As everyone walked into the dining room, Lynn had a large beef roast resting on a platter in the middle of the long table along with a bowl of mashed turnips and a bowl of boiled carrots. There were also dinner rolls and butter on a separate platter. Lynn stood at the head of the table with a bottle of wine.

"Are you hungry?" Lynn smiled as everyone took their seats. Tyler sat next to his wife and nodded eagerly. She popped open the wine. "Then get some food. I'll come around with the wine."

"I can get the wine if you want me to," Tyler offered, but Lynn refused. Charlotte smiled to herself, thinking that they fit well together. Then she reached for the roast she was so excited for and started to pass it around as well.

"How was your trip?" Elizabeth asked, as she sat in between Tyler and Jack. "Other than finding the plant you showed us."

"It was good," Tyler began but Lynn cut him off.

"It was fantastic. The weather was perfect the entire time, and it was gorgeous. All the streets were made of copper colored cobblestone and every house had reddish hues because of the natural red sand. Oh, Elizabeth, you have to go to Askos if you ever get the chance," Lynn insisted. 

Charlotte stifled a laugh, thinking that her sister was always saying the same thing wherever she went. Everything was beautiful and wonderful, and Charlotte loved that Lynn loved to travel so often. Although, Lynn didn't seem to hear Charlotte, even though she was next to her.

"If I get the chance, I'll go there," Elizabeth answered excitedly.

"This roast is delicious," Charlotte commented. Lynn grinned even wider.

"Does it taste like Mom's?"

"I think it tastes better, honestly," Charlotte added, sipping her wine. 

"What was your Mom like? I don't think I've ever heard either of you talk about her," Victoria asked gingerly. Charlotte looked at Lynn, who smiled, before turning back to Victoria.

"She was a fantastic woman. She was always caring and making sure that everyone was taken care of. She started the shoppe to help people when they needed it. Her heart was made of gold, and she did her best raising us. It was hard for her sometimes, since our father wasn't sure how to help around the shoppe. She always made sure that she had time to make dinner and be with her family when she could," Charlotte began. "She sparked my passion for potion making and helping others when I could."

"She was probably the best person I know," Lynn sighed with a fond smile. Charlotte agreed, her eyes growing watery. Of course, Charlotte knew that they were exaggerating. There were some times where her mother didn't see eye to eye with them, but those times were irrelevant now. She couldn't bear to see her mother in a negative light after she had died.

"Was your father a kind man?" Elizabeth added. Charlotte laugh, and nodded.

"He was. He tried so hard to help Mom with the shoppe and with us. I always thought he bit off more than he could chew when it came to marrying her," Lynn replied.

"He had never met a witch before he met Mom. He came from a rural town, and was fascinated with Strathmore's history," Charlotte added.

"Didn't he want to be a historian?" Lynn chuckled. Charlotte nodded.

"He wanted to learn everything he could about Strathmore and it's people. Is that how he met Mom? I can't remember."

"Yes, because he wandered in her shoppe after he found out that it had some sort of minor significance."

"That's right, that's right. I don't think he fully knew what he was getting into when he entered that shoppe," Charlotte laughed.

"But he loved us, and helped in anyway he could. He was supportive of us and Mom, and even put his work aside to raise us. I think he would have gone back to it, if he had had the chance," Lynn commented.

"Do you know if anyone took over his work? He had a lot of research put together."

"I think someone did. I'm sure the Council is taking care of that."

"I hope so. I don't think anyone has written down Strathmore's history in the passed few decades. It would be a shame to have all that go down the drain," Charlotte sighed.

"They sound like great people though," Tyler smiled, grabbing his wife's hand. Lynn agreed and nodded her head.

"That's why I'm helping catch their killer. Someone needs to be found responsible for their deaths. They should have justice," Charlotte added. She took another sip of wine as Lynn sighed.

"We shouldn't take about that at dinner. Let's talk about it tomorrow when we all have some time to process what's going on and let the Bureau get more information first," Lynn suggested. Charlotte said nothing, but nodded her head. She understood where Lynn was coming from, but it was still hard to hear from her sister. "Oh, Elizabeth, I heard that your sister is in town."

"She is, she's been talking about moving here, though. I don't know if she will, but I guess there's a bakery for sale in town that her husband has his eye on," Elizabeth answered, startled to be called out of the blue. Lynn grinned and nodded.

"That's wonderful. I'm so glad that she might be staying. Once she gets settled in a little more, why don't you invite her over? Any family of yours is a family of mine," Lynn informed cheerfully. Elizabeth thanked her, wondering if it was a desperate subject change rather than pure interest.

"Do you have any family, Victoria? I don't think I've ever heard you talk about anyone," Lynn mentioned. Victoria put her wine glass down gently.

"They don't approve of having a witch in the family, unfortunately. I came to Strathmore by myself shortly before I met Charlotte to start my training. In my mind, the shoppe is all the family I need," Victoria answered with a kind smile. Charlotte could see a burning rage behind her eyes, but neither said anything.

Victoria had briefly talked about her family with Charlotte many years ago. Charlotte knew that her apprentice grew up in a small town in the middle of nowhere, where no witches lived. When it became apparent that Victoria was a witch, she was shunned in the community. Her mother kept the vultures off her back, but soon her mother began to resent Victoria's gifts.

After a long argument and many harsh words, Victoria grabbed her few belongings and traveled to Strathmore. She said that it wasn't a terrible journey, but the week walk was one of the hardest things she had ever done. Charlotte had found Victoria shortly after that as she was on her way to take the entry exam. It was around the same time that she had been given the Name Madame Dragyn.

Lynn didn't press the issue, but apologized for the abrupt rudeness that she had shown. Victoria insisted that it was fine, and that it wasn't a very interesting topic. Jack seemed to be enjoying himself, listening to all the drama around him.

Before Charlotte could offer up a new conversational direction, there was a loud knock at the door. Tyler excused himself as he went to answer the door. Lynn watched him go as she began to look worried. 

"Did that Capulexperigis work out alright?" Charlotte asked, distracting her sister.

"Yeah, it works better than coffee. Tyler always opens his practice so early, so it works wonders to keep me awake. What time do you usually open?" Lynn wondered.

"Depending on the day, usually around nine or so. Sometimes eight."

"Oh, that's so nice! Tyler insists that he opens his doors right at seven every morning. It's exhausting!" Lynn groaned. Charlotte opened her mouth to argue, but Tyler came back into the room. He was holding an oddly familiar envelope, handing it to Lynn.

"It's for you and Charlotte," Tyler whispered. Lynn gingerly took it from him and held it between her and Charlotte. It was a crisp paper envelope with fancy red calligraphy, addressed to the two sisters. It didn't say who it was from.