They were all watching her. Natalie could feel their eyes first on her shoulder blades, then on the poor misshapen dolls and then back to her again. She had set herself up as some sort of expert and they were relying on her to save them; to save Joss’s two children and to save Luke.
The rain was running down her face, dripping off her short hair into her collar. It was cold and clean and fresh.
She couldn’t do it. Not on her own. She couldn’t fight Margaret’s spell by herself.
Slowly she turned. They were still watching her, the two men uncertain, David understanding the implications of what they were dealing with and a little afraid, Luke self mocking, practical, still not letting himself believe that the small two-headed lump of wax on the table could threaten the lives of his two sons, even his own.
And why did it threaten them? It was a love charm, one of the commonest objects a witch was asked to produce, a piece of child-like sympathetic magic, meant to bring a man and a woman together. So why did it give off such evil vibes? And why did it threaten Joss, or the women of the house; the women who were wooed by a king?
No one said anything; they were all watching her, waiting for her to tell them what to do.
And suddenly she knew.
‘Joss –’ Her hands had gone clammy. ‘How strong are you?’
Joss looked away, first into the distance towards the lake and then down to the figures on the table. Her face was white and very strained but her eyes when she raised them at last to Natalie’s face were steady. ‘Strong enough.’
Natalie nodded. ‘Luke, I want you and David to go away. Right away from the house. Go to the little boys and stay with them. We’ll tell you when you can come back.’
‘I’m not leaving Joss.’ Luke caught his wife’s hand.
‘Please Luke, I’m not asking lightly.’ Natalie glanced at David, sensing an ally.
He picked up the cue. ‘Come on old chap. I have a feeling this is women’s work.’
Natalie’s face relaxed into a smile. ‘That’s exactly what it is.’
‘I’ll be all right, Luke.’ Joss stepped closer to him and reaching up kissed him on the cheek. ‘Please, go with David.’ He wrapped his arms around her and for a moment they clung together then reluctantly she pushed him away. ‘Go on.’
‘You’re sure?’
‘I’m sure.’
She and Natalie stood where they were in the rain and watched as the two men walked slowly back to the gate. As David pushed it open Luke looked back. Joss raised a hand and blew him a kiss then she turned away. When seconds later she glanced back the two men had gone.
Natalie was watching absent-mindedly. The illusion of reality was slipping away, withdrawing to the periphery of her vision as she reached down towards her intuition. ‘Are you ready?’ She frowned. ‘This is going to be hard.’ She hesitated. ‘Joss, you do know you’re pregnant.’
Joss stared at her. ‘Don’t be silly; I can’t be.’
Natalie nodded. ‘It’s because you are carrying a little girl that we can do this, and it’s because it’s a girl that we have to do it soon.’ She took Joss’s hands in her own wet cold ones. ‘In a minute we’re going into the church with these,’ she nodded towards the dolls, ‘and we’re going to separate them.’
‘What about that stuff we saw in there?’ Joss’s mind was spinning, beating against the blackness, grappling with Natalie’s certainty. ‘I’m not pregnant you know. I can’t be. Luke and I – well we took precautions. It’s too soon after Ned. We didn’t want any more children – ’
Natalie frowned. ‘Just for now believe me, please. We have to be together in this, Joss. David was right, this is women’s work and there are some things that women know.’ She hesitated, wondering how she could explain. ‘The spell was cast by someone who knew what they were doing. It worked. These two people,’ she gestured at the wax dolls, ‘were tied together by magic –’ she smiled uncertainly, used to people’s raised eyebrows when she used the word ‘ – magic that was powerful – a force of nature, harnessed and directed so well that it lasted beyond death for the people who were bound together.’
‘Edward and Katherine,’ Joss murmured.
‘Edward and Katherine.’
‘But what went wrong? Why are they so angry? Why are they hurting people? Was that part of Margaret’s intention?’
Natalie shrugged. ‘They’re trapped here. Perhaps that is all the reason they need. Perhaps there is more. Perhaps the king is still searching for her. Perhaps he’s lost her somehow; perhaps he wants something else.’ She glanced at Joss. ‘A human lover.’
Joss shook her head vehemently, her mind trapped, cannoning against the black wall inside her head, refusing to focus, but Natalie nodded. ‘Face it. You have to face the truth.’
‘There isn’t any truth to face. All he’s done to us –’ she paused. The cellar. The eyes. The arms, drawing her against him. Black velvet and then nakedness. ‘No,’ she shook her head again. ‘No, all he has done, perhaps, is bring me roses.’ She shuddered. The black wall was back in place. There was a long pause. She could feel Natalie’s eyes on her face and resolutely she refused to meet them.
Eventually Natalie spoke. ‘Well,’ she cleared her throat. ‘Come on. We’d better get on with it.’ She fished a blue scarf out of her pocket – silk, Joss noticed – and carefully she picked up the dolls and wrapped them in it, then she walked towards the gate.
The lights were still on in the church. Standing just inside the door they paused. Resolutely Joss shut it behind them. The sound of the heavy latch dropping echoed round them and then it died away. She held her breath and stood watching as slowly Natalie began to walk up the aisle towards the altar. After a few steps she stopped. ‘Joss? Come with me.’
Joss forced herself to move. Her legs were trembling violently and it was all she could do to follow.