Penelope continued to stare at him, her unwillingness to take up his offer of help to take her to the Quinn’s mansion. She refused to believe that the man had suddenly changed in such a short time. She had slapped him on his cheek, in front of many people. That was bound to leave him cursing and waiting to take revenge on her unless he was an idiot.
At the same moment, she heard a lady’s voice coming from the carriage. A woman peeking out whom she had not noticed before,
“Mr. Reverale, is everything fine?” she asked, her neck craning out of the window to see the broken carriage and a lady who stood on the side of the road.
“Yes, I was asking this fair lady to come with us than stand here stranded until she receives help to fix the broken wheel,” he turned around to give the woman a pleasant smile who gave him a nod. The lady looked at Penelope, though she had not conversed with her, she said,
“I think Mr. Reverale is right. You should come with us. We’ll be sure to drop you off at your residence.”
“My coachman went to look for help,” Penny looked in the direction they had come.
“Oh? I don’t think I saw anyone on our way here. Did you?” the lady asked Mr. Reverale.
“Not one that I could remember,” he answered back.
“Woods here isn’t safe right now. We have more than a spare room in here,” the lady gave a bright smile saying this.
Seeing that there was another person for the company, Penelope nodded her head, “Thank you,” she said walking towards the carriage door. Though Mr. Reverale raised his hand for her to take so that she could get inside the carriage, Penny behaved as if she didn’t notice it and stepped inside the carriage. Taking a seat next to the woman, she introduced herself.
“I am Penelope,” she greeted the lady.
“My name is Gianna Pretrarkis,” the woman introduced herself, “For how long have you been standing here by yourself?” the lady asked her while Mr. Reverale got into the carriage to sit opposite to them.
“I am not sure. It must have been around ten minutes,” Penny guessed. With no watch to look at, Penny wasn’t sure how many minutes had gone by since the coachman left her.
“You shouldn’t be out here alone. My husband says it isn’t safe for anyone to walk in the woods or even be near it. There have been recent cases of witch raise. They call it the uprising of the witches,” Lady Gianna explained, “My husband works in the council,” she gave out the information if Penny wondered how she knew about it.
“But the witches have been in the woods for many years,” Penny pondered loudly to have the lady nod in agreement.
“That’s right but he says it is different this time. A lot of witches have been taking homes in villages and towns. He also appealed for the council to take action for exorcising the town. I mean isn’t it safer to be prepared than wait until they strike?” so it was her husband who had put in an appeal. She had heard this from Damien but from what she knew the appeal had not been accepted or had been rejected.
Curious she asked, “Will it be helpful?”
This time it was Mr. Reverale who joined in the conversation, “It will be more than helpful. All they will need is some of the high standing white witches to use their magic and make sure that the black witch’s do not live among the humans or any other creatures. It will also bring out potential white witches out of their hiding. There was a name for the exorcism which spells upon a large area. One doesn’t need to go too far to reach every corner.”
“Mhmm,” Lady Gianna nodded.
Penny could tell that whatever this spell was if it was going to bring out witches from hiding it would mean she would end up in the found list of witches which wasn’t something she was looking forward to. Was this why Damien hadn’t shown any interest in the matter knowing that it would put her in trouble?
The lady continued to say, “Truthfully I don’t care if it is the white witches or the black witches. Both have an equal share of blame to hold and fear which most of us are capable of once they take over. They should all be burnt.”
“They will all be burned, one day lady. It is what we all hope and wish for,” said Mr. Reverale in an assured tone.
Penny could imagine the hate and satisfaction of burning her if ever that time came which she now hoped it wouldn’t. With what she had learned lately from the church, there were some witches who were kept in the shadows so that they would be able to help people outside the church. Exposing with the exorcism by spreading it out across the land could have been helpful but at the same time, many innocent witches would be brought into light who would be burnt alive until death for no reason at all. The council wanted to help everyone and it wasn’t just in regards to humans or witches which Penny appreciated secretly.
“Oh, I once came across this witch when I was passing by the market. Her skin looked scaly. She looked utterly hideous!” Lady Gianna was a human, a person who was very expressive as she moved her eyes and hands to express her which looked dramatic in Penny’s opinion.
With their journey that continued, Lady Gianna said, “I will get down right here. I will give a visit to a dear friend’s home before going home,” this had Penny turning her head, she was leaving? “Lady Penelope, it was lovely to have met you. Do visit my humble home when you find the time. Mr. Reverale,” she gave him a small smile and stepped out of the carriage when it was stopped.
Sending Penny and Mr. Reverale in the carriage.
