Page 22 of A Sorceress Comes to Call
He eyed Falada and snorted loudly, then turned to Evangeline. “I’ll not be buying that horse, ma’am.”
“Indeed you won’t,” said Evangeline in crisp tones, “because he’s not for sale. I was told you offered a fair price for carriages as well.”
Howard gave her a frankly skeptical look. “You were told correctly, but I don’t deal in enchantments.”
“The carriage is as plain as you are, my good man.” Cordelia’s mother set the reins aside and stepped down from the seat. The stableman did not offer her his hand.
Cordelia scrambled down on the other side, hoping no one was looking at her. Oh please, let her not do something horrible in front of all these people. She didn’t know if she was afraid that all the onlookers would be hurt, or simply that they would see it happen and then… then… well, presumably something would happen.
It struck Cordelia suddenly that she did not know what would happen if someone found out that her mother was a sorceress. Was it illegal? The preacher in church had preached against magic folk, but he didn’t say it was a crime, just that it was immoral. But surely you can’t enchant people like Ellen’s father and have him murder his family and get away with it, can you? If anyone found out, they’d punish her. That’s murder, isn’t it? They hang people for murder.
And I knew about it and I haven’t told anyone and we’re riding in a stolen coach right now, so I’d be an accomplice.
This thought was so horrifying that she missed most of the negotiations between Howard and her mother. After Falada had been removed from the shafts, another horse went in and drove the cabriolet back and forth under the archway. There was no smell or flash of light, so that must have proved that the carriage was perfectly ordinary. Apparently this was enough to satisfy Howard, because her mother went into a building with him and came out a few minutes later, tucking something into her bag.
“Come, Cordelia,” she said, leading the way from the yard. She nodded to Falada, who whickered, turned, and set off at a jog down the road.
One of the stablehands crossed himself as they passed. Cordelia’s mother ignored him and swept grandly on, her head held high, walking into the heart of the city.
CHAPTER 10
“Excuse me, ma’am, but I’ve a problem I could use your advice on,” said the servant girl, curtsying.
“Hmm?” Hester set down her embroidery. “Sorry—Alice, isn’t it? Or was that your mother? I’m afraid my memory isn’t what it was.”
“Alice is it,” said the girl, smiling. She was a tall, sturdy young woman, and while she looked, to Hester’s eyes, impossibly young, she probably wasn’t. “My mum was in service here for a few years, but she’s called Katherine.”
“Katherine, yes. A fine young woman, as I recall. Or not so young now, probably. Married one of the stable lads, didn’t she?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Keeping well, is she?”
“Mostly, ma’am. Her joints pain her something fierce when it’s cold.”
“Her and me both,” said Hester wearily. Her knee was throbbing this morning. “Tell the housekeeper I said to send along some of the balm she mixes up. Perhaps it’ll do her some good as well.”
“That’s very kind of you, ma’am. I’ll tell her you asked after her.”
“So what seems to be the problem, Alice? One of the lads isn’t giving you trouble, are they?”
“Huh!” Alice sniffed. “They wouldn’t dare. No, ma’am, it’s Miss Cordelia.”
Hester raised her eyebrows. It was unheard of for a servant to complain to the lady of the house instead of to the housekeeper, who would then bring it to the lady if she felt it was required. Matters must be dire indeed if Alice was skipping over that worthy’s head.
Even if she had been inclined to scold, which she wasn’t, this was sufficiently peculiar that Alice claimed her undivided attention.
“Is something wrong? Has she fainted again?”
“Not fainted, ma’am, but…” Alice glanced over her shoulder at the closed door. The words came out all in a rush. “Ma’am, somebody’s doing something bad to that girl and I’m afraid for her.”
Hester sat back, startled. “Something bad?”
Alice nodded. “Don’t rightly know what,” she admitted. “But she acts like my little cousin did, and it turned out their neighbor was… well, never mind that, ma’am.”
“Ah,” said Hester, a world of understanding packed into that syllable. She and Alice shared a look that for once had nothing to do with rank. “And you think…?”
“Something like, ma’am. When her mother shows up, she flinches like she’s expecting the belt. And this morning, I found her asleep in the wardrobe like she were trying to hide.”
