Page 35 of The Headmistress

Now it was Sam’s turn to look at her in complete shock.

“I had a salad delivered from Rowena’s last week and there was some kind of mixup. They gave me the vegan option instead of chicken. Sir Willoughby here got to eat my tofu.” She gave him one last scratch and picked him up from the table, hugging him to her chest before setting him up on the pillow on the windowsill where he promptly rolled on his back, paws in the air, and fell asleep, obviously pretty proud of himself and the job he had accomplished.

“Magdalene, how allergic?”

Sam’s heart was beating double time now. Wet tiles, electricity, and now soy milk? Combine all this with dead rats and wilted flowers, and a gruesome pattern was obviously emerging.

“Not enough to kill me, but you would have had to be very quick in your dash for my EpiPen.”

“Shit.” Sam sat down, oblivious to the mess she was settling amidst.

“Eloquent, but apt.” Magdalene seemed to gravitate towards her, her hip perching against the now wrecked table. “Orla had her coffee mug with her.” Sam raised her eyes sharply to her, as Magdalene went on, “Earlier, when she accosted me about calling the electrician and about requesting another one from the mainland to assess the grid. She called it ‘outside involvement in school business’. Like it was anathema. She was sipping hot coffee from a school mug. She must have known it wasn’t regular milk.”

“At this hour, I’m amazed Orla was up and at your throat. She doesn’t take milk in her coffee and honestly, she’s not really functional until her second or third mug. There’s a reason all her classes start after 10 AM. Plus, I’m not at all sure she knows what soy milk really is. She’s not particular about her drinks unless it’s whiskey. ”

“Dammit, Sam!” Magdalene pushed off from the table and paced away from her, her tone indignant. On the windowsill, the awoken Willoughby meowed in displeasure, either at the raised voices or at his mistress being upset. If Sam was a betting woman, she’d put good money on the latter.

“Magdalene, how would she even know you’re allergic?”

“She was in my office during the salad chicken-tofu debacle. I may have been rather vocal about the quality of local establishments and their customer service.” Her cheeks pinked, and Sam shook her head at Magdalene being a prima donna and letting everyone know about it.

“So pretty much everyone at school must have heard you throwing a fit over soy—albeit a completely deserved one since this allergy is no joke.”

“Sam, both Fenway and Joanne were in my office when it happened, haranguing me over the history curriculum. Hell, Joanne even gave me the third degree about feeding tofu to Sir Willoughby, without first checking if he has an intolerance. What a concept!”

Sam wanted to point out that it was pretty hypocritical of someone allergic to soy to assume the cat wasn’t also allergic, but she observed the woman give the cat a completely enamored tummy caress and just rolled her eyes. A battle for another day. Except Magdalene’s next comment totally took the cake on this already weird morning.

“As if I’d feed him anything without having him tested for allergies? She thinks I’m irresponsible and incapable of caring for an animal.”

Sam stared.

“You took Willoughby to the vet?”

“Of course I did. I had to know that he’s healthy, doesn’t have fleas, rabies, or whatever else scruffy, strange cats might have. He insists on sleeping with me at night, Sam. You think I’d let an animal in my bed without making sure he’s perfectly safe? Testing for allergies seemed like a thing to do at the time.”

Sam let out a delighted bark of laughter.

“You are a total charlatan, Magdalene Nox! Walking around sneering at this cat, pretending to hate him and telling me to throw him out when you probably have a whole stash of cat treats in your apartment.”

Judging by the intensifying blush on Magdalene’s cheekbones, Sam had hit the nail on the head. Instantly enchanted, Sam felt her heart skip a beat. Every time she thought she had this woman figured out, she kept surprising her.

Obviously done with being sappy, Magdalene approached her briskly, all business, and gently picked up her wounded hand.

“Now let me see how badly he got you and if that ice helped at all. And, no, he won’t have his regular evening treat tonight.” She caressed the slightly red skin of the palm, and Sam promptly forgot about any lingering pain. The tender fingertips touched and prodded around the burn, and Sam discovered that her hands were a rather erogenous zone after all. Or really, any place Magdalene touched on her body turned into an erogenous zone.

Shaking herself out of her reverie, Sam met Magdalene’s eyes and recognized how close they were. Given her absolutely inappropriate thoughts and their respective concerns about being discovered in a compromising position, she slowly tugged her hand out of the easy grasp of those graceful fingers. She felt the loss of contact in her bones.

“I think he deserves all the treats from now on. I might even supply them myself since he saved you from a very unpleasant experience.” Sam’s whisper was hoarse, the reality of what could have happened hitting her all of a sudden.

Gentle fingers touched her chin, raising her eyes to Magdalene’s.

“I guess all the cat talk didn’t distract you. Don’t be scared, Sam. I’m all right.” A brief touch of cool lips was applied to her forehead before Magdalene stepped away once again.

“Well, this has been fun, but whether Orla likes it or not, the school is about to be thrown into a bit of a ruckus. I’m done being bullied and harassed. If memory serves me well, the town doesn’t have local law enforcement. Still true?”

“Yeah… There’s not much crime here and if need be, they call the mainland. The county Sheriff’s Department covers Dragons Island.”

“Well then, I have things to do, and obviously the ever-charming law enforcement to speak to.”

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