“There’s no wonder the place is empty. I bet no one ever goes there twice.”
***
Freda Pearldiver was a charming woman who couldn’t do enough for me. After showing me into her gorgeous living room, she disappeared into the kitchen, and returned a few minutes later, carrying a silver tray with a pot of tea on it.
“I do hope you like loose tea, Jill?”
“To be perfectly honest with you, Freda, I can’t remember the last time I had any.”
“In that case, you’re in for a real treat.” She picked up the pot and poured a cup for me. “Do help yourself to milk and sugar.”
I took a sip.
“What do you think?”
“It’s lovely.” I picked a couple of tea leaves off my tongue.
“I buy it from a small shop called Tea for Three.”
“Right.” I was trying not to choke on the tea leaves. “Don’t you normally use a tea strainer with loose tea?”
“I find that spoils the taste. Now, you said you wanted to talk to me about Maxine.”
“Indirectly, yes. It’s actually related to my daughter, Florence. I’m not sure if the headmistress mentioned it to you, but my husband, Jack, is a human.”
“Yes, Miss Bogart told me.”
“I understand that Maxine’s father is a human too?”
“That’s right, but Graham walked out on us not long after Maxine was born, so he hasn’t played any part in her upbringing.”
“That can’t have been easy for you.”
“It wasn’t, particularly not at first, but it got easier as the years went by.”
“We’re trying to decide how much magic we should teach Florence.”
“We?” Freda looked shocked. “Surely your husband doesn’t know you and your daughter are sups?”
Oh bum!
“No, of course not. I meant to say that I’m trying to decide. I’d planned to teach her just a handful of spells for now, and then when she’s older, I can introduce her to the more advanced spells. I’m curious to hear how you approached this with Maxine?”
“Actually, I didn’t teach Maxine any magic at all until she was eleven years old. In fact, she didn’t even know she was a witch until then.”
“Really? That does surprise me.”
“She only found out she was a witch when the invitation from CASS arrived. To be honest, I never for one moment expected her to be invited to attend CASS. It came as a total surprise.”
“What happened when she found out that she was a witch?”
“At first, she simply didn’t believe it. Then, she became very angry with me for keeping her in the dark.”
“But she still wanted to go to CASS?”
“Once she’d calmed down, I gave her the choice. I said it was entirely up to her whether she went there or not.”
“And how is she doing there?”
“It was very difficult for her at first because most of the kids live in the sup world. And, the few that do live in the human world have known they were sups all their lives. That’s why I think my decision not to tell her was a mistake. Thankfully, she’s settled in now and is doing well with all of her studies.”
“That must be a relief for you.”
“It is. What will you do if Florence gets an invitation to CASS? It’s not like you can discuss it with your husband, is it?”
“I have no idea. Look, Freda, I’ll be honest with you, the main reason I wanted to talk to you was to ask if you’d give me permission to speak with Maxine. I’d love to get her take on all of this, but I’ll understand if you’d prefer I didn’t.”
“I have no objections, but I’ll need to check with her first, to see if she’s okay with it.”
“Of course.”
“I’ll be speaking to her in the next couple of days, so I’ll let you know what she says.”
“That’s great. Thanks.”
“I’m curious about one thing, Jill. Don’t you worry that Florence might say something to your husband? Tell him that she’s a witch, I mean?”
“Every day, but Florence and I have regular chats about it, and I always make sure she knows it has to be our little secret.”
Chapter 13
It was Monday morning and I was feeling rested after the weekend. On Saturday, after I’d got back from speaking to Freda Pearldiver, Jack, Florence and I had spent the rest of the day at home.
On Sunday, we’d taken a drive into the countryside for a picnic. The weather had been gorgeous, and Florence had been on her best behaviour. The only dog in the ointment had been the lazy Chihuahua. Apparently, Buddy was not fond of long walks. Or any kind of walk. We’d only been going for about ten minutes when he refused to budge. Jack had to carry him for most of the day, which was ironic after the way he’d complained to me about being manhandled. It’s not like he’s an old dog; he’s barely more than a puppy. He’s just bone idle.
I’d just set off for the office when a man, dressed in trainers, jeans and a red cardigan, stepped into the road and flagged me down. I’d seen him a few times around the village, but I’d never actually spoken to him.
I lowered the window. “Can I help you?”
“I’m sorry to catch you on your way out like this. I’m Rupert Schubert, the vicar of Tweaking parish. You’re new to the village, aren’t you?”
“Yeah, we moved into the old watermill a couple of months ago.”
“I thought so. You have a little girl, don’t you?”
“Florence, yes. I’m Jill and my husband’s name is Jack.”
“Jack and Jill, eh?” He grinned. “You must have a fairy tale marriage.”
There were times when I seriously considered changing my name by deed poll. There
