Free A Kind of Magic by Shanna Swendson Page B

wrapped a plate in paper, then tilted her head in the direction of the table in the rear.
    Josephine sat there, tapping one expensively shod toe in tangible impatience. Amelia gave every indication of pointedly ignoring her while she answered a patron’s extensive questions about the history of a particular china pattern. Sophie remembered her discussion with Michael about enchantresses possibly looking for relevance and was suddenly suspicious of the timing of Josephine’s visit. She had no evidence, but she had a feeling Josephine wasn’t a friend. She would have ducked out of the shop, but Josephine had already seen her and was beckoning to her. Amelia gave Sophie the slightest of nods, indicating that she should obey, which irked Sophie even more. Reluctantly, she made her way to the back table.
    “You don’t work here as well, do you?” Josephine asked when Sophie was in range, her slight sneer suggesting that a shop like this would be beneath her.
    “Oh, no, I just dropped by on my way home from a dance rehearsal. Can I help you with something while they’re busy?”
    “We can hardly discuss that now.” Josephine’s gesture in the general direction of the customers made the diamonds on her fingers glitter. Sophie figured that either she’d married very well, she had a lucrative second career, or being an enchantress paid well. She’d have to ask Amelia and Athena when she could expect her first paycheck.
    Amelia finished advising her customer and sent her to Athena at the counter. She then joined Sophie and Josephine. “You must be finished with rehearsal,” she said to Sophie.
    Sophie thought she detected wisps of steam coming from Josephine’s ears at not being first in line for attention. “Yes. I was just about to head home and thought I’d stop by to see if you wanted me to pick up anything or get dinner started.”
    Only then did Amelia acknowledge Josephine, turning to her to ask, “Josephine, would you care to join us for dinner this evening?” That wasn’t what Sophie had planned, especially not after such a long day, but since it wasn’t her home, she could hardly protest the invitation, no matter how much the thought of dinner with Josephine made her whimper inside.
    Josephine pushed her chair back, picked up her handbag, and stood. “I was hoping to talk with you this afternoon, but I currently have no dinner plans.”
    “Excellent. You know where we live. We’ll eat at eight.”
    “I will see you then. Good day.” The atmosphere in the shop lightened considerably at Josephine’s departure. It was like the calm in the aftermath of a thunderstorm. Sophie would bet that sales were about to increase dramatically.
    “I hope you don’t mind getting some dinner started,” Amelia said to Sophie. “Use whatever you find in the refrigerator. Make anything that sounds good to you.”
    “I’d be happy to help.” Sophie hoped she wouldn’t be struck down for lying. Actually, she was glad of something she could do for the sisters, considering they were letting her live rent-free until she made a decision about whether to stay in New York and find her own place. She just wasn’t too happy about this particular task. “No preferences?”
    Amelia sighed wearily. “Just resist the urge to throw in some rat poison. If that becomes necessary, I have a few things that are less traceable that we can put in her drink.”
    The scary thing was, Sophie wasn’t entirely sure she was joking.

 
Eleven
     
    The Theater
    6:45 p.m.
     
    Emily arrived at the theater a little early, hoping to catch Will before he got into costume and makeup. When he hadn’t yet shown up by the time she needed to get herself ready, she started to worry. She was slightly more tired than normal after her adventure the night before, so she could imagine what state he’d be in, especially if nighttime dancing had become a habit for him.
    She found him backstage after she was through with hair, makeup, and costume.