Old World Charm

by Cate Martin

  I sighed, but then forced a smile on my face. "All right. Tonight, we party."

  Chapter 2

  New Year's Eve 1927 in St. Paul was cold. Deadly cold. But at least the sky was clear, there was no wind, and while there was snow on the ground, none of it was blowing down from the sky.

  I could live with that.

  "Let's get inside the school first," I said, hustling Sophie and Brianna up the back steps as quickly as I could given the fact that the steps were icy and we were all wearing party shoes and not our usual winter boots.

  "Why?" Sophie asked.

  "We said we'd be careful," I said. "We need to take a look around before we go to that party, and I'd rather do that indoors."

  "Good idea," Brianna said. We went through the solarium and past the kitchen to the dining room, mainly because the bay window there had a view of the house next door, all lit up for the party. Not that I was going to use my eyes for the looking around, but facing the right direction felt appropriate.

  "I know some detecting spells, but Sophie has more raw ability with sensing other magic," Brianna said.

  "And you have that thing you do," Sophie added.

  "We should each do what we know and compare notes after," I said.

  "I'll be in the library," Brianna said, her wool coat flapping behind her as she raced for the stairs.

  "I'll take the parlor," Sophie said.

  "I don't need to be alone," I said.

  "We might, actually," Sophie said. "We've not all tried to do this sort of thing before. We don't know what can happen if we overlap or anything. Better safe than sorry, right?"

  I couldn't argue with that. I pulled out the chair where Mr. Trevor always sat and turned it towards the window then sat down. Night was darker here than in 2018, and from the height of the chair, the branches of the tree outside the window blocked the light from the house next door. All I could see now was my own reflection.

  I liked the dress. I'll confess that. I really liked the dress. Sapphire blue with an art deco pattern worked in it with silver thread. It was crazy gorgeous.

  Not to mention my hair. Normally I had a love/hate relationship with my hair, and we agreed to coexist without troubling each other too much. But Sophie had brushed it out then twisted it up, stuck a few pins in it, and added a peacock feather to match my dress. She spent maybe five minutes on it but when she was done it was perfect. My chaos of curls were now arranged in neat rows that were very 1927 appropriate.

  It was magic.

  Somehow, in the process of dressing and letting Sophie do my hair, I had found myself getting actually excited about this party. I had to take a few breaths and focus before that died down and I could turn my mind to the task at hand.

  I had my wand with me, buried inside the beaded bag which matched my dress, but I didn't need it for what I was about to do. I had done it before I had ever bonded with my wand. I'd be fine.

  I took another deep breath then closed my eyes. Then my awareness opened in that other world, the world where I could see the threads that formed all things.

  It might have been better to try this in the yard. All of the magic that infused the very walls of Miss Zenobia's school really skewed what I was seeing. But it was too cold out there, and I knew how to move my awareness around.

  I drew out the threads that would connect my current form with my temporarily inert body and keep it breathing while I was out of it, then I passed through the walls and out into the yard between the two houses.

  The house was already full of people, but no one appeared out of the ordinary. I expanded my awareness further, sensing the entire neighborhood, but there was no sign of another magical being. It was possible that Evanora was having the house watched by a non-witch – I knew she worked with gangsters and tricked them into doing her bidding – but I was willing to risk it.

  I opened my eyes and found Sophie and Brianna leaning against the wall on either side of the bay window. They straightened as I blinked.

  "All good?" I asked.

  "I'm only getting the usual feelings of a large group of people gathered together," Sophie said. "Some of them have tensions with each other, but they seem like they'll set them aside for the night. Definitely no one magical."

  "I didn't detect any magic person, object, or remnant of a spell," Brianna said. "I was very thorough."

  "It looks good to me too," I said, getting up from the chair. "Shall we?"

  We headed out towards the front door. The hooks for coats that were largely empty in our time were overburdened with coats, scarves, and mittens on strings here.

  "Our predecessors are having a night in, it seems," Sophie said.

  "Yeah," I said, but felt a shiver run up my spine as I remembered that although we could see no one, they were all still there. At this very minute, my body could be overlapping with one of theirs. We might be existing in the very same space, if only for a moment. It was an uncomfortable feeling.

  "I just thought," Sophie said, her hand on the door but not opening it. "We know that house burns down at some point, right? Before there are condos."

  "Those condos were built in the 1970s," I said.

  "But there was another house inbetween," Sophie said.

  "It's all right," Brianna said, but her cheeks were flushing. Sophie and I kept watching her until she spoke again. "I looked it up. This house doesn't burn down until 1939. So it's quite safe for now."

  I wished I found that more reassuring. Lots of things could still go wrong short of burning the whole house down.

  Sophie was looking at me with her eyebrows raised in question, and I gave her a nod. She swung the door open, and we bustled back out into the cold, holding onto each other as we went down the icy steps and along the front walk then up the sidewalk to the house next door.

  It was barely nine, but when the front door opened, we saw the hallway beyond stuffed with people. They milled about in groups on the parquet floor of the hall as well as against the railings of the overlooking balconies on the second and third floors and even on the stairs. They were holding punch or wine glasses and little plates of food, laughing together in a joyous cacophony. Most of the men were wearing top hats and fancy suits, and while most of the women were dressed too conservatively to be called flappers, they still had gowns of dazzling colors with plenty of jewelry and usually some bit of frippery tying back their hair.

  "Awesome," Sophie said after the servant who had answered the door had glanced at our invitation then waved us passed.

  Heads turned as Sophie moved through the hall. Her dress was far from conservative, a deep red with sequins that caught the light, the skirt short with a beaded hem that clattered as she walked. Her sequined headband was adorned with a red feather that curled around her ear. I was a little nervous that someone would say something rude to her. The only other people of color I could see were either serving food or playing in the band I could just glimpse through the open doors to the ballroom. But if Sophie ever felt nervous, she didn't let it show. And all the looks she was drawing were either admiring or frankly envious.

  "Should we try the food first?" Brianna asked as she and I trailed in Sophie's wake. Her gown was more like mine, not as attention-grabbing as Sophie's number, but its deep emerald color looked lovely with her long red hair spilling around her shoulders.

  "We should find Coco, I think," I said, although in truth it wasn't her I was scanning the crowd in search of. "To thank her for the invitation."

  "Maybe she's by the buffet," Brianna said hopefully.

  I laughed. "All right, we'll start there. Those deviled eggs do look tempting."

  "And look at all that cheese!" Brianna said.

  A wave of applause rolled through the ballroom as the band struck up an apparently popular number. I didn't recognize it, but it had the sort of rhythm you could dance the Charleston to. Couples started peeling away from the line, spinning to join the others already dancing.

  "Champagne?" Sophie offered a
s she appeared from nowhere with a glass for each of us.

  "Thanks," I said, taking a sip. The bubbles promptly went up my nose, nearly making me sneeze.

  "I took a spin around the hall, but I don't see Edward," Sophie said.

  "Edward? I thought we were looking for Coco," Brianna said.

  "We are," I said.

  "I didn't see her either, but she's pretty young for this crowd," Sophie said. "Maybe we should check her room?"

  "I hope her parents approved of her inviting us," Brianna said. "I hadn't even thought that we might be crashers."

  "It's a big party. No one is going to question us being here," Sophie said.

  "Have you ever been in this house before?" Brianna asked. "Do you know where her room is?"

  "I've not been in here physically," I said. "I have sort of cast my mind through it. I would think her room is on one of the upper floors, probably out of bounds for partygoers."

  "She invited us; I'm sure she'll come looking for us," Sophie said, sipping at a glass of champagne I hadn't even see her acquire.

  And indeed, by the time we had plates of food and had found a spot at one of the tall tables around the periphery of the room Coco had found us. She raced across the room, narrowly avoiding several dancing couples. Another older girl was trailing behind her, scowling at everything around her.

  Although they were nearly the same height, Coco was still dressed like a child while the other girl was wearing a grown-up gown and I realized that despite the baby fat she was the older of the two. Coco was all bright and sparkly with a beaded headband holding her thick hair back from her face. The other girl was the very opposite, wearing a gown that would not have been an eye-catching color even before it had grown faded with time. Her dull brown hair was pulled back in a severe updo that looked painfully tight. And her round face was strangely colorless. Not just pale or ivory-like most of the winter skin on display around us, but outright colorless.

  "I'm so glad you came!" Coco cried. "Do you like my dress?" She gave a little spin so we could see how the pink skirt moved around her.

  "It's lovely," Sophie said. Coco beamed, but the girl who had walked up to us with her seemed to if anything scowl more deeply.

  "Who's your friend?" I asked.

  "Oh, this is Charlotte," Coco said, then her cheeks flushed a deep crimson. She drew her back of straighter and clasped her hands together. "I mean, may I present Charlotte Taylor? Charlotte, this is Amanda, Brianna, and Sophie. I'm sorry; I don't know your family names."

  "Amanda Clarke," I said, wiping my hand on a napkin before extending it to the sullen girl. "Your dress is lovely. I love that shade of green. It's like the first buds in spring, isn't it?"

  "It's my sister's dress," Charlotte said, but her sullenness did lighten up just a degree.

  "Charlotte's sister is my sister Ivy's best friend since forever," Coco said. "They're the same age, though. Charlotte and I don't even go to the same school."

  "Coco, we came down here to get some food," Charlotte said.

  "In a minute," Coco said.

  "I'm hungry," Charlotte persisted.

  Coco sighed but took a deep breath and forced a smile. "Go get in line. I'll be right with you." She kept that tight smile focused on Charlotte until she finally turned and walked to the end of the line at the buffet.

  "You're in charge of entertaining her, I'm guessing," I said.

  "Yes," Coco sighed. "She doesn't like any of the same things I do. I don't think she really likes anything at all. Not anymore. She used to be nicer when we were younger. I mean, not a lot, but I could at least talk to her then.”

  "Aren't you still a little young for this sort of party?" Sophie asked her, taking another sip from her champagne as if to underscore that fact.

  "Oh, yes," Coco said, all but bouncing with excitement. "Normally I'd be staying at my grandparents' house when my parents host a party like this, but this time I'm allowed."

  "You're not fourteen yet?" Sophie asked.

  "No, but almost," Coco said. "No, it's just that this is a special occasion, and my parents wanted the whole family here."

  "You mean the party isn't just a New Year's Eve party?" I asked.

  "No. The invitations didn't mention it, but my sister Ivy is going to make a big announcement this evening," Coco said. Then she waved for us to bring our heads closer to hers. Not that she could whisper anything to us and be heard over the band and the noise from the crowd, but she did lower it as much as she could. "Just between us, it's not going to be what everyone is expecting. I can't tell you what I know since I promised to keep it secret, but this party is going to be very exciting indeed. Some people here are going to be, and I'm not exaggerating, quite shocked."

  "Is that what Charlotte is upset about?" Sophie asked. "Does she know this secret too?"

  "No," Coco said with a dismissive wave. "I mean, yes, she does. She was there the same time as I was, with her sister, when Ivy told us. But that's not why she's acting almost rude. She's been like that all day."

  "She's trying to get your attention," Brianna said, and we all turned to look at Charlotte nearly at the head of the line waving for Coco to join her.

  "I better go," Coco said. "We're not supposed to be down here for more than getting food, but I wanted to say hello to you."

  "And we wanted to thank you for the invitation," I said. "This party is amazing."

  "You're welcome!" Coco said, beaming at us. Then that conspiratorial twinkle was back in her eye. "Be sure to enjoy yourselves as much as you can before the big announcement. The mood of this party is definitely going to shift after that."

  She backed away so she could keep looking at us with that hinting gleam to her eyes.

  "What was that all about?" Brianna asked when Coco was quite gone.

  "The big announcement has to be an engagement, right?" Sophie said. "We know Ivy was playing the market. I guess she's made her choice."

  "And not a conventional one, to judge by Coco's little hints," Brianna said.

  They both looked to me, but my attention was focused on the last of the cheese crumbs left on my plate.

  I knew what they were both thinking. I was thinking it too. For a family as wealthy as Ivy and Coco's, the shocking choice would be to marry someone not wealthy.

  And that meant Edward.

  "Do you want to go?" Sophie asked.

  "Maybe we should go," Brianna said. I looked up at both of them. Despite how badly they had both wanted to come to this party, there was none of that longing in their eyes now. They weren't just being polite. They would genuinely leave with me if I didn't want to stay.

  "No, I'm okay," I said. "Edward was never…"

  But I couldn't quite find the word for what Edward never was. And they were both still looking at me with so much concern it made my heart ache. I had never had friends that felt so much like sisters.

  "I'm okay," I said, and my voice didn't warble this time. "This was always going to happen, right? We're decades in the past. It already has happened. I'm okay."

  "Then we should dance," Sophie said, setting down her champagne glass to take Brianna and me by the hand and pull us out on the dance floor.

  Chapter 3

  It quickly became apparent that letting Sophie drag me out onto the dance floor had been a very bad idea. I had no idea how to dance the Charleston. I'm pretty challenged with not looking like a spaz when dancing to modern music. And it clearly was not yet a thing for three young women to form a circle and dance for each other rather than waiting for a man to come along.

  We got a lot of stares. Some of the young women standing close to the wall in groups were tittering at us. Not kindly. I went to high school. I know what it sounds like when the mean girls are laughing at you.

  But Sophie was oblivious to it all. She had left behind her lifelong ambition to be a ballet dancer when the three of us were called to take on the guardianship of Miss Zenobia Weekes' Charm School for Exceptional Young Ladies. I had never
actually seen her dance ballet, only the sort of dancing she did that channeled her magic.

  What she was doing now wasn't like either of them. She seemed to draw in what the other dancers around us were doing and worked the bits she liked into a tapestry of movement that was still largely driven by her own interpretation of the music. She was having a ball.

  Then the band started playing for her, improvising extra bits to see what she would do with them. And she was wonderful. But with every spin and backbend she worked into her dance, more eyes were on us.

  I tripped on the end of my gown and took that as an irrefutable sign, stumbling off the dance floor to collapse against the wall and catch my breath. I tried to see if I had torn the back of my gown when it had caught on the heel of my shoe. It would be a shame to destroy something so lovely, even if I had no idea when I would ever wear it again.

  A roar echoed through the room, and a few people broke into spontaneous applause as Sophie danced her way down to a split that somehow her skirt accommodated, then burst up like a red-beaded rocket high into the air.

  I realized to my surprise that Brianna was still out there, dancing away. She was no more coordinated than I was, but she didn't seem to mind a bit what she looked like or what those young women watching her were thinking. She just had her eyes closed, moving her arms and legs in whatever manner she wished.

  I wish I could do that. Just tune the rest of the world out and be myself. But then, Brianna being herself is sort of apart from the rest of the world just by her very nature.

  I had never thought about that before. I knew that Sophie had left someone behind when she'd left New Orleans. She never told us his name or anything about him, but I knew he existed. And I had left an adopted family behind when I came to the charm school but had quickly found friendships with two guys in two different time periods. I just always made connections with people. But Brianna didn't seem like she ever did. She had an old mentor that she spoke with, but I'm not sure how close their bond was.