Page 114 of A Spell of Midlife Mayhem

‘It certainly is. Treat yourself, Heather.’

‘Let’s split it three ways,’ I said, reaching for a knife.

Shortly afterwards, we set to work. I carried the ‘Open for visitors’ sign to the bottom of the front entrance steps, while Lydia set up the ticketing area. Penny went to check on other things. We had to work harder as there were only three of us now, and we had to cover what Melissa would have done.

She would never be back. I supposed Lydia would soon advertise for another house guide. Pamela at the job centre would have another headache trying to find someone to do it, a task that would be even more difficult now that a murder had been committed in the house.

I went upstairs and into the countess’s bedchamber. She wasn’t present, but I said, ‘Morning, Charlotte,’ in case she was listening. I’d been doing that for a few days, and sometimes she appeared for a chat.

Not today, though. Her room lay quiet.

I wandered around the first floor. A few visitors made their way up the stairs, and I introduced myself. A young couple asked me questions about the history of Chirtlewood and the people who lived in it.

This was where I was truly in my element. I beamed and pulled them aside to point out the intricate details carved into the lintel above the earl’s bedchamber. I showed them inside, where they listened as I recounted stories of the earl’s youthful adventures, the English civil war and how the house changed hands, and various political intrigues in play at the time.

‘Wow, you know so much about it,’ the young woman said. ‘It’s fascinating.’

I’d picked up a lot from Lydia, Penny and Melissa. I’d read up on the history too. And some of the information came from the earl and the countess themselves. They were all too happy to pass the time talking to me about their lives almost four hundred years before.

‘We are all well trained here,’ I said, ‘and Chirtlewood has a tremendous amount of history.’

‘You really make it come alive,’ the young woman’s partner said. ‘I’d never known history could be so interesting.’

I beamed. This was what I’d always wanted—willing and interested listeners. When I thought about how this couple compared to the teenagers I’d taught in history class, they were diametrically opposite. Helping visitors to Chirtlewood learn and appreciate its history and its people was a thousand times more rewarding than trying to teach ungrateful teenagers to appreciate Roman emperors.

The couple moved on, and I took the opportunity to phone Aunt Ruth.

‘Heather, dear, is everything all right?’

‘Yes, Aunt Ruth, it couldn’t be better. I wanted to check if Raven has come home yet.’

‘Oh, yes. He was drenched in the Thames, the poor man. It seems he shifted back to human form when he was sitting on the edge of Kingston Bridge, and he toppled in.’

‘Oh no! He’s all right, though?’

She chuckled. ‘He’s fine.’

‘I had an idea. We all deserve a treat. Maybe we can go out to dinner tonight, the three of us. There’s a nice Italian restaurant by the riverside. It’s special. Great views. And if Raven does shift to bird form accidentally, I’ll have you there for company.’ I giggled.

‘What on earth might you say to the poor man over dinner to trigger his curse? Is it salacious?’ A muffled snigger followed.

‘I’ll be perfectly behaved,’ I said. For now. ‘I know you need him in human form to research how to reverse his curse.’

‘That’s right.’ There was a pause. ‘I don’t have much time left to help him,’ Aunt Ruth continued in a lower voice.

I swallowed. ‘I’m going to call the inspector later and see if I can get that witch’s spell book back from her,’ I said. ‘Then I will contact the northern warlock about copying it and having your magic mirror fixed.’

‘I know you will, Heather. You’re the best niece there could be.’

‘Thanks, Aunt Ruth.’ I smiled sadly. Each passing day was a day closer to September the third. She hadn’t told me why she thought she would die that day, but I would do anything I could to change it.

Fixing her magic mirror would be the start.