Violet gazed approvingly at the house she'd bought just weeks ago. Already, handymen, gardeners, and other workers were going to work on the old property. Some of her friends had warned her that the old property wasn't worth fixing up, but Violet loved the rambling house with the brownstone walls—this was rare in England; brownstone had once been popular in America.

Although she and Bruce had divorced on fairly amiable terms*, Violet had chosen not to keep the house. It was a nice house; it was just that there were too many…bad memories. Violet had wanted to start anew, so she did. Her new project had been funded by, oddly enough, a horse. Two years ago, Violet had gone in with a friend on purchasing a racehorse. Incredibly, Fire and Ice had become a phenomenon in the British flat racing scene, raking up winnings an records.

"So it's really thanks to that chestnut colt that I got this place," Violet had laughed to Hyacinth.

Violet's family didn't share her friend's pessimism. Hyacinth, who had 'mellowed' since their father's death, yet still had a tendency to brag, said, "Soon I will be able to tell everyone about how my sister has restored a grand house in prime countryside."

"I told you that Fire and Ice was a good idea," said Onslow, who loved horse racing as much as ever.

The others approved of the house because they saw the potential in it, too, and were glad to see how excited Violet was. Poor thing, life had been rather unfair to her.

It wasn't long until the house was ready, and Violet was so thrilled that she sent out housewarming-party invitations as soon as the very last details were finished. She'd been planning this even before the sale of the house had been final.

When the invited guests—all of the family, plus a number of friends—came up to the house that night, they found the cobblestone driveway blazing with lights; floodlights highlighted the flowerbeds; lights illuminated the front door; lights shone from nearly every window in the house.

"I think your sister likes lights," Emmett said to Rose as they were driving in.

"I can see that," Rose laughed.

The two dozen guests trooped up the very well-lit walkway, and Hyacinth, who was in the lead, rang the doorbell. Just one second later, Violet flung the door open; it was obvious she'd posted herself there.

All the guests properly 'oohed' and 'aahed' over the grand hallway, and as Violet took them on a whirlwind tour of the house, they were impressed at every room; the house seemed like new. Violet's taste in décor, too, was excellent.

"I love what you've done in the lounge," Rose said, her approving smile very visible in the light of a copper chandelier in said lounge. "It's so cozy, but it really goes with the rest of the house."

Violet beamed, and then, at last, led everyone into the dining room, which was ablaze with loops of small, decorative lights hanging from the ceiling. A feast was spread out on the table, which was tastefully adorned.

"I see I've been an influence on your table arrangements," Hyacinth said airily.

"Hum?" Violet said blankly.

"You needn't thank me, dear, I am simply glad that my candlelight suppers have inspired you so much," Hyacinth said, still airily.

"No-o-o…" Violet said. "I do say this is all my own idea! Besides, it's not a candlelight supper."

"Yes, but I think you've taken a cue from my—,"

"I think you're imagining things," Violet said mildly.

"Now, let's all sit down to this delicious feast," Richard interjected, changing the subject lest Hyacinth give another rebuff. She'd mellowed since her and her sisters' father's death**, but her pride in her own social efforts still tended to crop up.

"You certainly seem to like a lot of light, Violet," Emmett said.

"Oh, yes," Violet said cheerfully. "The other house was much too dark."

Emmett and a few others thought that Violet was also speaking symbolically with her last words. He did not dwell on this, for she immediately launched into a lengthy tale about how she'd designed and planned everything. Then, just as she was getting to how she'd decided on the chandeliers in the house, the lights flickered.

"That's odd," Violet frowned.

"Don't worry about it," Onslow said. "It's probably nothing."

Then there was an ominous crackling noise, and the entire house went dark. Violet shrieked and a murmur of surprise rippled through the guests. The only light now was from the single candelabra. Violet used it to commandeer a couple of flashlights, one of which she handed to Onslow, who offered to look at the fusebox.

"Oh, goody," Violet muttered, but then she laughed a little, and she actually smiled in the dim light. "Well, it's a candlelight supper now, Hyacinth!"

The others looked both admiring and amused at Violet's finding humor in the situation.

"Well, let's not have dessert get warm," Violet said, indicating their ice cream cakes. Everyone had settled down to eating the delicious, cool dessert and laughing over the accidental candlelight supper when there was an unearthly scream from downstairs, a bang, and then a lot of footsteps. Daisy's eyes widened.

"That was Onslow!" she said. "I wonder what's happened to him!"

"I get another flashlight," Violet said, commandeering the candelabra, but just then, Onslow came through the dining room door—fell, nearly, gasping and stuttering. Even in the candlelight, everyone could see he was very alarmed. Daisy leapt up at once.

"Onslow, what on Earth!" she gasped.

"Bats—in—the—fusebox—room!" Onslow panted. "Fluttering! One—nearly—bit me—bats!"

Then he took a deep breath.

"By the way, before those bats attacked me, I found out the problem, Violet. The fusebox is insufficient to handle so many lights. You're going to need a bigger grid."

Violet sighed.

"Well, this has been an interesting night," she said. "This was supposed to be a grand social occasion."

Elizabeth piped up, cheerfully, "well, social disasters seem to run in your family."

"I heard that!" said Hyacinth.

"At any rate," Elizabeth continued, "it's been rather entertaining."

"Yes," Violet agreed with a wry smile. "Very entertaining indeed."

*, ** See my fanfic 'A Novel Idea'. You may also want to read 'Forces of Destiny' for some background.