She said, “There’s not much up there. But I did store a few special things. Including my wedding dress.”
“But we’re going to crochet Lucy her wedding dress,” Sylvia said, sounding aggrieved.
Gran nodded. “My dress is too old-fashioned, anyway, but I thought perhaps you might like the veil or the buttons are quite special. We had a very happy and a long marriage, your grandfather and I. It would make me very happy to think of you carrying the tradition forward.”
Well, what could I say to that? The poor woman couldn’t even attend my ceremony since she’d be outed as a dead woman walking. The least I could do was wear a bit of her dress. Even if I wore the whole thing, it would still look a whole lot better than anything Mabel would come up with.
Gran grew nostalgic. “Sometimes my wedding seems like yesterday. What a happy day that was.”
“I bet.”
She looked around at all of us. “Shall we go up and look now?”
I had to wait for Violet to return, so Gran suggested that she and the three other vampires go upstairs and open up the attic, and then I could come as soon as my cousin returned.
I didn’t want to miss anything. “Don’t have any fun without me,” I warned them.
She glanced at me, and I supposed she was silently letting me know that I could have gone up to that attic any time since the house had come to me, if I’d been so interested.
They went up to my flat, and Nyx, ever curious, decided to leave her usual snoozing spot in a basket of wool in my front window and follow the vampires upstairs. She was right. It was certainly more exciting up there than it was in the shop. I forced myself to do a quick tidy of the wools.
The door opened. But it wasn’t my shop assistant or a customer. It was Theodore, another of the vampires and a great friend of mine. He’d once been a police officer and now ran a small business as a private investigator. He was from the pre-technology era and very thorough in his investigations. If you wanted someone followed discreetly, Theodore was your man. He had a baby face hiding a sharp brain. He was also an artist.
He glanced around to make sure there was no one around and then said, “Lucy, I’ve an idea for your gift.”
Clearly not a surprise present then. “Okay.” I probably sounded tentative, having just dealt with Mabel’s suggestion that I borrow some of her clothing for the wedding.
He looked rather pleased with himself. “I’ve just come from the art supply store. Now, I’m not a great artist. But I did criminal sketches in my work with the police.”
I wasn’t entirely sure what crime had to do with my wedding. Hopefully nothing. He was looking at me as though waiting for me to understand where he was going, and I totally didn’t, so I must have looked blank. He went on, “And I paint a lot of the sets for Cardinal College’s theater productions.”
I nodded. I knew this. I’d even helped at their Midsummer Night’s Dream, though it had been more of a nightmare.
“Well, I’m offering you my services as a way of recording your wedding. Since photographs would be incomplete.”
I all but banged myself on the forehead with the palm of my hand. How had I never thought about this? When I’d dreamed of my wedding day, I’d imagined photographs would be involved. But I was going to look pretty stupid looking at a wedding album that contained me and what would appear to be an imaginary groom.
I went forward and threw my arms around Theodore. “That is the best gift ever. Thank you so much.”
He looked bashful. “Are you certain? We could hire proper portrait painters.”
I shook my head. “No. I don’t want anything stiff or fancy and formal. I think you’d do a beautiful job. Thank you.”
He was so pleased, he said, “I shall begin practicing right away. I may even go to Crosyer manor and sketch in some backgrounds so I can concentrate on the two of you on that happy day.” And then he headed with his bag of supplies into my back room, which led via a trapdoor down into the tunnels beneath Oxford and to the apartments beneath.
Violet came in soon after. She glanced around. “Why is it so quiet today?”
I shook my head. “I don’t know. Some days are like that, aren’t they?”
“Well, perhaps I should leave early.” She glanced at me hopefully.
I nipped that idea right in the bud. “I’m needed upstairs. Gran has her old wedding dress she wants me to see. Apparently, it’s been tucked away in the attic all these years.”
“That’s nice,” she said, sounding mournful. “My grandmother has her wedding dress all tucked away in tissue, but I doubt I’ll ever wear it.”
Not only was she taller and larger in scale than her grandmother, but I couldn’t imagine she’d want to wear a vintage dress. Violet was more the bohemian type. However, I didn’t think she cared what she wore. She wanted to get married. And, based on her experiences ever since I’d arrived in Oxford, her dating record was sketchy at best.
“Have you been back on Witch Date?” I asked her.
She shuddered. “Please, I’ve learned my lesson. No.”
I didn’t want to bring up William, Rafe’s butler and estate manager, but I was fairly certain she had feelings for him. Sometimes I thought maybe William had them for her, too, but it was so hard to tell.
As though changing the subject, I asked, “Have you helped William out with any catering gigs lately?”
She rolled her eyes and then went behind the cash desk to put her purse away. “Please. The man’s obsessed with your wedding. He thinks of nothing else.”
Well, that was good. For me at least.
Impulsively, I reached out and grabbed her hand. “It will happen for you, you know.”
She
