“I was wondering if you might know.”
She looked stunned. “Are you certain?”
I went through the gift arriving at Rafe’s place and how he’d had the contents of the box analyzed and found it contained massive amounts of arsenic.
“I wonder if Sylvia might know something,” she said.
“Know something about what?” Sylvia asked, returning from her errand. I sometimes forgot how fast vampires could move when they wanted to.
“Everything all right?” Rafe asked her.
“Yes. Alfred and Theodore are both keeping watch. Don’t worry. We’ll take those men somewhere safe tonight, put lots of alcohol around them, and Agnes will do her forgetting spell. They’ll think they got intoxicated at the pub.”
“Good.”
Gran looked at her old friend. “We’ve been talking of me leaving Oxford. I’m afraid it’s time.”
Sylvia looked sad too. She said, “Wherever you go, Agnes, I shall go with you. You’d be lost without me. Besides, I was the one who turned you into a vampire. I feel you’re my responsibility.”
My grandmother perked up a bit. “I’d be glad of the company, but where shall we go?”
Sylvia shrugged fatalistically. “Wherever you like, my dear. New York, Seattle, Toronto, Reykjavik.”
“But these are all so far away,” I cried. “I want you to be close enough that I can visit you, Gran.”
Rafe said, “Cornwall.”
We all turned to stare at him. “Cornwall?” I don’t know why; it just seemed like such an odd choice of locations.
He nodded. “I own a manor house there. A couple rented it from me for the last twenty years or so and ran it as a B&B. But they’re getting on and wish to retire, so they’ve told me they plan to end their lease. There’s an old tin mine on the property.” He didn’t say more, but I thought a tin mine was underground, just like the lair they’d built here in the tunnels under Oxford. I bet they could make a tin mine very comfortable. Unless they just wanted to live in the manor house.
“Cornwall,” Gran said, perking up. “I spent my honeymoon there. Though no one would remember me, of course. I don’t think I was ever back again. It was lovely though. Very rugged coast, fascinating history. And they have their own style of knitting that’s quite remarkable.” I could see her getting quite enthusiastic about this idea.
Sylvia seemed less enthusiastic at first but soon came around to the idea when she realized that they could simply drive down there in the Bentley. Rafe said, “Why don’t you go and check it out now and come back in time for the wedding?”
I thought that was a really good idea. Just in case Gran’s forgetting spell hadn’t worked as well on Mrs. Darlington as we might have hoped, she wouldn’t be here if the woman came looking for her. If anyone came looking for her. Gran’s magic wasn’t as strong as it had been when she was alive. In fact, I decided I’d better go along tonight and perform the forgetting spells.
“But I don’t want to leave you. There’s so much preparation still to be done for your wedding.”
I gripped her hand. “And I don’t want you to go, but Mom’s here. She wants to help with the preparations too.”
“Well, it makes me very sad, but it’s more her right than mine to help her daughter prepare for her wedding day.”
“But you’ll still come back for the big day. I’m sorry we’ll have to hide you away, but you’ll have an excellent view from the window. We’ll make sure of it.”
“My dear, I couldn’t ask for anything more. The vampires will know where I am. They’ll come and visit. I won’t be lonely.”
“That’s settled then.” And what a great relief it was. I really hoped that Gran and Sylvia fell in love with Cornwall. It seemed like the perfect solution: far enough away that no one would recognize them but close enough that we could still see each other.
“Right,” Sylvia said, rising. “I think we could both use a bit of a nap after all that excitement.”
Gran rose to follow her and then saw the paper with all the chemical squiggles on my coffee table. She looked at it curiously, then at me. “What’s that, dear?”
“Oh, right. That’s the chemical analysis of the contents of the mysterious box that promised the elixir of youth, but in fact, it contained poison.”
“What!” Sylvia shrieked. I jumped at the sound. She hadn’t sounded that furious since I’d lost her priceless necklace.
I turned to her. “Do you know something about this?” I’d had my suspicions.
She looked rather sheepish. “It was me who gave it to you. And it was a very expensive gift.”
Sometimes, the workings of Sylvia’s mind were a complete mystery. “Why didn’t you sign the note?”
“I did. I signed it, ‘An admirer.’ And I am a great admirer of yours. I don’t always tell you how much I appreciate you, but—”
“Never mind that. Did you get the box from Karmen in Wallingford?”
“Where else? It was obvious she’d made a success of her alchemy. If you don’t want to be turned into a vampire, this is a perfect alternative. You’ll still be human, you’ll still be a witch, but you’ll stay young and beautiful forever. And Rafe won’t lose another wife.”
I was touched by her generosity, but also horrified. “So you had no idea what was in this box?”
“Of course not. She assured me that only she knew the recipe and made me swear you wouldn’t tell anyone about the elixir or try to sell it.”
“But why would she poison it?” I asked the room. “It makes no sense. I haven’t done anything to her. Okay, I called her on selling hexes, but it’s not like we ended up sworn enemies.” I didn’t like the sound of this at all. “I’m going over there.” I didn’t relish a second confrontation with this witch, but I thought I deserved some straight answers.
“I’m coming with you,” said Rafe.
“Well, I will not be left
