Page 104 of Potions and Proposals
Benedict would be arriving soon as well. Taking a deep breath, Lucy pulled back the curtain to see Gwendoline sitting on the velvet maroon couch with gold trim. Margot, the seamstress, coming through with her measuring tape, stopped still and gawked at Lucy like she was an angel appearing from the heavens. She resisted the urge to fidget. A high priestess did not fidget.
“That navy is divine on you! Thank goodness for your dark hair and pale skin– you look positively glowing. The Matherson cloak will work beautifully with it; the shades are identical. The lighter colours wash you out, and a high priestess on the day ofher binding should stand out above everyone else,” Gwendoline announced, adjusting the skirts so they weren’t caught under Lucy’s feet. “We’ll have to take it up a few inches – Matherson woman are on the taller side.” Her command was directed to Margot, who quickly got to pinning without a word. Gwendoline circled them like a shark circling its prey. “We can let out the bodice an inch or two by adding another panel. We don’t want you passing out from lack of oxygen at the altar. Hawthorne woman have always been curvier.”
Gently, Gwendoline turned Lucy towards the mirror, and together they looked at the sheer navy sleeves that glittered and shimmered in the low light.
“It really is a beautiful gown,” Lucy breathed. “Are you sure you don’t mind me wearing it?” The satin skirts, overlaid with the same shimmering fabric, swished and glittered effortlessly as she moved, and she loved the little satin buttons that ran down her back before disappearing into the skirts.
“Do you love it?” Gwendoline asked, arching an eyebrow.
Lucinda smiled and nodded, playing with the ends of the sleeves.
“Then that’s all that matters.” Her future-mother-in-law’s tone was curt, but in the long mirror, Lucy could see a small smile in the corner of her mouth. Clearly the moment meant as much to her as it did to Lucy.
They drifted into silence while Margot and Gwendoline discussed the changes to be made.
“Do you mind if I have a moment alone with Lucy?” Gwendoline asked at last.
“Of course. I’ll make a start on the new panel,” Margot said, getting up with ease as if she wasn’t in her eighties.
“This is overdue, but I wanted to thank you for allowing me to do this for you. Given how this binding came about, I’d have understood if you didn’t think kindly of me. However, I wantedto show you this,” Gwendoline said, taking out an envelope from her bag on the couch. “This is this week’sTravel Digest.”
Lucy scanned the short retraction and saw nothing but glowing praise for their small town.
“Benedict told me you wrote to them, and I know I overreacted.” Gwendoline sounded ashamed. “I want you to understand that the Manor is one of the last things I have to remember my late husband. I can still hear his laughter in the hallways, and the chaos he used to create in the kitchen.”
Lucy took a seat next to her on the couch.
“I didn’t want anyone to think poorly of what we’d created here, but seeing how you reached out to the woman and her family out of the kindness of your heart made me regret my hostility, misplaced as it was. I think it was the thought of your mum stepping down – I felt like everything was slipping away. I wanted Benedict’s future to be secure for the day when I no longer held my position in the coven.”
“You were worried about your son. After all that’s happened to your family, I can’t blame you for being protective, but you’ll always have a place in the coven. The other members value your opinion– not only because of what the Manor has done for the town. You and Benedict are our most fierce protectors, and never afraid to make the hard decisions,” Lucy said, resting her hand over Gwendoline’s. “I promise you, this townandBenedict mean everything to me.”
“Despite your quarrels, you’ve always been there for him when I should’ve been,” Gwendoline murmured. “He shouldered too much responsibility, and I’m ashamed to admit my part in it. I hope we can move on from the past. I see how much Benedict loves you; Peter always used to tease him about following you around, pulling your pigtails. He’s been so afraid to be close to anyone after losing his brother, but you’ve lit up his world. I wish you both never-ending happiness, and I want topromise you that whatever happens, I will support you both. All I ask is that you don’t swap elements again. I don’t think the old foundations can handle another flooding.”
Lucy froze. “You know about our elements? We’ve swapped back, it was all a big mistake—”
Gwendoline shook her head. “It’s okay; Benedict explained everything to me after what happened with the wolves in the town square. Not that I didn’t already know.” She winked. “Nothing happens in the Manor or Foxford without my knowledge.”
“You aren’t angry that they tried to stop the binding?” Lucy asked, worried about causing a rift between her mum and her oldest friend.
Gwendoline laughed. “Are you kidding? Your grams is the best potion master from here to who knows where. Willa is the most powerful witch in the country. You think they’d make an error? I think everything went exactly to plan.”
“I think it was everythingnotgoing to plan that brought us together.” Lucy didn’t have the mental or emotional energy left to decipher exactly what the hell the matriarchs of Foxford had been up to.
“Fate can be rather amusing in that sense; sometimes a wrong turn can lead us to where we’re meant to be,” Gwendoline said, smoothing down her sleek black suit trousers as she got up. She towered over Lucy in her stilettos, even when Lucy got to her feet too.
Without any hesitation, and much to Lucy’s surprise, Gwendoline embraced her like a daughter. Lucy let out a long sigh of relief. She couldn’t believe she’d been so fearful about their elements being discovered. In the future, she vowed to trust those around her and not let fear guide her decisions.
“Sorry I’m late,” said Benedict from the front of the shop, and both women froze. Gwendoline released Lucy. “There wasa argument between a vampire and a shifter at the early bird buffet,” Benedict continued obliviously as he walked through to the back of the boutique.
Gwendoline jumped in front of Lucy.
“Turn around!” both women screamed in unison.
Benedict jumped, then covered his eyes and turned his back. “Okay, I’m deaf,” he said over his shoulder. “Why can’t I look?”
“Because we don’t want you to see Lucinda’s gown before the binding!” Gwendoline fussed, helping her back into the changing room.
“It’s not like a magless wedding – it’s not bad luck to see the bride and all that nonsense,” Benedict protested, turning round as Gwendoline quickly shut the curtain.
