The Midnight Circus, стр. 31

Shetook me by the hand, then, before I could recover my tongue, and wewalked half the morning down the strand to Auld Annie’s croft, it beingten miles or so by. There was only a soft, fair wind and the walkingwas not hard, though we had to stop every now and again for me to bequietly sick in the sand.

AuldAnnie’s cottage was much the smallest and meanest I had seen. Stillit had a fine garden both in front and again in back in the long rig.Plants grew there in profusion, in lazy beds, and I had no name formany of them.

“Shecan call fish in by melted lead and water,” Mairi said. “She can calmthe seas with seven white stones.”

Idid not look impressed, but it was my stomach once more turning insideme.

“Sheforetold your own dear mother’s death.”

Ilooked askance. “Why didn’t I know of this?”

“Your father forbade meever speak of it.”

“Andnow?”

“Needsdoes as needs must.” She knocked on the door.

The door seemed to openof itself because when we got inside, Auld Annie was sitting far fromit, in a rocker, a coarse black shawl around her shoulders and a mutchtied under her chin like any proper wife. The croft was lower anddarker than ours, but there was a broad mantel over the fire and on itsat two piles of white stones with a human skull, bleached andhorrible, staring at the wall between them. On the floor by a longtable were three jugs filled with bright red poppies, the only color inthe room. Fromthe rafters hung bunches of dried herbs, but they were none of themfamiliar to me.

Underher breath, Mairi muttered a charm:

Itrample ’pon the eye

Astramples the duck ’pon the lake,

In the name of the secret Three,

AndBrigid the Bride . . .

andmade a quick sign against the Droch Shùil, the evil eye.

“Iknew it, I knew ye were coming, Molly,” Auld Annie said.

Howshe knew that—or my name—I could not guess.

“Iknew it as I knew when yer mam was going to die.” Her voice was low,like a man’s.

“Wehaven’t come for prophecy,” I said.

“Ye have come about a babe.”

Myjaw must have gone agape at that for I had told no one but Mairi andthat only hours before. Surely Auld Annie was a witch, though if shethrew no shadow one could not tell in the dark of her house.Nevertheless I shook my head. “I will keep the babe. All I want is thefather to come to me.”

“Comingis easy,” Auld Annie said in her deep voice. “Staying is hard.”

“Ifyou get him to come to me,” I answered, suddenly full of myself, “Iwill get him to stay.”

FromMairi there was only a sharp intake of breath in disapproval, but AuldAnnie chuckled at my remark, dangerous and low.

“Comethen, girl,” she said, “and set yer hand to my churn. We have butter totake and spells to make and a man to call to yer breast.”

Idid not understand entirely, but I followed her to the churn, where sheinstructed me in what I had to do.

“Asye churn, girl, say this: Come, butter, come. Come, butter, come.”

“Iknow this charm,” I said witheringly. “I have since a child.”

“Ah—butinstead ’a saying ‘butter,’ ye must say yer man’s name. Only—” sheraised her hand in warning, “not aloud. And ye must not hesitate even amoment’s worth between the words. Not once. Ye must say it over andover ’til the butterbe done. It is not easy, for all it sounds that way.”

Iwondered—briefly—if all she was needing was a strong young girl to doher chores, but resolved to follow her instructions. It is a dangerousthing to get a witch angry with you. And if she could call Iain tome, so much the better.

SoI put my hands upon the churn and did as she bid, over and over andover without a hesitation ’til my arms ached and my mind was numb andall I could hear was Iain’s name in my head, the very sound of itturning my stomach and making me ill. Still I did not stop ’til thebutter had come.

AuldAnnie put her hands upon mine, and they were rough and crabbed withtime. “Enough!” she said, “or it will come sour as yer belly, and wewill have done all for nought.”

Ibit back the response that it was not we but I who had done the workand silently put my aching arms down at my sides. Only then did I seethat Annie herself had not been idle. On her table lay a weaving ofcolored threads.

“Aframing spell,” Mairi whispered by my side. “A deilbh buidseachd.”

Iresisted crossing myself and spoiling the spell and went where Annieled me, to the rocking chair.

“Sitye by the fire,” she said.

Nosooner had I sat down, rubbing my aching arms and trying not to jump upand run outside to be sick, when a piece of the peat broke off in thehearth and tumbled out at my feet.

“Good,good,” Auld Annie crooned. “Fire bodes marriage.We will have success.”

Idid not smile. Gritting my teeth, I whispered, “Get on with it.”

“Hush,”cautioned Mairi, but her arms did not ache as mine did.

AuldAnnie hastened back to the churn and, dipping her hand into it, carvedout a pat of butter the size of a shinty ball with her nails. Slappingit down on the table by the threads, she said: “Name three colors,girl, and their properties.”

“Bluelike the sea by Galan’s Head,” I said.

“Good, good, two more.”

“Plum—likehis eyes.”

“And a third.”

Ihesitated, thinking. “White,” I said at last. “White—like . . . likeGod’s own hair.”

AuldAnnie made a loud tch sound in the back of her throat and Mairi, givinga loud, explosive exhalation, threw her apron up over her head.

“Nota proper choice, girl,” Auld Annie muttered. “But what’s said cannot beunsaid. Done is done.”

“Isit spoiled?” I whispered.

“Notspoiled. Changed.” She drew the named colors of thread from the frameand laid them, side by side, across the ball of butter. “Come here,”

Istood up and went over to her, my arms all a-tingle.

“Set the twothreads at a cross for the name of God ye socarelessly invoked, and one beneath for yer true love’s name.”

Idid as she