Page 83 of Witchbane

‘I believe it’s made of a speculum metal,’ Garnier said smugly. When I frowned in confusion, he continued. ‘Copper and tin, if I’m right. The substance is brittle and therefore expensive to produce, but when polished it is brilliantly reflective, as you can see.’

I was intrigued. How was he this knowledgeable? He wasn’t from a wealthy family so I couldn’t imagine where he might have come across one. I decided to keep my thoughts to myself for the time being.

‘But what would they have wanted it for?’

He laughed. ‘If it was women, they probably looked at their reflection.’

Unimpressed with his attitude I gave him a sideways glare. ‘I doubt anyone in this place would want to take time to study themselves. No, I believe this was used in their witchcraft.’

‘But how?’

I shrugged. ‘I cannot answer that.’ My feeling of unease deepened. They must have used the item for a spell, but in what way was it useful? I felt an icy trickle down my back. To see into the past, maybe? Or the future? I kept my thoughts to myself. ‘We must hope that when we catch them they will answer that question for us.’

He scratched his head. ‘We need to find some witches first.’

‘That is true.’ I needed to get organised. I lifted my bag and leather flask from my saddle then handed my reins to him. ‘We can’t have the horses with us when we surprise them,’ I said, thinking as I planned. ‘You take them somewhere nearby where you can tie them to a tree or branch and where they won’t be seen or heard, then return here. I’ll look for the best place for us to settle down and wait for them to arrive.’ He began to lead the horses away. ‘And don’t be too long, we don’t want them coming here before you’re back.’

I searched the area further but didn’t find anything. Then, noticing my footprints in the soft ground around the fire, I placed my bag and flask beneath a nearby bush, in case I was taken by surprise and they arrived early, then searched for a leafy branch to brush away the traces of my presence. That done, I tossed the branch aside, collected my things and went to find somewhere with a good viewpoint and space for the two of us to sit down and wait for dusk.

Chapter Forty-Two

RUE

Iwatched Pierre dig up my aunt’s grimoire from the bank at the side of our top field and listened as he suggested Jem accompany me to Appoline’s home.

He bent to pick up something the size of my aunt’s book, wrapped in oilcloth, ‘I shall be here to protect your aunt and grandmother should those Witchfinder’s men return.’

His reasoning made sense. He brushed soil from the oilcloth, unwrapped the book and handed it to me for my aunt. I walked with him to find Jem, who yet again seemed to be avoiding making eye contact with me. Was he the man I should be wary of? I hoped not. He was my oldest friend and the thought of him being disloyal wasn’t something I could cope with easily.

I saw Pierre observe Jem’s reaction to me. He stood and rested his fists on his hips. ‘I don’t know what’s happened between the pair of you youngsters, but now is not the time for quarrels and silliness. Jem, you’re to go straight to Mistress de la Mare’s home and wait while Rue goes inside and collects packages for her grandmother. Carry them back with her and be as quick as you can. Understand?’

Jem cast his eyes downward. ‘Yes, Father.’ He looked at me. ‘Sorry, Rue.’

Relieved and hoping that whatever had been bothering him might now have passed, I smiled. ‘I’m sorry too,’ I said, although I wasn’t sure what I had done to annoy him. ‘It’s been a difficult time for all of us.’

Pierre clapped his hands. ‘Good. I’m glad that’s settled. Once Rue has delivered something to her aunt, the pair of you should get going as soon as possible.’

As soon as I’d given Aunt Sorrel her spell book, I ran outside to join Jem. We walked at a quick pace across the fields towards the village. Neither of us spoke for the first fifteen minutes and I realised the awkwardness around us remained and that earlier he had only wanted to reassure his father. I was going to have to be the first to speak. I knew how infuriatingly stubborn Jem could be at times. Even though I had no idea what had caused this tension between us, I decided to begin with an apology of sorts.

He was walking too fast for me and at times I had to run to keep up with his large strides.

‘Jem,’ I said, grabbing his elbow to slow him down.

He immediately slowed, grumbling to himself as I caught my breath to be able to say what I wanted to.

He must have mistaken my silence because he turned to look at me as we walked. ‘Well, Rue? What is so important that you slow our progress to the village?’

I wanted to push him, hard, as I had when he annoyed me as a child, but didn’t want to antagonise him further and make the rest of our journey even more unpleasant. Instead, I took a deep breath and spoke.

‘I wanted to apologise for whatever it is you feel I’ve done to offend you.’

‘Hah,’ he laughed sarcastically. ‘One of your false apologies when you consider me to be in the wrong?’

What had got into him? He was never this angry with me. I tried again. I needed to ensure we carried out his father’s instructions and returned home with all the ingredients in good time for the gathering.

‘I’ve upset you somehow. I don’t know what I’ve done, but you are my friend and I don’t like it when we fight. Maybe if you told me what this is about, I could make amends.’

He didn’t look at me for a few strides then stopped and turned so abruptly I almost tripped over his foot. ‘Why are you being like this?’