As he worked, he listened to the conversation in the room. His Uncle Johnathan didn’t have much to say, and Erisa seemed to be playing referee while Samantha plied Selene for information. Will finished the chopping and put the vegetables in the pan to soften a little.
Samantha had been asking for stories about Will’s time away from home, but she was shifting the subject back to their guest now. “Do you cook?”
“No, I’ve never learned,” answered Selene.
Sammy tsked. “That’s too bad. Will’s the best cook in Barrowden. Maybe he’ll teach you. What about sewing?”
“I know how to tat lace.”
“Ever made a shirt or a dress?”
“No, but—”
Sammy patted Selene’s knee as though she needed comforting. “Don’t worry. Will isn’t much with a needle, but he can sew buttons and mend tears. Aunt Erisa can teach you the hard stuff.”
Will smiled to himself as he removed the vegetables and added some lard to the pan to melt. Once it was ready, he added some flour to make a thick roux. He continued to listen as his mother interrupted, “Samantha, where are you going with all these questions?”
“I just want to know a little about her, Auntie. We should know something if we’re going to trust Will to her care,” said Sammy.
Will fought to keep from laughing. His mother started to apologize, but Selene stopped her. “Please, Erisa, I don’t mind. In fact, I agree with her.”
He added water to the roux, making a thick gravy, then salted it and added the vegetables back to the pan along with the thyme. Will tasted it several times as he adjusted the salt in small portions. Sammy went on, “What sort of things do you like to do, or rather, what are you good at?”
“I’ve been working as a healer for the army,” said Selene. “I’ve got some experience with injuries.” She nodded deferentially to Erisa. “Though I’m sure I’m nowhere near as skilled as your aunt.”
“Or Will,” said Sammy confidently. “He’s been learning since he was little. Auntie says he knows even more about herbs than she does now. A few years ago, he saved a boy who was dying.”
Will could almost feel his mother glaring at Sammy behind his back, but Selene answered generously, “He helped a lot with the wounded soldiers back in Branscombe. I’m sure you must be very proud of him.”
Johnathan broke in, “So what did you do before the war broke out?”
“I learned magic at Wurthaven for several years,” answered Selene.
Will began adding the mixture he had created to the pastry, creating small pies. He brushed a wet finger along the edges and pinched them together before arranging them on a metal sheet meant for the oven. “So, you’re a wizard?” asked Will’s uncle.
“Actually, I’m a sorceress.”
“Oh,” said Erisa. The conversation stopped there, and an awkward silence filled the room.
Will slid the pan of pastries into the oven and turned around. “All done. Now we just need to wait a while.”
Sammy leaned over and whispered to Erisa, “She doesn’t look evil.” Her voice was still loud enough for everyone in the room to overhear.
Erisa’s cheeks flushed red with embarrassment, but Will intervened. “Mom, would you mind watching the oven for a while? I thought maybe Selene would like to take a walk.”
“I’ll come!” declared Sammy.
“Sit down,” growled her aunt.
Selene rose to her feet. “I think I’d like that.” Sammy was pouting as she and Will went outside. Once they were a short distance from the house, Selene observed, “Your cousin adores you.”
Will snorted. “She’s always been a pest.”
“I think she’s cute. She obviously wants to protect you.”
He didn’t answer.
“Your family doesn’t think much of sorcerers, do they?”
Will shrugged. “My grandfather hated them. Mom probably heard his opinions on the matter when she was younger. I don’t think Sammy and Uncle Johnathan have any definite thoughts about it, other than what I’ve said.”
“But you hate them too, don’t you?” asked Selene, fixing him with soft eyes.
Looking at her made his heart ache, but he wouldn’t lie. “Yes.”
“That’s why you said those things before, when we argued,” said Selene, then she laughed. “I’ve always been proud of it. I never thought I’d find myself in a place where people regarded me as something worse than a warlock.”
“A warlock isn’t necessarily evil,” said Will. “Usually they are, but it depends on what they bargain with, and what they do with the power they gain. A sorcerer is evil no matter what they do, because their power comes from suffering.”
She stopped, spinning around to face him directly. “Whose suffering?”
He glanced up at the elementals hovering protectively above her. “Theirs.”
“They aren’t human, William. They don’t have souls.”
“That’s where you’re wrong.”
“I studied at Wurthaven for years. None of the teachers there would agree with you. My family has possessed elementals for centuries. I come from a long line of renowned sorcerers. None of them ever thought as you do. Don’t you think it’s a bit arrogant to presume you know better than the wisdom and experience of so many sorcerers and wizards?” she argued.
“Maybe,” he admitted. “But my teacher thought that all those people you named were fools.”
“And you believe his word over that of every other scholar of magic?”
“I wasn’t sure at first, but over time I’ve seen the truth in everything he told me, even things I didn’t understand at first.”
They walked in silence for a while, the distance between them far greater than the foot or two that separated their bodies. Then she spoke again. “I heard about what you told Lord Nerrow. It didn’t make sense before, but at least I know why you refused his gift. You alienated the one man with some cause to help you.”
“I have other friends.”
She sighed. “You think you can depend on me for everything?”
Her phrasing irritated him. “Not you. Friends who aren’t noblemen. Wealth and power aren’t everything.”
Selene stopped, and when he looked at her, he realized he had gone too far; her eyes were red, and her hands were clenched into fists by her sides. “Am I not even a friend then?”
Without thinking, he threw his arms around her, pulling her close and squeezing tightly. She went rigid at first, but gradually she thawed. “I didn’t mean it like that,” said Will. “Forgive me.” He relaxed and she pushed him back, turning her face away.
“I don’t know why I put up with you,” she said after a minute. “You’ve insulted me in more ways than I can count in just a few months of knowing you. In my entire life I never had to endure so much.”
“No one would dare,” he suggested, “since you were well above their station.”
“I’ve spent a lot of time disguised as an unknown,” countered Selene. “You still managed to outdo all the strangers I’ve met.”