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DOWN AT THE BOTTOM OF THE GARDEN
By
Daisy Banks
© copyright by Daisy Banks, Nov. 2007
Cover Art by Eliza Black, Nov. 2007
New Concepts Publishing
Lake Park, GA 31636
www.newconceptspublishing.com
This is a work of fiction. All characters, events, and places are of the author's imagination and not to be confused with fact. Any resemblance to living persons or events is merely coincidence.
Chapter One
'Kyle and I have been lovers for months, our baby will be born in January. I thought you'd like to know.' The words Kathleen had heard from the sickly sweet voice down the phone still rang in her head. She had fled to the far end of the garden, a ball of fury lodged in her stomach. She'd suspected he didn't love her, but this a week before their wedding.
The weeds were high. The lazy afternoon bees buzzed as Kathleen looked down at the massive blue diamond ring. Tears blinded her vision. "Bloody ugly thing," she sobbed as she twisted it from her finger.
The only thing that prevented her from throwing the ring into the ditch by the back wall was the memory of her father's insistence that things of value were important. She shoved it into the tiny pocket of her jeans. "Bloody, ugly thing."
She sniffed the tears back and smelled the sweetness of honeyed Alyssum. There was no way she was marrying Kyle De Corsie next week, no matter what everyone thought.
The dress would stay on the nasty purple silk hanger and they could all whistle Dixie until they felt better.
If she didn't arrive at the tiny church, though, the press would be on her tail hotter than the hounds of hell. She'd be in all the Sundays, Weekly's, Daily's and anything else, her picture plastered over the net once more, the poor little rich girl who just couldn't cope. Even worse than that would be her grandmother's tearful disappointment. They were only here at the cottage for the wedding and grandma was so very thrilled. Despair trickled over her, there was no way out. Daddy had stitched up the deal with Kyle and his publishing company so tightly.
He was a grand man was Daddy, but he didn't understand how it felt to be a twenty year old heiress. At home she'd been leeched on by any and every guy with a dwindling stash from sea to shining sea. There had never been one who wasn't more interested in the money than in her, and Kyle was just the same.
A huge sigh escaped her as she sat amongst the remnants of grandma's garden nursery. This part of the garden hadn't changed since she was a child and grandma insisted it stayed that way. The weeds were thriving, the ragged, spiny sticky weed rampant and the old fence posts struggling to stand tall. The rickety shed was lopsided now, part of the roof crumbling away and only cobwebs grew in its window.
"Be dammed the lot of them! I won't marry him. By Nightshade, by Foxglove, by the bitter dregs of the cup, be dammed if I will." Her tears slid softly down her cheek and she buried her face in her hands.
* * * *
Ash only stirred when the hard toe of Beech's boot hit his thigh, not once but twice before he finally lifted a lazy eyelid. "What boy?" he asked.
"Tis a spell, a witchy at work, a spell like I ain't heard for a generation of them." Beech had grabbed his tunic and was pulling hard.
"What?" Ash couldn't be bothered, not tired as he was, his tongue like a sandy path from last night's nectar. T'was just as well to sleep the day away, for t'would be just the same as the last. Life had been dull for months and if they didn't get an invite from the court soon he was fair likely to go mad.
"Rouse yer self. 'Tis a spell. There's a witch working out in the weeds. Come on. If we're quick we'll have her as ours for as long as she'll stay." Beech was already moving towards the door.
"If this is a jape, I'll kick yer arse from here to the middle of next week boy." Ash lifted his head and let the dust motes settle before he opened his eyes. A witch in the garden, unlikely at best, but if it were true that would certainly liven things up.
"Will ye shift yerself my bucko? 'Tis a witch. Listen to the bloody words. Look at her, green, red, and white, look at the body, listen to the poor plaintive creature. She's ours for the taking. Shift yer bloody arse." The fervour of Beech's words hit home and Ash hauled himself up.
He looked through the dull, dingy window of the shed. His jaw dropped and the flood of blood to his groin made him wince. For once, his brother was right. Red, soft hair slid over her shoulders in waves. It shimmered with a multitude of autumn leaf colors and hung to her waist-wonderful her hair. T'was as beautiful as the sleek coat of a vixen. When she opened her tearful eyes, they were green as the pines in winter, green as the dappled glades in the forests and spoke softly of love. The white skin of her breast and the hand that beat against it looked softer than the winter's snow. The power of her words was weak, like the sick sometimes mumbled, but she had the idea. She just needed some help. Poor, wee little thing. She fair stole his heart, or could do if he let her.
"Have yer bloody looked enough boy?" Beech kicked him again and Ash just grinned. His mouth stretched slowly in a smile. This was the best news they'd had in years.
"Aye, for once yer misbegotten toadling, yer right. Come on, haul yer arse out of here or she'll be gone and her like not seen again for an eon." The door creaked on its old hinges, but she did not turn. They crept to where she sat, her head bowed in her hands, and Ash could have wept with her heart wrenching sobs. Poor, wee little witch, her heart so heavy that the tears spilled through her fingers.
"We heard ye calling and have come." Ash spoke loud and strong and waited impatiently for her response.
Kathleen turned but saw nothing, there was a tinny stinging jumble in her ears. She scanned behind her to find nothing but the tall weeds. The air seemed to still, hushed now and she shivered as she waited for the roll of thunder or the flash of lightening. Time seemed to stop as she listened and looked.
"Down here yer dozy doxy," Ash finally called. Beech grabbed his elbow.
"Is that how yer address a lady? Is that how ye speak with one who is part of nature? Yer bloody fool." Ash blinked at his vehemence.
"Lovely Lady, we hear yer sorrow. We hear yer spell. If yer would have it so, we will make it well." The ancient words swelled through the afternoon light. Beech's voice reached up through the tangled weeds.
Ash watched her pale face, the wide tearful eyes. He had never heard tell of a lovelier witch, that sweet face with its tip tilted nose, the full breasts and long legs in those ridiculous blue things the mortals wore. Every part of him twitched in anticipation. This one would be a witch worth having.
"What the …?" Kathleen turned and scanned the weeds again. The tinny noise only made her wonder if the press had bugged the spot. She had fallen for that nasty trick before now.
She wiped her face quickly, tried to drag on a confident expression as she looked again. Another photograph of her looking dazed and confused plastered all over the papers would be more than she could stand.
"Lady we hear ye. We will help in yer work. Yer have only to call on us and we will be with ye." This was the last part of the magic but Ash wondered if she would hear it at all, she seemed so distracted. The soft hair flew about her as she twisted and turned. He almost expected the tiny buttons on her blouse to pop as she took such deep breaths.
Once more, he solemnly intoned, "Lady we hear ye." The words swelled through the grasses, thrumming loudly as they grew in power. Finally, she looked down in their direction.
"Contact," whispered Beech as her green eyes beheld them.
"Oh my God." Her hand flew to her mouth.
"Lady, we will aid ye in yer work," Beech said.
Ash flicked a cobweb strand from his tunic and smiled up at her. "We heard yer call." Her wide green eyes were pools of delight and the ripe heaving breasts made his mouth suddenly dry.
Trembles of shock ran over Kathleen's flesh. The tiny creatures looked almost human but the way they glimmered wasn't normal and she could have sworn they had wings. Yes, shimmering, wings of green and blue. Kathleen shook from head to toe. This was just like her grandmother's stories about the little people, but that was all such nonsense. Her skin prickled as she gazed at them. This was crazy, they were crazy, maybe some kind of new beetle from Europe or something. She hated beetles and these were big ones. Whatever they were wasn't normal for a cottage garden, of that she was sure.
"What are you?" Kathleen bent down and looked closely at them
"As a witch we know yer won't howl, tis fairies we are and always have been." The words echoed to her as one bowed, his green cap in his hand.
"What? You're not any such thing." She shook her head and closed her eyes. "You're most likely the residue of that stuff Kyle got me to try last month." She ran her hand over her forehead, opened her eyes expecting them to be gone. No, the talking beetles were still there.
Ash frowned. Disgust slid over him. The wench was no witch, not even a trainee and she had not greeted them properly. She was a meddler and worse didn't believe what her lovely green eyes saw. Fury rushed in a hot blaze up from his knees. The girl was young and fair, but she was no witch and had caused them to reveal their presence in this place. He glanced at Beech. The enraptured expression told him his brother had not registered any of the dangers of this.
"It must be the drink or that stuff I took, to see talking beetles, it must be. I swear never again." Her voice broke into his thoughts.
"None of yer disbelief lass, we came when yer called, we've upheld our side of the ancient bargain." Ash did not bother to bow.
"What are you going on about beetle?" She glared, her luscious lips pursed and the green eyes shot sparks at him.
"If yer want yer spell to work yer'll need a wee bit of assistance, hence we came when yer called. If t'was just a game girl, then go back to yer house and leave us in peace." Ash looked her over once more and Beech put a restraining hand on his arm.
"Yer can't talk to her like that."
"I can because she's a fool and don't know what she's started." He shook Beech's arm away and glared at her.
"Who are you calling a fool? I'll squash you! You're just a nasty little beetle, you nasty little bug." She lifted her high-heeled foot and his fury blazed bright.
The sky spun, the grass shimmered, the breeze in the leaves softly murmured and Ash found himself nose to nose with her. Her loud shrieks as she looked around her did not bother him at all. He was furious with her. He grabbed her arm, turned her round and landed a hand-stinging swat on the seat of her jeans. She yelped and twisted from his grasp. "What have you done to me you rotten little beetle! What have you done?"
"Naught but what yer were asking for and if ye carry on howling I'll give yer a lot more of it." Ash scowled at her. Close like this she was beautiful but the petulant mouth made his hand itch to continue to try to cure it.
Beech stood opened mouthed in shock at what had happened. Ash met his stunned gaze with a shrug. He had never done anything like this before. The blistering rage had never filled him like this. He wondered if Beech understood or if he would begin bleating about the rules to the thing. Beech's eyes were almost as wide as hers, and Ash could only nod to his brother. This demonstration of his power made him glow. It was a great satisfaction to know he alone had brought a mortal down to their size, not only a mortal, but a sort of witchy one, too. No full-blown powerful witch to be sure, but she was a beauty with the witchy look to her. A shame she seemed such a silly, spoiled wench. He watched as she tried to rub the sting from his hand away. T'was good to start as you meant to go on. No nonsense. Beech was busy bowing to her again.
Kathleen was still rubbing the seat of her jeans as she watched one of them bow. "Put me back to normal and do it now!" She stood hands on hips now as the bowing one rose and she spun round to see the nasty one laugh, his hand had hurt more than she would have thought possible.
"Ha, and as if I would, yer bad tempered wench. Yer disturb us from our sleep, insult us, threaten to squash me and spark the magic without a thought. Ye'll stay as yer are till I'm good and ready."
"Brother, tis not the way tis done this, tis not the way at all, she should be willing, be wanting to take the power, not forced. The magic t'will all go wrong. I swear it will." The other one ignored her as he spoke.
"Put me back the way I was!" Her high-pitched shriek filled the afternoon air. The nasty one grabbed her arms and shook her.
"Cease the squawking or we'll have the cat on us." He told her firmly.
"Put me back," Kathleen managed to say as she twisted.
"No." He held her until she stopped struggling. "I'll only do it when yer've earned it, when ye've some sense in yer empty wee head."
Tears began to slide slowly down her face and she let out a sob. The other one hauled her to him and glared at the one with the hot blue eyes.
"Now look what ye'v done. The tears of a witch ain't lightly shed. If her's really angry ye could be dead. Will yer stop yer foolishness Ash!" His singsong intonation as he patted her head was followed by soothing hushing sounds.
"Brother, she ain't no witch! Mayhap she's some talent, but she's just a bad tempered female who don't know nothing." He turned away and she hoped he would go.
The flurry of hissing fur was the first she realized the cat was there. The tall one let out a yell as he kicked it as hard as he could, the one whose arm was round her, grabbed her and bundled her into the shed. The tall, blue-eyed one followed, gasping as he shoved the door shut.
"See, I told ye! All that hullabaloo and what did ye bring us but the damn cat." The blue eyes glared at her again and Kathleen sank to the floor sobbing.
"There, there lady, don't ye fret now. We'll put yer back, I swear it. We'll help with yer spell. Don't take on so." A hand rested gently on her shoulder.
Kathleen wept uncontrollably her loud gasping sobs filled the air.
"Twen't no proper spell that anyway. T'were just a wish, was it not?"
Kathleen raised her eyes to his blue glare and saw the gleam from across the dingy shed. If he hit her again she would kill him. The judo would come in useful for something. The first time he had surprised her, but if he tried that again she'd be ready. Another sob broke from her mouth as he stood over her. How could the little beetle have got so tall?
"It were just a wish and yer muddled it up with some words ye've heard or read. T'were no spell at all. Is it not so?" he said.
She lifted her head and nodded slowly. "I don't know any spells. It's just I don't want to marry Kyle." Her chin quivered as more tears fell because right now she would even be pleased to see Kyle, to see anyone except this tall blond creature whose blue eyes bored into her and made her afraid. The other one just smiled but this blue gaze made her shiver, and she had never longed so much to tell someone to piss off in her entire life.
Ash sighed. The girl was a real beauty with those teary green eyes to melt the hardest heart and her shuddering breasts enough to stir the coldest flesh to throbbing. The sulky mouth, well perhaps that could be cured. But she was a meddler and they always caused trouble, her tongue was sharp and her temper probably a match for the grand mass of her flaming red hair.
"As I thought, no witch, no spell just a daft wee wench with time on her hands. Have yer no pans to scrub to keep yer busy instead of coming disturbing us?" He scowled down at her on the dusty floor.
"I don't scrub pans. It's the maid's job and anyway there's a dishwasher in the kitchen." She scowled back as she sniffed. "You're a nasty bully and you can damn well leave me alone."
"Why have yer never been taught to be civil?" Ash asked. "And why don't yer want to marry the poor lad who's made such a bad bargain as to get ye for a bride?"
"I don't love him. He doesn't love me. It's all about money and business and I don't want to marry him. That's why I was using Grandma's words."
"So yer were trying someone else's spell." Ash nodded. "Never a clever thing that. Someone else's magic rarely works well." He turned from her and called Beech to him. They walked far enough away so she would not hear.
"We can keep her," he murmured. "The girl has no idea. She don't know the rules."
"Keep her?" Beech whispered.
"Aye, a year and a day, cleaning and cooking and getting this place fit for a visit from decent folk." Ash watched as Beech slowly shook his head.
"T'would not be fair brother. She's just a wee lass, put her back, let her go."
"No, a year and a day, I ain't heard of that one's been done for an age." He grinned.
"No, three days and three nights, tis the normal way of it," Beech murmured.
"Oh come on, we've had no fun since Pan's visit, and her so ripe for it, and just the right size now." His grin spread wider at the thought of her.
"No, three days and three nights then yer put her back as she was. Tis my shed this, not yourn and yer will put her back, if she wants it by then." Beech said firmly. Ash glanced back at her. The lush ripe curves were temptation enough to make him wish his brother's knowledge of the rules was less firmly ingrained.
"Aye brother, as yer say if she wants it by then." His gaze joined Beech's as they both turned back to her.
Kathleen watched as they walked toward her, so similar yet different. The tunics both rust colored, the tights green, the brown boots, both pairs looked in need of polish and certainly weren't Prada. More than the costume party clothes, though, it was the shimmer about them, the glow of their blond hair, the soft sheen to their skin, which drew her gaze. But most of all their glowing eyes could drag her soul from her body if she let them.
One of them had green eyes similar to hers but deeper, richer, fringed with dark lashes and somehow softer than the blue blaze of the other's. Then there were those blue eyes like a brilliant deep ocean, they glittered and the sweat trickled between her breasts as that blue gaze stayed fixed on her. Thoughts the like of which she rarely had filled her mind and suddenly her clothes all felt too tight, too hot, too restricting. The mouth under those blue eyes twitched into the most enticing smile she had ever seen.
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