“Graham, Liora is the next member of the Order.”
I dropped my spoon back into my soup hard enough to have it splatter outside the bowl and gaped as Agnes casually mentioned the magickal Order I’d been silently freaking out about the last four days.
“Is she? Och, that’s grand then. We’re getting close then, aren’t we?”
“Aye. If we can fill the seats, we’ll finally be able to put the Kelpies back to rest.”
“About damn time.” Graham and Agnes shared a mutual look of relief while I continued to gape at them in surprise.
“Seriously? Is this just a known thing in Loren Brae?” I asked, dropping my voice lower as a few new customers wandered in.
“Hiya, folks. Anywhere that suits you,” Graham called to a couple with their small son, and they wandered toward a table across the room.
“Do you need me to?—”
“Nae bother. Enjoy your lunch.” Graham grabbed menus and rounded the bar.
“Wait, I’m confused,” I said, keeping my voice low and turning back to Agnes. “How do you know that I joined the Order? I’ve only told one person.” Was Torin already gossiping with his friends? He didn’t strike me as the type to run to them with stories. Frankly he didn’t strike me as the type for talking much. About anything. With anyone.
Actually, that wasn’t fair. After I’d gotten him to warm up a bit, he’d spent quite a bit of time each night talking to me. So maybe I’d only ever seen him as being gruff because I hadn’t known him all that well.
Not that I knew him well. Yet.
But I knew his kisses.
Which was definitely a problem. I needed to put some space there. It would be unfair of me to lean too far into … whatever … this was simply because I couldn’t undo a spell I’d put on Torin.
Who wasn’t even complaining about it, mind you.
Sure he blurted out random things like how I sometimes snorted when I laughed and that he thought it was adorable.
What was a girl supposed to say to that?
“I’m sort of their unofficial helper,” Agnes said, drawing me back to the conversation. “Because I have a deep love for research, and own a bookshop, I’ve been able to uncover a lot of the history of the Order and sort of determine why things have been the way they are. Or kind of. I’m helping where I can.”
“Are you…” I glanced around and whispered, “Magickal?”
“Not that I know of.” Agnes’s laugh was a pretty trill that had Graham glancing over.
“Honestly, I’m not sure if I am either,” I said, glum, and finished my soup.
“Och, surely you are. What happened to your astrology? I thought you were ace at doing readings.” Agnes’s expression changed as she seemingly remembered some of the issues I’d had in the past. “Oh, right.”
“Aye, that,” I said, pushing my plate away and sighing. “My readings seem to have a way of backfiring on me, and I’d promised my sister that I’d take a break and just let it go for a while.”
“But…don’t you love it?” Agnes’s brow furrowed.
“I do. But maybe I’m just not meant to be a professional reader.”
“That’s ridiculous.” Agnes shook her head at me. “Of course you’re meant to be a professional reader. Just because someone interprets a reading wrongly doesn’t mean you’re shite at your job.”
“But it does affect reviews. And bookings,” I pointed out, embarrassment washing through me. I’d read a few of my recent reviews after the WAG incident and they hadn’t been great. Which was unfair, really, since the reviews were coming from people I hadn’t even given readings to.
The door to the pub opened and another woman around our age walked in, looking timidly around the room until her gaze landed on me and her face brightened. A delicate woman, with dark hair pulled back from her face, and soulful eyes, she seemed on a mission.
“Greta. Hi!” Agnes exclaimed, turning to welcome the newcomer. “Och, I haven’t seen you in ages. How are you getting on then?”
“Well enough, Agnes. Thanks for asking.” Greta smiled shyly. “It’s been a real struggle looking after the kids and work, so I haven’t had much time to socialize.”