“I hope you don’t mind us calling around unannounced like this?” Kathy was standing there with Lizzie by her side. “I had to pick this one up from her friend’s house. She lives not far from here, so I thought we’d pop in for a cup of tea if there’s one on offer.”
“Sure. Come on in. You’ve just missed Jack. He’s gone to buy dog food.”
“Since when did you have a dog?”
“Since a couple of days ago. It was Jack’s bright idea. By the time I found out about it, it was a fait accompli.”
“Lizzie, come and see Buddy.” Florence took Lizzie by the hand. “He’s in the garden.”
The kids disappeared out of the house, and Kathy walked over to the window. “A Chihuahua. How sweet.”
“There’s nothing sweet about that dog.”
“What do you mean?”
“I’m only kidding.” Not!
The two girls didn’t stay outside for very long because Buddy was still on strike.
“Come and see my bedroom, Lizzie,” Florence said. “I want to show you the octopus I made at school.”
“Okay, but let me show Auntie Jill my charm bracelet first.” She held out her hand.
“That’s—err—lovely.”
“Mum bought it for me last weekend, didn’t you, Mum?”
“Yes, under protest.” Kathy rolled her eyes.
Florence grabbed Lizzie’s hand, and the two of them disappeared upstairs.
“I’m surprised you bought her a bracelet. I didn’t think you approved of her having jewellery.”
“I resisted for as long as I could, but all the girls in her class have got them. Lizzie has been pestering me for ages to buy her one, so I said she could have it as a reward for being made captain of the netball team. They’re a right scam. The bracelets are cheap enough, but the charms are really expensive. I’ve told Lizzie that if she wants any more charms, she’ll have to save her pocket money, or have them for her birthday or Christmas.”
Just then, I heard the front door open.
“You’ll never believe it, Jill,” Jack shouted. “I didn’t need to go all the way to the supermarket. Incredibly, they had Buddy’s food at Tweaking Stores. Now that’s sorted, I suppose we’d better discuss whether or not we should let our little witch learn any more spells.”
He walked into the room, saw Kathy, and his face fell.
“Little witch?” Kathy looked puzzled.
Fast on his feet as always, Jack stood there with his mouth wide open.
“It’s something Florence is doing at school.” I jumped in. “They have to dress up as mythical creatures, and I suggested she could be a witch.”
“Why would she want to be a witch?” Kathy said. “They’re ugly. Florence would make a much better fairy.”
“You’re probably right. Nothing’s been decided yet, has it, Jack?”
“Err, no. I’ll go and feed the dog, shall I?”
“Good idea.”
Chapter 10
The next morning, on my drive to work, I reflected on the discussion that Jack and I had had the previous night. After Florence had gone to bed, I’d told him that Grandma had said we were being unfair by not allowing her to practise magic. I also revealed my own concerns that our decision might have an adverse effect on her later in life. It was only when I’d mentioned the possibility that Florence might be invited to attend CASS that Jack had become really animated. He’d been horrified at the idea, and his initial reaction had been that no daughter of his would ever go to a boarding school. Eventually, he’d calmed down and we’d managed to discuss the subject rationally. I told him that, although I couldn’t bear the idea of Florence going to boarding school either, it was probably something that she should be allowed to decide for herself when the time came.
We agreed to put the subject of CASS on hold for the time being. Far more pressing was the question of if we should allow Florence to learn more magic now or stick to our original plan and wait until she was older. We also discussed the possibility of Florence going to Candlefield with me occasionally. Jack didn’t have any objections to that, but I could tell he was saddened by the realisation that this was a part of her life he would never be able to share.
It was after midnight when we’d eventually decided to call it a day. We still hadn’t made any concrete decisions, but I’d suggested it might be helpful if I could speak to someone who had been in the same position, to see what decisions they’d made, and how it had worked out for them. I’d come up with the idea of contacting the headmistress at CASS. I was sure there must be pupils at the school who came from a similar background.
Before I got out of the car in Washbridge, I made a call to CASS. I hadn’t yet met the current headmistress, Hildegard Bogart, and I expected to have to leave a message, asking if she would call me back. As it turned out, as soon as I told the receptionist my name, I was put straight through.
“Jill Maxwell? This is Hildegard Bogart speaking. I have a note in my diary to give you a call soon, but you’ve saved me the trouble.”
“Thank you for speaking to me, Headmistress. I was hoping to make an appointment to come over and talk to you sometime?”
“You can pop over now if you like.”
“Are you sure that’s convenient?”
“Absolutely.”
“Great. I’ll be with you in a few minutes.”
I magicked myself straight over there.
“That was jolly quick, Jill.” Ms Bogart cut a commanding figure. Tall and solid, she was much younger than Desdemona Nightowl. “Come in. Come in. I do hope you’ll let me in on your secret spell.”
“Sorry?”
“The one that allows you to magic yourself between Candlefield and CASS. I hate those dreadful
