The Curious Affair of the Witch at Wayside Cross by Lisa Tuttle

Author:Lisa Tuttle
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: Random House Publishing Group
Published: 2017-11-28T05:00:00+00:00

Chapter 14

The Cunning Man

The sweet course consisted of treacle tart with heavy cream. I found it excessively sweet, but it seemed to please Mr. Jesperson, and he consumed every scrap, telling me, between mouthfuls, what he planned for the afternoon.

“A visit to Cunning Verrell is the next thing,” he said. “Although he did not mention him to me, I have discovered from my other informants that Felix Ott considers him someone of great importance, and has been trying to engage him in the development of his School.”

I smiled. “People do have the most original names in Norfolk, do they not?”

“Possibly so. However, in this case, Cunning is not his Christian name, but a title, like Doctor or Professor. The cunning man is the male equivalent of the wisewoman—but never call him a witch, for one of his most vaunted powers is the ability to discover, trap, and destroy evil witches.”

“Ah, I wonder if it was he that Billy meant when he spoke of the male counterpart of the wisewoman. And if he is actively opposed to witches, I suppose he is no friend to Miss Bulstrode.”

“Correct. He claims to be unable to set foot in Wayside Cross, which is rather a hardship for him, because there is something in that house that he considers his rightful property. He must therefore use go-betweens, and this has become a bargaining chip with Ott, who thinks he might name his price, if only he can find the book.”

“What book?”

“It is supposed to be an ancient grimoire—something Ott naturally feels would be of great importance as an addition to his knowledge, although as it is apparently written in some unknown and so far undecipherable language, it may be of more symbolic than practical use. Verrell was unable to make any better use of it than to sell it; now, knowing how keen Ott is to have it, he declares that it is still rightfully his own—that he never meant to sell, but only to lend it to old Admiral Bulstrode in the expectation that that learned and much-traveled gentleman would be able to decipher it for him. But the admiral was unable to oblige—the thing is either in code, or written in a language he has never encountered anywhere else in the world. The cunning man admits he was paid a goodly sum for the thing, but insists it was always understood between the two of them to be a loan—the admiral, of course, is no longer here to confirm or deny.”

“Is this a handwritten book?” I asked.

“Yes.”

“Illustrated?” At his nod I continued: “A small book bound in soft skin, without a title or anything else on the spine or the cover?”

Eyes wide, he put down his fork. “Are you speaking of a book you have seen?”

“I found it quite by chance tucked between two books on ornithology. I was actually meaning to pull down one of the others, but suddenly found myself with this odd little volume in my hand. I could not

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