “I’d be glad of the company, but where shall we go?”
Sylvia shrugged fatalistically. “Wherever you like, my dear. New York, Seattle, Toronto, Reykjavik.”
“But these are all so far away,” I cried. “I want you to be close enough that I can visit you, Gran.”
Rafe said, “Cornwall.”
We all turned to stare at him. “Cornwall?” I don’t know why; it just seemed like such an odd choice of locations.
He nodded. “I own a manor house there. A couple rented it from me for the last twenty years or so and ran it as a B&B. But they’re getting on and wish to retire, so they’ve told me they plan to end their lease. There’s an old tin mine on the property.” He didn’t say more, but I thought a tin mine was underground, just like the lair they’d built here in the tunnels under Oxford. I bet they could make a tin mine very comfortable. Unless they just wanted to live in the manor house.
“Cornwall,” Gran said, perking up. “I spent my honeymoon there. Though no one would remember me, of course. I don’t think I was ever back again. It was lovely though. Very rugged coast, fascinating history. And they have their own style of knitting that’s quite remarkable.” I could see her getting quite enthusiastic about this idea.
Sylvia seemed less enthusiastic at first but soon came around to the idea when she realized that they could simply drive down there in the Bentley. Rafe said, “Why don’t you go and check it out now and come back in time for the wedding?”
I thought that was a really good idea. Just in case Gran’s forgetting spell hadn’t worked as well on Mrs. Darlington as we might have hoped, she wouldn’t be here if the woman came looking for her. If anyone came looking for her. Gran’s magic wasn’t as strong as it had been when she was alive. In fact, I decided I’d better go along tonight and perform the forgetting spells.
“But I don’t want to leave you. There’s so much preparation still to be done for your wedding.”
I gripped her hand. “And I don’t want you to go, but Mom’s here. She wants to help with the preparations too.”
“Well, it makes me very sad, but it’s more her right than mine to help her daughter prepare for her wedding day.”
“But you’ll still come back for the big day. I’m sorry we’ll have to hide you away, but you’ll have an excellent view from the window. We’ll make sure of it.”
“My dear, I couldn’t ask for anything more. The vampires will know where I am. They’ll come and visit. I won’t be lonely.”
“That’s settled then.” And what a great relief it was. I really hoped that Gran and Sylvia fell in love with Cornwall. It seemed like the perfect solution: far enough away that no one would recognize them but close enough that we could still see each other.
“Right,” Sylvia said, rising. “I think we could both use a bit of a nap after all that excitement.”
Gran rose to follow her and then saw the paper with all the chemical squiggles on my coffee table. She looked at it curiously, then at me. “What’s that, dear?”
“Oh, right. That’s the chemical analysis of the contents of the mysterious box that promised the elixir of youth, but in fact, it contained poison.”
“What!” Sylvia shrieked. I jumped at the sound. She hadn’t sounded that furious since I’d lost her priceless necklace.
I turned to her. “Do you know something about this?” I’d had my suspicions.
She looked rather sheepish. “It was me who gave it to you. And it was a very expensive gift.”
Sometimes, the workings of Sylvia’s mind were a complete mystery. “Why didn’t you sign the note?”
“I did. I signed it, ‘An admirer.’ And I am a great admirer of yours. I don’t always tell you how much I appreciate you, but—”
“Never mind that. Did you get the box from Karmen in Wallingford?”
“Where else? It was obvious she’d made a success of her alchemy. If you don’t want to be turned into a vampire, this is a perfect alternative. You’ll still be human, you’ll still be a witch, but you’ll stay young and beautiful forever. And Rafe won’t lose another wife.”
I was touched by her generosity, but also horrified. “So you had no idea what was in this box?”
“Of course not. She assured me that only she knew the recipe and made me swear you wouldn’t tell anyone about the elixir or try to sell it.”
“But why would she poison it?” I asked the room. “It makes no sense. I haven’t done anything to her. Okay, I called her on selling hexes, but it’s not like we ended up sworn enemies.” I didn’t
like the sound of this at all. “I’m going over there.” I didn’t relish a second confrontation with this witch, but I thought I deserved some straight answers.
“I’m coming with you,” said Rafe.
“Well, I will not be left behind,” said Sylvia. “I deserve some answers, too. And a refund.”
“I suppose I’ll have to stay here,” Gran said, “as Karmen knows me.” And then she turned to me. “But I think you should take Margaret Twigg. Margaret may be the only witch who can keep this one in line.”
I wanted to take Margaret Twigg along about as much as I wanted to face down a witch who’d pretty much tried to murder me, but Gran was right. Rafe and Sylvia were strong and powerful, but they weren’t our kind.
However, when I called Margaret Twigg, she didn’t pick up.
We’d go without her.
Chapter 10
I hadn’t warmed to Karmen, the Wicked Witch of Wallingford, and I’d definitely been wary of a woman who’d sell hexes that caused the amount of damage poor Violet had sustained, but I hadn’t thought she would try to murder me. I still didn’t understand why she would. She had to know there were going to be consequences.
And the consequences were on their way.
I was glad that Rafe and I were driving separately from Sylvia, because it was really important we got there first. Sylvia in the Bentley would, with any luck, arrive after me and Rafe in the Tesla.
I found my hands were trembling with the combination of rage and trepidation. I didn’t enjoy having enemies. Yet, somehow, I’d managed to get myself a deadly one. Margaret Twigg had been warning me that dark forces were coming. Was this what she’d meant?
I’d imagined a big confrontation between good witches and bad witches, not that I would be the victim of a single, mean witch. What had I ever done to Karmen? When I voiced this idea, Rafe looked at me.
“Maybe she’s jealous.”
“Jealous of me?” It was ludicrous.
He shrugged. “A woman who will work that hard to look eternally young and beautiful might be overcome with rage seeing your actual youth and beauty. She could never quite recapture a bloom like yours.”
