“I’ll stay too,” Ann said and knelt beside the two women. “Miss Syd, what am I looking for?” “Bugs. Rot. Anything that would cause it to need more care.” Ann looked at the bush in question, found rotten leaves and started pulling them out. Some of the soggy debris splashed on Tizbeth’s hand. In retaliation, Tizbeth tossed dirt at Ann. She saw Ann wrap her fist around a clump of mud. When Ann’s arm tense, Tizbeth pulled back, and the mud spattered in Syd’s hair. Ann went white with fear of the witch. Syd slowly turned her head. Tizbeth put herself between her two friends. Syd murmured a few soft words, and the bush lightly swiped at Ann’s face. Ann bounced back and fell over. Tizbeth giggled, and the three went back to weeding. Several times Tizbeth caught Syd looking at the bush before realizing that she had meant for the bush to hit harder. Was this the drought that Syd had been talking about, the increased difficulty in casting spells? …show more content…
Syd let amble ahead and took Ann by the arm. “You will watch out for her when I leave won’t you?” Ann looked the Sofria witch up and down. “I already am.” Another first for Syd, she decided she liked a human.
* * * * Tizbeth was glad she had given up on courting Lord Donovan. Tilly had won the honor of playing hostess, and she looked like she was about to drop from the work. She had to talk to so many people. Tizbeth sat contently in the corner with all the young married women. “You will never catch a husband hiding behind my skirts,” Ann hissed. “I don’t know that I want a husband.” Ann laughed. “You can’t want to be an old maid. You want a family. Dominique, you need a family. In fact…” Ann took Tizbeth by the hand and dragged her reluctant, friend to her husband who was flirting with a first-season debutante. “Frank, please dance with my