Chapter Text
Ophelia sat in a small cafe, mindlessly scratching tiny doodles into a notepad next to her coffee. There was the normal noise of a public place, several quiet conversations all tumbling together like a creek running over the rocks, with the occasional splash of laughter. Silverware clinked against glasses and bowls, and the daylight just barely reached under the awning to drag its fingertips along the tables by the windows.
Just as she finished her magnum opus, a little drawing of a cat she had seen earlier in the margins of a to-do list, the bell over the door rang. She stopped herself from glancing up at first, feeling the little flick on her arm and the whispered, ‘Manners, Ophelia,’ from her aunt even after all those years without her.
She finally looked up as she saw that the new customer was making a beeline toward her, and scrambled a bit to look presentable. Shoulders back, chin up, notepad pocketed. Don’t look too shocked to see her, but don’t look bored and uninterested. Elbows off the table.
The woman approached with a restrained smile, dressed in purples and blacks that looked at once elegant and striking, and red hair cut just below her jaw. She seemed flawlessly put together, and suddenly Ophelia felt horribly underdressed.
“So pleased that you could make it, Miss Nigmos," the woman said, coming to a stop by the table. Her dress followed its momentum, twisting back onto her until it came to rest.
"You must be Mrs. Capp," Ophelia smiled and stood to shake her hand. "It's great to finally meet you."
"I hope it wasn't any trouble, considering how short notice all of this is."
"Oh, not at all. I was in the area anyway."
"Do you mind if I join you?"
Ophelia shook her head. "Not at all."
She gestured to the seat across from hers, which the redhead graciously took, folding her hands in her lap. Ophelia sat back down to face her.
"So, um, Mrs. Capp-"
"Oh, please," she cut her off, rolling her eyes playfully, "just call me Hermia. Missus Capp was my grandmother."
Ophelia smiled bashfully. "Well, Hermia, I guess we might as well get to the point. No sense in wasting daylight."
Hermia nodded.
"So," Ophelia continued, "if you had to estimate it, how, uh, active is your home on a daily basis?"
"See, well, that's the problem, actually. We've no idea."
She glanced out the window, seeming a bit sheepish. Ophelia raised an eyebrow, urging her to continue.
"I've called you here because my grandfather passed but a few months ago."
"Oh, I'm so sorry."
"Ah," she waved it off, "it's part of life. But the issue is that he left the house to me."
"And you're worried that his spirit lingers?"
"My husband thinks I'm completely insane," Hermia grumbled, furrowing her brow. "I just can't... It doesn't sit right with me. The air in that house feels wrong."
"I know what you mean. I think it's a reasonable concern." Ophelia readjusted her jacket. "And besides," she added, "even if it is just a gut feeling, it's better to be safe than sorry."
"My thoughts exactly. I hope it isn't too much trouble; I'd hate to waste your time if there really is nothing lingering."
"Hey, even if it is nothing, I don't mind making sure."
Hermia flashed her a genuine smile. There was a tiredness in her eyes that made her seem more real, and less like some kind of painted portrait.
"Thank you. I won't be able to sleep right unless I know we're truly alone in that manor."
"Of course."
Hermia seemed to relax a bit, fidgeting with her necklace. Ophelia tried to match it, loosening her shoulders.
"If you don't mind me asking," Hermia said, "how did you get into the business? Ghost hunting doesn't seem like the kind of career someone just stumbles into, so to speak."
Ophelia chuckled, picking up her coffee. It was already almost empty, and barely lukewarm -- she just needed something to do with her hands.
"Well, I used to live somewhere with quite a bit of paranormal activity, and eventually it just hit me that I couldn't sleep right without ghosts screaming in the house. My roommates in college were close enough, but after that, it just seemed... I don't know. I can't imagine doing anything else, anymore."
"Where did you study?"
"Academie Le Tour."
Hermia gasped. "What year?"
"I graduated in..." She paused to think. "2008? I think?"
"Ah, that's the year I went in. We just missed each other."
"Really? Any interesting things I missed?"
"Some-" Hermia fought back laughter, "someone in my dormitory building tried to have a duel in the parking lot."
"A duel?"
"They couldn't find a way to get real swords, nor to smuggle them on campus, so they-" she snickered, "they hit each other with the- what are they called? The little cardboard tubes inside wrapping paper."
"Oh my God," Ophelia buried her face in her hands.
"The best part is, not only did they fight, but a crowd gathered around and started placing bets."
"No way."
"I could see it from my window, the whole thing. I woke up on the first day of winter break to a bunch of fools, half of them drunk, cheering over these two cardboard warriors. It was the stupidest thing I think I ever saw."
Ophelia composed herself a bit and sighed. "I think the strangest thing that happened when I went was the year I had a few roommates who all swore they would see a ghost at night wandering the building."
"Was there really a ghost?"
"No, but they talked about it all the time. And it made all of them paranoid. They'd get up in the morning and talk about it in whispers, or they'd scream in the middle of the night and wake everyone up. I once heard them all drawing straws to see who would bring it up to the people in charge."
"So what was it?"
"We were on the top floor. Squirrels in the attic."
"You're kidding."
"I'm serious. We called an exterminator, and all the rumors of curses and ghosts were gone within the month."
The two of them laughed together, losing a bit of that composure they had tried so hard to keep at the start. Ophelia felt so much less intimidated than before. This wasn't some kind of crazy millionaire or stuck up royalty like she had envisioned; this was just a normal woman with a ghost concern, like any other client.
"If only it were that easy," Hermia sighed.
"Hey," Ophelia smiled, "that's what I'm here for."