Free The Witching Hour (The Witches Pendragon Mystery Series Book 1) by Julie Sarff Page A

her seat. Prepared for this reaction, Hatha pulls the cup out of her hands and rests it on the silver tray.
    “She needs her rest,” Hatha says succinctly and now I know exactly what was in the silver flask –the strongest sleeping potion the world has ever seen.
    So much for not giving potions to the locals. Hatha appears to have broken her own rule.
     

Chapter 10 (Noelle)
     
    Late Saturday evening, I, Noelle, hurry down to the chocolate shop to check on Beatrice, who generously took over in the afternoon as I ran errands at the large market in Tours. I had to go by train, since the other ladies have the Volkswagen, and I had a difficult time managing all my sacks of cocoa beans until I shoved them into a taxi at the Amboise station. When I finally got them home, I tucked them in the chateau’s dark cellar to keep them fresh.
    “No sign of him?” I ask as I come through the door of Le Denouement at half past eight to find Beatrice sweeping the floor.
    “Your ghost?” Beatrice replies calmly. “He was here, Noelle. Scared the daylights out of me. He’s a pale, skinny thing. Looks like he might have been a heroin addict in life.”
    I wonder how she can determine all that from viewing a translucent being for the five seconds she said he materialized.
    “They all look pale,” I reply.
    “Him even more so,” Beatrice insists. “Maybe he materialized a little better for me than he did for you. He had a pentagram tattoo on his ankle, did you know?”
    “A pentagram?”
    “Yes, you know, like they have for the Knights of the Round Table, only his was inverted.”
    “You don’t say?”
    “I do say. By the way, I made up a batch of Elfie’s Chocolate Surprises …sold gobs… people kept coming back, saying they had the munchies.”
    Oh by the thumbs of Uther, no! When I ask her how much cannabis she added to her Chocolate Surprises , I find out that she has almost doubled the miniscule amount Elfie uses.
    “They like it with a bit more weed than Elfie put it. For all her wild ways, she’s overly judicious. Nobody will get any medicinal benefits with such a small amount added into their chocolates.”
    “Beatrice,” I say quite seriously, “You do understand it is a banned substance here in France. You understand that the French don’t believe it has any medicinal benefits? Please tell me you only sold them to those over 18.”
    “Of course,” Beatrice looks very serious. She always looks serious behind the thick-lensed glasses Merllyd made for her. “I only sold them to a handful of adults, who then came back an hour later and bought us out.”
    I am about to reiterate Hatha’s stance on putting marijuana in chocolates in the modern world, and how adamant she is against it, when Sheila pops through the door. “Good evening,” she greets.
    “Thought you were home supervising the electrician,” I say, startled to see her so soon after leaving her at the chateau.
    “I was and he’s finished for the day. He didn’t get much done, but he told me the first floor is as good as it will ever be. Second floor is still not working; we’ll have to keep using our candles. Anyway, tomorrow I intend to start tiling, like Elfie taught me. Going to use that fancy saw she has, if I can figure out how to turn it on.” She smiles wide and a wisp of hair escapes her wimple. 
    “But what are you doing here?” I ask as Sheila tucks the auburn lock back in.
    “Well, since there’s nobody up at the house tonight –except Francine and Liselle who are still refusing to talk to any of us witches– I thought I’d come down and help you both close down the store. Thought maybe we could all go out to dinner, it’s a Saturday night.” Her eyes travel to the back room, “I see everything’s done, all washed up and ready when you reopen on Monday.”
    “Yes, it’s all ready,” Beatrice answers cheerfully. “Spic and span, neat as you can,” she adds, which is a saying we witches like to repeat. She reaches