Thank you. Cheese is fine too.
Clothilda, fidgeted and finally decided to pour herself another cup of tea. She took her time adding sugar lumps and stirring it slowly. Finally she looked up.
'You have met them, Lucy, but sadly, I don't think it has been an agreeable acquaintance.'
'They are newcomers like you. A family of boys - four of them and one on the way. It's a boy, too, by the way. Your brother, Raphael, himself, confirmed it.
The parents had heard the story of the watermelon cure and so moved here in hopes of finally getting their daughter. Unfortunately for them, Lucy, they too can trace their history back to King Edward.'
Lucy pulled a face. 'You are talking about the Cookes aren't you?'
'Yes, the Cookes.' Clothilda nodded. 'I believe there is something special about them too.'
'I doubt it.' Lucy grimaced. 'Those boys are horrible. The only spell they are under is to make them look human but they are really toads.'
Clothilda looked startled for a minute. 'Toads? Oh I see, an insult. I was going to say the whole toad thing with witches is a total fairy tale. Now where was I? Yes, the mother.
You know she is the spitting image of Isolde. I believe, though it has been impossible to trace, that she may have come from Isolde's line. Perhaps Isolde had a sister or a cousin who passed on the facial structure.'
Lucy rolled her eyes. She really didn't want to think she shared a common ancestor with Justin Cooke.
'When I was a girl,' Clothilda closed her eyes as she sifted through her memories. 'There was a boy who used to pull my pigtails. He would play horrible tricks on me that made me cross. I didn't like him very much.
One day he pushed me and I fell in the mud and burst into tears. You know what he did?'
Lucy shook her head.
'He cried too,' Clothilda laughed. 'The silly boy was only trying to get my attention and going about it all the wrong way. Boys! You know what? I married that boy eventually and we had a very happy life together.'
'I'm not marrying Justin,' Lucy yelled, then quietened as she saw that Clothilda's eyes were bright with tears. 'I'm sorry.' She reached out and patted Clothilda's hand. 'I guess you must miss him.'
Clothilda sniffed but smiled. 'You don't have to marry him, my dear. I think being his friend will be enough.'
'You see Lucy, he has his own share of problems. His parents are very nice people and love their sons dearly, but they have made no secret of their yearning for a daughter. Children do not miss much but sometimes they don't really know the full story.
I believe that the boys, and Justin in particular, have grown up thinking that their parents are disappointed with them.'
Lucy picked at some threads on her jacket. She knew that feeling well. Her parents had loved her, of that she was sure, but there had been moments of exasperation and thoughtless comparisons too when Lucy had felt her throat tighten and tears prick behind her eyes.
'Oh no. Honey she has ripped up my papers. The boys would never have done that.'
'You only got a C, Lucy. That's not so good. Your brothers always got A's.'
'Such a temper tantrum. My goodness. Your brothers would never have behaved that way.'
'You are such a handful, Lucy. I swear you are more trouble than all your brothers put together.'
'So, I think that just befriending him will be enough – the two of you joining forces. Who knows where that will lead. I believe that together you may trigger some weakening of the spell. That's not just my opinion, by the way.
It's not often that a bunch of wizards and witches can reach consensus but in this my colleagues around the world tend to agree with me.'
