Chapter 7

Lily didn't bother trying to disguise her puffy eyes the next morning. Grief was nothing to be ashamed of. But she would relax awhile with chamomile tea bags on her eyes before her clients started coming by.

Susana was already in the kitchen, having laid out a simple breakfast on the table. She smiled at Lily's appearance in the doorway. "Good morning! I thought you might be hungry...." She stopped short, seeing that Lily had obviously spent the night crying.

Lily sniffed at her headache and brushed away Susana's concern with a wave of her hand. "It's nothing. It just really got to me last night. You know, everything."

"Yeah, I do know," Susana responded softly. "I ran to the grocery store last night, after you went to bed." Susana gestured toward the table, where orange juice, toast, and fruit beckoned. "I wasn't sure what you liked."

Lily sat down at the table and reached for a slice of melon. "This is perfect, actually. Thanks."

Susana took another seat at the table. "You just spent so much time taking care of me the past couple of days...."

"Listen," Lily jumped in with her usual authority. "I've got clients coming to the house today, beginning at 10." Lily buttered her toast with determination, trying to get into the rhythm of the day. "I normally do reading at the bookstore, but I figured since we've got the space here -- and it is such a good space -- there's no sense giving a cut to anybody else."

"No, sure, that makes sense." Susana wasn't sure she liked the idea of people coming in and out of the house all day. "Umm, I guess I should make myself scarce."

"It's okay." Lily took a large bite of toast, speaking with her mouth full. "You can hang out if you want. I figured I'd just close off the living room and do it there." She swallowed and reached for her glass of orange juice. "I can't let you watch though."

"No, of course." Susana wiped her mouth with her paper napkin. "I can do some more reading, you know, look at Tic's notes on the mystery plant."

Lily smiled at her. "It might not make much sense to you, though," she suggested. "You're still pretty new to all of this. The herb thing, I mean."

"I'm sure I can figure it out." Susana was surprised that she felt so competitive and defensive with her cousin this morning. This was certainly Lily's area of expertise -- at least, her cousin was much more knowledgeable about Tic's business than she was. Why was she feeling suddenly possessive?

"Oh, wait," Susana remembered. "I'm supposed to have lunch with my sister and step-mother today."

Lily laughed involuntarily, then stopped herself. "Sorry. Good luck with that."

* * * * *

Susana was the last to arrive at the restaurant, and she was immediately embarrassed. She spotted Lauren and Bitsy through the window of Strawberry Street Cafe -- where Bitsy liked to eat when she was feeling arty and rebellious. Checking her watch, she realized that she wasn't even five minutes late, though she dreaded that inevitable look she'd get from her step-mother. Before opening the door to go inside, Susana stopped to smooth her hair and straighten her skirt. She hated skirts, but Bitsy had always frowned upon young women in trousers.

Susana caught her reflecting in the glass of the door and immediately stopped her fussing. What was she doing? She was a grown woman, fretting over lunch. Remembering something she'd read in one of Lily's books the night before, she closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and imagined herself surrounded by a sphere of scintillating white light. Anything that could help protect her against this hour of hell was welcome.

She eyed the bathtub salad bar as she entered, making up her mind that she wouldn't even have to look at the menu or the specials board today. She made her way to the table as Bitsy looked up and smiled at her. "Susana!" she exclaimed, rising to kiss her step-daughter on the cheek. Susana gave her older sister, Lauren, a quick huge as she sat down next to her.

"We weren't sure when you'd make it," Bitsy chastised, absently tapping the face of her watch. "So we went ahead and ordered you a turkey burger. That's alright, isn't it?"

Though her voice was sweet, Susana couldn't help but feel the daggers. "Sure," Susana said, forcing a smile. It has started already, and I've scarcely sat down, she seethed to herself.

"How are things with the new house?" Lauren asked, sympathy mingling with curiosity in her gaze.

"Oh, yes," Bitsy cut in. "You must be having just an awful time of things this week. How have you been holding up?"

Bitsy's Windsor Farms accent had always grated on Susana, especially after she had left home. There was something about that Old Southern Aristocrat speech that dripped of wealth and pretension, even when unintentional. Today, though, it didn't seem to bother her as much.

"Actually," Susana said with a satisfied smile, "I think everything is going to be just fine."

"Really?" Bitsy responded in genuine surprise.

"Really. I didn't really like that job in advertising anyway."

Lauren smiled quietly and nudged her sister under the table. Susana looked at her with raised eyebrows. "So now I'm exploring other avenues."

"Great!" Bitsy jumped in with enthusiasm. "What do you think you might like to do next?"

Susana laughed to herself. Bitsy sounded like she was talking to an eight-year-old. Susana relaxed her jaw and looked her step-mother directly in the eye. "Well, I'm taking a serious look at the business Ol' Tic was running out of his house." Susana was satisfied to see a look of cold alarm growing on Bitsy's face. "It looks to be a good bit more extensive than we'd thought."

"We?" Lauren asked, stirring artificial sweetener into her iced tea.

"Yes, he left the property to me and cousin Lily."

"Not Lily Scott?" Bitsy practically shouted.

"The very one," Susana nodded. She reached for the cool glass of iced tea that her step-mother had ordered for her and took a sip.

Bitsy reached for the glass container of sugar packets. "Oh, I'm sorry, I hadn't sweetened your tea yet...."

"No, it's okay," Susana pushed the sweetener away. "I like it without." I've always liked it unsweetened, Susana thought to herself. Not that anyone would have noticed.

"Good for you," Bitsy complimented her. "So much easier to keep your girlish figure." Bitsy's gaze took on a more sinister expression as she looked across the table at Susana. "Tell me, how is Lily these days?" Bitsy always did like a good piece of gossip to chew on over lunch.

Susana smiled darkly at her step-mother. Perhaps that little protection spell was working after all. "She's an amazingly caring and generous person," Susana offered, feeling the energetic struggle with Bitsy, and not sure she could take her. "I wish I'd gotten to know her better a long time ago."

Bitsy looked down at the table, changing strategies. She took a deep breath and then looked back up at both of her step-daughters sitting across from her. "Let me tell you girls something." She cleared her throat. "Something about the Frye family you should know."

Lauren bristled at her step-mother's tone, though Susana leaned back against the wooden booth and nearly laughed. "I'm tired of all those dark rumors, Bitsy." Susana was shocked by her own irreverence, but she shoved her guilt back down again.

Bitsy steadied herself. "Look, I don't know why you have to be so hostile, Susana. I'm just trying to tell you something for your own good, before you find yourself over your head with God knows what."

God indeed, Susana smiled to herself. She felt Lauren's hand on her arm and looked into the concerned face of her sister.

"I know you've had a really hard week," Lauren said softly. "But maybe you should hear what Bitsy has to say."

Susana stared at her sister in disbelief. "So you're in on this, too?"

Lauren shook her head. "There's nothing to be in on, Susie. But there is a reason Mom ran away from her own family."

Susana sighed, nodding slowly. She would listen, for her sister's sake.

"There's a reason that there was bad blood between the Fryes and your father's family," Bitsy began, then stopped short when the waitress arrived at their table with their lunch order. She waited patiently for each of them to be served, and then for the waitress to move far out of earshot.

"All that you girls have heard is just the tip of the iceberg," Bitsy continued as she picked at her chicken salad plate. "We just didn't want to frighten or upset you."

Lauren stirred a large dollop of sour cream into her bowl of chili, afraid to take a bite, nervous that whatever her step-mother was about to reveal would ruin her appetite. Susana just stated at her turkey burger, which she hadn't wanted in the first place. She decided she'd just have it boxed up to go, and picked up one of the french fries instead.

Bitsy took a tiny bite of her salad, chewed daintily, and then sipped on her iced tea. Swallowing, she looked back up at the two young women. "You girls know how much your father and I love you. We just didn't want to burden you with this, but we wanted to keep you away from those Fryes at all costs."

"So all the rumors of witches, they're not true?" Lauren ventured hopefully.

"No, they're true all right," Bitsy responded darkly. "But there's more to it. It's worse than that."

Lauren put down her spoon, fearing the worst. Susana munched on her french fry.

"You know the Randalls were tobacco farmers, going way back," Bitsy began, loading another small bite of chicken salad onto her fork. "Well, the Fryes go that far back, too." She put the fork in her mouth and then dabbed at the corner of her mouth with the linen napkin. "They were witches then, just like they're witches now."

"Wait, no," Lauren interjected. "Dad said that all stopped generations ago."

"Well, of course," Bitsy corrected herself, reaching automatically for her glass of iced tea. "But there have still been a few, here and there." She motioned toward Susana. "Like that eccentric Tic and young Lily Scott." Bitsy looked down at the table and smiled. "But we're talking about the 1600s, now, aren't we?"

Susana reached for another french fry, grateful for the simple barrier of light she'd called upon outside.

"The Randalls were honest, hard-working people. It was a God-fearing, law-abiding family, and you girls should be proud to carry the Randall name." Bitsy poked at her chicken salad with her fork. "The survival of the whole community depending on everyone working together. It was so hard then," Bitsy sighed as she loaded up her fork and then took a bite. Again, she dabbed at the corner of her mouth with her napkin. "But there were jealousies and other dark forces at work."

Lauren pinched off a bit or cornbread and slowly put it in her mouth. Susana reached for her glass and took a big drink of tea.

"The Fryes..." Bitsy sighed, then looked across the table into the expectant eyes of Lauren and Susana. "The Fryes were nothing but a coven of witches, malcontents determined to bring down the Randall family."

Susana cleared her throat, preparing to voice a challenge, but it was Lauren who spoke up. "But, why?"

"Why, sweetheart?" Bitsy asked with raised eyebrows.

"Yes," Lauren replied. "Why would the Fryes be interested in the Randalls?"

"Well," Bitsy stalled. "Yes, the Fryes were jealous of their wealth and status in the community, and they aimed to have that for themselves. So, naturally, they kidnapped the lady of the house. Stole her right out of her wedding bed?"

"Stole her right out of her what" Susana asked, reaching for another french fry. She paused to dip it in some ketchup before putting it in her mouth and looking across at Bitsy.

"Her... She had just been married, that very afternoon," Bitsy stammered. "And those Frye witches," she practically spat out her words, as though she had been the injured party, "They broke into the house and kidnapped the bride!"

Lauren inhaled sharply. Susana withheld judgement. She'd see where this story was going soon enough.

"They, they took that poor girl," Bitsy choked, beginning to tear up. "They took her out into the dark, savage woods. They stripped her naked and made her dance with the Devil! They accosted her in all manner of unspeakable ways." It pained her to speak of such things, and Bitsy held her hand to her chest in distress.

"And then...." Bitsy pushed her food away from her dramatically, having lost her appetite. "Then they tied young Mrs. Randall to a tree. They slit her throat and offered her pure blood to their dark god.... to Satan himself!"

Lauren crossed her arms over her chest in obvious discomfort. She disliked dark, supernatural stories, even ones she doubted to be true.

"And then, to top it all off," Bitsy threw her hands up in the air, "When Mr. Randall, the wronged husband, tried to bring those dirty witches to justice, they just laughed and cursed him, cursed the whole family for generations to come!"

Refusing to react to all of the drama being presented on the other side of the table, Susana again reached for her iced tea and took a long drink. Setting the heavy glass back down on the table, she leveled her gaze at her step-mother. "What kind of curse?"

"Oh," Bitsy said. "Well, I, I don't really know. And that's, of course, if you believe in such things. But you can understand why the two families don't have a happy history."

"It couldn't have been too bad," Susana retorted, "If Mom and Dad managed to get together."

"But don't you see?" Bitsy implored her youngest step-daughter. "She was running away from all of that. She was reaching out of the darkness for a better life." Bitsy calmed down and took a sip from her glass. "I'll give your mother one thing," she told the sisters. "The best thing she ever did for you was give you the Randall name."

Susana was infuriated. She had no idea where this rage was coming from, but she couldn't control it. "Don't you dare!" she hissed at Bitsy, pointing at her angrily. "Don't you dare speak of our mother."

Lauren placed a strong hand on her sister's shoulder, holding her back and immediately calming her. A small, satisfied smile tickled the corners of Bitsy's mouth. Susana shuddered, shaking away the fire that had been rising in her.

"I..." Susana stuttered. "I, oh, Bitsy, I am so sorry." Susana sniffed back the tears that suddenly threatened. "I have no idea where that came from."

"It's alright, dear," Bitsy reached across the table to pat Susana's hand. "I know how devastating it must be to hear this."

"Yes," Susana said absently. "I mean, that's quite a story."

"There's something else you girls should know, I'm afraid," Bitsy pulled her plate back toward her, having regained her appetite. "And I have to warn you, it's a bit nasty." Bitsy took a large bite of chicken salad, licking the excess from her top lip. "There were some, unseemly pairings going back in the Frye line, what with all of their dark rituals and such."

Lauren closed her eyes, close to tears. "I'm not sure I want to hear this."

"You need to hear this, dear," Bitsy continued, consuming another forkful of her salad. "There is the possibility of Indian and even, Negro, blood in the Frye line." She looked up at the sisters in reassurance. "But don't you worry. The Randall is strong, solid line. And I'm sure anything like that got bred out long before your generation."

Susana was incredulous. Did she just hear what she thought she'd heard? She turned to her sister to gauge her reaction, but Lauren's face was blank. Susana looked again at her step-mother. And she burst out laughing.

"Are you kidding me?" Susan practically shouted. "Is that what you're so worried about? That's the big bad secret?"

"It's quite unpleasant," Bitsy chided her quietly. "It's not something you want spread around."

"Why not? Who the hell cares?" Susana knew she was offending both her step-mother and sister, and she laughed again at the absurdity. Regarding Bitsy's stricken face, Susana softened her voice. "Oh, I get it. You think we're not pure. Is that it?"

Bitsy sat back against the booth and tossed her napkin onto the table. "Oh, come now, Susana. Don't be ridiculous."

But Susana caught her eye and saw the truth there. "No, that's it, isn't it? All these years, it's that little doubt, that stupid little ounce of prejudice and doubt that held you back from us, from being a real mother to us."

Lauren turned to her sister in shock, but she knew is was true.

Bitsy was indignant. "I have done nothing but love and care for you girls, since the moment I met your father." She could feel the color rising in her cheeks, which only further angered her. "I saw to it that you both were well-educated and respected in society. I did everything in my power to protect you from this!" Bitsy sniffed back angry, hurtful tears. "I saw to it that Lauren was introduced to society and made a good match. But you, Susana...." Bitsy looked across at the younger sister, her tone of anger changing to sadness. "You have always shut me out. Rejected me at every turn."

Susana stared at her blankly. She was long used to these little drama tantrums from her step-mother.

"Even now, when I try to help you," she sniffed again, in fine form, "You just throw it all back in my face." Bitsy looked around the room, making sure that no one was starting but that everyone was paying attention. "If you want to ruin your life with this witch cousin on your evil uncle's dark estate of devilry, that's entirely up to you." Bitsy slid out of the booth and stood next to the table, playing the perfect part of the martyr. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I am going to the ladies room."

She turned and strutted off with an air of regal injury. Susana turned to her sister and was about to apologize, but Lauren stopped her.

"Look, Susie, she's always been like that. Don't take it personally." Lauren picked up her spoon and finally took her first bite of chili. "Myself, I don't know what to make of everything she just told us. Things get exaggerated, but there's usually a shred of truth."

"Right," Susana sighed. She knew her sister was onto something.

"But I'm glad you like Lily," Lauren continued. "I always thought she was kind of cool, you know, from a distance." She put down her spoon and turned to face Susana. "Did Tic really worship the devil?"

Susana looked at her sister and smiled.


* * * * *