Maria (The Magician – Chapter Eleven)

This is the eleventh chapter of the serialization novel I am working on, The Magician – < click here to read the other chapters if you missed them.

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Maria

Maria Lucia Zamarano Tamberlane was the matriarch of the current incarnation of the Tamberlane family, a formidable magician in her own right.  Of course, these days, she left the magic to the younger generations and focused on her philanthropic endeavors instead.

Vanessa’s maternal grandmother still carried herself with a bearing women twenty years younger could not seem to muster.  Her white hair was bound up in a braided bun, as always, though Vanessa knew Gran could not do the intricate braids herself.  Her personal assistant and nurse Melody did her hair every morning, since Gran’s fingers were gnarled by the arthritis that plagued her family in their senior years, despite the magic that flowed through their veins.

Her dearest companions in the mansion she had called her home since her marriage were her cat, Mr. Wiggles and the elderly normal gentleman she called her suitor, Dewar.  

Mr. Wiggles was currently napping in the sunlight on the chaise lounge.  He was an elderly and overweight black cat but had been aptly named by Vanessa herself when he was a kitten.  He was indeed very wiggly.  Maria hated the name but loved her granddaughter and had made a promise to let Vanessa name the kitten long before.  These days, the chunky feline often was called Wig and was never far from either his favorite spot in the sun or his food bowl.

Archibald Dewar was Maria’s second love, though one she would never wed.  Dewar, as he preferred to be called, was a widower with no children of his own.  He was a genial fellow that always smelled of the sweet tobacco he preferred to smoke when he sat in the garden.

While he had amassed a mediocre fortune compared to the assets of the Tamberlanes, he had enough to look after himself and a largesse that would be bestowed on his dear niece and nephew upon his passing.  Because of the headache that merging their fortunes together would cause, the elderly couple refused to sign any paperwork that would link them together financially.  While Dewar still had his own mansion in another neighborhood of the city, Maria’s had better accommodations.  Thus, Dewar spent a great deal of time with her there.  He was likely napping in one of the adjoining rooms, being looked after by Melody.  

Vanessa mused that while her grandmother seemed to have boundless energy, the two males in her life did not.

Maria Tamberlane looked up from her ornate desk as Vanessa entered the study, her brown eyes watching her granddaughter from behind her gold wire glasses.  She had a stern look upon her face that Vanessa surmised was from reading whatever document had crossed her massive desk, but the sternness melted away as Maria smiled at her second eldest granddaughter.

Vanessa crossed the intricate rug that decorated the floor and walked around the desk to greet her grandmother, giving her a kiss on the cheek as the elderly woman rose from her seat.  She was aware of the lavender and rose perfume the woman always wore, expensive and crafted specifically for her.

“Good afternoon, Grandmere,” she murmured as she squeezed the frail shoulders of the older woman.

“Vanessa, it is so nice of you to come for a visit!” she exclaimed as she moved the paperwork she was reading into the manila envelope it had likely been enclosed in.  

Vanessa smiled knowingly at her movements.  Her grandmother must have known she would be curious about whatever the paperwork was.  Maria would have even called her nosy, so it was best that she hide it away from Vanessa’s prying eyes.

Maria moved from her desk to the comfortable armchair that sat in the corner of her office, motioning to her granddaughter to sit in the matching loveseat that was placed perpendicularly.  Vanessa did as was suggested.

“Now, what is this I am hearing about you going to the Piggy Whistle?”

Vanessa did what she knew was best when dealing with her grandmother.  She kept her face stoic and feigned ignorance.

“I’m not sure what you mean, Gran.”

“I know you were there, my dear.  Dewar’s nephew, I am sorry to say, frequents that horrid establishment. Ambrose has a knack for remembering faces.  He mentioned to Dewar yesterday that he saw you there the other night.  Oh, what day did he say?  Oh yes, he saw you there Friday night, speaking to some older gentleman.”

Vanessa sighed.  Freddy had been right when he pointed out that the man watching them intently looked familiar.  She had only met Ambrose Dewar once or twice, but now that she thought about it, she groaned inwardly.

“We were seeking some information,” she replied.  “I was doing some research for my thesis, Gran.  I was discussing it with an acquaintance that insisted on meeting there.”

Her grandmother looked at her pointedly.

“We?  I take it that Freddy accompanied you?”

Vanessa nodded.  

“He insisted when he knew my mind was made up.  He did not want me going it alone.”

Maria leaned back in her chair and sighed at her granddaughter as she shook her head.

“That was noble of him.  Knowing dear Freddy, he tried to talk you out of whatever harebrained idea you had in going there as well.”

There was a knock at the door before Vanessa could reply to her grandmother.  Mrs. Albrecht, the housekeeper, entered as Maria called out to her.

“Hello, Mrs. Tamberlane!” she called out cheerily, bringing in a water pitcher and two glasses on a tray.  “Hello, Miss Rankin!” 

She set her cargo down on the table next to Vanessa, who reached to pour some liquid into each glass.

Vanessa’s grandmother spoke.

“Mrs. Stowarski rang just a little while ago.  She wants to know if you would be willing to make those little canapes and the tapenades for the luncheon this Friday.  She was raving about them to the board and thinks they would be a perfect accompaniment to the aperitifs we will be imbibing.”

Mrs. Albrecht’s face lit up.

“I would be glad to do so, madame.  Is there anything else you will need?”

“Not at present time, although I do believe young Vanessa here will be joining Dewar and I for lunch today.”  

The look her grandmother gave her told Vanessa she had no choice in the matter.  She was going to have to text her friend Juliette and let her know she would be missing the study group.

The housekeeper took her leave and Maria looked sharply at her granddaughter again.

“I would appreciate it, my dear, if in the future you would conduct your meetings for research in more appropriate places.  Meeting in seedy bars, no matter how high class they tout themselves to be, is not auspicious for a female with your kind of upbringing.”

Vanessa took in a deep breath before she answered.

“Sure thing, Gran.”

The door swung open once more and Vanessa’s uncle Reginald entered the room, holding some sort of playbill.  She was sure he had not yet noticed her, for he was reading intently.

Reginald Tamberlane was the eldest of the current generation of Tamberlanes and the only one considered a lothario of sorts.  Maria often chided him for his love life, but also spoiled him as much as she could, for he was the eldest of her three children. He had married a number of women and Vanessa had four cousins as a result.  But none of the women stayed with him for more than a year.  Lately, it seemed he was running through a new girlfriend every other week.  One of Vanessa’s more devious pastimes was asking him about his latest love interest every time she saw him.

“Did you see this?” he announced angrily.  “He’s finally decided he needs to show his face around here again.  Why he thinks now is a–” He trailed off as he realized his niece was sitting in the room with his mother.

“Hello, Uncle Reg,” Vanessa announced cheerily. 

Reginald scowled as he threw the playbill on the desk.  Vanessa got a good look at it before Maria hurried to push it under the papers.  It was a flier for the very show she was told to see.

Malatesta’s Traveling Show, it announced.

“Who is this he?” she asked curiously as her grandmother made sure to arrange the papers on her desk neatly, moving the flier to the bottom of the pile.  Vanessa smiled sweetly at Reginald, hoping to get an answer.  “Is he someone I should know about?”

“He’s no one of importance, Nessa,” he replied tartly. 

There was a magical command woven into the words, but Vanessa simply smiled.

“That’s not going to work on me anymore, Uncle Reg.  I’m not some child who needs to be kept in the dark.”

Reginald shook his head and scowled.  “That’s exactly what you are.  It’s none of your business.”

The way he pursed his lips and clenched his jaw told Vanessa the subject was off limits, just like any number of subjects usually were.  She scoffed.

“Let me guess, this has to do with that silly magical decree our great ancestor Alexander cast that means certain family members become taboo?” she asked snottily.

Maria spoke up.

“Don’t take that tone, young lady.  You know very well that rule was put into place to protect the family as a whole.  Old family squabbles are just that; they are old.”

Vanessa quickly schooled her face to that of a properly subdued young lady, though inside she was still rather annoyed at being treated like a child once more.  She had learned long ago that if she wanted to get information, she would have to wait until it was dropped.  She also knew how to do a fair bit of snooping to get what she wanted.  She decided to try a different tactic.

“How’s Emmeline, Uncle Reg?” she asked sweetly.  She was asking about his latest lady, a widowed woman from south of Allium.  She had it on good authority that they had already broken up, but she wanted to hear it from him.

He rolled his eyes, just as she thought he would.

“We’re done.  She was talking about getting hitched again and I just don’t need that kind of complication in my life.”

Maria scoffed, just as Vanessa knew she would.

“Reginald Marcelo Tamberlane, I really wish you’d settle down with someone and stay settled for good,” she said.  “It’s a shame that the eldest of my children had been divorced four times and won’t stay with anyone long enough to do more than beget yet another heir to split the family wealth with.” 

Vanessa bit the inside of her lip to keep from laughing as she watched her tiny grandmother berate her uncle once more.

She felt her watch buzz and looked at the message that scrolled across.  She saw that she had a text from her cousin Thora, daughter of said Reginald.  

Are you at the house?

She fished her phone out of her back pocket and quickly answered back.

Yes.

There was quickly a reply. 

Good.  I’ll be there in a few.  I have something to tell you.

“What is so interesting on your device there, Vanessa?” Maria snapped.

Vanessa sent a thumbs up icon and quickly stuffed the phone into the pocket of her jeans as she looked at the elderly woman apologetically.  Her grandmother hated anyone using their phones in her presence. 

“Sorry, Gran.  Thora’s texting me.  She’s on her way here to talk to me.  May I be excused?”

Her grandmother sighed and exchanged a look with Reginald, one that spoke volumes. Maria nodded and spoke again.

“At least she’s actually planning on communicating with you face to face.  You may go. See you at lunch.”

Vanessa stood and kissed her grandmother’s cheek as she was expected to do.  She was raised with manners, of course.  She took her leave but did not shut the door all of the way.  Waiting in the hallway, she was soon rewarded with the information she had hoped she would overhear.

“I can’t believe Malatesta is coming back to Allium,” Reginald stated.  “I was sure he’d never show his face here again.”

“Never mind Malatesta,” Maria snapped back.  “Look at that by-line.  Alexander is turning in his grave right now, I am sure of it.  If he were here today to see how low some in this family have stooped, he would be sure to cast another decree.  Poor Constance, I am glad she is not alive to see how low some have fallen.  Though they both know better than to show their faces here.”

Vanessa wondered why her grandaunt Constance was mentioned alongside the director of the traveling show she was told to see.  She also wondered who was mentioned in that byline.

Another buzz on her watch told her that Thora was almost there.  While she wanted to keep listening in on the conversation, she knew she was pushing her luck with what she already had overheard.

She reluctantly walked away and headed for the front door so she could watch for her favorite cousin.  She wondered what piece of gossip Thora had in store for her.

 Click here to read the next chapter – Thora

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Disclaimer: This story is a work of fiction written by K. S. Wood, and thus is copyrighted 2023. Names, characters, places and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.  No part of this work may be reproduced, or stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without express written permission of the author.  All rights reserved.

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