I’ve hardly seen Lucien this week either, and that could account for some of my moodiness. Now that I’ve learned more about him, I look forward to seeing him, but we’ve both been busy with work this week.
Tonight is our first date, and I can’t wait. I just have to get through this afternoon with Mama and then I can spend some time with Lucien.
“She looks a lot like Millie.”
“What?” I turn and look at Mama. “Who looks like me?”
“You always were a daydreamer,” Mama says and pats my shoulder. I want to recoil at the touch. She doesn’t know me well enough to know what or who I am. “I was just telling you girls about a friend I made at the hospital. She has blond hair and brown eyes like yours, and she sometimes reminds me of you. She’s a sweet woman. Sad backstory, but I suppose we all have those if we live there, don’t we?”
I nod and breathe a sigh of relief when Daphne pulls into Miss Sophia’s driveway. Her cottage in the bayou has always been a haven for me. I’ve learned so much from her, spent many hours studying and talking with her. The cottage is neat with flowers and herbs planted all around the house, filling every inch of space with color and happiness.
Despite the warm fall we’re having, a thin trail of smoke trails up from her chimney, signaling a fire in the hearth—most likely with something cooking there.
Miss Sophia is a modern witch, but still utilizes old-fashioned tools of the trade.
My gut tells me that she has something in her cauldron on the fire.
And I can’t wait to find out what it is.
The front door opens as we all exit the car, and Miss Sophia walks out onto the porch and smiles down at us. She’s a petite woman with titanium-colored hair and gray eyes, wearing jeans and a red sweater. I rarely see her dressed casually. When we’re working together, she prefers to wear flowy dresses that remind me of Stevie Nicks.
The thought makes me smile.
“Good morning,” Miss Sophia says as we approach the porch. “Ruth, you look lovely. It’s so good to see you recovering and healthy.”
Mama climbs the porch steps and enfolds Miss Sophia in a hug. “Thank you, my friend. It’s been a long, long time.”
“That it has. Let’s go in, shall we?”
We’re led inside, moving past the living room to the kitchen where there’s already a pot of tea steeping, and a plate of apple muffins set out for us.
We sit at the table, and once our tea has been poured, Miss Sophia looks right at me.
“You’re angry, child.”
All eyes turn my way, and I shrug a shoulder. “I was angrier a few days ago. It’s simmered down some. Now, I’m confused and frustrated.”
“It’s understandable,” she replies. “This table is a place for truth, answers, and for love. It’s always been that way. And, sometimes, yes, there’s anger. But I won’t allow that to fuel the conversation.”
“Like I said, I’m okay, but I have a lot of questions.”
She watches me with those shrewd eyes for a moment and then nods. “Let’s see if we can’t answer them then. First, Ruth, how are you doing? I’m sure you have some questions, as well.”
“I don’t know that you can answer them,” Mama replies, her hands wrapped around her warm teacup. “I want to know where I went for all those years. I think I peeked through at times, but then it’s like I was shoved aside, and I don’t remember anything at all.”
“First of all, I know I apologized when we found you at his lair, but I want to do so again.” Miss Sophia takes Mama’s hand in hers. “I didn’t know that you’d fallen victim to him and the evil that surrounds him. If I’d known, I would have done something to stop it. Ruth, you were an angry woman in your youth, and I just thought you’d become angrier, meaner. And for those reasons, I stayed away, even after Millicent came to me and asked me to help her learn.”
“I was angry,” Mama admits with a nod. “My parents, although not abusive, were too involved in the coven to pay much attention to me. I loved my mother, and I miss her fiercely. I’m so glad she was good to my girls. But she had a hard time with affection. And their father was a mean man. So, no, I wasn’t exactly a pleasant person to be around sometimes. And I’m sorry for that.”
“No need to apologize,” Miss Sophia says. “And you certainly didn’t deserve to be manipulated the way you were for so long. I don’t know where you were when the evil took over. I suspect you were there, observing in some way, lying dormant. As if you were asleep for a very long time. I’ve done some reading, and I believe that he put a series of spells on you, and your home, to lure evil energies there. It would make sense that he would want you incapacitated so you couldn’t teach the girls about the craft. He needed them to be as defenseless as possible.”