Page 217

Clover went with “Party in the U.S.A.”

“Good choice. Suits my mood.”

An hour into the work, Yoda scrambled out from under the desk. She started to pause her work to let him out, then heard the bounce of the ball down the hall below.

And that, she thought, suited her, too.

Chapter Twenty-nine

The quiet didn’t hold long, but it held for most of a week while the gardens grew lush and the air warmed like a kiss.

A door might slam, a window might rattle. The clock chimed at three, and spirits walked. But life and work in the manor went on.

Twice that week, Sonya took an hour or two away from her own to help Cleo work on the mural for Anna’s nursery.

In an old tee and jeans, her hair bundled under a well-worn Red Sox cap, Sonya worked on the petals of a fanciful rainbow flower while, on a step ladder, Cleo finished detailing a dragon sleeping on a cloud.

Pleased with her petals, Sonya stepped back to take stock. More dragons—and a baby dragon just peeking out of its egg—a pair of winged horses, unicorns, a purple griffin inhabited the forest with Cleo’s colorfully striped moncoons.

A trio of butterhounds fluttered.

Trees dripped with jewel-colored fruit where bright birds nested. In the mist of a waterfall, fairies danced, and in the impossibly blue pool, mermaids swam.

“It’s a dream, Cleo. There’s not a kid in the world who won’t love waking up to this.”

“It’s coming along. I want two or three more elves, and I think a Titania-like fairy in a bower.”

“I’m coming in!”

Forewarned, Sonya looked over as Anna stepped into the nursery.

And watched as the mother-to-be pressed her hand to her lips, watched her eyes fill.

“Oh. Oh! It’s amazing. I can’t believe… Every time I come in there’s more wonderful. Cleo, Sonya, honestly, it’s just magical.”

“That’s the goal,” Cleo said, and stepped down to study her sleeping dragon.

“You added a castle.”

“Sonya’s idea.”

“What’s a magic forest without a castle on a high hill in the distance?”

“I love it. I love it so much. And she will.” Anna pressed her hand to her belly. “She’ll love it. Iona or Eliza or possibly Fiona will love it.”

“Last time,” Cleo recalled, “you were leaning toward Laurel.”

“I was—we were. And maybe. Anyway, I was just taking a break from the studio, and I wanted another peek.”

Now Anna laid a hand on her heart. “I’m enchanted. It’s enchanting. Let me fix you some lunch.”

“I have to pass,” Sonya told her. “I need to get home. I’ve got a video conference coming up.”

“I’ll take you up on lunch,” Cleo said. “Give me another twenty.”

“Whatever you want. Wait until Seth sees what you’ve done today.”

“I’m thinking an elf here, peeking from behind this tree, and another—maybe two, one over here, another sort of blending into these flowers. Like they’re playing hide-and-seek.”