Deathly Ever After Read online

  Georgette squealed and waited for the date with bated breath.

  “Which Joseph told Charles. Look at his face,” Marian added. Charles was indeed grinning without surprise.

  Georgette gasped, smacking Charles on the shoulder. “Secret keeper.”

  “Marian wanted that delightful—yet high-pitched—reaction.” Charles laughed at Georgette’s gasp. Laughing harder still when she snapped her mouth closed.

  “My parents are insisting we find a place to live before it comes to pass. We set the date, but they are saying it can’t go through if we haven’t bought a house and outfitted it, and the wedding is only three months to go. I should like to have the house immediately since my mother will probably interfere with every step of outfitting it.”

  “Or you could live in a half-finished, still-filled-with-garbage home,” Georgette reminded her. “Or you could be newlyweds on a long distance ramble with a two-man tent. Or you could stay with us.”

  Marian gasped and shuddered. “I keep dreaming we don’t find a place. I get dressed for the wedding, but my father refuses to walk me down the aisle. I get married anyway, and my mother is wailing. Not the normal tears mothers cry when a child marries, but as though I had been murdered in front of her.”

  “That is disturbing,” Georgette said. “I recommend eloping.”

  Marian continued. “During the toasts at the wedding breakfast, people talk about how foolish we are and no one throws rice and then Joseph is called away to solve a crime and I’m all alone on the stairs and my mother tells me, ‘I told you so.’”

  “Well, this is all easily solved. We’ll go look at the house with you, and Charles will shackle himself to Joseph on the big day. Charles,” Georgette said stridently, “we need you.”

  Charles stared in alarm.

  “All you have to do is lend your manly presence.”

  “My manly presence?”

  “Whoever the fellow is with the house to sell, you can be sure he won’t take us seriously. If you come, he’ll ignore us and we can decide.”

  “You decide?”

  “Marian.”

  “Marian?”

  “Charles darling, it isn’t so important what Joseph thinks about the place. Not really. He’ll be off at work while Marian will be wiping faces and listening to tantrums in those kitchens. She needs to love it more than anyone else does. Joseph has to like it a little. Marian has to love it.”

  “Ah.” Charles cleared this throat and adjusted his coat. “I can lend you my manly presence then. Just this once.” The last was said with a wink.

  Georgette patted his cheek and added, “We’ll leave you at the pub on the way back, shall we?”

  His face brightened.

  “You can talk the most recent sports whatnot and have your pipe and Marian and I will quite happily discuss paint colors.”

  Charles nodded and handed Georgette a list. “For the office. I think I shall have to be working in London until it’s well done.”

  Georgette stuck it carefully in her handbag and then grinned at Marian. They made their way to the auto and Charles listened to Marian’s directions to the office of the man who was supposed to show them the house. Charles went inside and got him while Georgette climbed into the back of the auto with Marian.

  “Are you upset Joseph isn’t here?”

  “It’s more the flavor of things to come, do you know?” Marian shrugged and then said rather seriously, “I fell in love with a detective, Georgie. He isn’t going to have more regular hours or even an idea of when things might go mad. I can either get upset about it and be upset simply all the time, or I can be grateful that a good man loves me.” She hooked her arm through Georgette’s and added, “I’ve made him promise that I can always have a dog or two and that we could live near you. I also told him if he ever missed my birthday, anniversary, or the birth of a child, I’d never let him hear the end of it.”

  Georgette hid the rush of emotion. Live near Georgette? They had spoken of it, but in a distant sort of manner. To hear it declared outright was overwhelming. Her heart was flooding, but she held it back when Charles and the man of business arrived. She bit down on her lip and listened as Charles conversed with Mr. Stripes about Harper’s Hollow. It turned out that this fellow had helped with the sale of their new house.

  “Ah, yes,” Charles said, with a cultured tone he’d never used with her.

  It was an unconscious switch, she thought, but he’d adjusted his attitude. He seemed almost above her when he spoke like that. She glanced at Marian who had noted the change and was watching Georgette.

  Did Marian think that Charles was too good for her? No, of course not. Marian wasn’t like that. Marian would never assume Georgette wasn’t good enough for anyone at all. Not even because Georgette was a village old maid who hadn’t had the courage to tell her own stories at first.

  She shook off the idea almost immediately. She deserved better than to see herself in that manner, and quite frankly—Charles deserved better of her. She loved him. She was, in fact, besotted with him. Like a girl in a fairy tale. She might not have thrown herself into his arms after that first offer, but she might have been convinced.

  Georgette scoffed quietly. When she’d first met Charles, Georgette had been so desperate that she would have thrown herself into his arms at the slightest chance he was in earnest. Georgette had only hesitated when he finally did offer because she’d become something she’d never thought she’d be.

  Independent.

  It seemed that when you were uncertain where your next meal was coming from or how to keep your house, you couldn’t think beyond those things. Once you were fed and housed? Well, anything was possible, wasn’t it? You could dare to wish for something more than a—than a—rescue from Jane Austen’s Mr. Collins.

  Georgette was pulled from her thoughts by the little house where they arrived. Marian frowned in confusion, which caused Georgette to frown. Despite whatever was wrong with this house, Georgette loved it. It was a small, stone house, reasonable in its size and adorable, like a fairytale cottage sized up.

  The fencing around the property was stone and there was an excess of fruit trees. Summer would be arriving in mere days, and the trees were a fairy wonderland. There was a small stone shed behind the house that matched it almost exactly.

  Marian was nodding as she stared.

  “I know that Mr. Joseph Aaron said he wanted something quite close to the train station,” the man of business said. “He gave me a very precise list, and this isn’t the house we were supposed to visit today. But it is also quite within the budget he set. The previous owner was a sweet little lady. She decided to move in with her older children after, well—” He shrugged. “Her children took good care of her. She wants it sold, she wants to be rid of it. The price reflects her desire to just be done.”

  “What is different about the house from what Joseph wanted?” Charles asked.

  The man listed things which, in Georgette’s opinion, were entirely without value.

  “If this isn’t what Joseph wants,” Charles began, but Marian grabbed Georgette’s hand.

  “It can’t hurt to look, darling,” Georgette told him. She stepped out of the auto and approached the house, knowing Charles would indulge her. Marian hurried after, grabbing Georgette’s hand.

  “What is the most appealing for you, I think”—Mr. Stripes glanced at Georgette and Marian, noted their clutched hands, and nodded at them—“is that there is a quite easy walk from your house to this house. You see, here? Your property runs up against a wood. This property runs up against the same wood. There’s a lovely little walk between the houses. A faster walk, in fact, than a drive, as it would be necessary to motor around the entire wood.”

  Mr. Stripes opened the door to the cottage, and they all stepped inside.

  Georgette had little doubt, given the stars in Marian’s eyes, that her friend was seeing the same things Georgette had when she’d first seen her house. Marian was im
agining future children playing in the garden, walks between the two houses, a Christmas tree just there, with a wreath on the door.

  Charles hesitated and Georgette lifted her brow at him. He smiled at her and let go of whatever objections he possessed. Together, they trailed Marian through the house. It was a snug place. A parlor, quite nice kitchens, an office, and three bedrooms with a roomy attic. The furniture was still in place, covered in sheets.

  “The furniture is included in the purchase,” Mr. Stripes said smoothly when Marian lifted one of the sheets and ooohed. “It isn’t the same, you know, for the row house. That will allay the price quite a bit, making it a much better purchase for an initial outlay. Everything you see here—”

  Marian's gaze had fixed on the dark, shining wood of the sideboard in the dining room. “I’d like to walk it again. Without you, Mr. Stripes. I need to—”

  She didn’t elaborate on what she wanted, just nodded pleasantly and left him behind.

  Marian walked it a good half-dozen times before Mr. Stripes offered to let them have the key until Joseph arrived. “I suppose I can trust a Yard man, and I do know where you live.”

  His laugh was a ho-ho-ho and as Charles walked him to the auto to take him back to his office, Georgette turned to Marian and demanded, “Did you hear his laugh?”

  “Hmmm?” Marian had taken off one of the sheets and was trying out a large, overstuffed chair in the corner.

  No doubt, Mr. Stripes was quite hopeful he’d made a sale. He had if Georgette was a judge of the matter.

  Joseph might have given Mr. Stripes a quite reasonable list, but he’d give Marian whatever she wanted, and Georgette had little doubt Marian was rocking her babies in her imagination. Dreaming of making a Christmas roast, of watching first steps happen under that apple tree. Georgette left Marian to it and left the house to step into the wood. The path Mr. Stripes had described was just as he said. A bit of a ramble through a lovely wood, and they’d be able to have a morning tea together.

  Georgette walked back towards the house while Marian stepped outside once more.

  “I love it,” Marian said.

  “I can tell,” Georgette replied. “It’s wonderful.”

  “Do you think he’ll let me have it?”

  Georgette laughed. “I think he’d let you have anything he could give you. He’s utterly your captive. Also, he cancels on you so often, he has a well of guilt that you can draw upon whenever you desire something.”

  Marian smiled, but her eyes were already far away again. She was bouncing on her toes and then muttered, “My parents will insist on seeing it and casting judgement. They’ll see that window that needs to be replaced and the fact that it’s a bit older and—” Marian made a sour face as Charles returned to the house.

  “Or,” Georgette said kindly while Charles came toward them, “you could tell your parents you’re going to buy the row house, but that you’re intrigued by this snug little cottage. Lead them to insist Joseph buy you the house you were going to buy all along.”

  “Or,” Charles suggested smoothly, appearing in the doorway. His voice was back to its normal tone. It was gentle, she thought. He spoke to her always with an edge of gentleness, and she’d never noticed. She tangled their fingers together while Charles finished. “You could do what you both want, as you are adults, and your parents don’t get to weigh in on everything you do. Sooner or later, you have to stop them from making your choices.”

  “If you don’t,” Georgette said, envisioning a terrible future, “they’ll keep running over your plans with their own demands. Marry when you want, buy the house you want, and tell them you love them often. They do love you.”

  “I am rather lucky to have them, aren’t I?” Marian smiled and kissed Georgette's cheek. “This is it, Charles. Have I gone mad?”

  “I like it,” Charles said. “It’s far more reasonable than our monstrosity.”

  “But it doesn’t have enough room for our books,” Georgette reminded him. “We had to make a different decision.”

  “You’ve got me there, darling.”

  Chapter 3

  GEORGETTE DOROTHY AARON

  Joseph arrived that evening and Marian dragged him out of Georgette’s house to see the one she had her heart set on. He had a look on his face that said he knew was going to give in, and wasn’t sure it was wise.

  Charles, it seemed, agreed because called after them. “Just give it to her, Joseph. It isn’t nearly as bad as this thing. Also, Marian will be wiping faces and dealing with your son’s tantrums in the house. You should make sure she loves it.”

  Georgette elbowed him lightly to his shout of laugher. He trailed his fingers along her neck as the dogs chased after Joseph and Marian.

  “There is a lot to do for this place, Georgette. The whole top floor is full of, from what I can tell, a full century of garbage.”

  “It’s going to be lovely when we’re done,” Georgette replied. Joseph and Marian were out of sight, so she turned to face him, sliding her arms around his waist. “You’re going to spend the rest of our decades—once it’s done—telling me how right I was.”

  “If I say it now, may I avoid the lifetime of I told you so’s? The house has good bones. What’s been redone is lovely. I can see a future here, Georgette, and I like it.”

  Georgette’s teasing smirk told him no he was not going to escape the I-told-you-so’s.

  He tried, “I did agree and buy it.”

  “You just wanted me out of Bath before someone else turned up dead.”

  “No,” Charles countered, “I wanted you in my arms and home where you belong. The rest was just fluff.”

  “I wouldn’t have kicked up a fuss if you’d bought another house.” It was easy to say when he’d bought the house she wanted. “Something like Joseph and Marian’s house would have been fine.”

  He grinned at her, noting she’d already named the house his nephew’s. She wasn’t wrong, however, so he didn’t counter her. Instead he pressed his lips lightly on hers. “I didn’t want you to pass by this house for the rest of our decades and think about what could have been.”

  “I wouldn’t have,” Georgette told him seriously. “I would have been happy wherever we landed.”

  “Then, I suppose I didn’t want to pass by this house and wonder what would have happened if I’d been entirely insensible and foolish and bought it.”

  Georgette let her hands fall from his waist to his hands, keeping herself pressed against him. She tangled their fingers together as she daringly pressed up on her toes and kissed him. “I love you, Charles Aaron.”

  “And I you, Mrs. Aaron.” He kissed her again and again until they heard the barking of the dogs and realized that quite a lot of time had passed while they were behaving as school children, stealing kisses before they were caught.

  “Well?” Charles asked as they saw the shadows of Marian and Joseph appear. The dogs had already reached Charles and Georgette, circled them, and then run joyously back to the other couple. They darted back and forth without regard to the darkness. Georgette didn’t disagree.

  The way the moon shone overhead seemed to demand that everyone enjoy a nightcap and a smoke. Georgette followed Charles inside and then gasped when she saw that the tea tray had a lovely butter cake with chocolate ganache. It was her very favorite treat, and she had little doubt it was Eunice’s way of saying she was grateful they were back together.

  The tea was Georgette’s favorite mix of cocoa beans, coffee beans, and tea. Odd and amazing, especially when you added an excess of sugar and milk. Joseph chuckled at Georgette’s tea and then poured himself and Charles a cognac. Marian, on the other hand, decided to try one of Georgette’s sweet cordials she’d purchased while she was on her honeymoon.

  They lingered together for a while and then Charles pulled Georgette with him. It was the first night in their own house, and somehow Georgette was as nervous as she had been on her wedding night.

  At breakfast, Georgette a
nd Marian sipped tea without regard for the food. Georgette had learned to turn away when Charles ate breakfast. It wasn’t that he shoveled it in like a school child with a fervor and utter lack of manners. He was quite polished in all he did. He opened the paper, drank his coffee, and quite reasonably worked his way through a loaded plate of eggs, bacon, tomatoes, and toast.

  It was just that Georgette didn’t like anything in her stomach until the tea had hit and somehow settled things. The sight of a feast before her stomach had decided it would accept food turned her body rebellious.

  Therefore, Charles tucked his plate behind his newspaper, and Georgette sipped her tea, leaned back, eyes closed, while she considered upon the day. She wasn’t functioning before tea, so her desire to consider upon the day was—instead—encompassed by revisiting the shreds of her dreams she could still remember, the theory that she needed a new pair of shoes, and the desire for a quite dashing black dress.

  When Georgette reached for a piece of toast, Marian said, “Oh good. I was wondering if you’d like to walk the house with me again today. Joseph is going to talk to Mr. Stripes. I have refused to give up my key.”

  “Yes,” Georgette agreed instantly. “If you’ll walk this one with me, the painter is coming just after lunch, and I feel like I must decide what he’s going to do as soon as he’s done with Charles’s office.”

  They grinned at each other and then glanced towards their Aaron men, only to see each of them smiling a little indulgently at them. Georgette immediately rolled her eyes at Charles and he winked.

  Joseph, however, seemed to have caught Marian’s gaze. It turned almost lascivious with wanting and Georgette ended up standing and asking, “Would anyone else like a refill?”

  Her question snapped the two lovers out of their silent desire-filled stare. Marian shook her head and glanced down at her cup while Joseph cleared his throat. “I really must be going if I’m going to speak to Mr. Stripes before I go into the Yard. Much to do and all that.”