'I think it's the least you could do after … well, there's no need for us to rehash the past. There's something I want and The Witch's Tears may help me get it.'
Aurelia narrowed her eyes. 'What if you make a mistake? Like last time.'
Hettie puffed out her cheeks, clasped her hands together and crossed her arms beneath her bosom.
'I wasn't the one who made the mistake, Aurelia Jenkins.'
'It certainly wasn't me.'
'It must've been one of us and I followed your instructions precisely.'
'Did you? To the letter?'
'Of course I did.'
'Then someone must've intervened.'
'Intervened? Who could've intervened? And why would they?'
'Where was Hector?'
'Hector was …' A look of horror swept across Hettie's face. 'Now look here, Aurelia. Don't you go blaming my Hector for your mistakes.'
'I don't make mistakes, Hettie Turner. I told you then and I'm telling you now. It was you or yours. Not me.'
'I did what you said. Hector's actions shouldn't have made any difference.'
'You or yours, Hettie. You or yours.'
'No. I didn't come for this. Are you going to help me or not? Where is The Witch's Tears?'
Aurelia smiled. 'Only those with a good heart can find The Witch's Tears. You don't think Jennet would let just anyone benefit from them, do you?'
No one else had said a word or made a sound. Not even Ella. And what surprised Mia almost as much was that Hettie hadn't said the word 'dear' or 'deary' once throughout her entire conversation with Aurelia. It was almost as if Hettie were a different person.
'So you obviously can't see it then?' Hettie glared at Aurelia and Aurelia glared back.
'Ladies,' Jet said. 'This isn't helping. I don't know what happened between you two in the past but clearly something did and it's still influencing your behaviour to this day. Isn't it time to bury the hatchet?'
'I'll bury it in her head,' Hettie said.
'You'd miss and put it in the wrong place.'
Mia shook her head and glanced through the window. They might not find The Witch's Tears but this was going to ends in tears if they carried on like this.
The Kingfisher was still on the branch. He tilted his head to one side as if listening for something then he disappeared into the copse in a blue flash, reappearing a second or two later this side of the trees, just a little to the right of the cottage where the flower filled beds met the wildflowers and hedges surrounding the pond. He landed on yet another overgrown hedge, shook his head and stretched out his colourful wings, his bright blue and orange plumage resplendent in the sunshine.
Mia couldn't take her gaze from him and the cacophony of voices in the sitting room faded into a muffled hum as she watched him. Then something else caught her eye.
It wasn't raining so why was there water trickling down the leaves. Droplets glistened in the sunshine like tiny pear-shaped diamonds. It was so peaceful and magical she wanted to run outside and catch some in her hands. To get out of this room where Hettie and Aurelia flung insults at one another and Jet and the others were trying to get them to stop.
'That's it!' Mia jumped up from her seat, startling everyone in the room, including the little black cat. She looked at Jet, then Hettie and finally Aurelia. 'I think I know where The Witch's Tears is.'
'You do?' Aurelia looked doubtful at first, and then she smiled and nodded and let out a weary sigh. 'You do.'
'You do?' queried Hettie.
'Really?' asked Ella.
'You're sure?' confirmed Jet.
'Yes.' She met Aurelia's eyes. 'It's your ancestor's secret, Aurelia. Hettie must have a good reason to want this, or she wouldn't be here. Whatever happened between you must've been long ago. Can't you send it back where it belongs and move on? Can't you put it behind you? I want to tell Hettie where it is. Is that all right with you?'
Aurelia glanced at Hettie. 'It's not as straightforward as you might think. The Witch's Tears, I mean. Like any spell, it needs great care. You got it wrong before. Whatever it is you want, if you make a mistake, it could have consequences. Terrible consequences.'
'Then I'll have to be sure I don't make a mistake.'
Aurelia nodded. 'Then show her, Mia.' Aurelia turned away and slowly walked towards the door.
'Wait,' Mia said. 'Aren't you going to stay and help? If it's so important that Hettie doesn't get it wrong, she'll need someone to tell her how to do it right. Surely you're the only person who can do that? Won't you do that for someone you once called a friend? If Ella and I ever had a row which tore us apart and years later she needed my help, I know I would give it willingly.'
'Nothing could ever tear us apart,' Ella said. 'But the same goes for me.'
'And for me and Justin,' Jet said. 'And now Gill too. I'd do it for any friend, if they asked.'
'So would I,' said Tabbie.
Aurelia banged her stick on the floor. 'But she hasn't asked.'
'Hettie?' Mia looked at her.
Hettie pursued her lips.
'Go on, love,' Fred said. 'It's time. You let Hector go so that you could let new love in. Can't you let go of this to give friendship a chance to regrow? Before it's too late?'
'Too late?' Aurelia asked. 'Too late for what?'
'None of us is getting any younger,' Hettie said. 'That's all Fred meant.'
Aurelia stepped forward and looked into Hettie's eyes. 'No, Hettie Turner. None of us is getting any younger. But we'll be here for a good few years yet, with or without The Witch's Tears.'
Hettie brightened visibly. 'Will we, Aurelia? Will we really?'
Aurelia nodded. 'We will. But it can't hurt to get a little help from Jennet now, can it? And I'd be happy to help too, if you need it.'
'I'd be very grateful, if you don't mind.'
Aurelia looked at Mia. 'Show them, Mia. Show Hettie and our friends, The Witch's Tears.'
Mia pointed towards the hedge but the kingfisher had gone.
'Er. That's a hedge,' Ella said.
'Don't ever take things at face value,' Aurelia said. 'You need to look behind to see what's really there.'
From nowhere the gentle breeze that had been wafting through the trees and hedgerows, turned into a gale force wind. The hedges around the pond bent double and branches snapped and flew through the air. Leaves spiralled like several tornadoes and within a matter of seconds what was once an overgrown hedge now revealed a rock formation overhanging a crystal-clear stream that wound its way through the copse and fed into the pond. One of the large rocks had a crack running through it and as Mia stared at it she could see quite clearly why it was called The Witch's Tears. The rock was shaped like a face. A woman's face and water from the crack seemed to be coming from the exact spot where her eyes would be.
'This is just our crazy weather, right?' Ella whispered to Mia. 'This wasn't magic or witchcraft or anything, was it?'
'Who knows?' said Mia. 'But I'm sort of hoping it's magic because there's something I want and perhaps The Witch's Tears could help me get it.'
Chapter Twenty-Six
'I don't know if it was some sort of magic,' Mia said to Lori the following day while trying to explain about the transformation of Aurelia's garden hedge, 'or simply a weird coincidence, but it made me a believer, then and there.'
'We've been having such strange weather lately, sweetheart. All that rain in June, followed by a couple of pretty spectacular storms, then sudden showers, sunshine and more storms. Now this month we've had a heatwave. Perhaps it was the weather, or perhaps it wasn't. I suppose the only way you'll know is if you get your wish. What exactly did you wish for, or aren't you allowed to say?'
'You don't make a wish. It's not like The Wishing Tree. You have to think of what it is you want most. More than anything else in the world, and you have to imagine yourself having it, while you drink from The Witch's Tears. That's why Aurelia was so insistent that we got it right. If we let our minds wander from what it was we want
ed, the chances of us getting it are zilch. Or we might end up with something we really don't want. I know you think I'm being silly because it's early days and that I'm bound to fall pregnant at some stage. But I really want a baby, Mum. More than anything in the world. And I was worrying it wouldn't happen. So that's what I asked for. A baby. I saw myself singing a lullaby to a child in my arms as I sat in one of the guest rooms upstairs. And I saw myself surrounded by happy children with Jet playing peek-a-boo and the sun pouring through the windows.'
'In other words, you asked for a happy family. Not just one baby but a few.'
Mia smiled. 'I know. I suppose it was greedy of me, but when I told Aurelia, she said it was fine. What I asked for brought happiness and joy and I asked it with a good heart, which is what The Witch's Tears is all about.'
'What did Hettie ask for? Did she ever say?'
'Eventually, yes. And that was a huge surprise. Both Ella and I had thought she might be dying or something. I couldn't believe it when I heard. Hettie's been having terrible pains in her hips and the doctor said she'd need a hip replacement. She's been worrying herself sick but she's been putting on a brave face for all of us because she didn't want to spoil my wedding, or worry anyone else. Can you believe that Hettie could keep something like that to herself? She told Fred, of course, and swore him to secrecy. Apparently she's terrified of hospitals and she'd convinced herself that if she went in, she wouldn't come out. She simply wanted to ask to get through it. And that's when it all got even more strange.'
'Is that possible?' Lori laughed as she poured herself more coffee from the pot on the kitchen table.
'Believe me, it is. The reason Hettie and Aurelia haven't spoken for over forty years is because Hettie was desperate to have a baby. We know that's true because she told us about Hector and Elizabeth, remember.'
'Yes. And about Leo.'
'Yes. Well, Aurelia had given Hettie a bay leaf and told her to write her wish on the leaf and then burn it in the flame of a candle. Hettie did it but nothing happened. Then a year or so later, instead of her giving Hector a child, Elizabeth did, and Aurelia told Hettie it was because Hettie must've made a mistake when she did the spell. But Hettie blamed Aurelia and said that she wasn't a 'real' witch. It seems Aurelia wasn't sure she wanted to be and that's why she'd trained to be a nurse. Then her mum had died and Aurelia came back and, well, sort of took over as the resident witch.'
'Oh good heavens. You couldn't make this stuff up.'
Mia giggled but quickly became serious. 'I shouldn't laugh. It's not really funny. Hettie was heartbroken at not having a child. And I can understand that. Anyway, when they went through it again yesterday, it turns out that Aurelia didn't tell Hettie that she must let the bay leaf burn itself out. She took it for granted that Hettie would do that. And Hettie had. But Hector, seeing something burning on their kitchen table, threw a tea towel over the bowl Hettie had put the burning leaf in, and then threw the lot outside in a trough of water. Aurelia said that's why it was someone else, outside of Hettie's home, who had Hector's child. According to Aurelia, magic can not be messed around with.'
Lori burst out laughing. 'Oh dear. I'm sorry. I know I shouldn't laugh and I know it's all so terribly sad about Hettie not having children but has she truly believed all these years that the reason she couldn't was because Aurelia's spell hadn't worked?'
'She believes the curse of Frog's Hollow killed her husband, Mum. Of course she's believed that all these years. This is Hettie.'
'But why blame Aurelia? Surely if anyone was to blame for the spell going wrong it was Hector?'
'I think Hettie finally realised that yesterday. But she'd always put Hector on a pedestal. Not that he deserved it, but she had. It hadn't occurred to her that it was his fault. Anyway, Aurelia told her exactly what to ask for from The Witch's Tears and exactly what to imagine, and Hettie swears she did it right. Only time will tell but I've called a specialist this morning and arranged for Hettie to have her op done privately. She's got an appointment to meet him on Friday, and Jet and I are going with her and Fred to make sure we get all the facts.'
Lori shook her head. 'And Aurelia? Are she and Hettie friends again?'
'Only time will tell about that too, but I think they will be. Aurelia was as concerned as the rest of us, although she did call Hettie an old fool and said Hettie should've gone to see her right away.'
'Did anyone else ask The Witch's Tears for anything? Did Ella?'
'No. And not even Tabbie, which surprised me. I thought she might ask for something to happen about her and Justin, but she didn't. And Jet won't have anything to do with any of this sort of stuff. He wouldn't even have his fortune told last year, although he had told Tiffany he would. Oh. And that's another bit of news. It turns out the fortune-teller who comes here every year is only Aurelia's sister, Jezebella. Can you believe that? What a small world!'
Lori shook her head. 'To be honest, sweetheart, I'm not sure anything about Little Pondale will ever surprise me. But what happened afterwards? Did the hedge miraculously grow back and cover the rocks again?'
Mia shook her head. 'No. It seems The Witch's Tears are here to stay. At least for a while.'
'How did it get the name? You said it's called that because of Jennet de Witt.'
'It was. Although Gill said he had read something only an hour or so before we went to Aurelia's yesterday, about a place known as The Woman's Tears. We think that's why Jennet chose to build her cottage there. Because of the natural spring. Then Jennet used water from the spring to save her lover and her baby when they nearly died from some disease that swept through the village. She made them drink the water and she drank it herself and, so it says in Aurelia's family diaries passed down through the ages, because of that, they lived. But not everyone else did. And it seems Jennet's lover was married. When his wife found out, she and some of the other villagers who had lost loved ones, came to Witt's Cottage – or the Witch's Cottage as it was then called by the locals, and they dragged her and her lover out and drowned them both in the very pond that Tabbie drove her car into. At some stage after that, someone called the rock formation The Witch's Tears instead of The Woman's Tears, because of Jennet.'
'That's dreadful, sweetheart. What happened to the baby?'
'Oh. Jennet had another daughter from her previous marriage and that daughter took the baby and ran. She returned some time later when it had all calmed down but became a bit of a hermit, like Aurelia.'
'Not a complete hermit. Or was it the baby who grew up and continued the line?'
'It was the baby.'
'It's surprising then that The Witch's Tears gives people what they ask for. After the villagers dragged her and her lover out, you would think Jennet would've put a curse on the place as she was dying.'
'That's exactly what Ella said. But Aurelia says Jennet was all about the good in people. And she got what she asked for, according to the daughter who brought up her child. Jennet had often said that she wanted to die beside her lover on a warm summer's day. And she did. They died on the 26th of July 1618. So she got exactly what she asked for. Aurelia said Jennet never made mistakes with her spells, but she made a mistake with The Witch's Tears because she didn't say she wanted to die old. But it wasn't called The Witch's Tears then of course and she hadn't cast a spell, as such, according to Aurelia. It was the daughter who realised the power of the place and the magic may have been there long before Jennet arrived.'
'Hmm. I think the whole thing sounds a trifle iffy to me, sweetheart. But I truly hope you get what you want. And I hope Hettie does too. I'd like to go there to see it, but I don't think I'll be asking it for anything. Although I wouldn't be surprised if Bree does. I think she's worrying about these babies rather a lot. She's almost convincing herself something is going to go wrong.'
'Really? Then I'd better have a word with her, or get Aurelia to. Negative thoughts can be just as powerful as positive ones, Aurelia told both me and Hettie yesterday. The sooner Bree start
s thinking everything will go well, the more chance there is that it will. And it will, won't it, Mum?'
'Yes sweetheart. I'm sure it will.'
'But it wouldn't do any harm if Bree got a little help from The Witch's Tears, I suppose, now would it?'
Chapter Twenty-Seven
'Well,' said Mia, two weeks later when she and Jet were in bed. 'It seems everyone in the village has now heard about The Witch's Tears, despite each of us that day, all promising we wouldn't say a word.'
'I haven't told a soul,' Jet said, pulling her into his arms.
'And Hettie swore to Aurelia at the hospital today that no one has heard it from her.'
Jet glanced at Mia. 'Aurelia visited Hettie at the hospital?'
'Yep. Hettie was so astonished she forgot that she's in pain. Although even she says it's nowhere near as painful as she expected it to be. The op was a complete success and the doctor said that, all being well, Hettie can come home in a couple of days. I've discussed it with Fred, and also with Leo who was there as well today, and we've arranged for nurses to look after her at home.'
'I'll pop in and see her tomorrow. I hope she didn't mind that I couldn't get there today.'
'She didn't mind at all. I think she just wanted to sleep. None of us stayed long. I gave Aurelia a lift back to Witt's Cottage and there were a couple of people waiting outside when we arrived. Aurelia said that so many people were calling at the cottage lately that she was seriously considering taking a leaf out of her younger sister's book and might start charging them for the water. But I don't think she ever would. Ella told her the other day that she should bottle it, call it The Witch's Tears, and get people to pay a fortune for it and Aurelia said she could never do that.'
'I saw Garrick today and he said that Bree's feeling so much better since Aurelia gave her some herbs. No more morning sickness. No more mood swings. And no more sleepless nights. Until the babies are born. Then they'll never get any sleep. Does he know about The Witch's Tears? I didn't mention it but did Bree tell him that she went with you the other day?'
Secret Wishes and Summer Kisses on Lily Pond Lane Page 15