“You have?” That did not sound like good news.
Her lips twitched. “You own a knitting shop, I believe. I’ve been meaning to get down there. I like to knit in the evenings while I’m watching TV.”
That sounded like such a domestic occupation for this glamorous woman. “You’d be welcome anytime,” I said.
“I’m Karmen.”
Her eyes widened and went to where her fingers were still resting on my wrist. My pulse must have jumped when I heard her name. “Do you know ill of me?”
Only that my grandmother had referred to her as the Wicked Witch of Wallingford, and I strongly suspected her of selling the hex that nearly killed Violet. I wasn’t going to have it out with her here in public. I drew my hand back and said, “May I come and visit you later? I’d love to see your operation.”
Her eyes narrowed ever so slightly, and then she relaxed into a smile. “You’d be most welcome, little sister. Shall we say four o’clock? You can choose the fabric for your bags. Tilda, my assistant, makes them.”
Hearing her name, the assistant looked over inquiringly. She was probably in her sixties and had a slightly anxious expression on her wrinkled face. Tendrils of gray hair escaped from the bun at her nape, and she brushed a curl off her cheek. “Bridesmaid gifts,” Karmen said.
Tilda smiled at me. “Congratulations on your wedding. Yes, I’ll custom make the bags for you. Those sets make lovely gifts for the bridal attendants.”
Karmen said, “My address is on my card.”
I nodded. “See you at four.”
I wished I hadn’t gotten so carried away now. Would Violet really want cream made by this woman whose hex had made her hair and teeth fall out? Would it be lying if I simply didn’t mention where I’d purchased the cream from? I was going to use mine immediately, so I’d be product-testing before it went near my bridesmaids.
Chapter 3
I turned away from the witch’s stall and noticed Gran was no longer standing at my elbow. I glanced around and saw her a few stalls away, pretending to look at crocheted bedspreads. Even from here, I could see they were nothing like as good as what Gran could make herself in a single night. When she saw me looking her way, she motioned me over. I caught up with her, and she tugged my arm and pulled me into the crowd.
“What’s going on? You’re acting so weird.”
“I know that witch.”
“Really?” That was unfortunate. It would really put a damper on her day because we’d thought we’d be safe bringing Gran out to Wallingford. She got restless stuck inside all the time and only being able to walk outside at night. Of course, we weren’t far from Oxford, so it wasn’t that surprising she’d see someone she’d known in life. We really needed to think about getting Gran a lot farther away if she was going to manage a more normal existence.
Gran looked more perplexed than I would have expected catching a glimpse of someone she used to know. It shouldn’t be that big a deal. And it didn’t seem like the other witch had seen her. Then she said, “Lucy, Karmen is older than I am.”
I let out a snort of disbelief. “No offense, but that woman must be her daughter.”
She shook her head. “Karmen never had children. It’s her. I’m certain of it.”
I surreptitiously looked back at the skincare booth. Karmen didn’t only have young-looking skin and hair, but even her posture, the fluidity of her movements, were not those of an old person. “Gran, that woman can’t be more than forty.”
“Her face belies her age.”
“Do you think she’s had a lot of work done?”
Gran looked at me questioningly. “Work?”
“You know. Facelifts and other cosmetic surgeries.”
She shook her head. “It’s more than that. Be very careful with that one.”
“Could she be like you? Undead?” But Karmen had greeted me witch to witch and had none of the characteristics I’d come to associate with vampires. In fact, she’d rubbed cream into my wrist, and her fingers had been warm.
“No. She’s still mortal, of that I’m sure.”
“Are there spells that can keep you young?” And if there were, I really wanted to hear about them.
She flicked a glance at me and looked worried. “Not really, my dear. But there are other arts. Not of witchery so much as alchemy.”
“Alchemy? Isn’t that turning lead into gold?”
“Turning that which is base into that which is pure. Worthless metal into gold, but more importantly, mortal flesh into immortal.”
“Mortal flesh into immortal?”
She nodded.
I felt a shiver go down the back of my neck. And not in a pleasant way. “Are you trying to tell me that woman may have found the elusive fountain of youth?”
“Not found it. Created it.”
Suddenly those pots and potions seemed a whole lot more interesting to me. “And she’s selling it in bottles?”
Gran shook her head. “She’s not sharing what she knows. It would be too dangerous.”
Still, I was intrigued. As a mortal woman about to marry a vampire, a potion that could keep me young would be pretty interesting.
Sylvia came up then and grabbed at our elbows. “What are you two doing waltzing off without me?”
Quickly and in a low voice, Gran explained everything she’d just told me.
Sylvia glanced at me and then back the way we’d come, to where the witch’s booth was doing a roaring trade. “What a perfect solution for you, Lucy.”
Gran’s face was creased in worry. “I’m not so sure. I’m not at all sure it’s a good idea to meddle in alchemy. We witches work with the natural energy in the world. We don’t try to pervert nature’s course.”
But I wanted to know more. “So does she just look young and still live her regular span of years? Or will the elixir of youth keep her young forever?”
“I never studied it very deeply,” Gran said, “but I believe it will keep her young as long as she keeps taking the elixir. She can
