Chapter 5
FIVE
SALEM, PRESENT DAY
Dora was drunk, more drunk than she’d been in a long time, and that meant she was emotional.
Her aunts Lenny and Sephy weren’t far behind on the drunkenness scale; they were on a second jug of black magic, the cherry-infused vodka cocktail that her mom had loved so much and was now her favourite after a porn star martini, though unfortunately it wasn’t a cocktail that was readily available in the bars in Salem.
She smiled at Ambrose. His hand pushed his floppy brown fringe to one side and he smiled back at her with the bluest of eyes that were as pure as his heart and soul.
He was handsome in a way that reminded her of a younger Hugh Grant.
He had been her friend through many lifetimes, sometimes much more than her friend.
She was thirty-three years old and falling in love with him more each day, but the curse that the English women had been under for centuries lay heavy on her heart.
In theory, the curse should be broken – if there was no more Corwin, there was no more curse – but it worried her that she might still die before her thirty-fifth birthday and that thought whenever it entered her head manifested itself in a physical pain inside of her heart.
A stabbing pain that made her wonder if this time it was her heart that would give out and kill her.
A pain that she could feel keeping her apart from Ambrose…
‘You are not going to die, Dora, it’s probably indigestion.’ Lenny was staring at her over the rim of her cocktail glass. ‘No, I didn’t read your mind. You keep rubbing at your chest.’
Dora smiled at Lenny, clever, beautiful, wise, salty Lenny as Sephy called her.
‘I was.’
Sephy and Lenny nodded their heads. ‘We haven’t eaten much, and those cocktails can be a little too strong on an empty stomach. Why don’t we go get some pizza?’ Sephy was smiling at her. ‘I know how much you enjoy it; we could have a stroll down to Essex Street Pizza.’
Lenny turned to stare at Sephy. ‘At this time of day? Through all the tourists, you want us to walk into the Witch City Mall of own free will and queue for an hour?’
Sephy rolled her eyes at Lenny. ‘Honestly dear, sometimes I think your feet are planted firmly in the sixteen hundreds despite your intelligence. I’ll phone our order in, we can wander through the street market and soak up all those good vibes, those happy vibes.
It will do us all a world of good. You know how much I love to support all the local traders; we could pick up some bits and treat ourselves to something to remember Lucine by. How does that sound?’
‘Good vibes, pick up bits? Jostling my way through crowds is not reminiscent of a good time for me, Sephy. It reminds me far too much of hanging day, those village idiots who were so intent on watching us swing for no good reason other than their own entertainment.’
Sephy shrugged at Dora. ‘She’s never going to let it go, is she?’
Dora smiled at her aunts. ‘I barely remember it, or I try not to.’ Her body was taken over by a shudder so strong it made her spill the last drops of her drink.
‘That’s the best way, dear, dwelling on that horrid day is not healthy for anyone’s mind. It happened, it was brutal, but we’re still here to tell the tale so it wasn’t all bad.’
Lenny’s eyes rolled to the back of her head. ‘It wasn’t all bad, Sephy? I honestly wonder what planet you’re on at times.’
‘A planet where innocent women and men didn’t get hanged for being falsely accused of being witches, that’s the planet I’d prefer to be on.’ Dora sighed. ‘I wish I knew more about my father. Can you not tell me anything about him other than the little I already know?’
Sephy gave Lenny a side eye then turned back to Dora. ‘Some men can be dangerous, even the kindest of them can bring about the downfall of women even if they didn’t mean to.’
Dora opened her mouth to argue with her aunt, but before she could Ambrose intervened.
‘I’ll ring for the pizzas, same as usual?’ Ambrose was smiling at all three of them, making Dora glad he was here; he had a knack of being able to distract her aunts far better than she could. ‘Cheese, please,’ she said.
‘Veggie special and an Essex special for us, we can share,’ replied Sephy.
‘Excuse me, ladies, while I make this very important call.’ He winked at them and stepped outside into Sephy’s back garden.
Lenny nodded. ‘He’s a good kid, why don’t you let him go to London with you tomorrow?’
‘I need to say goodbye on my own. I already owe Katie so much. I want to spend my time with her and Mabel.’
‘You must invite them to come here for a holiday anytime they are missing you too much.’ Sephy was smiling at her.
‘Thank you, I will.’
Sephy sighed. ‘Goodbyes are hard, too hard at times.’
Dora nodded. She wasn’t looking forward to it yet at the same time she was beyond excited to start her new life here in Salem. Lenny was taking care of the visas and Dora was happy to let her.
Ambrose walked back in and gave them a thumbs up.
‘I’m going to leave you ladies and head down to the shop. Margo messaged to say she could do with a hand, if that’s okay.’
‘You don’t want pizza?’ asked Dora.
‘I’m good, Margo asked me to supper, and I haven’t seen much of her. If it’s okay with you all I’ll go help her.’
Sephy glided across the room and scooped him into her arms. ‘You are such a good person, Ambrose, what would we do without you? Of course, you should go and help Margo. I should have closed the shop today, but there is so much going on in town I forgot. Please tell Margo tomorrow I will be back at work; I can’t sit moping around forever.
I will open up so she can take the morning off. ’
‘You will? Are you sure it’s not too soon, Sephy?’
Sephy took hold of both of Ambrose’s hands. ‘A lifetime of sorrow and grief is too soon, but as we all know life must go on. Life is for living, for we never know when it will be cut short.’
It was Lenny’s turn to roll her eyes. ‘Oh Lord, she’s off. Yes, it’s fine, Ambrose. I’ll help her, the both of you should take some time off.’
Dora smiled at them, the three most important people in her life. Sephy was right, life is for living. Dora knew that more than anyone.
Ambrose turned to her, and bending down, his lips brushed her cheek. She felt bad that she was holding back a little from him, but this was all still a whole new world for her. She was trying her best to navigate through it.