back up at me. ‘To be honest, Anna, we don’t know.’
‘We already tried to take it off,’ Emmaline said. ‘That first day he turned up at school. But we didn’t manage.’
‘Our hope was that we could persuade you to do it,’ Maya said. ‘But clearly, you’ve already tried too.’
‘Maybe I wasn’t powerful enough?’ I said hopefully, ‘Maybe if we worked together?’
Maya took a bite of cake and shook her head as she swallowed.
‘I really don’t think that was the problem. Having seen what you did with that …’ She shuddered. ‘That thing , that came with the storm, I have no doubt that wherever the problem lies, it is not with your power. You stripped away charms that have surrounded the Wicker House since Tudor times. You removed protections that have sat on this village for hundreds of years – all without any focus or training. No, if brute force could do it, that charm would be lifted by now.’
The disappointment was like a punch to the gut. I’d been so sure that Maya would have all the answers …
‘You mean, I may never be able to undo the harm I’ve done?’
Maya saw my stricken expression and patted my hand.
‘I’m not saying that. Just that for the moment, I can’t quite see the way. And sorry though I am for your Seth, to be honest that’s not the first priority. The most important thing is to reinstate some of the protections on the town, if we can. The last thing we want is a major disaster with loss of life. Compared to that, a love-lorn boy is the least of our worries.’
I put my head in my hands. I wasn’t so sure. The possibility of a town collapse felt so remote and theoretical, whereas Seth’s problems seemed very real and very near.
‘But don’t give up, the others may have an idea of why this charm is proving so stubborn,’ Maya said, comfortingly. ‘They’re just coming up now.’
As she spoke I heard footsteps on the stairs, followed by a knock. Then a woman and two men were opening the door, coming in, stripping off coats, and the room was full of warmth and chatter. I hung back, trying to make sense of the group. The woman was young, in her teens or twenties, and obviously some relation to Maya and Emmaline; she had the same dark eyes and long, clever face, although her hair was fair – a golden, sun-streaked mass. The two men looked like brothers – both tall with black hair and long, Roman noses. The older one wore a little pointed goatee, neatly trimmed. The younger – who looked to be in his early twenties – had at least a week’s worth of stubble, but nothing organised enough to be called a beard. He was wearing a scruffy leather jacket.
‘Ma!’ The girl kissed Maya affectionately. ‘How are you?’
‘Sienna, darling.’ Maya patted her back. ‘My, it’s good to see you again. It feels like much too long. Anna, this is Sienna, my older daughter.’
‘So, this is the Anna we’ve heard so much about.’ Sienna smiled at me with a tiny hint of equivocation. ‘Anna, this is my husband, Simon Goldsmith.’ She indicated the older man. ‘And his younger brother, Abe.’
‘Pleased to meet you.’ Simon shook my hand formally. Abe only gave a slightly sardonic grin over Sienna’s shoulder. He had a ring through his eyebrow.
‘Do you mind?’ Sienna said suddenly. She gestured towards the table. I shook my head, unsure what she meant, but not wanting to offend. Picking up my tea cup she swirled around the dregs and knocked out the last of the liquid into my saucer. Then she stared into the cup, her brows knitted in so exact a copy of Maya’s characteristic frown that it was almost comical. Suddenly her expression cleared and she smiled. ‘Welcome to the family, Anna. I can see your path is going to be entwined with ours for a long time.’
I felt uncomfortable. This was too hokey, like a cheap pier-end fortuneteller without the scarf and bangles. But no one else seemed to find the action strange at all. I looked around the
‘We already tried to take it off,’ Emmaline said. ‘That first day he turned up at school. But we didn’t manage.’
‘Our hope was that we could persuade you to do it,’ Maya said. ‘But clearly, you’ve already tried too.’
‘Maybe I wasn’t powerful enough?’ I said hopefully, ‘Maybe if we worked together?’
Maya took a bite of cake and shook her head as she swallowed.
‘I really don’t think that was the problem. Having seen what you did with that …’ She shuddered. ‘That thing , that came with the storm, I have no doubt that wherever the problem lies, it is not with your power. You stripped away charms that have surrounded the Wicker House since Tudor times. You removed protections that have sat on this village for hundreds of years – all without any focus or training. No, if brute force could do it, that charm would be lifted by now.’
The disappointment was like a punch to the gut. I’d been so sure that Maya would have all the answers …
‘You mean, I may never be able to undo the harm I’ve done?’
Maya saw my stricken expression and patted my hand.
‘I’m not saying that. Just that for the moment, I can’t quite see the way. And sorry though I am for your Seth, to be honest that’s not the first priority. The most important thing is to reinstate some of the protections on the town, if we can. The last thing we want is a major disaster with loss of life. Compared to that, a love-lorn boy is the least of our worries.’
I put my head in my hands. I wasn’t so sure. The possibility of a town collapse felt so remote and theoretical, whereas Seth’s problems seemed very real and very near.
‘But don’t give up, the others may have an idea of why this charm is proving so stubborn,’ Maya said, comfortingly. ‘They’re just coming up now.’
As she spoke I heard footsteps on the stairs, followed by a knock. Then a woman and two men were opening the door, coming in, stripping off coats, and the room was full of warmth and chatter. I hung back, trying to make sense of the group. The woman was young, in her teens or twenties, and obviously some relation to Maya and Emmaline; she had the same dark eyes and long, clever face, although her hair was fair – a golden, sun-streaked mass. The two men looked like brothers – both tall with black hair and long, Roman noses. The older one wore a little pointed goatee, neatly trimmed. The younger – who looked to be in his early twenties – had at least a week’s worth of stubble, but nothing organised enough to be called a beard. He was wearing a scruffy leather jacket.
‘Ma!’ The girl kissed Maya affectionately. ‘How are you?’
‘Sienna, darling.’ Maya patted her back. ‘My, it’s good to see you again. It feels like much too long. Anna, this is Sienna, my older daughter.’
‘So, this is the Anna we’ve heard so much about.’ Sienna smiled at me with a tiny hint of equivocation. ‘Anna, this is my husband, Simon Goldsmith.’ She indicated the older man. ‘And his younger brother, Abe.’
‘Pleased to meet you.’ Simon shook my hand formally. Abe only gave a slightly sardonic grin over Sienna’s shoulder. He had a ring through his eyebrow.
‘Do you mind?’ Sienna said suddenly. She gestured towards the table. I shook my head, unsure what she meant, but not wanting to offend. Picking up my tea cup she swirled around the dregs and knocked out the last of the liquid into my saucer. Then she stared into the cup, her brows knitted in so exact a copy of Maya’s characteristic frown that it was almost comical. Suddenly her expression cleared and she smiled. ‘Welcome to the family, Anna. I can see your path is going to be entwined with ours for a long time.’
I felt uncomfortable. This was too hokey, like a cheap pier-end fortuneteller without the scarf and bangles. But no one else seemed to find the action strange at all. I looked around the
Similar Books
