I half smiled. “I’m hoping to be given the time for trust to grow, and not be shunted off the reservation because of some misplaced belief that witches are bad and the magic in this place will cause no harm.”
He grunted and poured boiling water into one of the cups. “As I’ve said, I don’t believe you’ll be evicted.”
He handed me the mug and a green tea bag, and then made the two coffees—which smelled slightly burned and had me wrinkling my nose. “You need to turn the water temperature down a little on that thing to avoid scalding the coffee.”
“We can do that?”
“On most of these types of machines, yes.”
“Huh. I’ll get the service guy to look at it. What temp do you suggest?”
“Ninety-three degrees Celsius generally avoids burning but still makes a hot cuppa.”
“You are a font of information.”
I grinned. “Of useless information, mostly.”
“I didn’t say that.”
“You didn’t have to.” I turned and headed back out into the hall. As I did, a bell rang out in the main room. “That’s Belle.”
He handed me Ashworth’s coffee. “I’ll go let her in.”
I nodded and returned to the interview room. Ashworth was just putting his phone back in his pocket.
“Any luck in Canberra?” I asked casually, as I handed him his mug.
He raised his eyebrows. “Why would you think I was ringing Canberra?”
I smiled and perched on the edge of the table. “Because that’s what I would have done—contacted the records office and see if they have any record of Molly Brown’s magical half brother.”
A smile touched his lips. “Unusually powered you may be, but dumb you are not.”
The fact he now considered me unusually powered rather than underpowered wasn’t a step in the right direction as far as my ambitions to remain undetected went. Footsteps echoed in th
e hall, and then Belle stepped into the interview room, all silvery glamour and happiness.
“And here I am to save the day.” Her bright grin faded as her gaze fell on Molly. “Whoa. There’s a nasty piece of work if ever I saw one.”
“Yeah, and she spits, so don’t get too close with that dress on.”
“Huh.” She stopped beside me, her gaze narrowing a little. “I’m not going to have much trouble with this one. What do you need to know?”
Ashworth didn’t answer. When I glanced at him, he was staring at us, his expression one of disbelief.
“What?” I said, as trepidation stirred anew.
He opened his mouth, shut it again, and then shook his head. “I’ve never seen anything like it.”
What the fuck is he on about? Belle asked.
I have no damn idea, and there’s a part of me that really doesn’t want to ask.
Trouble looming, you think?
For certain.
Well, it’s not like we can avoid it now. Out loud, she added, “Like what?”