Enchanted - The Dressing Room Affair [Time Travel Historical Romance Novella] (Entwined Together Forever)

by Sierra Hunter

  Thinking back now, in hindsight, the message in the card and on the top of her jewelry box seemed tied together. They felt final, almost like a farewell message.

  Did she plan to go somewhere without telling me? Katie was starting to wonder. Katie’s mind began to reel, trying to scrounge up some clue to Isabelle’s whereabouts. Had she mentioned anything else last night?

  Katie hurried to the jewelry box and snatched up the new note. It was definitely her mother’s handwriting. She hurriedly unfolded the note with trembling fingers and started to read.

  My Katie,

  Last night on your 18th birthday, you became a woman. To celebrate the most amazing eighteen years of my life spent with you as your mother, I gave you this special jewelry box.

  I’m sorry, but the time has come for me to leave now. Don’t worry about me. Where I am going, there is only happiness, healing, and peace. Please don’t try and find me. Where I go, you cannot follow. Just know in your heart that I love you and that all I have is yours to cherish.

  Be happy, Katie. Find a loving partner and give your love fully. Love is the key to eternal happiness.

  Remember me always in your heart. You will forever be in mine. Strive to live your life fully. Your father and I always believed in living with no regrets. No do-overs. Say goodbye to Chloe for me. Tell her I’ve always loved her as if she was my own daughter too. I wish you both a lifetime of love and happiness.

  I love you forever, Katie.

  Your Mother,

  Isabelle

  Katie, shocked, sank down onto her bed. “Chloe,” she called out hoarsely. Louder, “Chloe come quick!”

  Chloe rounded the corner and burst through the door with a look of alarm. “What’s wrong? What’s happened? Did you find something?”

  Katie’s face was pale with confusion and distress. She handed Chloe Isabelle’s note. “I just found this in my jewelry box,” Katie whispered, shaking.

  Chloe took the note from Katie and started reading it slowly out loud. She blinked, looking stupefied, her spaces between the words growing longer with each line. “I don’t understand, where has she gone?” Chloe pressed breathlessly.

  “I don’t know”, Katie replied hopelessly, shrugging her shoulders. She suddenly felt the weight of the last twelve months crash into her. She was so tired. She took the cryptic note back and scanned the dreaded words again. She couldn’t accept them. Her mother couldn’t be gone. This was preposterous! It sounded utterly delusional.

  Where had she gone? Somewhere to die alone? The idea made her nauseous. She couldn’t have vanished into thin air.

  “She’s really sick,” Katie declared. “We need to find her.”

  When the police arrived, they interviewed Katie and Chloe while they examined the contents of the letter.

  “Miss Mackenzie?” Katie turned around to see a suited man striding towards her. There was purpose and authority in his steps. “I’m Inspector Patrick O’Shannessy.”

  The Inspector sat Katie down and began to grill her with questions. Katie told the Inspector everything that had happened over the last twelve months, including hearing her mother talking in the middle of the night and voices coming from the store… and her mother’s terminal illness.

  Inspector O’Shannessy combed the store for fingerprints. From what Katie could see, nothing was missing. No sign of foul play was found or suspected. There was no trace, besides the letter, as to where her mother had gone. It seemed like she just… vanished.

  ~*~

  Chapter 4: Saying Goodbye

  ~*~

  Two years later…

  Katie and Chloe sat together in the den with a bottle of wine between them.

  “Happy twentieth, Kate,” Chloe commended with a smile, leaning forward to lay her hand on her best friend’s knee. Kate smiled wistfully. They had spent the last three hours reminiscing about the golden days at the costume shop, sharing stories about their childhood and the wonderful memories of Isabelle.

  Katie had taken over the running the Enchanted Forest Fancy-Dress Shop, knowing after all this time that there was very little chance of finding her mother alive. Katie wanted to believe differently and constantly struggled not to snuff out the small ray of hope that Isabelle was living somewhere else – comfortable and cared for – with someone who made her just as happy as Katie did.

  Katie stood at the counter of the costume shop, unpacking new merchandise. She pulled her wool coat tighter against the chill in the air. She glanced up when she heard the doorbell chime. A familiar freckled face smiled at her.

  “Hey, Katie,” Inspector O’Shannessy chirped as he crossed the store. “Cold this morning, isn’t it?” he asked, rubbing his hands together for emphasis.

  “Yes it is,” replied Katie as she climbed down from the step ladder. “Seems like winter made itself at home. Just doesn’t want to leave this year. I can’t wait to go for a swim in the river when the weather warms up.” She grinned back at him. “To what do I owe the pleasure, Patty? Any news?” By now, it was merely a rhetorical question meant to pass the time.

  She didn’t expect him to have anything to report.

  Inspector O’Shannessy turned his head to admire the old clock hanging on the wall. Katie could see his smile waning, saddening, no matter how hard he tried to hide it. He took a deep breath. “I do.” Katie froze. “Unfortunately, the news isn’t good.”

  “What?” Her eyes widened. Ice, the living sort of glacial cold that existed separate from the room temperature, wriggled into her veins. Katie’s heart sank like a stone. She moved closer to the Inspector to hear what he had come to tell her. Patrick removed his hat and gradually slid his hands over the brim, turning it in his fingers.

  “I just came from the Sheriff’s station. They told me to inform you that, as of today, they’re… They’re closing your mother’s case.” Katie, stunned, opened her mouth to speak. The inspector beat her to the punch. “Look. I’m sorry. It’s been nearly two years now – two years without a trace. The trail’s gone cold. There’s just nothing more they can do. I’m sorry, Miss Mackenzie. They told me to tell you that you need to come down to the office to confirm her will. She left everything to you. When you’re ready, we need you to finalize the paperwork.”

  Tears were streaming down Katie’s face as she tried to absorb what Patrick was telling her.

  “Patrick… She couldn’t have disappeared into thin air. They have to know that! I can’t just… just give up on her!” Katie exclaimed as she looked desperately at the Inspector.

  ”Katie”, the Inspector tried, extending his hand as though he wanted to touch her shoulder. Katie quickly jerked her body away from him, ripping the opportunity from his grasp. Anger and fear surged through her.

  If the authorities would not help her, who would? Was there really nothing more to be done?

  “Because of the time constraints of your mother’s terminal illness, the Sheriff knows the chances of her still being alive are slim to none. Think back on her letter to you. Maybe this was what she wanted all along. The Sheriff believes that Isabelle left of her own free will, so that you could remember her as she was, and not as a burden and not a dying woman. Isabelle was a vibrant lady. He doesn’t believe she wanted you to see her deteriorate.” He sighed. “I’m sorry, sweetheart. There was nothing more I could do.”

  Katie struggled to maintain her iron lipped frown.

  Patrick looked crestfallen. “I’ll leave you alone now. Think about what you want to do… and when you’re ready… you can come down to the office. Isabelle’s estate is a matter that needs settling, and that is your responsibility. I know that is what Isabelle would have wanted for you. She would have wanted you to be well taken care of – to be happy.” As the Inspector walked towards the door, he turned one last time. He regarded Katie thoughtfully. “If you ever need anything at all, you just call me.”

  “Thank you,” Katie said tightly. The Inspector tipped his hat and left.

  Katie wiped aw
ay fresh tears, but they just kept leaking out of her eyes. She gazed at her mother’s picture, hanging up on the wall behind her. The picture blurred as her vision swam.

  Where are you, mum? I know you’re alive. Why won’t you let me at least know you’re okay? How could you leave me this way? Katie swallowed more sobs down. She resumed unpacking the boxes. When she was finished, she marched upstairs to shut herself away and weigh her options.

  After several restless nights and countless more tears, Katie knew she had to make a decision about her mother’s estate.

  She knew Isabelle would not want her to continue living in the past. She would want her to move on and find happiness in her future. Katie made an appointment the following afternoon to see the Sherriff and finalize things. After signing enough papers to fill a book, she dragged her feet all the way home. The costume shop was hers now, every trace of her parent’s ownership erased with the passing of generations.

  Isabelle had left her everything, which was no surprise to Katie. They had no living relatives, or at least none they saw often enough to count them close.

  Isabelle’s will gave Katie the costume shop, the apartment, her car, and even a trust fund that Katie did not know she possessed. Her father must have left it to her when he got sick. Isabelle had been adding to it for the last eighteen years.

  Financially, Katie was fairly secure. Coupled with what had accumulated in the trust fund, she earned enough from the costume shop to live comfortably for two or three decades to come. Still, it was the fact that she had all this because her mother was gone that gave Katie pause.

  That weekend, Chloe came over with another bottle in hand to celebrate moving forward. They both decided that it was time to be happy again, or at least to try. Chloe insisted on celebrating Katie’s new start with Champagne. One glass turned into four, and before they knew it they were giggling like they were in grade school again.

  After a few more swallows - and several trips down memory lane - Chloe finally found the courage to ask Katie what she was going to do with Isabelle’s room.

  “Don’t you think it’s time that you packed up your mum’s things?” Chloe asked gently as she flipped through a photo album from Katie’s childhood.

  “I don’t know if I am ready to do that yet, Chloe,” Katie admitted, dreading the despair Chloe’s question dredged up. Katie had not even opened the door to her mother’s bedroom since the day she disappeared. That was more than two years ago. She had left it untouched as a shrine in her memory, secretly hoping that one day she would wake up and her mum would come walking out of her bedroom, asking for a cup of tea.

  She still yearned for the normalcy Isabelle’s return would bring, and the comfort it entailed.

  How could she change things when part of her still believed Isabelle was alive? What would Isabelle think if she came home to a place she hardly recognized? Wouldn’t it look like Katie had forgotten her?

  But as Katie sipped at the last few swallows of her fifth glass of champagne, and looked at her friend of twenty years, she knew what needed to be done. Chloe was right. She needed to pack her mother’s things away. She could keep them in boxes, always have them on hand in case… in case…

  Katie put her glass down.

  “You’re right, Chloe.” She filled her lungs, keeping her face carefully anesthetized to avoid another fit of weeping. “She’s not coming back. It’s time. I just don’t think I can do it alone. Will you help me… please?”

  “Of course I will,” Chloe replied, laying her hand on Katie’s arm. “Let me grab a bottle of Shiraz from the fridge and some packing boxes. We can get started right now.” Katie managed a wan smile, touching Chloe’s hand. Chloe left to get the aforementioned supplies.

  Hours passed while they sat on the floor, packing Isabelle’s things away, laughing and crying together. Stories and memories kept popping up with the items they discovered, the retelling of them making it a little easier to say goodbye to Katie’s mother.

  Chloe had suggested creating two piles: Things Katie wanted to keep in memory of her mother, and things she was happy to give away to charity. Katie told Chloe to keep anything that she wanted to personally remember her mother too.

  Chloe was sifting through Isabelle’s bedside table when she discovered an internal drawer – a hidden compartment in the nightstand. She pulled, but the drawer was stuck.

  “What’s this?” Chloe said as she looked up at Katie, who was folding her mother’s favorite cashmere sweater from the wardrobe.

  “What’s what?” Katie replied as she joined her at the bedside table.

  “I found a hidden drawer. Come look! I think it’s jammed though. I can’t get it open. Did you know about this?” Chloe kept pulling at the drawer.

  “No, I didn’t. I’ve never had a chance to poke around inside. Mum had that nightstand for years and years. Dad bought it for her as a gift from the Wallis’ Antique Store before I was born,” Katie replied as she knelt down next to Chloe. Katie had a go at trying to pry open the drawer, but it was stuck tight. “Get the screw driver from downstairs, will you?” She gritted her teeth together and gave the handle a few good tugs. “I’ll try to jimmy the drawer open.”

  Chloe ran downstairs and came back with a screwdriver while Katie wrestled with the drawer. It took Katie a couple more goes, but she finally dislodged whatever it was that was jamming the drawer. It popped open. Inside was a beautiful antique bracelet, glittering in the light as though time and dust could never touch it. Chloe and Katie exchanged bewildered glances.

  ~*~

  Chapter 5: The Bracelet

  ~*~

  Katie fished their sparkling find out of its hiding place.

  “Wow, this is heavy,” Katie whispered, astonished as she inspected the rose gold thick banded bracelet. What looked like real jewels encrusted the entire bracelet. Emeralds, diamonds, rubies, and sapphires embedded within the band of the bracelet. As Katie peered closer, she thought she could see some sort of inscription on the inside. “I think there’s something written here.”

  “Can I have a look?” Chloe asked, amazed. Katie passed the bracelet over to her friend. Chloe’s eyes widened, her hand dropping under the weight of the piece. “Gosh, that is heavy, Kate. I wonder—Wow. It must be real rose gold! That means… That means this is worth a small fortune. I wonder whose it is. Do you think it was your mum’s bracelet?” Chloe squinted, trying to decipher the inscription on the inside.

  Katie blinked herself awake from her stupor, thinking. “I’m not sure. Mum never mentioned it. She never wore it either. Not in front of me, at least.” Katie looked just as dumbfounded as Chloe did.

  “What are you going to do with it?” Chloe wanted to know.

  “I’m not sure. For now, I’m going to put it in my jewelry box until I can find out more about its history. It’s obviously an antique of some sort. Mum loved antique everything, especially anything from the 18 – 19th Century. I’ll bet it was hers.” Katie turned the bracelet over in her hands, slipping it carefully onto her wrist as she felt each facet and groove.

  “Good idea,” Chloe nodded affirmatively.

  Katie found her feet and took the bracelet into her room where she carefully tucked it into her jewelry box. When Katie was satisfied, she closed the door and took a step back, admiring the heirloom not only for its beauty, but for the beauty inside.

  “Well, I think that’s about everything,” Chloe called from the other side of the hall.

  They carried all the boxes downstairs and stacked the ones that Katie wanted to keep in the store room. They organized the rest for the truck that would take it to the Salvation Army the following day.

  As they walked past the locked dressing room, heading back up for another glass of wine, Chloe stopped. “Hey… Did you ever find the key, Katie?” She nodded towards the dressing room.

  Katie sighed, folding up her arms and shaking her head ruefully. “No. I really should open it one of these days and clean it out. It would be n
ice to have another dressing room. Less congestion in the store… One just isn’t enough for all the new customers coming in these days.” They both stared at the door of the mysterious room.

  That night after Chloe went home, Katie sat in bed staring at the beautiful bracelet they had found in her mother’s bedside table. It shone and twinkled in the warm lamplight, putting the stars outside to shame. Whenever Katie touched one of the beautiful jewels embedded in the rose gold, she swore she felt a magical tingle spark through her fingers and zap down her arm.

  She couldn’t explain it, but it was like no sensation she had ever experienced before. Almost magical.

  Katie rolled her eyes. Don’t be silly, she chided herself. It’s is just some old bracelet. She slipped it onto her wrist to see what it looked like on her arm. She admired it quietly. Suddenly, a memory raced through her mind. Katie sat up like a shot.

  “I have seen this before!” she gasped. “In one of the illustrations in that book!” She scrambled out of bed, kicking off the covers. She hurried into Isabelle’s old room. She made a beeline for the bookshelf where her mother’s books were aligned. Katie saw no sense in packing those away, or getting rid of them. She could still use them. Books were timeless.

  Timeless…

  Katie scanned the titles for The Timeless Love Affair. She found it on the bottom of the bookshelf and plucked it out of the lineup. She had not looked at this book for two years, not since the day Isabelle disappeared. She ran her fingers over the glossy black hard cover, tracing the gold swirls on it.

  The Timeless Love Affair was the familiar title. At the bottom of the cover were the author’s name and the date: Reid Walsh, 1856.

  Katie had lost count of how many times she had held this book and read the pages to her mother two years ago. She remembered that it was her favorite book, and for some reason it had helped relax her enough to put her to sleep. Katie was sure she had seen a similar bracelet to the one she found in this book.