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The bells of St Mary&039;s Church sounded the hour, faint echoes of theirafter the peals ceased Quince, rosemary, and lavender scented the air I was perched on an unco array of shtly laced bodice My career-oriented, twenty-first-century life faded further with each restricted breath I stared out into the lass in the leaded s

"Elle est ici," Pierre announced, his glance flicking in my direction "The witch is here to see madame"

"At last," Matthew said His friends had been eager to help hiestions illuard for women, witches, and everyone who lacked a university education Henry thought London round for the search, but Walter assured him that it would be ihbors in the crowded city George wondered if the scholars of Oxford ht be persuaded to lend their expertise, since they at least had proper intellectual credentials Toths and weaknesses of the natural philosophers in residence, and that idea was cast aside, too Kit didn&039;t believe it ise to trust any woentleimen for me It included the parson of St Mary&039;s, as alert to apocalyptic signs in the heavens, a nearby landowner na for a witch or daee who paid his overdue book bills by casting horoscopes

Matthew vetoed all these suggestions and called on Widow Beaton, Woodstock&039;s cunning woman and midwife She was poor and feht scorned-but this, Matthew argued, would better ensure her cooperation Besides, Widow Beaton was the only creature forsince fled, he ad Widow Beatonready for bed

"So you&039;ve mentioned," Matthew replied with barely concealed impatience "But if Widow Beaton can&039;t help us, she&039;ll be able to recommend someone who can"

"The late sixteenth century really isn&039;t a good time to openly ask around for a witch, Matthew" I&039;d been able to do little more than hint at the prospect of witch-hunts ere with the School of Night, but Matthe the horrors to coain he dismissed my concern

"The Chelmsford witch trials are only memories now, and it will be another twenty years before the Lancashire hunts begin I wouldn&039;t have brought you here if a witch-hunt were about to break out in England" Matthew picked through a few letters that Pierre had left for hi like that, it&039;s a good thing you&039;re a scientist and not a historian," I said bluntly "Chelmsford and Lancashire were extreme outbursts of far more widespread concerns"

"You think a historian can understand the tenor of the present h it?" Matthew&039;s eyebrow cocked up in open skepticis "We often do"

"That&039;s not what you said this ure out why there weren&039;t any forks in the house," he observed It was true that I&039;d searched high and low for twenty ently broke it to land

"Surely you aren&039;t one of those people who believe that historians do nothing but memorize dates and learn obscure facts," I said "My job is to understand why things happened in the past When soht in front of you, it&039;s hard to see the reasons for it, but hindsight provides a clearer perspective"

"Then you can relax, because I have both experience and hindsight," Matthew said "I understand your reservations, Diana, but calling on Widow Beaton is the right decision" Case closed, his tone es, and people are worried about the future," I said, ticking the ite for scapegoats to take the bla woh your male friends may not be aware of it"

"I a " I was aer, and Widow Beaton owesIf I draw curious eyes, I pose a serious threat to her safety," I retorted "At the very least, I need to pass as an upper-class Elizabethan woman before we ask her for help Give me a few more weeks"

"This can&039;t wait, Diana," he said brusquely

"I&039; you to be patient so I can learn how to eood reasons for it" I looked at hi wooes badly"

"Trust me" Mattheered his lips toward mine His eyes were smoky, and his instincts to pursue his prey and push it into submission were sharp Not only did the sixteenth-century husband want to prevail over his wife, but the vampire wanted to capture the witch

"I don&039;t find argu my head Matthew clearly did, however I moved a few inches away fro," Matthew said softly, his mouth close to my ear "You are And if you think I would ever touch you in anger, wife, you are veryme to the bedpost with frosty eyes, he turned and snatched up his breeches "I&039; downstairs Someone will still be awake to keep me company" He stalked toward the door Once he&039;d reached it, he paused

"And if you really want to behave like an Elizabethan wohly as he departed

The next day one vampire, two daemons, and three humans examined my appearance in silence across the wide floorboards The severe lines of Matthew&039;s doublet h the shoulders, while the acorns and oak leaves stitched in black around the edges of his white collar accentuated the paleness of his skin He angled his dark head to gain a fresh perspective on whether I passed muster as a respectable Elizabethan wife

"Well?" he dee lowered his spectacles "Yes The russet of this gown suits her far better than the last one did and gives a pleasant cast to her hair"

"Mistress Roydon looks the part, George, it is true But we cannot explain away her unusual speech si that she comes from the c-c-country," Henry said in his toneless bass He stepped forward to twitch the folds of uising that She is taller even than the queen"

"Are you sure we can&039;t pass her off as French, Walt, or Dutch?" Toe to his nose with ink-stained fingers "Perhaps Mistress Roydon could survive in London after all Daemons cannot fail to notice her, of course, but ordinary lance"

Walter snorted with amusement and unspooled from a low settle "Mistress Roydon is finely shaped as well as uncoes of thirteen and sixty will find reason enough to study her No, Tom, she&039;s better off here, with Widow Beaton"

"Perhaps I could ested, hoping that one of theht see sense and persuade Matthew to let me do this my way

"No!" cried out six horrifiedtwo pieces of starched linen and lace, her bosonacious rooster She was as annoyed by Matthew&039;s constant interference as I was

"Diana&039;s not going to court That ruff is unnecessary," said Mattheith an iesture "Besides, it&039;s her hair that&039;s the problem"

"You have no idea what&039;s necessary," Françoise retorted Though she was a varound when it came to the idiocy of men "Which would Madaauzy fabric and soether with invisible stitches

The snowflakes looked more comfortable I pointed to them

While Françoise affixed the collar to the edge of my bodice, Matthew reached up in another atteement Françoise slapped his hand away "Don&039;t touch"

"I&039;ll touchDiana &039;Mada his hands to h the door" He drew the edges of the collar apart, pulling loose the black velvet cord that hid Françoise&039;s pins

"Madame is a ossip about the new mistress," Françoise protested

"Gossip? What kind of gossip?" I asked with a frown

"You were not in church yesterday, so there is talk that you are with child, or afflicted by smallpox That heretic priest believes you are Catholic Others say you are Spanish"

"Spanish?"

"Oui, madame Someone heard you in the stables yesterday afternoon"

"But I was practicingYsabeau&039;s iht lend credence to roonize it as such" Françoise&039;s tone suggested that the boy&039;s confusion arranted She studied with me with satisfaction "Yes, you look like a respectable woman"

"Fallaces sunt reruht the scowl back to Matthew&039;s face "&039;Appearances can be deceiving&039; No one will be taken in by her performance"

"It&039;s far too early in the day for Seneca" Walter gave Marloarning look

"It is never too early for stoicism," Kit replied severely "You should thank me that it&039;s not Homer All we&039;ve heard lately is inept paraphrases of the Iliad Leave the Greek to soe-someone like Matt"

"My translation of Hoe retorted, bristling

His response released a flood of Latin quotations from Walter One of the in what I suspected was Greek The witch waiting downstairs coed in their favorite pastime: verbal one-upmanship I sank back into my chair

"When they are in a fine humor like this, they are a wonder," Henry whispered "These are the keenest wits in the kingdoh and Marloere now shouting at each other about the merits-or lack thereof-of Her Majesty&039;s policies on colonization and exploration

"One old and duive them to an adventurer like you, Walter," Kit chortled

"Adventurer! You can&039;t step out of your own door in daylight for fear of your creditors" Raleigh&039;s voice shook "You can be such a fool, Kit"

Matthew had been following the volleys with increasing amusement "Who are you in trouble with now?" he asked Marlowe, reaching for his wine "And how et you out of it?"

"My tailor" Kit waved a hand over his expensive suit "The printer for Ta sums "Hopkins, that bastard who calls himself ure of Diana that he&039;d won froht Still anxious about letting the statue out of ht, I inched forward

"You can&039;t be so hard up as to pawn that bauble for pennies" Matthew&039;s eyes flickered to ain "I&039;ll take care of it"

Marlowe bounded to his feet with a grin, pocketing the silver goddess "You can always be counted on, Matt I&039;ll pay you back, of course"

"Of course," Matthew, Walter, and George h h" Kit stroked his oith satisfaction "You look dreadful"

"Buy a beard?" I couldn&039;t possibly have understood correctly Marlowe h Matthew had asked him to stop on my account

"There&039;s a barber in Oxford who is a wizard Your husband&039;s hair grows slowly, as with all of his kind, and he&039;s clean shaven" When I still looked blank, Kit continued with exaggerated patience "Matt will be noticed, looking as he does He needs a beard Apparently you are not witch enough to provide him with one, so ill have to find someone else to do it"

My eyes strayed to the e on the els fros of holly oak, branches fro rose hips, and a fehite roses-to bring soo, I had lacedthe roses and arden all the while I was pleased with the results for about fifteen seconds, until the flowers and fruit withered before ertips in all directions, and led with an influx of infor sensation of rain, the strength in the roots that ca the pull of the wind, the taste of the soil

Mattheas right Now that ere in 1590,Gone were the eruptions of witchfire, ater, and ind that I had experienced after ht threads of ti creatures A white stag stared at ardens Noas ," Walter re Tohts?" I worried as we descended the wide oak stairs

"I&039; that ht stir her jealousy or ani behind with the rest of the School of Night "If all else fails, lie Matthew and I do it all the time"

"One witch can&039;t lie to another"

"This will not end well," Kit er rabbed Kit by the collar The pair of English rowled at Kit&039;s ankles They were devoted to Matthew-and none too fond of Kit

"All I said-" Kit began, squirave hiainst the wall

"What you said is of no interest, and what you htened

"Put him down" Walter had one hand on Marlowe&039;s shoulder and the other on Matthew The vah and lifted his friend several e, Kit looked like an exotic bird that had somehow beco Matthew held him there for a few more moments to make his point clear, then let hi to be fine" Matthew still sounded sure, but an oht be right

"God&039;s teeth," Walter muttered in disbelief as we processed into the hall "Is that Widow Beaton?"

At the far end of the roo: diminutive, bent, and ancient As we drew closer, the details of her rusty black dress, stringy white hair, and leathery skin became more apparent One of her eyes was milky with a cataract, the other atendency to swivel in its socket, as though its sight ht be iht it couldn&039;t get worse, I spotted the wart on the bridge of her nose

Widow Beaton slid a glance incurtsy The barely perceptible tingle on ,for further inforave off no light at all She was gray through and through It was dispiriting to see a witch try so hard to be invisible Had I been as pallid as that before I touched Ashain

"Thank you for coested that she should be glad he&039;d let her into his house

"Master Roydon" The witch&039;s words rasped like the fallen leaves that swirled on the gravel outside She turned her one good eye on e"

Chapman leaped forward at Matthew&039;s command, while the rest of us reroaned as her rheumatic limbs settled into the chair Matthew politely waited as she did so, then continued

"Let us get straight to the heart of the matter This woman"-he indicateddifficulties of late" Matthew e

"You are surrounded by influential friends and loyal servants, Master Roydon A poor woentleman such as you" Widow Beaton tried to hide the reproach in her words with a false note of courtesy, butHis eyes narrowed

"Do not play games with me," he said shortly "You do not wanta witch and needs your help"

"A witch?" Widow Beaton looked politely doubtful "Was her mother a witch? Or her father a wizard?"

"Both died when she was still a child We are not certain what powers they possessed," Matthew ad one of his typically va of coins into her lap "I would be grateful if you could exanarled fingers reached for e of energy passed between us The old woman jumped

"So?" Matthew demanded

Widow Beaton&039;s hands dropped to her lap She clutched at the pouch of ht hurl it back at hiained her composure