Peter pushed Mae’s plate to the other side of the table. “Eat while you can. Andy OK?”
“Oh, yes. I delivered him to his mother before he could get into any more scrapes.” She shook her head and lowered her voice. “I don’t know what it is, but I seem to rub Mrs. Gray the wrong way.”
“Probably because you married a wizard,” Peter said in a biting undertone. “That was, at one point, her dearest ambition.”
He’d never forgiven Lillian Gray,néeSederey, for luring him out of the house at Garrett’s request. Beatrix wasn’t fond of Mrs. Gray herself. But she suspected there was a deeper explanation for any tension between the woman and the town’s female omnimancer.
“I think she might have quite enjoyed being a witch, had that option been available to her,” she murmured. “But by the time it was legal, she’d married a man who …”
She trailed off as she realized that man was walking toward them.
“I’m sorry to interrupt, but three people just flagged me down to tell me about Andy,” Senator Gray said. “Thank you, Mrs. Martinelli. I’m grateful. He’s … well, he’s giving his mother fits.”
He looked tired—dispirited. Beatrix wondered how his vision of an appropriate marriage was working out for him.
But that was an unkind thought.
“Andy will be in school this September, won’t he?” she said. “That should help. Mrs. Gray will finally have some time to herself.”
“Yes. I suppose so.”
“You could ask her what she’d like to do next,” she said gently.
“Perhaps.” He hesitated. “How is your sister? … Well, I hope?”
“Very much so, thank you.” She almost left it at that but couldn’t help adding, “She loves the work she’s doing.”
He nodded. No one said anything for a few seconds. “And Miss Dane?” he asked. “Is she well?”
“Yes.” Beatrix smiled, thinking of Rosemarie’s retort the other day when they’d suggested she cut back and get some well-deserved rest.There’s so much still to do, and I intend to do it.“She’s as well as ever.”
“I’m glad to hear it,” Gray said. “Thank you again, Omnimancer,” he added to Mae, this time using her proper title. “Good night.”
Mae watched him go with curiosity plain on her face. But when she turned back to them, she changed the subject. “Anything new with your little baddies, Peter?”
“The killer bacteria?” He shrugged. “Oh, you know. The usual slog.”
“Come on, now, tell her about the research you uncovered,” Beatrix said. “Really promising stuff,” she added to Mae.
“Now who’s counting eggs before they hatch?” he teased.
She poked him.
“All right, it does look interesting,” he said. “It’s old—from about a hundred years ago—and it suggests a wholly new route to try.”
“Mold,” Beatrix said.
Mae laughed.“Mold?Fight one health threat with another?”
“It actually makes sense,” Peter said. “Worth a try.”
Beatrix leaned in, tapping the table. “Five dollars says he’ll get his medicine on the market before I do.”
“Hah! She’s about to start human trials. Don’t take that bet, Mae.”
“Human trials? Washington saidyes?”
Beatrix snorted. Oh, if only. “No. We’re going to do them in Canada. Even if it works perfectly, there’s not a single U.S. state that would let women buy the results.”
