"My vision does not require correction," I said. "No doubt it will falter as I age, particularly in my chosen line of work, but—"
Ignoring my protests, Roberta stepped close and reached up with the glasses, placing the earpieces either side of my head and easing the frame backwards until the spectacles rested upon the bridge of my nose. She stood barely a hand-span away, directly in front of me, and I held my breath as I beheld her shapely figure and felt the warmth of her body. Then I gave a great exclamation of surprise and staggered back in shock, for her face, so dear to me already, was entirely aflame!
– — Ω — –
I wrenched the spectacles from my nose, and was relieved to see Roberta standing before me, quite unharmed. She gave a peal of laughter as she saw my stunned expression, before stepping closer to reassure me. "Do not fret, Septimus," she said, placing her hands on my shoulders and smiling at me like a mother comforting a frightened child. "The visions you see will not harm you!"
"B—but you had flames rising from your hair!" I looked down at the spectacles, turning them in my hands. The lenses were scratched in places, the frame worn with age, but they looked ordinary enough. "Is this a parlour trick? Do you make fun of me?"
"Place them on your nose once more, and I shall explain."
Rather than wearing them again, I wanted to hand them straight back to her, but even though the glasses had toyed with my vision, they had not harmed me in any way. So, reluctantly, I obeyed. Immediately, Roberta's entire face was surrounded by a fluttering curtain of red and yellow, but now that I was expecting it, I realised it did not look so much like flames as shimmering light. I reached out a hand to see whether the strange effect was tactile as well as visual, but my fingers merely brushed Roberta's cheek. Ordinarily this would have distracted me, if it had not been for a singular observation. When viewed through the glasses, my own pale skin was a deep navy blue! "Wh—what is it?" I demanded. "What am I seeing?"
"Those glasses belonged to my father's father," said Roberta, side-stepping my question. "They've been in the family for years, and their origin is unknown. What I can tell you is that they reveal the extent to which a person is in tune with the spirit world."
As she spoke, I moved my hand before my face, and the aura emanating from my skin transitioned from navy blue to a virulent purple. "What do the different colours signify?"
"Nobody knows," said Roberta. "But many people, if not most, exhibit no aura at all. Were you to look at Mrs Fairacre, or Elsie, or even those policemen who called on us this morning, I suspect they would be as ordinary when viewed through the spectacles as they are without them."
"I wouldn't call Mrs Fairacre ordinary," I muttered. "Why, she moves around the house like a ghost, making no discernible sound."
Roberta laughed. "She does pride herself in being unobtrusive."
A thought occurred to me, and I removed the eyeglasses to study Roberta's face. "Were you aware of this when you employed me?"
"Aware of what, Mr Jones?"
"Did you know that I possessed this… aura?"
Roberta looked askance. "Father may have taken it into account."
"That's impossible! Why, I did not meet your father until the interview."
Now Roberta looked even more uncomfortable. "If you must know, father viewed all the applicants through a spyhole in the sitting room wall, using these very eyeglasses. That was the method he used to arrive at his final choice."
Shocked at the professor's nefarious behaviour, I could only stare. Then I remembered the circumstances of my interview. "Is that how he happened to have a contract drawn up with my name already present?"
Roberta nodded.
"And your argument with the professor over my employment? My reduced wages?"
She had the good grace to look embarrassed. "Money is not plentiful in this house, Mr Jones. Our expenses are high, and clients frequently neglect to pay for our services."
I knew that to be true, for I'd seen it time and again in the accounts. "But why, for heaven's sake? Why did you seek someone with this aura… this special connection to the spirit world? I am only here to manage your books!"
Roberta hesitated, then sighed, lowering her gaze. "I suppose there's no harm in revealing the truth of the matter," she said quietly. "My father is not a young man, and he worries about the future of our enterprise. That, and my own future along with it."
"But you are more than capable of taking his place!" I declared stoutly. "I have seen you at work, and I am certain you are his equal!"
She smiled at the compliment. "That is likely the case, but the unnatural forces confronting us cannot be tamed by one person working alone."
All of a sudden, the truth of the situation dawned on me. "You were seeking—"
"Yes, Mr Jones. We needed someone who could learn the ins and outs of this business alongside us, while my father is yet able to teach them." Roberta raised her head, looking directly into my eyes. "We needed an apprentice, not a bookkeeper. And we chose you."
Chapter 18
"But that cannot be true!" I protested. "If you sought help with the catching of spirits, why advertise for a bookkeeper?"
Roberta's lips twisted into a smile. "My father is careful with money, as I'm sure you've noticed, but he has no patience for accounts. I myself have a flair for the mechanical, but I regard numbers and sums with loathing. Thus, by hiring a bookkeeper who could also train in the business, we are paying one wage and filling two positions."
I was taken aback by her blunt honesty, but could see the merit in their thinking. It had already occurred to me that organising
