Mathilde spots me first, pointing me out to Kate. I wave them to keep their seats, saying it isn’t worth the effort required to crawl out of the booth. Kate quickly pours me out a glass as Mathilde does introductions, allowing me to settle into the space in the cushioned booth.
After handing me a glass and calling for a welcome cheers, Kate launches right into it. “Sorry it’s taken me so long to meet you, I’ve had my hands full at the Ashmolean and I’ve been using all my spare time to visit the statues around town.”
Sipping my wine, I reassure her I haven’t taken offence. “Please don’t apologise, I should have found time to track you down myself. We’re all together now and we’ve got a lovely wine, so I don’t think we’re doing too badly. So how do these meetings normally go? Is there a pledge we recite or minutes?” After the episode in the Senior Common Room, I’m not taking anything for granted.
Mathilde chuckles, “It’s nothing so formal as that. From the few I attended, we mostly chatted while we polished off the better part of a bottle of wine. Lillian would entertain us with stories of her run-ins with various professors or staff. She wasn’t much of a planner.”
I shake my head. “Yes, I heard that about her. As much as I love a good gossip session, I don’t think that will be helpful in figuring out what has gone wrong with the magic. We might need to be more methodical, at least for the time being. I brought my notes from our call last week. Now, where are they?”
As I dig around in my seemingly bottomless handbag, Mathilde nudges a disbelieving Kate. “See, I told you she loves lists.”
Kate buries her head in her hands while I pull out my trusty notebook and three different coloured pens.
“Now then, where were we? Oh yes, our action plan. H seems pretty convinced that the magic is out of alignment, opening us up to bigger problems, including Chef Smythe’s death. Let’s start with a report on our assignments. Mathilde, did you want to go first, or shall I start?”
Mathilde chokes on a sip of wine when she finds herself on the hot seat. “Why don’t you go, Nat? I bet you’ve got notes written. I can gather my thoughts while you update us.”
I flip open my notebook to see a woefully short list. “Well, I’ve not made too much progress. I spoke with a few of the Eternals at St Margaret, but no one seems to have seen anything out of the ordinary.”
Mathilde pats my hand, “Good of you to make the effort, but I thought that was the case. If anyone had seen anything suspicious, I’m sure they’d have let H know by now.”
Looking down, I move onto the next item on my list. “Still on the investigation, from what Harry mentioned, the police have made no headway. I tried to nose around, speaking with Chef Smythe’s kitchen staff, but everyone so far has a solid alibi. Other than that, I’ve been locked away in the library searching for some event inspiration. Sorry, I know it isn’t much.”
Kate seems more impressed with my efforts, rushing to reassure me. “Do not apologise, Nat. That sounds like a fair amount of work for less than a week’s time! How is the search for suspects? And the gala? Do you have a theme yet? I always loved it when Lillian would reveal her vision for the events. Always so, well, magical.”
“Ha, yes, magical. It will be magical. Just as soon as I come up with it.” As the words come out of my mouth, all the warm fuzzy feelings I gained from mid-afternoon ice cream and Harry’s roast dinner disappear. I’ve got a mountain of urgent tasks, and after almost a week of work I’ve got nothing to show for them. My wineglass wobbles in my hand, wine sloshing precariously close to the top. Kate reaches over and plucks it out of my hand before I spill.
My gaze jumps between the two women, finding encouraging smiles instead of judgemental stares. Kate and Mathilde are literally the only two people in the world who can fully appreciate my challenge. “Do you ever doubt yourselves? Maybe think the magic made a mistake and you aren’t up to the task?”
Kate barks out a sharp laugh in response. “Definitely. Sometimes more than once a day. I had a rough start, ending up in a physical fight with one of the museum staff and having to order him escorted from the building. He thought the hiring committee should have awarded him my job. Just when I found my feet again, I picked up my magical key and discovered that my statues and paintings talk.”
Reaching over, Kate gives my arm a gentle squeeze. “We may have inherited a magical legacy, but we’re still human. It’s natural to feel overwhelmed, or have doubts. We work hard and worry about doing a great job because we’re passionate about what we do, and we care about ensuring that this legacy lives on.”
I let out the breath I’d been holding as relief rushes through my veins. Wine glass in hand once again, I take a tentative sip, letting the flavours blossom in my mouth. If Kate, a picture of perfection, had an actual altercation in her first week, maybe I’m not doing so badly. At first glance, she seemed cool and aloof, leaving me worried I’d struggle to find common ground with her. Instead, she’s turned out to be just as lovely and personable as Mathilde and Harry.
Fishing around in her pockets, Mathilde draws out her phone, typing in her passcode as she speaks. “Deep breaths, Nat. You can’t solve a murder or a magical mystery on a timeline. If it were that easy, the police would have sorted it
