Before (6 page)

She walked outside and was greeted by the warmth of the sun
upon her face. It was still surprisingly warm as the sun dipped
lower in the late afternoon cloudless sky. She took a deep breath
and then noticed that Tabitha was still arranging candles around
their land at the back of their cottage. Not one inch of land was
left without a candle. Cora grinned and shook her head. As the
evening stretched into night they could continue with their
celebrations under the soft glow of the candles. She knew it would
look amazing.

They were celebrating the move home, according to her mother,
who would do anything to celebrate with a gathering. The cottage
looked new. The roof had new straw and the wall in which Tabitha
had blasted through was now fully built. She didn’t know how long
that was going to last.

They were also celebrating another thing. The witch situation
had settled down somewhat so they were able to relax a little. The
village felt like it had many months ago. It was calm and happy.
Cora still didn’t risk going too far alone but she felt good,
things were moving forward.

Cora placed the cold potato salad alongside the growing
mountain of food and sat on the grassy floor.

“
Cora, you will get your dress dirty,” her mother
scolded.

“
At least it’s still in one piece,” she mumbled much to her
grandmother’s bemusement who laughed loudly. Tabitha also smiled,
Cora could see the quirk of her lips as she tried to hide it from
her mother. Yet, even her mother couldn’t hide the twitch on her
lips.

“
Hi, we’re here,” Jack announced as his family walked through
the cottage greeting them in the field.

Their eyes met and she felt the instant tingle of electricity
travel through her body. She longed to feel his arms slide around
her, to feel and taste his lips. It felt like too much time had
passed since they’d kissed even though it had only been a few days.
They never found time alone, their family was probably doing it on
purpose so that they would eventually have to announce their
relationship to everyone.

She tore her eyes away from him as she hugged his mother,
Anne, who walked towards her. Her greying hair was pulled into a
bun high on her head as her brown eyes twinkled mischievously. Anne
had such a great sense of humour, one she carried clearly on her
face. Upon meeting Anne you knew you were going to cry with
laughter.

“
How are you, young Cora?”

“
I’m well, thank you, how are you? Things more settled at home
now we aren’t there?”

Anne laughed, the cackle of it making the others chuckle. She
had that kind of infectious laugh. “We are good, you okay at home
now? Not missing anyone?” Anne grinned. Cora could see some of Jack
in that smile. Cora smiled, avoiding answering the question that
everyone wanted the answer to.

Jack’s sister, aptly named Anne, walked in with Eli holding
her arm. Anne looked unwell again, her eyes didn’t shine as much as
they used to. She looked pale in comparison to only a few days
before when she’d had a healthy glow. Her hair hung loosely down
her back. In the late afternoon sun Cora could see it shimmer like
fireflies were caught in there. Cora didn’t make a point of asking
her how she felt, by now she was sure to feel annoyed with the
constant references to her health. Phrases like those annoyed Cora
so she wouldn’t inflict them on others.

“
Hello, Anne,” Cora spoke and moved to hug her.

“
Cora, you look lovely in that dress,” Anne complimented
her.

“
Thank you. You look...well.”

The force of Anne’s laughter shocked her. “You lie so well,
but I appreciate it.”

Cora laughed and squeezed Anne’s hand. Cora loved Anne. She
was like an older sister to her.

“
How is the new roof?” Eli asked.

“
It isn’t burning yet,” she said making Eli laugh.

“
Still, don’t let the new roof stop you from visiting us, I
like having you around,” Anne whispered.

“
You couldn’t keep me away,” Cora told her.

“
I bet,” Anne said with a wink. Cora grinned back, not minding
one bit that Anne sensed what was happening between her and
Jack.

“
Start eating, I don’t want anything to go to waste,” her
grandfather announced.

Jack sat next to her as she ate. She enjoyed the warm breeze
that played around their group. Tabitha pushed some of her element
in with that breeze so, as the evening became colder, they still
enjoyed the warmth. Jack’s hand occasionally brushed her hair away
from her face, or touched her cheek. She couldn’t help allowing the
warm feeling to spread throughout her body.

It was at times like these that she caught the glance from her
mother but she ignored it. She could see the question in her
mother’s eyes, were they going to marry? That was always the first
question to be asked of anyone in this village. Love came second
when considering age. In her mind, love came first. Cora knew she
was older than most girls who were married. She’d just never had
the marriage proposal, and she would have only ever accepted one.
Cora tried to hide the smile from her mother.

Her mother had been with a man when she hadn’t been married.
Cora didn’t know his name but her mother had become pregnant and
the man had been banished from the village. The witch community had
voted and, despite her mother being High Priestess, she couldn’t
control that decision. This told Cora, although her mother never
said yes, that her father was a commoner because only commoners
meddling in witchcraft were banished from the village.

She’d never met her father and because of the circumstances
surrounding her mother’s trust of men, her mother would be more
than understanding about her relationship with Jack. Jack had
proven himself many times.

She knew that Tabitha may have a few choice words. Tabitha was
often more protective of her than her own mother, but Tabitha
couldn’t do anything. None of them would. They loved Jack and the
Whittle family like their own.

Cora was hardly doing anything wrong, so they’d exchange a few
kisses? Jack had proposed so those kisses were allowed. Plus, she
was in love, simply thinking of this made the heat swim around her
heart. She glanced at Jack who watched her face intently like he
knew what she was thinking.

Eli coughed bringing everyone’s attention to him. Jack looked
at her again before moving his eyes to Eli.

“
I thought I would bring a little music to tonight’s
festivities,” he said as he unveiled a flute.

She hadn’t realised Eli could play the flute. He could play
many instruments, but she’d never seen this flute before. She
watched as Eli tenderly kissed Anne, caught the faint blush spread
into her cheeks. Eli should kiss her more often if it had that
reaction. He stood and sat on a log her grandfather had pushed into
the middle of the group. He tapped his knees creating a rhythm and
started blowing it. She was surprised by the sound; it produced
music that was beautifully soft and rhythmical. She found herself
swaying along with the notes.

As the night crept in and the candles flickered in the soft,
warm breeze she watched her grandparents show the young ones,
meaning Jack and Cora, how to dance. They twirled and swayed like
they were one. So completely in sync and in love many years later,
it made Cora’s heart sigh watching them. She smiled as Anne,
Tabitha and her mother joined them.

“
Would you like to dance, Cora?”

She swallowed the food that didn’t want to go down her throat
and looked at Jack. His hair was pushed to one side revealing eyes
that completely unravelled her heart. He knew she couldn’t dance,
the cheeky grin on his face told her he was enjoying this
moment.

“
Yes,” she whispered.

Jack took her hand in his and led her to where the others were
dancing. She saw something pass between Jack and Eli and then the
tone of the music change, the romantic undertones clear. She took a
deep breath and visibly gulped as Jack placed his hand around her
waist. She felt the heat from his hand through her dress. She bit
her lip and looked down at their feet as they moved. As they swayed
in time to the music Jack’s fingers came to rest under her chin,
lifting it so she was forced to look into the swirling chocolate of
his eyes.

They’d shared secret kisses when no one was looking but for
them to be together in front of their family was quite an important
moment. They were finally revealing their relationship. They were
to marry and she wanted her family, his family, to be happy for
them. His hand pulled her closer to him, so close she could smell
earth, the sun and... him. Her breath quickened, the pounding in
her ears was the only thing she could hear other than the rustling
of her dress against the ground as they moved.

The hand that sat at the bottom of her back seared her flesh.
She couldn’t think, she couldn’t breathe as his face neared hers.
She let her cheek fall so it rested against his neck. She felt him
take a deep breath, he sighed as her hair moved in the breeze. It
hung loosely, a rare thing, but she felt his fingers play with the
ends of it sending shivers running down her spine.

She pulled back as Eli finished the song, the look in Jack’s
eyes made her knees go weak. She knew what he wanted to do, he was
waiting to see if she objected to it. She bit her lip knowing
exactly what she was doing. He understood the hint as his mouth
covered hers. The brush of his lips caressed like feathers, kissing
her mouth, her jaw, her ear. She lost herself in it, in him, whilst
their family remained quiet around them.

“
So, are you going to marry?” her grandfather asked
seriously.

Oh dear, Cora didn’t like that tone coming from her
grandfather. He so very rarely used it. Was he mad about the
kissing?

Jack moved his head, breaking the kiss whilst his arms still
remained tight around her waist. “It’s a distinct possibility,
Sir.”

“
Good, I always knew,” her mother laughed and held Jack’s
mother’s hand. Anne, his sister, smiled as Eli walked to her
kissing the top of her head.

“
Distinct possibility? You will set a date for it, that’s what
you will do,” her grandmother stood up with her hands on her
hips.

“
Mother...” her mother started to say before Cora cut her
off.

“
Grandmother, he’s-”

“
No, Cora,” her grandmother interrupted, her olive eyes shining
with determination. “If he loves you enough to kiss you like that,
then he loves you enough to make you his wife officially in front
of the Goddess.”

“
I was going to say, before you interrupted me, that Jack
proposed to me only a few days ago.”

Cora listened to their excited shouts and
congratulations.

Her mother threw her arms around both Cora and Jack and
brought them into a hug.

“
How about we set a date for August of next year?” Jack
suggested.

“
Perfect,” her grandmother said with a smile. “Now, you may
kiss your betrothed again.”

Jack laughed but he didn’t need the instruction. She watched
the curve of his lips move closer to hers, closed her eyes and let
him take her breath away.

7

17
^th
July 1611

“
Cora, you look beautiful,” her mother whispered. Her voice was
thick with emotion as she hugged Tabitha and Anne who were stood on
either side of her. She was standing in their front room, her heart
beating wildly as she looked down at the dress she wore. The most
important dress she would ever wear.

And the only one she would never damage.

Jack’s mother was at her feet pinning the material so that it
didn’t touch the floor. Cora looked up and caught Tabitha’s leaf
green eyes swimming with tears. Anne’s cheeks also held some
colour. Cora felt so happy she could quite literally
burst.

Cora’s hand brushed along the soft, white material of the
dress. She couldn’t believe she was stood wearing her wedding
dress. This was the dress Jack would see her in for the first time
on the day they would say their vows. The start of their forever.
Her heart jumped many important beats when she thought of him
wearing his finest formal suit. Jack looked good in most things but
she knew that he would look gorgeous in his formal
attire.

The dress covered her from head to toe as lace branched from
the top of her corset to the start of her neck. The lace was
beautiful, the intricate pattern created by her grandmother’s own
hands, had been entwined with little White Sea pearls that
glittered under soft light. She could breathe, but only just, the
corset wasn’t too tight because of her whining. Her grandmother had
made sure it wasn’t constricting her in any way.

White liquid material pooled around her feet. Jack’s mother’s
fast hands finished tucking the dress up. Cora received a nod and
she walked, letting the material shimmer as the pearls that
cascaded down along the skirt caught the light from the
window.

Her family weren’t outwardly rich. She knew they had money,
that they were perhaps as well off as the King of England, but they
didn’t flash their money. It wouldn’t do to bring unwanted
attention to themselves, especially during such turbulent times
regarding their kind. The dress was just a one-time thing. Her
mother had wanted the best material and so she’d had it. Cora
couldn’t argue with how beautiful the dress was.