“And I assume my sister thinks I stole it, does she?”
“She’s made no such suggestion to me. I’ll be speaking to everyone who was present on the day it went missing. The day of the birthday celebrations.”
“Celebrations?” he scoffed. “It was a miserable affair. I’ve had more fun at a wake.”
“I believe you spent some time in the games room, playing billiards?”
“I did. Anything to get away from that boring, awful gossip. Dominic and I played a couple of games. I won of course.”
“Did you happen to notice if the goblet was in the room at the time?”
“Yes, it was.”
“Are you sure about that?”
“Positive.”
“Caroline said she didn’t have any idea why someone would want to steal the goblet. She called it ugly and of little value. Can you think of any reason why someone should have taken it?”
“None at all. I don’t often agree with my sister, but she’s right about the goblet. It’s a grotesque thing that can’t be worth more than a couple of hundred pounds as scrap. Personally, I wouldn’t give it house room. Whoever took it is welcome to it. I can’t imagine why she’s wasting good money, hiring you to try and find it. It’s not as though she has money to spare. Just look at the state of this place. It’s an absolute disgrace. My parents would turn in their grave if they could see what had happened to this magnificent building.”
“I understand the family has had a few financial problems.”
“That’s the understatement of the decade, and it’s all my sister’s fault. If I’d inherited the estate, this would never have happened.”
***
I’d no sooner left Tweaking Manor than I received a text from Aunt Lucy, which simply read, ‘Grandma is home.’
Right! It was time for a showdown.
I magicked myself over to her house and knocked loudly on the door.
“What’s all that noise about? I’m not deaf, you know!”
“I’d like a word with you.”
“I’m rather busy at the moment.”
“I don’t care. This is important.”
“Very well, then. I was just about to make myself a cup of tea. You can put the kettle on.”
“I don’t have time for a drink. We need to talk.”
“This had better be good.” She sighed. “What’s so important that you’re keeping me away from my cup of tea?”
“You came over to our house yesterday and showed Florence how to use the ‘levitation’ spell.”
“What of it?”
“I thought we’d agreed you wouldn’t show her any more spells. Don’t you realise how dangerous it could have been if she’d levitated herself over the fence and fallen into the river?”
“Don’t be ridiculous, Jill. I deliberately made sure that she wouldn’t be able to get as high as the fence. I’m not stupid, you know.”
“This simply isn’t on, Grandma. If you can’t respect my wishes, not to teach Florence any more spells, I will forbid you from seeing her.”
“Forbid me!” she scoffed. “And how exactly would you do that?”
It was a good question; how would I stop her?
“I just don’t understand why you insist on doing it, Grandma.”
“Because, young lady, I think you’re making a very serious mistake by restricting your daughter’s access to magic.”
“That’s for Jack and me to decide, not you.”
“What’s that human got to do with it?”
“That human is my husband. And Florence’s father.”
Until Florence was born, the only person who’d known that Jack knew I was a sup was Daze. When my daughter came along, I bit the bullet and told my immediate ‘sup’ family: Grandma, Aunt Lucy and the twins. They were, of course, all sworn to secrecy.
“Have you forgotten how you felt when you discovered that you’d been a witch all your life but hadn’t known?”
“That’s different.”
“How is it different?”
“Because I—err—because it just is.”
“That’s a very compelling argument. Can’t you see you’re doing exactly the same thing to Florence? She’s going to grow up not understanding what it is to be a witch.”
“She already knows she’s part human, part witch.”
“A witch who isn’t allowed to learn magic isn’t a witch.”
“It’s important for her to settle into the human world first. Then, when she’s older—”
“That’s nonsense,” Grandma interrupted. “The girl must be allowed to be a witch right now. If you wait, it will be far more difficult for her to adapt. Just like it was for you. You don’t even allow her to come to Candlefield.”
“Yes, but—”
“But what? Why won’t you let her visit the paranormal world? She’s a sup, Jill. She should spend time in both worlds. You’re not being fair to the child.”
“I’m only trying to do what’s best for her.”
“I know you are, but you’re failing her. Just think about it. If you continue on this road, what will happen when her invitation from CASS arrives on your doorstep?”
“I hadn’t even thought about that.”
“Well, you should. It’s obvious that any daughter of yours is bound to be invited to attend CASS.”
“I’m not even sure I’d want her to go there.”
“Are you serious?” Grandma snapped. “Are you telling me that if Florence received an invitation from the most prestigious school in the paranormal world, you’d deny her that opportunity?”
“No—err—yes—err, I don’t know. I haven’t thought about it.”
“It strikes me that you haven’t thought about any of this. I suggest you go away and give it very careful consideration.”
“Okay, I’ll—err—I’ll have another chat with Jack.”
“That human should have no say in it.”
“Jack is Florence’s father. We’ll decide together.”
“Just make sure you come to the right decision. You don’t want your daughter growing up to resent you, do you?”
Chapter 9
I left Grandma’s house feeling dazed and confused. The encounter had not gone at all as I’d expected. I’d gone in there, all guns blazing, but
