Longer? Philomena blinked up at him in askance as he continued his explanation. The conservatory certainly seemed like something was amiss today, though Philomena wasn’t sure if it was due to the weather or just the nature of the large magical greenhouse. As curated as it was, there came a point in every garden where the plants took on a life of their own and there was nothing anyone could do to stop them. Be that as it may even Philomena, who had seen some weird occurrences in the greenhouse, had to admit that the atmosphere felt…different. And she wasn’t sure if it was in a good way.

A small squeaking bark told her that the fox had evidently listened to his mistress and wandered back over. But Philomena was too preoccupied by Mr. Dempsey’s description to notice. “Hours?” That was worrying. Now she turned just at the moment when Tchaikovsky trotted up to her. Picking up the fox, she turned back to face him. He joked, but she worried her bottom lip with her teeth. “I can’t believe I didn’t forsee this…” She reached to scratch Tchai behind the ear.

She wondered if the magic had some how been affected by the snowstorm outside. “What time did you get here Mr. Dempsey?” Perhaps Mr. Dempsey had quite literally been there for hours. Even so, that he felt he’d been lost meant that there was some sort of barrier glitch that she’d now have to figure out how to resolve.

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