Page 22 of The Vanishing Bookstore
‘Sip it gently, it will help, then it’s best if you go and lie down in your room and have a little nap. When you wake up you will feel much better and more like yourself.’
Dora lifted the mug to her nose and sniffed. She wasn’t sure what she’d expected but it didn’t smell very nice.
‘The worse it smells then the better it is for you, it’s the same with modern medicine isn’t it, Lenny?’
Lenny nodded. ‘It will help, Dora; I promise she isn’t trying to poison you even though it looks that way.’
Dora trusted Lenny more than she trusted herself, so she blew on the liquid and sipped, grimacing a little, but it didn’t taste as bad as she’d expected. Lenny and Sephy were standing shoulder to shoulder watching her and she was struck by how similar yet different they looked. They both had beautiful skin with no age spots, freckles or blemishes and the only lines they had were tiny laughter lines around their eyes. Dora knew that Lenny was sixty next month, yet her forehead was as smooth as her own and she was half her age. She had always thought that Lenny had work done, but somehow, she didn’t see Sephy as the kind of woman who would inject toxins into her skin to make her look young and she looked as ageless as Lenny.
‘What are you thinking about, Dora, you’re frowning?’ Lenny asked.
She smiled. ‘Just how beautiful you both are and whether you’ve had Botox?’
Sephy laughed. ‘Good God not at all. We are blessed with good genes, Dora, as are you, and I make a pretty good skin lotion that keeps the lines at bay, which I’ll share with you when you’re ready because you’re never too young to start.
Dora let out a huge yawn. Her eyes were getting heavy and Sephy was right, she needed a nap. She heard Lenny whisper, ‘What did you put in that tea?’
Sephy whispered back, ‘Just a little something to ease the sickness and help her sleep. We have a lot to discuss.’
Sephy came and took hold of Dora’s arm. ‘Come on, flower, let’s get you comfortable in bed and you’ll wake up feeling like a new woman. Lenny, a hand would be appreciated. Maybe I was a little too generous with the valerian root.’
Lenny softly took hold of Dora’s other elbow and they both lifted her to her feet. She smiled at them and murmured, ‘Please tell me I’m not dreaming; I want this to be real.’
‘You’re not dreaming, sweetheart.’
They led her up the first flight of stairs, down a corridor where they passed several doors, all painted in different shades of pink. Sephy pointed to the door at the far end, and they helped Dora inside. She could barely keep her eyes open, but the bed was huge, a white cast-iron frame with a big soft mattress on it. Dora sank into it when her aunts lowered her down, managing to kick off her boots as she lifted her legs and closed her eyes. She felt the weight of a heavy cotton throw being placed on top of her and the soft touch of lips as they brushed against her forehead.
‘Sweet dreams, sleepyhead.’
And then she sank into a darkness so black she couldn’t see anything, but she knew she was safe and loved. She was finally home, which was all that mattered.
14
SALEM, 1692
The small boat cut through the water with ease with Ambrose using the oars and not even breaking a sweat. He was a skilled sailor and spent his days fishing and helping out in the harbour, when he was not scouring the boats to procure new books for the bookstore. His boat and face were not out of place, giving no one cause for concern around the wharf. Isadora lay under the thick, scratchy blanket that he had thrown over her and did not move, trying her best to breathe deeply. The ocean gently lapped at the side of the boat, lulling her into a dreamlike state, and she had not realised that she had fallen asleep until she felt the salty sea air on her face and heard Ambrose’s voice whisper her name. She opened one eye and looked at his handsome face, then lifted her hand and gently trailed her fingers across his cheek.
‘We are far enough away from the farms for you to sit up now,’ he said.
‘Where are we?’
The sky was midnight black now, it had been dusk when Ambrose had come to get her.
‘The south fields, no one will bother us here.’
She nodded. ‘I am weary, Ambrose; it seems a life of adventure does not agree with me.’
Ambrose laughed. ‘Izzy, ’tis not adventure that has tired you so, it is running for your life.’
A look of sadness crossed his face that made her heart almost tear in two.
‘Why is this happening? I do not understand, all we do, or all my aunts do, is try to help the villagers in their times of need and ask for nothing in return that they cannot offer.’
He let out a sigh so loud it felt as if it enveloped her shoulders with the weight of it.
‘It is those girls, they are afflicted and laying the blame on any person who may have crossed them. Those Putnams are the worst, but the Parris girls and Mercy Lewis are just as bad. They have been pointing their fingers at anyone who they have taken a dislike to, and they dislike Lenora very much. She called them out and said it was they who were bewitched after they accused Goodwife Nurse. I thought perhaps they would leave your aunts be because of Lenora, but they are gathering strength in their numbers and accusations. I think that my uncle may have had a hand in it too.’
Isadora looked at him. ‘How so?’
