“All right, all right.” I smiled and took the plate, then ate, totally ravenous. When I was finished, we headed up to the house together.
We spent the day painting the walls and working on the cabinets. I was obviously in charge of paint, given that I lacked Rafe’s incredible skill with wood, but by lunchtime, the house was looking a lot better. Most of the rooms were painted, and the kitchen was nearly finished.
“I think the house is feeling a lot better,” Rafe said as we stood on the front yard and stared at it, each of us eating our midday sandwiches.
“I agree. It hasn’t popped a floorboard at me all morning.”
“And it hasn’t slammed a door on my arse.”
I grinned, so pleased that I could feel the warmth filling my chest. It had been a hassle to have a house with personality, but now that it was happier, I had the strongest sense of satisfaction.
There was still way too much work for us to do on our own, however, even with my magic giving us extra speed and strength. For one thing, the electric and roofing were outside of both our skillsets. Rafe was managing with the plumbing, but just barely. Anyway, there was probably too much for him to finish in addition to the doing all the cabinets and trim work.
But the house was happier now, which changed things. “I think I’m going to call the coven and see if they can come over and give it a seal of approval that the town contractors will respect. We need help with the rest of it.”
“We do,” he said. “Even if we could learn how to fix electricity in an old house, there isn’t time. And that roof probably needs to be replaced. Even some of the beams might need attention.”
“I’ll make the call.”
“I’m going to work on the upstairs master bath.” He popped the last of his sandwich in his mouth and went inside.
I called Emma, who picked up on the second ring. “Isobel? Hi!”
“Hi, Emma.” I relayed my request.
“Hmmm. We don’t really have a process for that, though we could possibly come up with something.” There was a frown in her voice. “But I’m not sure that’s what you need.”
“Really?”
“Really. The town has been afraid of that house for decades. And they respect the Aurora Coven, but us giving it our stamp of approval might not be enough. After all, that’s just a piece of paper. I think they need to see it for themselves.”
She had a point. We needed people soon, and there wasn’t time to wait for the town’s opinion to change. “What are you thinking? An open house?”
“I’m thinking that we throw a barbecue tomorrow afternoon. Let people come by and have some fun, walk through the house and see the progress that’s been made.”
“That’s a genius idea, but there’s no way I can throw a barbecue on such short notice.”
“That’s where I come in. Or rather, that’s where Vivienne and Madeline come in. My grandmother-in-law and aunt-in-law are expert party planners, and they have the connections to pull one off quickly.”
“But will people be able to attend?”
“For free beer, food, and a live band at one of the most talked-about places in town? Absolutely. You’re just lucky tomorrow is Sunday.”
“Good point. Are you sure this isn’t too much?”
“Of course not. Vivienne and Madeline love a challenge, and so do I. I can make up invitations today and get them out. I know everyone to invite.”
“Oh, my gosh, thank you so much.”
“That’s what friends are for,” she replied.
“Thank you.” I smiled, so incredibly grateful that I’d found my way to Charming Cove. “Can you send an invitation to Judith, who lives on the hill next to Lavender House?”
“Who?”
“The older woman who lives next door.”
“Hmm, sure. I’m not sure I know her, but I’ll get it done.”
“Thank you.” I wanted to include her because I liked her, but also because I needed to ask her about the enchantment that had given the house a personality. I was sure that the woman in the vision had reminded me of her.
And with that, I went to tell Rafe the news.
Chapter
Twenty-Three
Isobel
The morning of the barbecue dawned bright and clear, for which I was immensely grateful. To successfully throw the party, we really needed good weather. I didn’t want to have to shove everyone into the house at once if it was raining. Far better to have them congregating outside and go into the house in smaller groups, just to let the building get used to their presence.
Rafe and I had spent the rest of the day and night making sure the house and garden looked their best. We moved all the rubbish to a giant skip that he’d had delivered, then cleared away the rest of the weeds and debris. Then we tidied up the tools and work spaces in the house, and it really was thrilling to see it all coming together.
But now that it was the morning of the party, the nerves were setting in. Were we really going to pull this off?
Yes. We’d convince the local contractors to work on Lavender House, and then we’d have time to address Rafe’s curse. I was so hopeful that I’d already called the Welsh coven geographically closest to the stone circle where Rafe’s miserable ex had cursed him. They were the ones most likely to know her, and it was also polite to check in with them before visiting a sacred space so close to their coven. We set up a tentative meeting, and if all went well, Rafe and I would be one step closer to breaking his curse by tomorrow evening.
I just hadn’t told him that yet.
“I think someone’s here!” Rafe called up the stairs.
I dragged on a jumper to repel the worst of the morning chill and hurried down to the main level. A massive old car was pulling up the drive, and it screamed sophisticated elegance from a previous era. I’d never even seen a car like that outside of old films. Two women sat behind the windscreen, and I didn’t recognize either of them. The driver was older, however, and she had to be Vivienne.
I waved as they parked, then walked out to greet them.
Vivienne climbed out of the driver’s seat, her gleaming white hair pulled up in a perfect chignon. Her wool suit looked like it had been handmade in London, and her pearls gleamed in the morning light. She looked like the dowager duchess that she was.
The woman at her side wore a flowing, colorful dress and an enormous hat to keep the sun off her perfect complexion. Massive sunglasses covered her eyes, and she looked as sophisticated as the older woman, but in a more bohemian way.
Both of these women came from money, it was clear, and I couldn’t help but feel the faintest bit awkward in my overlarge jumper and jeans.
The younger woman, who was probably in her fifties, grinned widely and held out her arms. “You must be Isobel!”
Before I could respond, she hurried toward me and gave me a hug. Behind her, the older woman’s eyelids flicked in what I assumed was a titled person’s version of an eye roll. “You really must ask a person’s permission before you embrace them, Madeline.”
“Oh, Mother.” Madeline pulled back and waved her hand at Vivienne. “So old-fashioned.”
The dowager duchess sighed and approached, holding out an elegant hand to shake mine. I had to tell myself to shake her hand like a normal person and not like an awkward weirdo.