Out of sight was not out of mind. Henry had mentioned Sylvia and he emailed daily, and the next day I received an email of my own.
Hola! Henry tells me you’re making excellent progress and that his sister invited you to the Abbey for a few days. I think this is an excellent idea, but don’t neglect your studies. Use the opportunity to practice if you can. I’ll be back before you go to keep an eye on Isabella. I’ll see you on your return. Most of all, have fun. Toodle-oo. S.
Good. I felt better about going knowing I had the boss’s blessing. I closed my laptop and left the bedroom. Isabella was up uncharacteristically early and was sitting crossed-legged on the sofa, chomping on a piece of toast. Her wings hung loosely behind her over the back of the couch.
She looked up as I approached, her happy smile telling me she was pleased with last night’s developments.
“Well?” I plopped down beside her and stole a piece of toast from her plate. “Someone had a good time last night by all accounts.”
Isabella leaned affectionately into me. “I did. Oh, I hope you don’t mind, but you have to admit, your brother is gorgeous. I couldn’t say no to him.”
“I can see how you would think so.”
She laughed. “Well, he’s your brother, so I suppose you don’t look at him the same way as I do. But trust me, he’s a hottie. I should try to snap him up before he graduates and everyone else chases after him. After all, once he becomes a fully fledged doctor, there’ll be women chasing him day and night, and he probably wouldn’t give me a backward glance then.”
I swallowed a large chunk of heavily buttered toast. “I wouldn’t get ahead of yourself. After all, you only just met him last night.” I didn’t like my own tone, and fearful of offending Isabella, I pushed myself up off the sofa and went to make a coffee. “Sylvia’s coming back, did you hear?”
“Yup, I got an email from her this morning. Pity. I was getting comfortable in there.” She motioned over to her bedroom. “I suppose I’ll have to move my stuff in with you. You’d better not snore.”
“And you’d better not fart,” I countered. Her eyes widened in shock as if she’d been scandalized, but then the corners of her lips curled upward in amusement.
Perhaps I should have told her about my invite to the Abbey, but I was jealous of my time alone with Henry and his family and afraid she might find a way to wheedle an invite of her own. In all honesty, I thought it a certainty she would try. Still, she would have to be told sooner or later—sooner really, if I didn’t want Henry to accidentally blurt something out. I pondered how I might phrase it delicately.
Before we’d gone out last night, Isabella had been working on a good luck potion Henry had asked her to master. The stuffed bottle containing half the potion mix was sitting on the ledge over the sink, but there was a mass of congealed seaweed coating pretty much every inch of counter space, which she hadn’t bothered to clean up. Irritated, I worked around it, determined not to do the job for her, though a part of me wanted to wipe it all up.
“I hope you’re working on a cleaning spell.”
Isabella barely looked around. “Oh, yeah, in a bit. Don’t worry about it.”
As the coffee chugged, I glanced at the time. It was still super early, but I supposed I ought to be thinking about getting ready for work.
“Do you want to use the bathroom first or should I?” I asked.
“Oh, you go ahead. I’ve already showered. Jimmy’s coming over in a bit, and we’re going out for the day.”
I turned around, surprised. “You’re not working today?”
Isabella shook her head. “Nah. I’ll text Henry in a bit and tell him I have a headache. I’m sure he won’t mind.”
“Doesn’t Jimmy have a class?”
Isabella shrugged and put her plate down on the side table. “He never said.”
I thought about Jimmy’s exams, which I knew would be coming up soon. Still, it was just one day. My brother was a hard worker, and it wasn’t like he made a habit of skipping classes. I poured a lot of milk into my mug to cool down the freshly brewed coffee.
Without another word, I took my coffee into the bathroom with me and set the mug down on the sink. I sat on the toilet, not quite ready to jump in the shower but needing to be alone. I couldn’t help wondering about that potion mix. I was pretty sure it had been full before we went out last night, but now there was less than half left. It couldn’t have evaporated.
A nagging voice in the back of my head told me she’d used the other half on Jimmy. He would never have known if she had. It wasn’t like he had to drink the stuff or anything. With that type of potion, you simply had to pop the cork and whisper an incantation to find the desired target. And there had been plenty of whispered words between them last night.
The good luck potion I knew Henry favored had almost the same ingredients as a Cupid’s Arrow love potion, so it wouldn’t be too difficult for Isabella to tweak it to get what she wanted. Then again, maybe she’d accidentally mixed the ingredients up a bit—potions weren’t exactly her strong suit.
Hmmm. Perhaps it wasn’t an actual love potion, but the idea of Isabella using magic to manipulate my brother’s feelings was bad enough. The funny thing was, she probably didn’t even need to use it. No one would say Isabella was short on charm. Half the guys that met her in the shop seemed ready to fall in love with her. She might of just spilled it or something. I wouldn’t put it past her—tidiness was not her strong suit.
I chugged down the dregs of my coffee, and feeling a little more alert, I turned on the shower. As soon as the water was warm enough, I stripped off and stepped in. One good thing about Isabella playing truant was that I’d have Henry all to myself today. And though I was above mixing a good luck potion to make him desire me, I was not beyond upping my level of personal grooming and slapping on my favorite lippy. Thinking of Henry made me forget about Isabella and her shenanigans, and I began to smile. Today was going to be a good day—I could feel it in my bones. As I applied the conditioner onto my newly shampooed hair, I closed my eyes and with renewed dreams of kissing Henry, I began to sing: “Sleigh bells and love spells, music and wands…”
Henry was serving an older witch when I arrived at work, so I acknowledged him with a wave and headed straight to the back room where I intended to start assembling the day’s orders. Fully expecting to be alone, my heart skipped a beat when a young man stepped right in front of me, barring my path and looking down at me from a great height. He must have been six feet three at least and positively oozed charm and sex appeal.
“Whoa there, lady. Customers aren’t allowed in the back. Not unless they’re willing to pay a toll for the privilege.”
There was a self-assured twinkle in his eye, and his gaze roved freely over my body, head to toe. Cheeky brute. I correctly guessed several things at once. This guy was used to getting his own way, he was typically very successful with the ladies, and since the family resemblance was unmistakable, this had to be the infamous brother, Freddy Tilney.
“I’m not a customer. I work here.” I slipped around him and retrieved my apron from the hook on the back of the door. Judging by his grin, Freddy knew this already and was just messing with me. His look softened as he switched to adorable boy mode, but I remembered being warned about him and resolved not to allow myself to be swayed by his charm. “You must be Freddy. I’ve heard a lot about you.”
The bad boy grin didn’t falter for a second. “Totally wicked, I’m sure.”
“That about sums it up.”
Freddy sat down at one of the tables. He picked up a bar of coal tar soap, sniffed it, and pretended to examine it closely, but I knew he was really studying me. It crossed my mind that he was nothing at all like his brother, Henry. Even if I hadn’t been warned about him, there was something unsettling about this man that told me to be on my guard and not be fooled by his easy banter.
“I’m guessing you’re Catherine.” He looked behind me as if expecting someone to materialize at my shoulder. “Where’s the other one?”
“Isabella?”
“Yes. I’ve heard a lot about her too.”
I didn’t like the too part of that provocative sentence but thought it wiser to ignore it. “She isn’t coming in today.”
“Pity. I came specially to see her.” Freddy pursed his lips. “Henry says you’re coming to the house for a bit of a party this weekend, and I find myself at rather a loose end. I thought I might invite your friend to join us for some fun. Do you think she’d come if I asked?”
I shook my head. “I think she’s already made social plans for this weekend. Maybe some other time?”
“Yeah, perhaps.” Freddy put down the bar of soap, and the pungent smell lingered in the air. I thought he might be waiting for Henry to join us, but instead he got up and made to leave. I heard a faint hiss behind me and turned to see a tabby kitten had arched its back and was as rigid as a broomstick.
Freddy grimaced at the kitten but didn’t comment on its obvious dislike for him.
I bit my lip to hide my grin. “Not a cat person, then?”
“No, not my favorite mammals.”
I wondered if he were allergic to them. Or if they were to him.
“Well, it was lovely meeting you, Catherine, but the day’s getting away from me. I may or may not see you this weekend, we’ll see. Anyway, it was a pleasure. Bye for now.”
I watched as Freddy made his exit through the store. Henry was still working with the older witch, and the two brothers merely nodded as the elder passed through on his way out. It seemed Freddy really had come to check out Isabella and, having been thwarted, saw no need to overstay his welcome. As soon as the bell over the door jingled and Freddy was gone, I returned to the table and picked up the list of daily orders. So that was the older Tilney brother. Well, well, well. I had no doubt now he was every bit as wicked as his brother had suggested he could be. At least the kitten seemed to think so. And my feminine intuition was screaming he could be a hell of a lot more. Much, much more.
Henry shot a look in my direction, and I could tell he was curious about what we’d been talking about. I smiled mischievously and left him to it. A minute or so later, the bell over the door signaled the customer had finally left, and then Henry dashed into the back.
“No Isabella?”
“Sick. Didn’t she send you a text?”
“Maybe. I haven’t had a chance to look. There was a run on hoof oil. So you met Freddy?”
I nodded, and to conceal my smile, I pretended to be interested in a pile of parsley bundles laid out neatly on the table. I picked out one whose leaves were turning black and tossed it into the trash bin beside the table.
Henry stood stiffly beside me, checking the messages on his phone, but I could tell he expected me to say more. Perhaps it was bad of me, but I loved his uncertainty—and perhaps, jealousy?
“Did he say he was coming home this weekend or not?”
I shook my head. “He wasn’t sure. You know, he looks a lot like you. Taller though.”
Henry looked at me askew, and I suspected he would have loved to read my mind right now. I knew he wouldn’t, not without my permission, but he was probably dying to just the same.
“So what did he say?”
I pulled some of the parsley leaves and began crushing them in the large stone mortar. “He didn’t say a lot. He was more interested in Isabella than anything. What did you tell him about her?”
It was Henry’s turn to look coy. “Not much.”
I couldn’t hide my smile this time and focused on crushing the leaves. “Well then. Now we both know as much as each other.”
Seeing he was getting nowhere, Henry changed tack. “I was thinking I should go back to the apartment with you on Friday. We can take share a Magic Cab if you like. My sister keeps the truck when I’m in town, so I usually ride the subway, but it’ll be easier to take a cab with your bags.”
“Oh, right, yeah, seems sensible. I don’t have a lot of gear, but the book is kinda heavy.” Distracted by the conversation, I lost my grip on the pestle, and it shot out of my hand and onto the floor. We both reached for it, but he got there first, and I almost banged my head into his on the way back up.
“Ugh, sorry.” Sometimes I could be such a klutz.
Henry put the pestle down flat on the table as the bell heralded a new customer. “Well, I better get back to it. Let me know if you need anything.”
“Sure.” I watched him disappear into the shop, a little annoyed that he hadn’t kissed me. I really hoped he would try to, and soon.