Saraband for Two Sisters

‘Tis so, but don’t do to mistake them all. There’s some as just goes about their business ... same as any other creature might. ‘Tis only when a witch do take one up and to her bed maybe and in him comes the spawn of the Devil, who lives and shelters in the toad.”

“Like in the toad they saw with Jenny Keys?”

“Maybe so, and when it was known that Jenny Keys harbored a toad and took him to her close like, the trouble started. They said she carried him in her bosom and that he crawled over her body and was familiar like.”

Mab burst into giggles and Ginny reproved her. “You laugh now but you wouldn’t be laughing if witches heard you.”

“Jenny Keys be dead though.”

“Jenny Keys ain’t the only witch, remember.”

“Who else is?”

“You don’t have to look far.”

There was an awed silence.

“You mean ... her...”

“Why not? Her grandmother were. Powers be passed down, I reckon.”

“I reckon we ought to keep our eyes open.”

I rose and went swiftly and silently up the staircase to my room.

Angelet-with that special feeling that was between us-began to sense that J wanted to be alone. She had guessed of course that this was concerned with Bastian and I had seen her look at Carlotta with something like distaste, for she was very loyal to me.

When we lay in bed at night it was our custom to talk over the events of the day, and although since I heard of Bastian’s perfidy I had had no wish to talk to her, I could not suddenly break the habit.

She said to me one night after the conversation at the dinner table had been particularly sparkling and Carlotta with Senara and Gervaise had discussed the Courts of Spain and England at great length-thus making it very difficult for the rest of us to participate: “Has it occurred to you, Bersaba, that Sir Gervaise and Carlotta are getting very friendly?”

“I think Carlotta is of a nature to pay attention always to the male members of the company.”

“You are right. Of course she is beautiful. One has to grant her that, and having been at Court I suppose does something to one. I wonder if we shall ever go to Court. »

“Do you want to?” I asked.

“It would be amusing. Besides, we shall have to marry sometime, shan’t we? Mother obviously meant something like that when she said our next birthday party would be different.”

J yawned. “It’s a long way away.”

‘There are the Trent men and the Krolls and the Hamptons. One of them I suppose. Oh, isn’t it dull living in the country! I would like never to have known my husband and then the next day he is there. Do you feel like that?” I felt the anger surge up in me. No, I had expected Bastian to be my husband and I’ve known him all my life ... and yet I never really knew him. I used to think he was quiet and steady and that I could tease him about this. Then I found that that wasn’t true at all. He had only to see Carlotta and he forgot all his vows to me. How little we knew people whom we thought we understood so well. “Do you?” urged Angelet. “You’re not asleep, are you?”

‘What’s that?” I cried, pretending to be starting out of a doze.

“Oh, go to sleep,” she said. “You never want to talk these days.” It was better to be alone for if I talked to Angelet I might betray something of my feelings. I was afraid that I might let fall some little comment which would betray me when the time came.

So I rode out alone doing the forbidden thing. Down the blackberry track, past the smithy. I glanced in the direction of the cottages and thought of poor Phoebe, wondering how she was faring. I could visualize clearly the misery she must be enduring with a heavy burden of guilt upon her. I wondered what Thomas Cast would do if my surmise was correct It was a misty evening and darker than usual when I took my mare to the stables. I wandered down by the garden to the pond on which the water lilies were growing and as I did so I heard the croaking of a toad and as I came nearer I saw him. He was seated there by the pool-drowsy, I imagine, after a good feed of insects-and I suddenly felt my heart begin to beat wildly as memories of the conversation I had heard between the servants came back to me.

On impulse I took a large kerchief from my pocket and, stooping, wrapped it round the toad and carried him into the Priory. I went straight up to our room and was thankful that Angelet was not there.

I was excited. I knew what I was going to do with the toad. It was part of my plan and seeing him there, waiting for me, as it were, had forced me to act before I had meant to.

But why not? There was no point in delay.