She continues to paw until Marigold gets up and opens the door. Cindershine and Chesha dart outside and sit directly in front of Lottie’s door. Chesha paws again, but when Marigoldapproaches and places her hand on the handle, Chesha hisses violently.
Marigold pauses, her brow pulled upward in confusion, and then twists the knob. When it clicks, Chesha screeches so loud that she fears it could wake up the entire house—the sound may even travel all the way to Mr. Benny across the lake. She calms down when she remembers that not only is she the only person who can see the spirits, but she is also the only one who can hear them.
She sighs and kneels down to Chesha, offering her a drop of enchanted acacia honey from one of the many vials that she keeps on her person at all times.
“I take it you don’t like our skeptical guest?”
Chesha hisses before she takes the honey and nuzzles into Marigold’s waiting hand. Cindershine circles around Marigold, scratching his back on her lace nightgown.
Then the door slowly starts to open. Chesha flees faster than a shooting star, leaving Marigold and Cindershine crouched on the floor in front of the door. And Lottie is standing there, wearing nothing but a blanket draped over her shoulders. Quickly, she pinches it tightly at her chest so that her whole body is covered, but it’s too dark to see anything regardless.
Marigold promptly stands up, though still cowering slightly beneath the weight of Lottie’s glare.
“I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to wake you. Cindershine was pawing at your door and I just came to get him,” she says with panic in her voice.
“The pawing didn’t wake me up. It was his resounding screech. It didn’t even sound like a cat. It sounded like a monster,” she says as she fights off a yawn.
Marigold stops. Her jaw drops for a moment, but she picks it up quickly. How could Lottie hear Chesha’s scream? It should be completely impossible. It is impossible. It has to be.
And yet, it did happen, and Marigold cannot explain how or why, so all she says is, “I’m so sorry. I’ll take him back to the bedroom with me.”
Lottie looks at her quizzically, as if she knows that there are more words waiting in the back of Marigold’s throat, but she lets it go for now and nods as she turns back to her room.
Marigold breathes a sigh of relief. She carries her cat back to her room and lies in bed with her eyes wide open.
What has she gotten herself into? Who is this wild girl?
Chapter Sixteen
The following few days are nothing but awkward. A few customers come and go, but despite hearing so many testimonials for Marigold’s magic, Lottie seems no closer to believing in it. August, on the other hand, is becoming even more entranced by it all. He cannot stop gushing about his potential soulmate, and his excitement has even prompted Marigold to wonder what life would be like with a soulmate of her own. She has caught herself more than once in a daydream with visions of a vague partner by her side, but she never lets the thoughts last for long. That is not the life that she chose. That is not the fate of a cursed witch.
Toward the end of the week, Benny comes by early to drop off fresh blueberries, eggs, and a letter for Marigold. She nearly tears open the envelope with her teeth. She recognizes Frankie’s handwriting immediately.
Dear Mari,
We all miss you very much, though I do believe I miss you the most. Compared to you, Aster is a terrible chess opponent, and she is far too busy fawning over Mr. Woodrake to improve her skills. Please DO NOT tell her I said that. The balls have been much less fun without you, and as you know, they were not so fun to begin with.
Can I confide in you, sister? I’m feeling a little behind in life. You have your magic, Aster has her courtship, and I have calluses from years of playing an instrument I do not particularly like. Is this how you felt before you left? It’s awful. I am sorry if I ever did anything to make it worse.
Also, Mother received your letter. She smiled when she read it. It’s the first time I’ve seen her smile in a long time. I think she’s tried to respond a thousand times, but she always crumples up the parchment and throws it out. Do not worry, though. Aster and I stole them from the bin. I included her most complete letter in this envelope because I think you need to see it.
Do you think you could visit soon? Or perhaps we could both try to convince Mother to let me visit you? Either way, the world is in for chaos when the two of us are reunited. Start scheming.
All my love,
Frankie
She casts his letter aside and reaches into the envelope to find a thoroughly creased letter in her mother’s hand.
My dearest daughter,
Thank you for your letter.I should’ve written to you first.I am sorry it has taken so long to reply. I’ve been thinking about what to say, but one letter cannot contain all the words that I owe to you. All I wanted was to keep you safe.I realize now that I was wrong.I realize now that I should have been honest with you,but I knew that the truth would make you leave. I am sadI am so happy to hearthat you have found such purpose and such peace in your life. I know thatmamayour grandmother would be so proud. I am relieved to know that you are safe. Losing you was always my biggest fear,but I see that I lost you anyway, and it was my own fault.
I could visitYou could visit whenever you like. We miss you. I miss you.Please
There are still truths you do not know. There are so many things I need to say. Please.
Her fingers tremble against the paper. It’s not a letter of forgiveness, but Marigold never expected that. It is, however, a start. A letter of hope. She holds it close to her heart for a moment and rereads the last smudged line.
