Free from author website upon signup for newsletter Author's Note: In creating two large, eccentric families, I will inevitably develop characters who never quite fit into a larger story. Jacques Bellamy-Ives is one of them. I adore Jacques. He's cheerful, he's highly intelligent, and he's creative—always a plus in my book. He has his flaws, but none of them are large enough to justify 85,000 words to overcome. But even if he's not scientific like his brothers, Jacques does have one blind spot—he thinks Malcolm magic is just a lark. For those of you unfamiliar with my Unexpected Magic series—the Malcolms are a lively family of ladies with extra abilities. They don't generally read minds or the future, but they have unusual talents, like predicting events from the stars or healing with their hands or seeing ghosts. So you can understand why a practical, logical man would have difficulty grasping these totally improbably gifts—until he discovers a not-quite-normal ability of his own. I hope you'll enjoy this brief story about how a sensible Ives male accepts the fantastic, all for the love of a lady.