Chapter 37
“You do?” Sabrina slowed. “Who?”
“Either a gypsy woman or her son, or possibly they did it together.” He shook his head. “It’s a long story. Have you worked out what you’re going to say to Amelia?”
She exhaled. She’d been thinking about it all night. “Yeah, and I’m not sure you’re going to like it.”
“Why?”
“Because I’m going to tell her the truth.”
His brows lifted.
“I can’t lie. It’s not who I am. And I feel the need to come clean about all of it.” She felt better just saying the words to him. “This is her town. I don’t want her to find out sometime down the road what really happened. There’s no coming back from that.”
He nodded. “I agree.”
“Do you want me to take you home?” She slowed her SUV. “If you don’t want to be a part of this, I get it.”
“No. It’s fine. It’s a good plan. No matter what the outcome is. Honesty is better.”
“Yeah.” But she was trying to convince herself more than him. Nothing about this was going to be easy. “She might not pay me.”
“She might not. But either way, you don’t owe me anything. It was an honor to work on a Bontems piece.”
He was being oddly nice this morning. She’d fully expected him to be grumpy and argumentative after spending an evening with Korrie.
“I’m glad you feel that way.” She had more to say to him. A lot more. But she didn’t want to ruin his mood. Not before they’d talked to Amelia. Afterwards, his mood might be ruined anyway. She could say what she needed to then.
“I’m sorry.” He cleared his throat. “Sorry about how I reacted to you last night. Sorry about all of this. Like I said, I believe you’re right about the curse.
” He shook his head and looked absolutely disgusted.
“The fact that generations of my family have been living with this curse and could have done something about it …”
“It’s okay,” she said softly as she turned onto Hollows Lane. “None of them knew.” But she understood his anguish. How he must be thinking about the life that might have been his. Where he’d be in the world if not for that curse.
“I feel like so much of my life has been wasted. Still will be, I guess, if that curse remains.” He glanced over at her. “Do you think I could just dismantle the clock and be done with it?”
She pulled into Amelia’s driveway. “You really think the curse would let you do that?”
“No. Good point.” He glanced at the house and unfastened his seat belt. “I can’t in good conscience sell or give away the clock either. I’d be too afraid the curse would just latch onto the next person who came along.”
“I’d be afraid of that too. Listen, we’ll figure something out. Julia’s magic might be unusable, but she’s still got all kinds of witchy information that might help us.” She looked at the house. “Let’s get this over with, and then we’ll turn our attention to the clock.”
“Yes.”
She grabbed his hand and gave it a squeeze, knowing he might not welcome the contact but doing it anyway. “Thanks for coming with me today.”
He just nodded.
They got out. She took the music box from the back seat. It was safely in its original box and secured in a sturdy tote bag. There was no way anything was happening to it before she handed it over to Amelia.
As they approached the front doors, the right one opened. Beckett stood there, smiling. “Ms. Moreau. Mr. Locke.”
“Beckett,” Gideon answered. “How’s the pocket watch?”
“As perfect as the day it was created.” Beckett opened the door wider. “If you’ll follow me to the sitting room.”
He turned without waiting for them. Sabrina exchanged a quick glance with Gideon, and they fell into step behind Beckett. Gideon seemed captivated by the antiques that decorated the place, his gaze jumping from one beautiful object to the other.
Sabrina was too worried about the meeting ahead of her to care what surrounded her.
Beckett led them down the same hall he’d brought Sabrina down on her first visit and soon opened the same door he had then, gesturing for them to go in.
Sabrina entered. It was the sitting room she’d been in for her first meeting with Amelia. The older woman sat in the same chair, once again in front of the fireplace, but this time, she wasn’t alone.
An enormous tiger sprawled between Amelia and the fireplace, eyes closed, body outstretched.
Sabrina had heard enchanting tales of Amelia’s pet. But being in the room with the animal wasn’t quite so enchanting. Her grip tightened on the straps of the tote bag. “G-good morning.”
Amelia smiled and picked up a cup of tea from the table next to her. “Good morning. Don’t be afraid of Thoreau. On chilly mornings, the hearth is his favorite spot. I assure you you’re in no danger.”
Sabrina smiled back, although she didn’t feel assured. “That’s good.” She tipped her head at Gideon. “I hope you don’t mind that I brought Gideon with me. I thought if you had any questions about the mechanics, it would be best for him to answer.”
“Absolutely. Please, sit. Would you like something to drink? There’s fresh coffee.”
“Thank you, I’m all right,” Sabrina said, moving toward the couch.
“Coffee would be great,” Gideon answered. “Black is fine.” He sat beside her.
Amelia looked at Beckett.
He nodded and left.
Sabrina set the tote on the cushion beside her and lifted the music box out. Gideon helped hold the tote open.
She set it on the table. “Ms. Marchand, I need to tell you something about the music box.”
Amelia’s smile disappeared. “You were able to fix it, weren’t you?”
“Yes, absolutely.” Sabrina opened the velvet case, figuring it would be better for Amelia to see how beautiful the box looked. Might distract her from what Sabrina was about to say next. “You can see for yourself all the work that was done on the exterior.”
Amelia pressed her hands together and leaned forward, her smile returning. Light from the chandeliers glittered off her enormous ruby ring. “Oh, it looks marvelous. Better than I imagined it could. It’s just wonderful.”
Gideon nodded. “The motor and mechanics have all been thoroughly cleaned and oiled. There was quite a bit of corrosion and dust buildup. One small gear had to be replaced, but otherwise it’s all completely original. It should work perfectly for many years to come.”
Amelia seemed pleased. “That’s exactly what I was hoping to hear. Now I’d like to hear the box itself.”
Beckett returned bearing a silver tray with Gideon’s coffee. He offered it to Gideon, who took it, then Beckett left them alone.
Gideon set the cup down, took out the music box key, and wound it. The little bird fluttered its wings, tipped its head back, and sang a light, beautiful song that was as believable as if a real bird had been sitting before them.
Amelia gasped. “How absolutely charming. You both did an outstanding job.” Her gaze shifted back to Sabrina, the curious light in her eyes unreadable. “What did you want to tell me about it? Is there something special I need to know about its care?”
“No,” Sabrina answered. “It’s just that—”
The tiger shifted, letting out a low, grumbling sound as it rolled into a new position.
She went still. What if Amelia was so mad about the sprite that she set the tiger on Sabrina?
Gideon unexpectedly took her hand and leaned forward. “Ms. Marchand, I’m terribly sorry to tell you this, but in the process of repairing the music box, it was discovered that a sprite was trapped inside. And I accidentally let it out.”