"I cannot believe you're going to trust her," Morticia said once I'd relayed the conversation and Trisha's job offer to write a tell-all on the Svensson brothers.
"Could be bad," Lilith said. "This could be your epic and bloody downfall."
Morticia swirled her tea around in her cup. "We should do a reading. We'll see how your fortunes will fare in Harrogate. With something this serious, it's the only way."
* * *
After tea and snacks,I slowly walked through the house, the happy memories flooding back and bringing tears to my eyes. The furniture was exactly as Mimi had left it, though it was all covered with white sheets. The place felt a little spooky, like a real haunted house.
There was the bedroom with the hundreds of dolls and the study with the creepy animatronic animals from the Mast Brothers' chocolate factory, where Mimi had worked until it closed. Now it was going to be a swanky conference center. I hope they kept some of the creepy elements. It would be so cool to have a Halloween party there.
As I walked through the house, I hated to admit it, but the twins were right; the Old Victorian house had fallen on hard times. Several light bulbs were out or at least flickering. The stained woodwork was dusty, the tall windows were dark and dirty, and the chandeliers were covered in cobwebs. Mimi hadn’t had the energy to keep the house up in her old age. Then it had sat vacant. It did need someone who could afford to take care of it.
At least Mimi hadn't gone full-onGrey Gardens, mainly because the twins kept her in check, though they weren’t all that much better. I had been out back to their art studio. It was a pack rat's nest.
I pushed aside one of the heavy drapes that hid a secret passageway for the servants. Playing here as a kid had been magical. I still loved the house. I took my bag up the narrow back staircase to the turret. It was my favorite room, and it was very cozy with the rain pattering on the large panes of slightly wavy glass.
As I set down my bag and pulled the sheets off the furniture, a whistle shrieked. It was from the speaking tube. Back in the day, the servants would blow a puff of air into one end of the tube, and the other person knew to open their end to talk.
"Hello?"
"Tarot reading in the music room," Morticia said, voice tinny through the metal funnel.
In the library, the twins had removed the white sheets from the furniture. An old pipe organ that took up most of one wall lurked over us.
"We need to see what the future has in store for you," Morticia said. It was still raining outside, giving the room an eerie vibe. The Victorian-era gaslights flickered on the walls. Lilith and Morticia sat side by side, their angular faces, high cheekbones, and pointed chins spooky in the flickering light.
"Sit," Lilith said. Sage burned in a ceramic dish on the table. I sneezed.
"New man in your life?" Morticia asked, setting the tarot cards on the table.
"God, no. Geez, is this that kind of reading? I'm here for my work life. I have loans and credit card debt to pay back. I haven't even been within the spray zone of a man since…"Since an hour ago.
That does not count!I told my brain furiously.
I tried to ignore Morticia's gaze as I shuffled the oversized tarot cards then cut the deck. If I was going to deal with Douche-face Svensson and my mother, I needed all the help from the spiritual realm I could get.
Morticia studied the three cards in view. Lilith clicked her tongue. Mimi had used to do my tarot card readings. I suddenly missed her horribly. She was more of a mother than my own had ever been.
"What does it mean? Am I going to have riches and success in my future? Was I clear on the fact that I am up to my tits in debt?" I asked.
"The tower, the wheel of fortune, and the magician," Morticia said in a rapt voice.
"That's good, right? Wheel of fortune means my financial condition is about to change, and it can only get better."
Salem meowed, rubbing against my leg.
"Yes, but the tower means you are flirting with danger."
Thunder boomed, and I jumped. "That's literally my life."
"The magician means that new opportunities are coming, and possibly where you least expect them."
"So unexpected enormous riches are coming my way if I can be risky and ballsy." I pumped my fist. "Good to know."
"Or it could mean you're going to gamble and lose everything."
4
