Page 91 of A Spot of Tea and Sorcery: Vol. 6

“And who did you promise all your hugs and kisses to as soon as he came home?”

“Da-DA-da-da!”

“That’s my Sweet Tea,” Nigel smiled and submitted his cheek for a good slobbering.

“Can Baron Von Sniffington come too?” Alfie asked, marching back into the kitchen with his shoes on the wrong feet but the laces proudly tied by his own two hands. The black-and-white dog bounced enthusiastically around his knees.

“As long as you can make him behave,” Nigel answered and held up a warning finger. “If he waters the shop flowers, he’ll have to go back into Garden, understood?”

“Yes, Daddy!”

“What about Lady Meowbelle Pounce?” Loni asked, heaving the cat into her arms so that it dangled most pathetically. It cast Nigel a look of long-suffering desperation.

“It looks as though Lady Meowbelle could use a quiet evening at home,” Nigel said. His daughter’s lip began to pucker, and she looked so much like her mother in that moment, he very nearly gave in to her wishes then and there. But, for the poor feline’s sake, he stood firm. “Come on, Loni-girl. You know Debbie hates cats, and she’ll want to spend time with you this evening.”

At this promise, Loni promptly dropped her striped friend, who made a beeline for freedom, body long, low, and skulking. She vanished up the back stairs, leaving Nigel to inspect his brood. “Teeth brushed? Hair combed? Buttons buttoned? Very good. Who’s in charge of the tree ornaments?”

“I am!” Alfie declared proudly and claimed the box from the counter, holding it over his head while his sister jumped around him making grabby hands.

“Very well. Let’s be off then. We’ve got some decorating to do before everyone starts arriving.”

So saying, he led them out the door into the magically-warmed atmosphere of Tealeaf Cottage, surrounded by the wild vistas of the snow-covered Crimble Mountains, which towered above them in pristine majesty. On Green Yule’s Eve, they would all bundle up in coats and scarves and hats and make a drive down into Greater Snoring to attend the midnight service at the old chantry house. There they’d listen to a dry sermon given by the old vicar, light their candles, sing the traditional hymns, share the Green Feast, and blow on their fingers to keep them warm in the old, unheated stone building.

But there was no need for scarves or any warding off of winter’s chill this evening. For, as Nigel ushered his little brood through the garden gate, they stepped into Garden itself, where all was warm and lush and green as ever.

Alfie and Loni raced on ahead, heedless of Arabella’s cries to please, mind the ornaments. “Mother love us!” she declared.“It’ll be a miracle if they’re not all shattered to bits by the time we get there!”

Nigel wasn’t worried, however. He knew his eldest was a responsible young fellow, for all he was not-quite-six years old. Conscientious and determined, he would see the ornamental cookies arrived safe and sound.

A glow of pride swelled in Nigel’s breast as he watched the two of them—both so small, innocent, round-cheeked, and semi-feral. Both so full of individual personhood and uniqueness. Just like the little angel in his arms, who bounced and squeaked and kicked her feet, eager to be running after her two older siblings. Which she would be doing quite soon now, unless Nigel missed his guess. He held her a little tighter at that thought, not quite ready to relinquish the baby-stage. It always went by so fast.

Garden wound a delightful path beneath their feet as they crossed its broad grounds. It sent flowers blooming in greeting, including a nice display of taeral tea plants for Auntie Arabella’s benefit. It knew her favorites. She ran her hand through the leaves, chuckling with delight. For the most part, she and Auntie Aurora continued to harvest from their own magical garden, but she certainly appreciated the magnificence of this much larger, much grander work of Green Magic.

“Thank you for watching the children today,” Nigel said as he and Arabella strolled swiftly down the path. “Luna appreciated the chance to buckle in and prepare for tonight’s festivities.”

“Oh, you know it’s always my pleasure,” Arabella replied. “And Rory’s too.”

Amongst the four of them—Luna, Nigel, and the two aunties—they had figured out a consistent childcare routine. Luna and the aunties took turns as Tea Witch in House at The Arcane Bouquet. Luna still served the Silly Young Things, who loved her with a devotion which bordered on fanatical. But Arabella and Aurora both had their own clientele, who swore by their readingsand could bear to be scried by no one else. A few years back, the two sisters had moved into the apartment above the shop, declaring that they wished for a chance to taste the excitement of Big City Life. This had worked out rather well, as the bedrooms in Tealeaf Cottage were fast filling up.

Nigel took most afternoons off from work at the shop to spend with the children out in Garden. The Arcane Bouquet was closed on weekends as well. He and Luna would while away their Saturdays foraging and preparing teas, Baby Tea strapped to Nigel’s back, while the older children explored the rolling grounds. Garden always kept them out of trouble, and there were endless adventures to be had. Sunday, of course, was for chantry services and long afternoon naps.

There was a beauty to the rhythm and routine of life, a sort of music, Nigel felt. A song with infinite variations which he could imagine enjoying for a lifetime to come.

They reached the green door with its peeling paint at last. The double-delight arched around it, having taken up residence there and blooming in great profusion, so that the door no longer seemed to stand in the middle of nowhere, but in the center of a massive rose-wall. She nodded her bright blooms cordially to Nigel and Arabella as they approached.

Alfie and Loni had already burst through into the passage beyond, leaving the door standing wide open, which they knew they were not supposed to do. Nigel sighed, but figured he’d spare them a scolding this time. Since it was Green Yule. They were excited to bring Mummy the new ornaments, after all, and he couldn’t fault them for that.

Nigel held the door politely for Arabella, who stepped through, calling out, “Rory! Fetch out the glasses, I’ve brought the sherry!”

Pausing for a moment, Baby Tea on his hip, Nigel gazed back out into Garden. He took in the sight of those rolling grounds,those magnificent vistas. Those groves and secret shrubberies and walkways and ponds. All lusher, greener, richer, more glorious than anything even his father could have imagined. From where he stood, he could see the Heart Tree, tall and proud in the distance. Years ago, Luna had taken to harvesting the apples from its boughs, breaking the long-standing tradition Nigel had maintained of never eating its fruit. She’d declared that time was over, insisting that Nigel’s mother would want her favorite Ruby Delights to be enjoyed by her children and grandchildren.

Nigel believed she was right. And from where he stood in the doorway, he was fairly certain he could smell a Ruby Delight apple pie baking in the shop kitchen.

“Thank you,” he whispered. “Thank you for everything.”

And the wind picked up, blowing a sumptuous bouquet of perfumes in his face. And he could feel the whisper of Garden’s gratitude in return.

Nigel took care to lock the door carefully behind him. If there was a secret worth protecting in his life, it was the secret of Garden. Granted, the Brotherhood was no more, and, as far as he knew, there weren’t any ongoing plots among the remaining sorcerous circles that should concern him. Still, it didn’t hurt to be careful.