Chapter Sixteen: Tea with Lydia

Chapter Sixteen: Tea with Lydia

Johannes laughed, seeing Kilbeena and Duster trying to Levitate an oversized, ornately carved chair out of the way so that the group could see the furniture behind it. Siofre grinned at him. She, Lydia, or Johannes could have easily moved the chair, but Siofre had told the wee elves that they could help in the attics and storage rooms that day, and she was giving them the opportunity to "help" by moving some of the furniture from one part of the room to another using simple Levitation.

Lydia pushed a stray strand of hair from her brow. "I think we've done quite well this afternoon. Once we get this furniture into the cottage, we'll be able to see what more we might need. Of course, we haven't even thought about the second floor yet. But as long as we have the main floor and the first floor well furnished, I think we don't need to worry much about the upper floor."

"We have enough furniture here to furnish several cottages," Siofre said with a nod. "I'm sure we'll sort it all out before we present it to Minerva. I'll speak with Egeria, too. She may have a few items at the house that she thinks Minerva might particularly like. And we should make sure that Minerva realises that she can change anything she wishes...and we should leave some empty spaces for her to reorganise things the way she likes or add things of her own."

Lydia looked out the narrow window. "It's raining harder again." She smiled up at Johannes. "Unless you have work you must do in the conservatory, I would appreciate your help for the rest of the afternoon. Do you mind, Siofre?" she asked, turning to her sister-in-law.

"You're in charge today, hen," Siofre said. "It's time I'm leaving, anyway."

"Do you need to go today? This weather is awful," Lydia said.

"Yes, you could stay and work with us," Johannes added.

"There's no sign of a lightning storm, and the weather may be quite fine in Cornwall. I will likely return well before dinner, though, so you two can show off what you've accomplished then." Siofre looked down at her dusty robes. "I'm going to change before I leave, I think. I'm not sure whether a charm would be sufficient to remove the mustiness."

After Siofre left, Johannes let out a long sigh. "She is to the Terwilligers' again today?"

"Yes. To apply the potion that Murdoch made up for her," Lydia said.

"Does she always become so involved, even when there may be personal danger, or is it because there is a baby coming?"

"Yes and yes," Lydia said with a smile. "Siofre does occasionally take a client where there's personal risk to herself, and if there's a baby involved, she's even more likely to put forth extra effort without regard to her own well-being. I must say, however, that I've never known her to actually do anything precipitate or foolhardy, and she's never put herself into a position where she herself has come to any actual harm. She's a canny witch, Johannes. She will take care of herself."

Johannes nodded. "It worries me that she plans to follow the man, Cadoc, tomorrow."

Lydia waved her hand dismissively. "Ah, he'll never know she's there. And she won't follow him into a building if she's not certain she can remain undetected. That's the least of my worries for her," Lydia said. "In fact, except for the fact that I'm sure that she's losing money on this case and I worry that she's overtiring herself, I am not very concerned about it. She has other things on her mind that . . . well, I can't say I'm concerned, precisely, but they weigh on my own mind more."

Johannes's eyebrows rose. "What things are these? Should I be concerned?"

Lydia smiled and patted his arm. "You are a sweet, sweet man, Johannes. We'll talk later, eh? Perhaps over tea. In the meanwhile, let's get some of this furniture down into the large hall and have the house-elves clean it up for us. Hmmm . . . you cannot Apparate within the house . . . I will do this with Multry. You can go down to the hall and organise things there. Between Multry and me, it shouldn't take long to move it."

Johannes agreed with a nod and made his way down to the first floor and the large, near-empty, panelled hall that was above one of the ground floor parlours and formal dining room. It was raining so hard that despite the large arched windows all along one wall, the room seemed quite dark. Johannes flicked his wand a few times, lighting candles in their sconces and those in the central chandelier. There were three large fireplaces in the room, one at each end and one in the centre of the interior wall. Each was already laid and ready, so Johannes lit a fire in the middle fireplace. When Multry and Lydia popped down with the first two items of furniture several minutes later, the cavernous room seemed almost cheerful.

Lydia dusted her hands on her floral pinny. "Multry said it would be faster if she and Gweller moved all the furniture. She is going to have Fandenz, Sorrel, and Mynok clean and polish everything." She looked around her. "I almost never come into this room. I think we're going to use it when we have Maisie's birthday party at the end of May. Siofre said something about giving a more formal party for her. Of course, if the weather's bad, we may need it for Murdoch's party, as well."

"Is that a portrait of Siofre's mother and father?" Johannes asked, pointing to a large portrait hanging over one of the end fireplaces. He thought he recognised Siofre's mother from the portrait of her that she had shown him recently.

"Yes, it is. It must have been painted several years after they were married," Lydia said, "though I'm unsure precisely when."

The two approached the portrait, and the witch smiled at them and nodded. Her husband moved his arm slightly more around her so that his hand rested on her upper arm. His eyes moved toward them, but his expression changed only slightly.

"They are not highly charmed," Johannes said. "Do they speak?"

Lydia shook her head. "We have only a few speaking portraits in the house. They are not to the family's taste, apparently. And I believe that some Tyrees actually are superstitious about having Charmed portraits done of them whilst they are living...ones done with anything more than some minor animation charms showing different poses that the subjects took during the actual painting of the portrait."

Johannes nodded in understanding. "It could be unnerving, particularly when it is a portrait of yourself," he said. "I've never had a portrait painted, only my photograph taken, and I do not mind that. It is a bit like a Muggle movie...have you ever seen a Muggle film?"

"No. I have heard of them, and Liam seems entranced by them. He begs his parents for a television set, but they have not yet succumbed. His Muggle grandparents have one and he sometimes watches it there. A film is similar, isn't it?"

"I think so. I have only seen televisions in shop windows, but I think they are only in black and white. A film can be in colour, and it is like a wizarding photograph, but much longer, and no matter how many times you see it, it never changes. It is like seeing the exact same performance of a play again and again with no variations," Johannes said.

"Like the replay feature on those expensive new Omnioculars?" Lydia asked.

"Yes, like that, but with a large audience watching with you in a theatre, and it can be hours long, not just a few minutes," Johannes said with a nod. "I have seen only a few moving films, myself. It is a strange experience."

"I think I'd like to see a film," Lydia said, her eyes alight. "That would be marvellous! Like seeing the ultimate performance of a play!"

Johannes smiled at her enthusiasm. "Perhaps we can see one together sometime, then. In Glasgow or London."

"London...unless we can convince Siofre to accompany us to the theatre, then we'd probably go to Glasgow or Edinburgh."

"You like London? You enjoy it?"

Lydia smiled and nodded.

"Then we will bring Siofre with us and you will share with us all that you love about London!" Johannes said.

"I would like that. I think we could persuade Siofre...you could, I'm sure," Lydia said with a smile.

"Then when things are a little more settled here, after your son and daughter-in-law are returned and you've had time with them, I will discover a film for us to see in London and we can spend a day there. Perhaps all of us."

"A family outing! Can we take the underground? That is always fun. All of the Muggles! And they are so clever with their long underground trains. I don't know how they know without magic where they've dug their tunnels," she said with a shake of her head. "Very clever!"

Johannes chuckled.

"Let's go have some tea. Since Multry's been busy, I don't know what there is to go with it...would you like to try my scones? They don't reach the heights that Multry's do, but they're not bad and it won't take long for them to bake. We can have our first cup of tea whilst we wait," Lydia said with a smile.

"You cook? I did not know that," Johannes said.

"Oh, just this and that. A few things that I enjoy doing, you know. Sometimes I help Multry with dinner or lunch...I used to help Shoolie a lot more. We used to do a lot of the meals together, especially as she got on in years, and when it was just me after Brigid passed . . . well, we would sometimes all just eat together in the kitchen, me and the house-elves. Not something my nephew Charles and his family would appreciate, I'm afraid, but practical and more enjoyable than eating on my own," Lydia said as they walked down the stairs.

"You must have been lonely here, in this great castle, all alone but for the house-elves," Johannes observed.

Lydia shook her head. "A little, very occasionally, but Siofre came by several times a week, and sometimes she and Herbert would both come for dinner or the weekend, occasionally bringing Maisie and Dorcas, too, and I got out a lot. I have a number of friends I visit or meet for tea, and sometimes I would go down and stay with Connor and Liz or they and Liam would come up here for a visit. They used to visit more often before Liam started school. I am looking forward to his summer holiday."

"And your nephew Charles?"

"He is a stuffed shirt, and his son is even worse...I hate to say that about my own flesh and blood, but Drusus is one of the most miserable souls I've ever met. It is generous to call him mean and nasty," Lydia said, shaking her head.

"Drusus Prince . . . Is his daughter Eileen Prince?" Johannes asked.

"Yes. I've only seen her a few times, though. I don't think I've seen her since she was ten or so. I feel sorry for the poor girl," Lydia said.

"I taught Eileen. She is not . . . mean and nasty, but she did seem unhappy. She was a very . . . reserved girl."

"I hope that she has some future," Lydia said with a sigh. "I heard that her father wants to marry her to Giles Black, a wizard almost as miserable as Drusus is, and a good deal older than the girl...not that that's a problem if it were her choice, but I don't think that her desires play any role...and he's her cousin, too. Again, not something that bothers me if the couple are in love...although probably it's best if first cousins don't marry...but I think it's only because her father wants her to marry a Black, even if he's not one of the more prominent ones."

"Perhaps she will find a way to make a choice for herself," Johannes said.

"Perhaps." They stepped down into the large kitchen. "Could you get the butter from the cool cupboard?" Lydia asked as she waved her wand and Summoned a couple large crocks from a high shelf. "The cream, too. And the eggs are in the cupboard above the cool cupboard. I need a couple of those."

Johannes sat down in one of the chairs at the kitchen table and watched as Lydia quickly and efficiently mixed together the ingredients, then patted the dough out and waved her wand over it to smooth it. She then used her wand to cut it into triangles, flicking her wand again to transfer the triangles to a baking sheet.

"I always like triangles, for some reason," Lydia said. She laughed. "I like eating the corners. That's the trouble with rounds. There aren't any corners!"

She chuckled at herself as she waved her wand at the oven to bring it up to the proper temperature before she popped the scones into the oven. Next, she flicked her wand at the kettle, bringing the water to a boil as she spooned tea leaves into a pot. Johannes poured the water into the teapot, and Lydia Summoned cups and saucers for them.

As the tea steeped, Lydia put everything away, cleaning up the dusting of flour and leaving out the butter, then she took the milk from the cool cupboard. Johannes poured them each a cup of tea, and Lydia sat down across from him.

"You were going to tell me about what concerns you about Siofre," Johannes said.

"It's not really a concern, you understand . . . just something I've been thinking about lately. Something I've noticed . . . but I really shouldn't say anything . . ."

"But if it is a concern," Johannes said, "I would like to know. I might be able to help."

Lydia chuckled and took a sip of tea. "Yes, yes, you could help . . . but it's not my place, you see . . . and I may be wrong about something, too. I can't be completely certain."

"Certain about what?"

"How you feel about Siofre," Lydia said succinctly, suddenly no longer hesitant.

Johannes could feel the colour rising in his cheeks. "I . . . ah, she is an impressive witch. And a fine friend, I believe."

"And your feelings for her? You seem rather fond of her, in a particular way," Lydia said. "Are you?"

"I . . . I admire her greatly." Johannes swallowed. Even his ears were warm with his blush. "She is remarkable."

"Ah. I see. You admire her." Lydia nodded. "I had thought you were more fond of her than that. Or that you were growing that fond of her."

"Of course, I am fond of her. But you needn't worry. I . . . I do treat her with the respect due her. I would not . . . If that is your concern . . . I can reassure you..."

"Anyone can see that you are a gentleman, Johannes," Lydia said with a kind smile. "I would expect nothing less from you. But I had actually hoped that you might be very fond of our Siofre. You have seemed rather taken with her. I know there are differences between you, and you might find them very great ones, but . . ." She shrugged.

"So what is your concern?" Johannes asked.

"I worry that Siofre might like you very much, too, in the same way, but that she is going to try to encourage you to become interested in someone else, whether it seems that way to you or not."

Johannes shook his head. "I do not understand. It is confusing."

Lydia got up and used her wand to open the oven and remove the scones. They smelled wonderful.

"Have one whilst it's still hot," Lydia said. "I like just to put butter on them, but we have preserves and we may have some clotted cream in the cool cupboard."

"Butter is fine," Johannes said.

Lydia poured herself another cup of tea. "I am simply saying that if you are interested in Siofre, do not let yourself be distracted by anything else. And if she puts you off . . . well, I won't say what you should do, but I think that Tyree witches appreciate patience and polite persistence."

"I have not thought . . . that is . . . yes, she is impressive in many ways, and I do like her very much. But I was simply trying to . . . what is the expression in English . . . to test the water? To feel my way slowly. I am unsure myself . . . except that when I am with her, I feel something I cannot describe. And when I am not with her, I think of her, I remember time we spent together, I think of things to do that might please her . . ."

Lydia patted his hand. "You take your time, sweetheart. Just take things as slowly as you wish. Remember, though, that I think that Siofre is more than a little fond of you, too, whether she shows it or not. But if you decide that there's something else that's right for you, someone else, that is fine, too." She gave his hand a little squeeze then picked up another scone, pulled it apart, and put a large pat of butter between the two pieces, letting it melt.

"Please do not tell to Siofre that we talked," Johannes said.

Lydia took a bite of her scone, the melted butter running out of it and onto her fingers, and she shook her head. After she had swallowed and licked her fingers, she said, "That would rather defeat the purpose of our private little talk. Besides, you must feel free to do as you wish. I don't want you to feel pressured in any way to any particular course. And if you fall in love, whomever you may fall in love with, I hope you act in accordance with your heart. And whoever the witch is, she will be a very lucky woman. Now, how is the new hedge maze coming?"

"I thought a labyrinth, instead," Johannes said, blinking at the change in topic. "They are restful. I thought that at various points, we could have benches, and perhaps some particularly beautiful or interesting feature...a beautiful plant or bed of flowers or a statue. Siofre seemed to like that plan."

"That's a lovely idea," Lydia said.

"I thought I might vary the surface at intervals, too," Johannes said, buttering a second scone for himself. "Grass, small stones, larger stones, sand, slate, shredded bark . . . it could be an interesting sensation, walking on different surfaces."

They continued to talk about the different gardens Johannes was planning until Multry popped into the kitchen and shooed them away, telling them that she needed to prepare dinner. On their way out of the kitchen, Johannes opening the door and letting Lydia through first, she looked up at him and winked. "Don't forget, Johannes, if you're so inclined: patience and persistence!"