Spells and Bones

Chapter 3

CHAPTER THREE

Everyone turned around and all eyes fell on Ben and me. He smiled and bowed his head to the company. “Good morning, ladies.”

More than one cooed at the attention, and a few even jumped to their feet. They all replied in unison.

“Good morning, Count Castle.”

“That will be enough for this morning, ladies,” the robed woman commanded them. “Return to your work.”

The rest of the women stood, and a few looked mournfully at Ben as they passed by. One of the arguers, the one who hadn’t taken her pills, stopped at his side opposite me and set a hand on Ben’s arm.

“It’s so nice to see you, Count. What’s kept you away for so long?”

Ben nodded at me. “A pleasant distraction.”

The woman gave me a look of curiosity before one of her friends grabbed her bent arm. “Come on, Matilda. That’s enough flirting for one day, especially with what I’ve heard.”

Matilda gave her friend a blank look as she was carted away. “What did you hear?”

“Never you mind. Just hurry along.”

Soon the nave was emptied of all but we three. The robed woman’s gentle eyes smiled at me. “So this is the young woman who is going to give me grandchildren.”

At that moment Ben and I were two of a kind. My cheeks glowed like a bonfire and his wide eyes reflected shock and confusion. The scene must have been hilarious because his mother burst into laughter.

“My goodness,” she mused as she wiped a tear from one eye. “I didn’t expect the reaction to be so quick and so telling.”

Ben gathered his wits and his eyebrows crashed down. “I’m sorry to disappoint you, Mother, but where did you hear that false rumor?”

She tapped her ear lobe. “I, too, have my sources, but I see now there is no wedding ring. Perhaps the announcement was premature?”

“Perhaps the announcement should never have been made,” Ben countered.

His mother sighed and shrugged. “One can hope, but may I have a proper introduction to this lovely young woman?”

Ben stepped between us and gestured to each of us in turn. “Millie Lucas, may I introduce you to my mother, Countess Sofia Rookwood Castle.”

She tapped a finger against his arm. “Former countess. I leave that honorable title to another of your choice.”

He bowed his head to her. “My apologies for my old habit.”

The former countess laughed. “My dear, it’s been some five years since I vacated the title.” She turned to me and held out a hand. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Miss Lucas.”

“Please just call me Millie,” I requested as we shook hands.

“Then you must call me Sophia.”

“Shall I call you Sophia, as well?” her son spoke up.

She raised one elegant eyebrow at him. “No, but you might tell me where you found this lovely young woman, and why she wears this.” She gently grasped my left arm and lifted it up to show off the invisible ribbon. Her keen eyes also fell on the canister strapped to my arm, and she furrowed her brow. “And the aura from this is quite unusual.”

Ben’s eyes flickered to the doors on our left. “Both of those explanations are better left to less open spaces.”

“I see. Before that comes-” She clasped her hands in front of her and looked from one of us to the other, “-and with the formalities out of the way, what has brought you here this fine morning?”

A teasing smile slipped onto Ben’s lips. “Need it be something?”

Her eyes twinkled like those of her son. “You brought her here for a reason, and since I haven’t the pleasure of being introduced to my daughter-in-law it must be for something else.”

Ben nodded at me. “I promised Millie here an explanation for my rather unique hobby, and thought you would be the best to give it.”

Some of her good humor faded away. “I see. Well, I would be glad to assist however I can. If you would follow me.” She gestured to one of the door offshoots to the left of the nave.

We followed our guide through the door and found ourselves in a hallway that ran parallel to the main part of the church. A long row of doors stood in the wall opposite where we entered. A few of the entrances were ajar, and I glimpsed a gaggle of the women seated in a small sitting room filled with personal furnishings and knickknacks. The other rooms were likewise adorned and pointed to their being the lodgings of the sisters.

Sofia led us down to the very last door before the hallway turned to travel behind the nook where the statue stood. I peeked around the corner and noticed the corridor connected to another hall on the opposite side of the nave. She opened the door and presented us with a comfortable parlor with clean if simple furnishings. A small table with four chairs stood in front of a small stone fireplace, and a door to our right was slightly open and I glimpsed a plain short bed with a thick layer of blankets. The long, narrow table to our left was occupied by a pitcher and bowl, with a towel beside them.

The front room was finished off by a few elaborate tapestries that hung from the wall. One of the scenes caught my attention, and I couldn’t help but wander a little closer to get a better view of it. The cloth maker had woven a picture of a stately manor home in the countryside surrounded by a thick forest of tall trees with spindly branches. A simple dirt road wound its way up to a circular drive, and flower beds decorated every inch of the foundation.

The structure itself was two floors, each featuring a few wide and tall paned windows. The roof was a single high gable, and a few dormer windows jutted out to reveal a large attic space. Strips of white clapboard covered the face of the stately home.

The strands used to weave the picture created a shadowed effect on the scene, making me think not that it was night but that a heavy fog lay just out of sight. It gave me shivers, but I couldn’t look away from it.

“I see you have discovered the jewel of my collection,” Sofia spoke up as she sidled up to my side and admired the tapestry. “This is Rookwood, my family’s ancestral estate.”

I lifted an eyebrow at her. “Didn’t Ben mention that name?”

She tilted her head slightly and smiled at me. “Yes. He knows how fond I am of my former name, and always manages to squeeze it in there when making introductions.”

“Another habit,” Ben spoke up as he grasped the back of one of the chairs and drew it out. “But right now we have our own explanation to give to you about Millie, remember?”

“Of course,” Sofia agreed as she guided me over to the table.

I took my seat in the chair Ben had drawn out and he helped me scoot in before he took up another seat beside me. Sofia seated herself opposite me and clasped her hands together on the table.

Ben nodded at me. “Millie here is from another world.”

Sofia gave her son a slightly incredulous stare. “Truly? Or do you jest?”

I shook my head. “Believe me, I’m not from around here. I dropped through a hole in the sky a week ago.”

The older woman’s eyebrows slowly raised. “I see, then that rumor at least, was true.”

“Rumor?” he repeated.

“Of a dark portal appearing above the city in the middle of the day. The sisters and I feared the worst, and many prayers were to be had in the days preceding the event.” She gave me a smile. “I’m glad to see that the portal brought only good tidings.”

I gave her a sheepish grin. “Well, I can’t guarantee I won’t run amok every now and then, but the stick is safe with me.”

She blinked at me. “The stick?”

“The Prima Staff,” Ben explained as he nodded at the canister on my left arm. “She discovered it in her world and it’s what brought her to ours.”

“I see,” she mused as she dropped her attention to the container. “That would explain the powerful aura I feel from her arm.” She paused and furrowed her brow. “But if memory serves, wasn’t the staff much larger?”

“I forget to take it out of my pocket before tossing it into the wash.”

She chuckled. “I see. The last few days must have been eventful for you both, if one is to take the stories true.”

Ben nodded. “If those stories involve the House of Gaspar and the Shroud, along with the disappearance of Victor Dunn, then yes.”

Her twinkling eyes flickered between us. “How very interesting. You two must have grown quite close during such adventures.”

“Mother. . .” Ben warned her.

She sighed. “Can a mother not hope to have a grandchild over her knee?”

“We came here for a story, not a wedding,” he reminded her.

Her bright expression slipped into gloom as she cast a questioning look at her son. “Of course. Where shall I begin?”

“At the beginning, and don’t spare the explanation. She knows about my hobby.”