Chapter 22
Elise was just finishing supper after tending the house and selecting the dress she would wear tomorrow for her grand day at the castle when a violent gust blew the door open. Framed in the orange hues of the pleasant evening was Morgaine along with a familiar witch Elise was happy to see.
“Beth!” she exclaimed while the two witches made their way into the common room and settled by the fireplace.
“I found this harlot at the apothecary,” the witch replied, a mischievous glint in her eye as she glanced at Morgaine. “I couldn’t very well leave her loose among the many married men of Metz.”
Beth, plump, hooded-eyed, and sporting a preposterously low neckline, shifted in the chair she had dragged from the kitchen as she sniffed at the delicious stew simmering by the hearth.
“I never mingle with the married,” Morgaine said. “That’s why I went with Henrik.”
Beth did not look convinced. After adjusting her ample bosom, she added, “Morgaine, if you’re going to give it away so often, you should at least start charging.”
Morgaine smiled. “Well, that would make me a harlot for sure, and that I cannot consent to.”
Beth let out a cackle and turned her attention to the simmering pot in the kitchen.
“What are you cooking, my darling? It smells like heaven.”
Morgaine lowered her voice. “One visit to Henrik and one bowl of Elise’s stews, and you’d truly experience paradise, dear Beth.”
Elise shook her head and went to tend the stew, which by now was surely ready. “I made it to celebrate my new employment. I start tomorrow.”
“Ah,” Beth grumbled. “Yes, yes. Morgaine already told me about the fairies. I cannot stomach those tarts, but that’s precisely why I’m here.
To celebrate that you’ll soon be closer to developing your powers as a witch, dear.
Once you get a taste of real power, you’ll understand why no fairy could ever compare to us. ”
“Amen,” Morgaine rasped.
Beth turned to her friend. “This one here gave up a queenship just to remain on the prowl.”
Elise shot Morgaine a look of surprise. “You did?”
“It was over a decade ago.”
“A decade spent making the rounds among the merchants of Metz,” Beth croaked. “By the way, when are you finally going to tell me where to find that infamous butcher you’re always bragging about?”
Morgaine cleared her throat and rose from her chair. “Enough about my affairs. Naturally, I could talk about myself all night, but then there would be no time left for a proper celebration. Let us have supper and prepare our stomachs for your miraculous brews, dear Beth.”
Without further delay, the three of them tucked into Elise’s supper with hearty appetites. Before long, the evening was filled with laughter and good cheer.
Beth had explained that her brews possessed an incredible power of relaxation and that even the stiffest of souls had found some measure of release in them.
She recommended enthusiastically that if Elise did not intend to make the rounds around Metz the way her protector did, she ought at least indulge in a few lesser pleasures, her brews being one of them.
Thankfully, Elise had restrained herself to only a couple of sips and save for a few fantasies of Kurt, she remained in perfect command of her senses, which was far more than could be said for the other two.
After literally scraping the bottom of the pot for more substance, the witches proceeded to empty the cupboards. Even the dough left to rise for tomorrow’s baking did not survive the evening.
Elise opened a window for her crow to take flight, fearing he might become the next course.
There was so much banter and chatter that Elise scarcely needed to contribute much to the bursting mood.
She spent hours relaxing as she listened to stories about the castle and received repeated instructions to find the Stone of Raj at any cost. Morgaine mentioned she would need to get close to it at night, when the barrier between the magical world and the mortal one grew thinnest, and that if Elise managed to secure a permanent residence at the castle, her chances of seducing Kurt would improve considerably.
Much of the advice, of course, Elise dismissed outright, but with so many useful details buried among the wickedness, she listened with keen attention nonetheless.
She went to bed well past respectable hours, the effects of the miraculous brews having already faded to almost nothing by the time she closed her eyes…or so she thought.