by H. Y. Hanna
Susan gave her another coy smile. “Yes, isn’t it lucky that there’s a chocolate shop right in the village?”
Caitlyn stared at her. “You mean you’re…”
Susan Ford beamed. “I’m pregnant! Yes, the doctor confirmed it this morning.”
“Oh! Wow… congratulations,” said Caitlyn.
Susan laughed at her expression. “You see? Minerva’s fertility spell worked after all. Everyone had given up hope. The doctors said I was infertile. You all thought I was stupid and mad to pay her all that money to cast a spell for me…” She shot her husband a triumphant look. “But it worked! I knew it would! I never stopped believing in the power of magic…” She rubbed a jubilant hand over her belly. “And now it’s given me my dream come true, exactly as Minerva had promised.”
Lawrence Ford scowled and started to say something, then clamped his mouth shut. Turning to the Widow Mags, he asked curtly how much the chocolates were. A few minutes later, the couple left, a large box of chocolate truffles tucked under one of Lawrence Ford’s arms and his wife hanging on the other, chattering happily about baby bibs and booties.
Caitlyn walked to the shop doorway to watch them go. “I can’t believe it,” she said, shaking her head. She looked back at the Widow Mags, still standing behind the counter. “It must be a coincidence, right?”
The old witch gave a shrug. “Perhaps.”
Caitlyn’s eyes widened. “You’re not suggesting that it could have been due to magic? I mean, Minerva was a fraud! Her fertility spell was completely fake!”
“Perhaps,” said the Widow Mags again. “But sometimes, if the will is strong, it matters not that the ability is absent.”
Caitlyn frowned. “I don’t understand… if you don’t have the ability, then how can you make something happen?”
“Ah, but all humans have the ability, deep inside them. Witches are simply those who have a heightened sense and awareness of magic, and have been trained to work it.”
“Are you saying that anyone can become a witch?” asked Caitlyn, puzzled.
“No. A witch has a natural ability, which cannot be matched—just as there are great artists like Picasso or Van Gogh who are born with superior artistic talent that cannot be rivalled. But that does not mean that no one else can learn to paint or draw. Everyone has a degree of artistic talent, however small, and everyone can be taught to produce a simple work of art with time, determination, and practice. It is the same with magic. Those who believe can access its powers, even if they are not born a witch.”
Caitlyn frowned, still confused. “You mean… Minerva somehow managed to make the spell work, because she believed that she could use magic?”
“No, it was not Minerva who worked that spell. It was Susan Ford.”
“Susan!” Caitlyn looked at her grandmother incredulously. “But… but how? She isn’t—”
“She believed. In spite of—in the face of—scepticism from all around her, she held on to her faith.” The Widow Mags smiled faintly. “And that creates the most powerful magic of all.”
Don’t miss the next book in this series!
Book 7 in the
BEWITCHED BY CHOCOLATE Mysteries
Coming Soon!
Join my Readers’ Club Newsletter to be notified when it’s released, as well as get updates on exclusive giveaways and other book news:
https://www.hyhanna.com/newsletter
BEWITCHED BY CHOCOLATE Mysteries:
Dark, Witch & Creamy (Book 1)
Witch Chocolate Fudge (Book 2)
Witch Summer Night’s Cream (Book 3)
Blood, Sweets and Tears (Book 4)
~ previously published as Witch Chocolate Bites
Bonbons and Broomsticks (Book 5)
Double, Double, Toil and Truffle
Join my Readers’ Club Newsletter to get updates on new releases, exclusive giveaways and other book news!
http://www.hyhanna.com/newsletter
***
Have you read my other mystery series?
The OXFORD TEAROOM Mysteries
"Scones, a tea shop in England, a kitty & a murder -
yes, please!"
A Scone To Die For (Book 1)
Tea with Milk and Murder (Book 2)
Two Down, Bun To Go (Book 3)
Till Death Do Us Tart (Book 4)
Muffins and Mourning Tea (Book 5)
Four Puddings and a Funeral (Book 6)
Another One Bites the Crust (Book 7)
Apple Strudel Alibi (Book 8)
The Dough Must Go On (Book 9)
All-Butter ShortDead (Prequel)
The ENGLISH COTTAGE GARDEN Mysteries:
"What if you inherit an English cottage garden nursery - complete with romantic climbing roses, scented herbs, a bossy, talkative ginger cat... and a dead body?
Deadhead and Buried (Book 1)
Silent Bud Deadly (Book 2)
Doom and Bloom (Book 3)
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
USA Today bestselling author H.Y. Hanna writes British cozy mysteries filled with humour, quirky characters, intriguing whodunits—and cats with big personalities! Set in Oxford and the beautiful English Cotswolds, her books include the Oxford Tearoom Mysteries, the 'Bewitched by Chocolate' Mysteries and the English Cottage Garden Mysteries. After graduating from Oxford University, Hsin-Yi tried her hand at a variety of jobs: advertising exec, model, English teacher, dog trainer, marketing manager, educational book rep... before returning to her first love: writing. She worked as a freelance writer for several years and has won awards for her novels, poetry, short stories and journalism.
A globe-trotter all her life, Hsin-Yi has lived in a variety of cultures, from Dubai to Auckland, London to New Jersey, but is now happily settled in Perth, Western Australia, with her husband and a rescue kitty named Muesli. You can learn more about her and her books at: www.hyhanna.com.
Join her Readers’ Club Newsletter to get updates on new releases, exclusive giveaways and other book news!
http://www.hyhanna.com/newsletter
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
A very big thank you to veterinarian Dr David Neck for his generous time and effort in helping me research veterinary diseases and conditions which could have a scientific explanation but which are rare and mysterious enough to also suggest a paranormal cause to those who are superstitious!
I am also grateful, as always, to my beta readers: Connie Leap, Charles Winthrop and Basma Alwesh for their unstinting time and attention in reading the first draft and giving me such insightful feedback. My thanks also to my editor and proofreader for being such a great team to work with, and to my assistant for all her help.
And, last but not least, to my amazing husband, for his continual support and encouragement. I couldn’t do it without him.
***
Copyright © 2019 by H.Y. Hanna
All rights reserved.
ISBN-13: 978-0-6484198-9-1
www.hyhanna.com
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, business establishments, persons or animals, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
This book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or otherwise, without written permission from the author. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author
THE END
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