Chapter 30
"My apologies for not being here at the start of class, I understand Mistress Fairwind has helped you get started"
Constance appeared in front of her first-year class to find them all deeply engrossed in their potion making. The room was full of relaxed chatter and combined heat of thirty cauldrons. The class looked up at her with welcome smiles, but Constance saw these quickly change to concerned frowns and she heard a few mutters around the room.
"Are you ok, Miss Hardbroom" Victoria asked tentatively, gesturing towards her own temple with a querying look.
Constance reached up her hand to her own temple and winced at the tender flesh she found there. She realised she must be sporting quite a magnificent bruise on her forehead from losing her balance while immobilised the previous evening.
"Yes, rather embarrassingly, I tripped over Morgana, my cat, this morning" Constance is surprised at how easily the lie comes to her "which is part of the reason I was so delayed"
The class breaks out into a mixture of concerned responses and a few well-meant jokes which Constance brushed off with her usual quiet sardonic manner. Seeming content to have her back with them, the class fell back into the easy focus they had been working in before her arrival as they finished off their potions. Half an hour later, Constance had a tray of labelled flasks containing their potion samples on her desk and the class were collecting their belongings to leave – calling get well wishes to Miss Hardbroom as they departed the classroom.
Once the last student had left, Constance turned to wipe the potion instructions from the board. Suddenly, the classroom faded from sight, and a handwritten page looms into her line of vision. Constance blinked firmly and the page disappeared again, and she suddenly realised that her spell had worked and was alerting her to a new letter hidden in Mistress Broomhead's desk. Without allowing herself time for doubt or indecision, Constance hurried to her open classroom door where she confirmed she could still hear the stern tones of Mistress Broomhead, teaching her class just along the corridor. Seizing the opportunity, Constance focused her mind on her tutor's office and disappeared silently.
Ten minutes later Constance appeared unseen in the quad and hurried back towards her classroom on foot, keen to appear like she was returning from anywhere but Mistress Broomhead's office. In her hand was a copy of the new letter, conscious that she could be discovered at any moment, Constance had used a duplication spell of her own to take a copy of the letter and left the office as quickly as she could. She now folded the paper hastily and secreted it in her pocket. She had not taken in all of the contents of the letter, but one paragraph had stood out to her clearly and was another reason she wished to get herself back into the quiet of her empty classroom as quickly as possible.
I regret to inform you the experiment has now been compromised. I highly suspect that CH has discovered our correspondence and so it now aware of our work. There is a very high risk that four years of work will be lost if she does anything foolish, so I intend to remove her from the college to my own home at once. Away from the watching eyes of the college, we can see this work through to completion with much more efficiency…"
Just an hour ago, Constance had assured Gwendoline she was in no immediate danger, but it seemed she had misjudged Mistress Broomhead entirely. Absorbed in her concerns, Constance barely noticed where her feet were taking her as the corridor opened out into the airy light of the main entrance hall. Constance was halfway across the entrance hall when she felt a familiar, vice like grip on her arm
"You foolish girl. I warned you Constance, of what would happen if I discovered you had been prying in my office. Did you think I would be so stupid as to not have a spell which told me when any of my letters had been duplicated?"
Mistress Broomhead pulled Constance around to face her and before Constance could utter a reply, Mistress Broomhead struck her across the cheek. Constance staggered slightly at the force of the blow and the sound of it echoed resonantly in the open space of the entrance hall. Constance felt a new, sharpened edge to her fear. Not so much because of the blow, although she could feel the sting of it blossoming hot and red on her pale cheek. She was more afraid because she had never seen Mistress Broomhead lose control in this way, to strike her openly – out in the entrance hall where anyone could witness it meant her tutor's determination had taken on a new edge. She lifted her head, pressing her cool palm instinctively to her blazing cheek, and saw a new, slightly wild flare in Mistress Broomhead's grey eyes.
"You will come with me at once" Mistress Broomhead reached her hand out to grip Constance's arm and Constance instinctively took a few, jerking steps backwards, placing herself out of reach.
Perhaps the blow had made Constance more aware of her connection to Mistress Broomhead or perhaps it had just heightened her senses, but Constance was suddenly aware of a pull on her magic. Almost like the draw of the tide towards the moon, she could feel her power being drawn relentlessly towards Mistress Broomhead's presence. Focusing, Constance could picture it almost like an invisible skein of thread, slowly unravelling in the direction of her tutor. She asserted all her concentration and felt the unseen thread pull taught, leaving the two witches in a delicate yet powerful tug of war.
"No" Constance had not even intended to speak the word out loud. But as she did, she felt the tension between herself and Mistress Broomhead go slack as the thin line of her magic coiled back towards her.
The intensity of the moment was broken by the striking of the entrance hall clock and the swelling clamour of footsteps and rising chatter as the college students began to move between classes.
"How can I come with you now? I have an afternoon class to teach, tutorials to see to. I cannot, I will not let them down" Constance spoke as firmly as she could
Mistress Broomhead glanced around them, Constance could see that the wild look in Mistress Broomhead's eyes had subsided. It was replaced with her usual calculating gaze and Constance knew her well enough to see she was debating how much suspicion would be arisen from Constance simply disappearing from her teaching commitments without a word.
"Very well" Mistress Broomhead's tone was at it's most commanding "You will come to my office for your scheduled tutorial at 9pm this evening"
The figures of Constance's fellow students were now visible as they advanced towards the entrance hall from the bordering corridors and descended the curved staircase above. Mistress Broomhead reached out again, too quickly this time for Constance to react. She placed a finger to the thin, silver bracelet around Constance's wrist and it began to immediately grow hot. Not so much as to scorch Constance's skin, but enough to cause her to start her wrist in response each time the heated metal brushed against her slim wrist.
"I will leave that as a reminder" Mistress Broomhead said grimly "My office at 9pm, Constance"
Mistress Broomhead disappeared, leaving Constance to be buffeted on the oncoming tide of students flowing into the entrance hall.