Miss Robichaux’s Academy for Exceptional Young Ladies settled into an unusual calm as evening approached.
After returning from the church with his newly blessed supplies, Charlie spent most of the day avoiding Spalding and refining his plan to recruit one of the young witches as his supernatural partner.
He eventually remembered that he was technically employed by the academy.
Charlie went downstairs to the kitchen, ignored Spalding’s hostile stare, and reached for the cookware before the old servant could stop him.
Spalding clearly considered the kitchen part of his personal territory.
His lips tightened as Charlie pulled ingredients from the refrigerator and began working, but he could not object without exposing how threatened he felt by his new assistant.
Charlie decided to prepare one of the few dishes he could make well: baked macaroni and cheese with tomatoes, bacon, and a crisp breadcrumb topping.
It was simple American comfort food, but everyone who had tasted his version had praised it.
Whether a house filled with demanding young witches would agree remained to be seen.
Spalding continued preparing his usual pastries at the opposite counter.
He deliberately turned his back on Charlie and worked in silence as if refusing to acknowledge another person’s presence would make him disappear.
Charlie watched him for a moment and almost laughed.
The older man had served the Coven for decades, but his pride seemed tied entirely to being the only servant in the mansion.
He had no family, no apprentice, and no intention of allowing anyone else near his responsibilities.
His strange obsession with dolls probably explained why he had never considered training a proper successor.
Charlie had no desire to steal Spalding’s position.
If the old man wanted to perform every exhausting task by himself, Charlie was more than willing to collect his salary while doing as little as possible.
Once the macaroni was ready, Charlie divided it among several plates and carried them toward the dining room.
He reached the doorway just in time to hear Madison mocking Spalding’s missing tongue.
The old servant passed Charlie with a tray in his hands and a murderous expression on his rigid face.
Madison’s laughter followed him down the hall.
Charlie quietly stepped aside to let him through.
Madison’s sharp mouth would eventually cause her serious trouble.
For the moment, however, Charlie could not deny that watching her destroy Spalding’s pride was satisfying.
He entered the dining room and placed the plates on the table.
“Ladies, I decided to save you from another night of Spalding’s cooking.
This is homemade baked mac and cheese.
Try it before you judge me.”
Madison immediately leaned forward to inspect the food.
She had casually complained about the meals that morning, and Charlie’s decision to cook something different delighted her.
“Charlie, you really do listen.”
Her bright smile grew as she compared him to the gloomy servant who had just left the room.
“You cook, you’re polite, and you’re easy to look at.
You’re starting to sound like the perfect boyfriend.”
Queenie sat across from her and rolled her eyes.
“Here she goes again.”
Nan smiled as she listened to the thoughts around the table.
“Madison is becoming much more interested in Charlie.”
Zoe had already risen to help him arrange the plates.
Her expression tightened when she heard Nan’s observation, especially after noticing the way Madison continued looking at her boyfriend.
Charlie sensed the tension forming and quickly redirected everyone’s attention.
“Why don’t you taste the food before another argument starts?”
Queenie picked up her fork first and took a generous bite.
Her eyes widened as she tasted the creamy cheese, smoky bacon, and roasted tomatoes.
“This is actually good.”
She took another bite almost immediately.
“I didn’t expect the tomatoes to work this well with everything else.”
Queenie cleaned most of her plate within minutes, proving that her praise was sincere.
Zoe tasted the food next and looked at Charlie with surprise.
“When did you learn to cook like this?
You never made anything for me before.”
“I started practicing recently.”
Charlie gave her a gentle smile.
“I wanted to surprise you.”
The simple answer immediately removed the jealousy from Zoe’s face.
She lowered her eyes with a pleased smile and continued eating.
Charlie turned toward the remaining two witches.
“What do you think?”
Nan sampled another bite before answering.
“It tastes different from what Spalding usually makes.
I like it.”
After several bites, she finally nodded with exaggerated approval.
“Not bad.
I’ve had overpriced versions of this in Los Angeles that tasted much worse.”
She pointed her fork toward him.
“Spalding makes the same dull meals every week.
From now on, I’m trusting you to keep me from starving.”
“It would be my pleasure.”
Charlie had already eaten in the kitchen and saw no reason to remain while they finished dinner.
He rested one hand briefly on Zoe’s shoulder before leaving the room.
Madison watched him disappear through the doorway.
“I didn’t expect you to be attracted to the quiet, responsible type,” she told Zoe.
“I usually get bored with boys like that before they finish introducing themselves.”
Zoe frowned.
“Charlie isn’t boring.”
“I didn’t say he was.”
Madison rested her chin against one hand and smiled with open curiosity.
“He’s sweet, mysterious, and apparently immune to your little problem.
That makes him more interesting than most of the guys I’ve met.”
Zoe’s cheeks turned red.
“What are you trying to ask?”
Madison’s smile widened.
“I’m asking what he’s like when you’re alone.
Is he really that gentle, or does he have a completely different side?”
“Madison.”
Zoe’s warning only encouraged her.
“Come on.
You can’t bring a handsome boyfriend into a house full of girls and expect no one to ask questions.”
She leaned closer.
“So how far did the two of you actually—”
“That’s enough,” Queenie interrupted.
“Some of us are still eating.
Save the interrogation for another time.”
Madison turned toward her with irritation.
“No one asked you.”
“No one needs to.
You’ve been staring at him since he walked through the door.”
Madison’s expression sharpened, but Nan spoke before their argument could escalate.
She looked toward Zoe, whose discomfort had become impossible to miss.
“What happened was an accident.
Charlie survived, and he still loves you.”
Nan’s voice was unexpectedly gentle.
“Your relationship may have to be different from everyone else’s, but that doesn’t mean the two of you can’t be happy.”
Zoe stared at her.
“How did you know?”
“Nan hears thoughts,” Madison explained.
“Keeping secrets from her is almost impossible.”
She immediately turned toward Nan with renewed interest.
“Charlie survived what?
What exactly happened between them?”
“No,” Zoe said quickly.
“I don’t want to talk about it.”
Nan respected her refusal and looked at Madison instead.
“I could tell everyone about the man you killed.”
Madison did not appear concerned.
“There isn’t much to tell.”
She set down her fork and leaned back in her chair.
“The director on my last movie blamed me for everything that went wrong.
During rehearsal, he kept screaming that I had missed my mark, so I lost my temper and gave him a small warning.”
Her tone remained disturbingly casual.
“I moved one of the stage lights.
Queenie stared at her in disbelief.
“He wanted you to stand on a piece of tape.
Maybe you should do humanity a favor and learn how to act instead of murdering people whenever they criticize you.”
She gave Madison a mocking smile.
“C-list has-been.
Botox princess.”
Madison’s face went cold.
She flicked one hand through the air.
Queenie’s plate flipped without warning and dumped the remaining food across her clothes.
Queenie slowly looked down at herself.
The dining room fell silent.
Queenie was not the kind of person who settled conflicts through polite discussion.
She immediately activated her living voodoo-doll ability and retaliated.
Plates crashed against the floor.
Chairs scraped across the room while food, silverware, and glasses flew in every direction under Madison’s telekinesis.
Nan rushed between them and tried to drag Queenie away before someone suffered a serious injury.
By the time Charlie heard the noise and returned, most of the destruction had already ended.
Queenie stormed from the dining room with Nan following close behind.
Zoe and Madison remained at the table amid the overturned dishes and scattered food.
Charlie stopped in the doorway and looked around.
“Did I miss something?”
Madison had already regained her composure.
Moments earlier, she had been telling Zoe that they would have to become friends now that they were living together.
Her eyes brightened when Charlie entered.
“I almost forgot about you.”
She rose from her chair and brushed a crumb from her dress.
“It was nothing important.
Just a private disagreement between girls.
You probably wouldn’t find it interesting.”
Charlie glanced at the broken dishes but chose not to challenge that explanation.
Madison took out her phone and held it up.
“I just saw a post about a fraternity party near Tulane tonight.
There will be music, alcohol, and enough college boys to keep the evening entertaining.”
She looked between Charlie and Zoe.
“Are you two coming?”
The invitation was exactly what Charlie had been waiting for.
He already knew what would happen at that party.
More importantly, the night would give him the opportunity to draw closer to one of the academy’s strongest young witches and begin putting his plan into motion.
“Of course.”
Charlie turned toward Zoe.
“You’ve been under a lot of pressure since your powers awakened.
Getting out of this house for one night might help you relax.”
Zoe hesitated only briefly.
Since Charlie wanted to go with her, she nodded.
“Okay.
I’ll come.”
Madison looked Zoe over from head to toe and frowned.
“The boyfriend is fine, but you need help.”
Zoe glanced down at her ordinary clothes.
“What’s wrong with what I’m wearing?”
“Do you own anything that didn’t come from the clearance rack at Gap?”
Zoe’s embarrassment answered the question before she could speak.
Despite her arrogance, Madison could occasionally be generous when fashion was involved.
She stood and gestured for Zoe to follow her upstairs.
“You can borrow something from me.
I refuse to arrive at a party beside someone dressed for a parent-teacher conference.”
Zoe looked toward Charlie, who gave her an encouraging nod.
Madison smiled with satisfaction as she led the way out of the dining room.
“Let’s make tonight unforgettable.”
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