“Not as a rule, no. I keep my circle tight. Less upheavals, so to speak.”
“Then I’m glad you widened it for me. See you at the pub? A couple hours?”
“That’ll do fine.”
“Thanks for the lift.” Iona jumped out, shot back a wave. She liked the idea of being open to connections, and the prospect of meeting a friend for a drink. Maybe she could talk Branna into joining them—a kind of impulsive girls’ night out.
Then maybe she’d get lucky and top it off with a little adventure with Boyle.
Pleased with the plan, she swung through the door.
“Let the lesson begin, then we can— Oh, sorry. I didn’t see you had company—a customer.”
She hesitated at the doorway, not quite sure if she should go in or out, then recognized the woman standing at the work counter with her cousin.
“Oh, hi. I met you my first night at Ashford, at the Cottage. You’re Mick’s daughter. Iona,” she added when the woman simply stood there, flushed and staring.
“I remember, yes. My father speaks well of you.”
“He’s terrific. Just one more reason I love my job. Sorry to interrupt. I’ll just go—”
“No, no, it’s not a problem a’tall. I’ve just finished. And thanks, Branna, I’ll be on my way then. Best to Connor.”
She hurried out, pushing a little bottle into her coat pocket.
“Sorry. I know you do some business here, even though most of it’s through the shop in the village.”
“A bit here, a bit there.” Branna tucked some euros into a drawer. “Those who come here are often looking for what I don’t sell in the village.”
“Oh.”
“I’m not a doctor, but I’m discreet. Still, in this case I’ll tell you, as it’s hardly the secret Kayleen thinks it is, and there may come a time you’ll be asked for the same.”
She lifted a ladle, poured a pale gold cream from bowl to bottle through a funnel, and touched the air with the scent of honey and almonds.
“There’s a fine-looking Italian come over to work at his uncle’s restaurant in Galway City. Our Kayleen met him a few weeks ago at a party, and they’ve been seeing each other a bit. I met him myself when they came into the shop, and he’s charming as a prince and twice as handsome.” She continued to work as she spoke, filling her bottles, then wiping them clean before sealing them with the stoppers.
“Kayleen’s mad in lust for him, and who could blame her for it? I’d have a go at him myself if I was in the market. Others feel the same, and it appears he’s fine with that situation. And who could blame him?” she added, tying a thin gold ribbon around the bottle’s neck.
“But Kayleen doesn’t want to share, and feels the handsome Italian only requires a bit of a boost to pledge to her alone. She had in mind I’d give her the boost.”
“I’m not following.”
Branna set the finished bottle in a box for transporting. “A love spell was her request, and she was willing to pay a hundred hard-earned for it.”
“A love spell? Can you do that?”
“Can and will are different matters entirely. There are ways, of course. There are always ways, and there’s nothing more dangerous or filled with pain and regret as spells that involve the heart.”
“Yo
u told her no. Because it’s taking someone’s choice away. And because you’re not supposed to use magick for gain.”
Hands quick and clever, Branna tied the next ribbon. “Every spell’s for gain, one way or the other. You want something or believe in something, want to protect or block or vanquish. This cream here, it’ll make the skin smooth and fragrant, and it can lift the ego of the one wearing it, as well as draw a response from the one catching its scent. I create it, someone buys it, and I’m paid. That’s gain as well.”
“I guess that’s a way to think about it.”
“It is. As for choice, there are times we do that as well, however well-intentioned. And so we have to be willing to pay the price, for magick’s not free.” She looked up then, met Iona’s eyes with her smoky ones. “Not for us, not for any.”