Page 12 of Potions and Proposals
“I don’t like to meddle in coven business. Anyway, your mum and I discussed it this morning, and she didn’t have a choice but to let the coven decide your punishment. I can’t believe you jinxed the teacups –andyou took my koi fish! I’d really hoped you and Benedict had put all that behind you.”
“Did Mum know about the binding ritual? The coven gave us a choice: risk banishment from Foxford, or agree to lead together,” Lucy said, pulling at the ends of her sleeves.
Grams hesitated, confirming her worst fear.
“Your mum wanted to tell you, but she’s still the High Priestess, and there are some things she just can’t share with you.” Gram’s glasses fogged up as she added black pepper, causing the potion to steam.
“I understand she had a duty to the coven, but I’m still her daughter, and this is about my life. If I’d known I was going to be confronted, I could’ve prepared something to say other than standing there like a blindsided idiot! It was only by the grace of the goddess that I didn’t flood the temple.” Lucy slumped forward. She didn’t have the energy to argue about what had already passed.
“I’m sure Benedict felt the same way. Maybe working together won’t be so terrible. If there is one thing you have in common, it’s your love of this town,” Grams said, removing her glasses and letting them hang on the crystal chain around her neck.
“He knew. You should’ve seen him accepting their congratulations, as though we really were a newly engaged couple. I could barely string a sentence together before I left,” Lucy admitted. “How can you be okay with this? You want us to be bound, or to see me banished?”
Grams calmly shrugged. “You’d never be banished. The coven is overreacting because they don’t want others to think they can pull such tricks without consequences. If you both decided against the binding and you’d lost the vote, you’d only have to leave for a year or two at most.”
That was clearly supposed to be comforting, but even a year or two away from home felt like an unreasonable punishment for some silly pranks. Lucy couldn’t believe she might lose everything all because she’d lost her temper over some damn bike tyres.
“Don’t look so surprised; you should’ve been more careful.” Grams sighed, stirring her potion. “The Mathersons have had their eye on the coven since Foxford became a sanctuary. With that handsome son of hers charming the town and the hotel lining everyone’s pockets, Gwendoline was going to make her move for power sooner rather than later. Your mum deciding to retire with your father was the perfect opportunity for them to strike.” Grams clearly wasn’t too pleased with Lucy’s parents’ decision to relive their youth, but given how much they had sacrificed, Lucy wouldn’t pout too much.
“But Mum and Gwendoline have been friends for years. It doesn’t make sense that Gwendoline is risking a divide between our families. What if Benedictisthe right choice?” Lucy didn’t know if she was being logical or if the weight of the day had exhausted her will to fight. “He’s more involved with the town and enjoys politics. What if I abdicated? Do you think we’d both get to stay?” She might lose her right to lead, but she’d still be able to stay in town and keep the library. “Our family has watched over Foxford for generations. Maybe itissomeone else’s turn to lead?”
Grams side-eyed her. “Is this your way of telling us you don’t want to inherit the seat? I had my doubts when I saw how composed you remained when the proposal was made.”
“My reaction? You sent a dove to spy, didn’t you? If you’d been there, you’d have seen it was shock, not composure. I’m already on tense terms with the Order. I don’t need to add a political rivalry with Benedict to my plate.”
“I don’t spy; this matter involved my family. And you’re able to handle far more than you give yourself credit for. The work you’ve done for the Order speaks to that,” Grams said, wiping her hands on her polka-dot apron. “If you’re so ready to hand the position to Benedict, why did you agree to the binding?”
Lucy hesitated, eyeing the spy doves in their gilded cage.
“To buy myself some time. I never expected Benedict to agree… I thought he’d object, and I wanted to appear willing to go along with their wishes. I figured my acceptance would earn me some points if there was a vote.” She’d also hoped her mum had some plan to get her out of this, and that the coven would cool down once they saw the attendance at the Autumn Festival wasn’t depleted due to that damning review.
“Thereisfight in you yet, otherwise you wouldn’t worry so much.” Grams winked. “And though we may have lost this battle, I might have just the thing to help you win the war.”
Lucy felt the hairs on her arm stand on edge. “Please tell me whatever you’re brewing doesn’t have anything to do with Benedict? As much as I detest him and his family’s ambition, poisoning him is not the way to go.”
“How little you think of me.” Grams tutted. “Benedict’s a good man; I’m not going to poison him. I’m old, not crazy.”
“You’ve always had a soft spot for him.”
“If you weren’t so determined to hate each other, he might’ve conceded the nomination. If you’d chosen honey over vinegar, neither of you would be in this position.”
“What’s your plan?” Lucy stepped closer to the table, feeling the temptation of some kind of magical solution. She stirred the potion for Grams, who added some apple seeds.
“We need to make sure that neither of you is forced into a binding neither of you wants. That can lead nowhere good.”
Lucy examined the ingredients on the cutting board.Rose water, apple seeds, cardamom…
“This isn’t exactly a traditional love spell,” she muttered, glancing at the diced chickweed and chilli.
Before she could ask, her mum came through the door. Her usual pale complexion was now red and blotchy; gone were her stoic expression and priestess robes. She was Mum again, withher wooden clogs and flowing patchwork skirts. She was a big fan of upcycling; nothing ever went to waste in their house.
“Found the damiana root. Thankfully, Myrtle had some left,” she panted, then stopped dead as she saw her daughter by the cauldron.
“You’re in on this?” Lucy looked between the two matriarchs.
“Don’t worry about a thing. We’ve a plan to get you out of the bonding,” Mum said.
Lucy tried to understand what hairbrained scheme these two had concocted. “But… you agreed with Gwendoline at the temple. I thought you wanted us to be bound?”
