Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered (23 page)

All around the room, the women were staring at me in horror, and seeing their open-mouthed, desperate looks, I came to my senses.

‘Sorry,’ I whispered. ‘I’m sorry.’

There was a moment, while I stared out at the crowd and they stared back at me. Even Harry and Chloé were watching me. I froze.

Then, at the back of the hall, a chair scraped the floor and someone stood up.

‘Suky stopped my daughter being bullied,’ said a small voice. I couldn’t see who was speaking because the spotlight was too bright. ‘She’s beautiful and funny but she just couldn’t see it. Suky helped her. And I don’t think it was magic, or spirits or whatever. It was just friendship.’

‘Yay Mum!’ Nell shouted – she’d crept into the hall and was standing next to Harry at the back. I blinked in surprise.

And then another chair scraped. Closer to the front this time.

‘Suky found my dog,’ said Mrs Wilkins, who’d been an old lady when I was a child and didn’t seem to have changed in twenty years. ‘She walked up and down the beach until she found him.’

Millicent stood up.

‘Suky gave me a little tonic to help put the spark back into my marriage,’ she said with a cheeky grin. ‘I haven’t had so much fun in years.’

And then suddenly, there was a cacophony of voices, each telling me of something that
Suky had done – just because – that had helped someone. I was overwhelmed by how much love everyone had for my aunt. And for Eva and Mum – there were stories about them, too.

When the noise had died down, I picked up the microphone again.

‘Thank you,’ I said. ‘Thank you for loving us.’

There was a general noise that I took to mean ‘you’re welcome’.

I walked down the steps and along the aisle and, chattering loudly, the women shuffled along the rows of chairs and followed me out. The meeting was over.

As I reached the door, Millicent called out to me.

‘Esme? What shall we do with Brent?’

I looked over to where Brent stood, still wrapped in his chains. The women all turned and looked too. He was staring straight ahead and pointedly not looking as his not-so-loyal followers filed out of the hall.

I waggled my fingers and the chains disappeared.

Brent stood up, and for a moment I thought he was going to come after me. Then Millicent started to clap, a slow clap. Gradually all the women in the hall joined in. It was the most polite rejection I’d ever heard – and the most effective. Brent grabbed his plans from the white board, he stalked towards the front of the hall and disappeared through the door that led to the church. Deep in the depths of the building we heard a door slam.

I turned to the women.

‘Thanks, ladies,’ I said. Then I looked at Harry, Chloé and Nell.

‘Let’s go.’

‘I’ve got my car,’ said a voice. It was Millicent. ‘Let me drive you home.’

I shook my head, but Harry took Millicent’s hand.

‘Thank you,’ she said.

Chapter 47

When we reached the house, everything was still. Overhead, a dark cloud hovered and rain was beginning to fall. Shadows loomed and the feeling of hopelessness remained.

Harry opened the door with a wave of her hand, and Nell and I followed her inside with Millicent trailing behind. We found Eva and Mum loitering in the hall.

‘It feels better already,’ Mum whispered. ‘How on earth did you manage that?’

I shrugged.

‘They kind of did it themselves,’ I admitted. ‘Millicent helped. How’s Suky?’

‘No different,’ said Mum. ‘Jamie took her up to her room. He’s with her now.’

‘What did you tell him?’

Mum looked at Eva.

‘Not much,’ they said in unison.

‘We just said she’d overdone it,’ Eva added.

I almost laughed. Almost.

‘Did he buy it?’

‘Not sure,’ Mum looked thoughtful. ‘He just wanted to check on Suky.’

Eva clapped her hands and guided Harry, who looked shell-shocked, towards me. I took her hand and she gripped my fingers tightly.

‘Let’s get on then,’ Eva said purposefully. She took Chloé’s hand and Chloé picked up Harry’s.

‘What should I do?’ Millicent asked. She looked scared but exhilarated.

‘Ah, join in,’ said Mum. ‘The more the merrier.’

I kept hold of Harry, then took Nell’s hand. Millicent squeezed in between Eva and Mum and smiled at me. There was a feeling of expectation in the air, despite the rain and the horrible oppressive atmosphere.

‘Right, ladies,’ said Eva. ‘All we need you to do is listen.’

Quietly, she and Mum started chanting the words from the horrible skin book. I tried really hard to hear what they were saying, but although I was listening, the actual words seemed to slide away from me. I could feel them though, deep inside. Like the vibration when you’re inside a building in London and a tube train goes past underground.

The shadows around us all gathered together, sliding up over the ground. Even I, who had grown up with magic, was terrified, so heaven knows what Chloé, Nell and Millicent were thinking. They didn’t move. They just hung on to each other’s hands. The shadows slunk up the walls of the house and loomed, like clouds, over our heads.

Mum and Eva kept chanting. Suddenly I was surrounded by shadows and inside them, like I was watching a dream, I could see pictures. I saw my dad, lying bleeding on a patch of scruffy grass while soldiers shouted around him. I saw my mum, crying as she waved me off to live with Dad. I saw myself, humiliated, after a boy I slept with at university blanked me the next day in a lecture. And Rebecca, sitting alone in her house, looking at a text message from Dom. I even saw a teenage Jamie, confused and hurt, after I left.

Tears were rolling down my cheeks and I had to clamp my mouth shut to prevent myself shouting at Mum to stop.

Around me, Chloé was crying too, big gasping sobs. Tears were pouring down Harry’s face and the scars on Nell’s skinny arms glowed red with blood. But no one moved. I was amazed by how brave they were.

Then, suddenly, the shadows disappeared, the sky lightened and the rain stopped. Mum and Eva stopped talking and smiled at each other.

‘That’s it,’ Mum said. ‘We’ve done it.’

I had no idea what had happened, but I could feel that it was good. I grinned at Harry and she grinned back.

A creak on the stairs made us all drop hands.

‘Guys?’ Jamie popped his head over the bannister, clearly intrigued about what we were up to.

‘Erm, Suky’s awake and she’s asking for you.’

Mum and Eva gave each other a small smile and, each putting an arm round Harry, they went upstairs to see Suky. From nowhere, Allan appeared, a bottle of wine in each hand.

‘I knew something big was happening,’ he said in his gruff Yorkshire accent. ‘So I thought I’d stay out of the way until it was over.’

He opened one of the bottles with a flourish and I got some glasses out of the cupboard.

‘Everything OK, is it?’

‘I think so,’ I said. I handed a large glass of wine to Chloé, then a smaller one to Nell.

Desperate for some space to get my head round what had happened, I poured myself some wine and sneaked off down the garden. Ignoring the raindrops, I sat on a wet garden bench and looked back up at the house. The moon had come out, and I could see the women, our amazing, bold, brave friends, milling about, chatting and laughing. More people were streaming up the hill and I guessed they were all coming to see how Suky was, drawn by the drama of the meeting and the energy of the magic. I could see Nell and Chloé dancing to music that I couldn’t even hear and there was a buzz of chatter. In the light of Suky’s bedroom window, I could see Harry’s silhouette. She was gesturing wildly and I guessed she was giving her mum a hard time for messing with magic that was too powerful for witches like us.

‘Budge up.’ Jamie plonked himself down next to me.

I smiled at him and he clinked his drink against my now empty glass.

‘Top up?’ he asked, producing a bottle from behind his back.

‘Ooh well done that man,’ I said, laughing.

He slopped wine into my glass and I drank.

There was a pause.

‘You left your bedroom door open,’ he said, trying to sound offhand. ‘I noticed you’ve been packing.’

I nodded.

‘I have to go back to London,’ I said, hating the expression on his face.

‘Back to your boyfriend?’

‘No! We’re not together now. I just have a life there.’ I paused.

‘So that’s that,’ he said.

There was so much to say that I didn’t know where to begin. Instead I just put my hand on his.

‘Sorry,’ I whispered.

We sat there, hand in hand for a moment, watching the people around the house.

‘Anyway,’ Jamie began. ‘What just happened?’

I shook my head.

‘You wouldn’t believe me if I told you,’ I said.

‘Try me.’

I closed my eyes.

‘I can’t.’

There was a sigh.

‘That’s always been our problem, Esme,’ he said. ‘You won’t tell me anything. You won’t open up. How can we have a future together if you won’t be honest?’

I felt him stand up but I couldn’t open my eyes – I didn’t want to see him walk away.

‘Something happened here tonight,’ he said. ‘Just like something happened ten years ago. And if you can’t tell me what that is, then I don’t want to be with you.’

I heard him crunching across the frozen grass, and when I opened my eyes again, he was gone. I caught a brief glimpse of him skirting the side of the house, then I heard his car start.

‘That’s that,’ I said.

Chapter 48

Suky was brilliant. Really. I mean, obviously she wasn’t cured, but she was better than she’d been for ages.

‘I’m sorry,’ she said, when I went in to say goodbye to her. ‘I just couldn’t face the idea of my radiotherapy dragging on and on, and I thought I could do something about it. It wasn’t Harry’s fault. She was researching good voodoo. I just twisted her ideas and used them for my own spells.’

I hugged her tightly.

‘I’ll be back soon,’ I said. ‘Don’t do anything stupid while I’m away.’

I went into my room and started putting the last few bits into my case. I was sorry to go, but I knew it was the right thing to do. I did have one regret, though – Jamie.

Reaching into my drawer I found the photo from years ago. I sat on my Take That bed and gazed at it.

‘You’re an idiot, Esme.’ Chloé was standing in the doorway.

I smiled sadly at her.

‘I know,’ I said. Chloé sat down next to me and put her arm round me.

‘Do you love him?’

‘I’m not sure.’ I played with a bit of fluff on Jason Orange’s nose. ‘I think I could.’

‘So what are you waiting for?’

‘How can I build a life with someone when my life is so…’ I couldn’t think of a word. ‘So…’

‘Unconventional?’ Chloé said. ‘So bloody what?’

I sighed dramatically.

‘I’m a witch, Chlo.’

‘What’s your point?’ Chloé could be very annoying when she wanted to be.

‘My point is, most normal people aren’t witches.’

‘Most normal people can’t bite their own toenails,’ said Chloé.

‘Yeuch,’ I said. ‘Who does that?’

‘Rob!’ she said, obviously proud of her husband’s talent.

‘That’s not the same thing,’ I said sulkily.

‘Tis,’ she said. ‘What about Allan’s love of Doris Day films?’

‘Allan does not love Doris Day.’

‘He does. Ask him. He knows
Calamity Jane
off by heart.’

I chuckled, despite myself.

‘And Nell told me her dad dries himself with a hairdryer when he gets out of the bath,’ Chloé said, snorting with laughter. ‘He reckons towels are unhygienic.’

‘Nooo!’ I giggled.

Chloé was almost bouncing on the bed with excitement.

‘And!’ she said gleefully. ‘And! Jamie has Marmite and marmalade on the same piece of toast for breakfast.’

That was, in fact, true. And pretty weird. I looked at Chloé.

‘My point, lovely Ez,’ she said. ‘Is that no one is normal. And thank goodness! Think how bloody boring it’d be if we were.’

I nodded slowly, suddenly realising she was talking sense.

‘If Jamie loves you, really loves you, he won’t care what you are. He loves you because you’re unconventional, not in spite of it.’

I stood up.

‘I have to go,’ I announced.

‘Yeah, you do!’ Chloé was triumphant. ‘He’s on the beach, by the way. I saw him earlier.’

I kissed her on the forehead.

‘You are a marvel!’ And I headed for the door.

Jamie wasn’t in the cave, but he was sitting on the beach, looking out over the water.

I sat down next to him and stared out at the loch.

‘I’m coming back you know,’ I said.

‘In ten years?’ he said grouchily.

‘Nope. In a month. Maybe six weeks at a push,’ I sneaked a sideways look at him. ‘I’ll see how long it takes to find a tenant for my flat…’

He turned his head to look at me.

‘I’m coming back,’ I repeated. ‘For good.’

A smile was spreading across his face.

‘I’ve got a job. Well, it’s a transfer really. Same firm, but in Edinburgh. I expect it’ll probably be more divorces than celebrity adoptions but that’s fine.’

Jamie shook his head, but he was still smiling.

‘You’re something, you know that? When did you sort that out?’

I waved my hand.

‘Oh in a spare moment,’ I grinned at him. ‘It was Harry’s idea, would you believe? She found the job ad, and kind of talked me into it. I did the rest – with a bit of help from my boss, Maggie.’ I wrinkled my nose up. ‘I’ve got to do a bit more work so I can practise in Scotland, but it won’t take long. I’m a geek, remember, I love studying so…’

Jamie kissed me. And this time I kissed him back. And it was just as I remembered and yet so new and exciting.

We kissed for a long time. My lips felt bruised and swollen as we walked hand in hand back up the hill to the house, but I couldn’t stop smiling. And yet, there was still one tiny thing I hadn’t mentioned.

As we got near home, I thought about what Chloé had said about Jamie loving me whatever I was.