Pagey was left alone in the yard. Of course, only Hom could invite him to enter the house Kelly Senior demonstrated his contempt too clearly. However, Hom was nowhere to be seen.
There was a small garden behind the mans dwelling place, further the allotment bordered with a lopsided ugly shack which the assistant, the executioner inhabited. The village ended at the executioners house. Then came the marshes, the river, the birch grove, and then the herb-womans hut.
* * *
Passing the birches, Hom stared at the little hut with dislike. He always felt antipathy toward the most mysterious, the most rebellious inhabitant of the village. Local folks called her green woman or herb-woman, Hom once and for all called her the red witch and stuck with this nickname.
Hey! I need something for insomnia! he shouted.
Arent you too young to ask me for a potion? the herb-woman was amazed leaning out of the window.
Hom stamped his foot impatiently,
Youre pretty aware that I have the druids written permission to demand any books, artifacts, and ingredients! Its not my fault that everybody in the area has been born so stupid and the gods have endowed me with wit.
Okay, hold up, the herb-woman replied wearily, heading to the wall with bundles of various plants being dried. Where is lunar, sleepyhead? Lavender, mint Here, take these. And get the hell out of here.
With that, she slammed a wreath of dead purple flowers at his feet. Hom forced himself to calm down. He could definitely make her pick up the herbs and give them to him in a proper manner. As befits, with reverence. But he wasnt up for arguments. He was interested in the result of the case, thats why he quickly put the dried flowers into his inside pocket and left the red witchs lair without any thanks.
Back in the village, Hom went straight to the drugstore run by Angie, the head of the blackberry familys wife. The drugstore was located in the outbuilding of the mansion which belonged to the wealthiest family in the area. Inside and out, everything was redolent of the mourning solemnity and darksome romance: Windows curtained with tight black lace did not let in the light; wormwood was scattered on window sills and on the floor, and huge uncut pieces of black agate spotted everywhere, on the shelves among bottles of leeches and alcoholic tinctures.
Angie, the blackberry wife, stood behind the counter, busily counting coins and filling tight leather pokes. She was all in flatland gear, a tightly buttoned black dress, and her face, ash gray with fatigue and hard work with enormous dark shadows under her eyes.
When a bell jingled over the door being opened, the druggists wife immediately raised her dark-haired head and saw Hom, then dryly uttered more to herself than to him,
There you are.
Hom shrugged his shoulders,
I just came from the red witch over the birches. She makes me sick.
One of the young blackberry daughters, who had been cleaning the shelves, decided to have a nice conversation with him,
I like the herb-woman. I remember, she once gave me cuttings of a tree, and they instantly rooted in the garden.
The blackberry wife interrupted her daughter.
Could you leave us alone with young Mr. Kelly?
She didnt like gossip, and knew how difficult it was for customers to give the reason why they went to the store in front of strangers, so she waited until the girl went out of the outbuilding and decided to get straight to the point, Well?! What was it you couldnt get from the herb-woman that you came here?
What does she have that you dont? the blond answered a question with a question.
The woman in black took thought,
A rejuvenating potion, for example. We certainly dont keep that. And the herb-woman is good at it, you cant take it away from her.
Hom shook his head in disapproval,
Thats pathetic. No, there is no need for any rejuvenating potion. Neither to your shop nor to yourself.
The hostess of the blackberry house suspiciously squinted,
Dont tempt me, Hom Kelly. Im twenty years older than you, and considering my intelligence, even thirty.
Others would argue with you about my wit.
Picking on me?
Hom leaned forward and putting his elbows on the counter, he uttered blandly,
I just want to say that you dont need a rejuvenating potion because each time I am tempted to kiss such a poetic cutie.
Poetic cutie? Angie was amazed, taking a step back. Even my husband has never said that.
Your husband sees nothing but profit, which takes up all of his thoughts.
But the blackberry wife did not like this statement,
There youre wrong about the bearded man. Hes a good man after all. He and the kids dont let me fall apart in the middle of all this glorious stuff good, which Ive been fed up long ago.
I still believe you deserve better.
However, Angie wasnt easy to talk to.
Youre not going to get anything out of me with that sweet talk, so, you either tack about or empty your pockets and buy the product. Why have you come here, Hom?
After a pause, the blond man dared to look straight into the womans eyes,
Three drops of opium.
Are you crazy?! the drugstores owner was outraged. Your old man will make a fuss through the entire village.
He wouldnt know. No one will know. Just be a good girl and do it for me. I know that youre really kind and youll do it for me. Id get you back for that. With these words, Hom poured out a generous handful of golden coins onto the counter.
Seeing the money, the blackberry wife moved away from the counter annoyed. There was a small box on the highest shelf, next to the goats skull. Thats what Angie was trying to grab. Getting a tiny bottle out the velvet-covered box, she placed it on Homs open palm and knapped,
And I do not see your face around here.
Dont worry about a thing, Hom assured her, and left the outbuilding, carrying a portion of the laudanum in his pocket along with the lavender and mint he had obtained from the herb-woman.
He didnt turn around, he pretended not to hear the blackberry wife screaming after him, Hom, you forgot your book! Come back!
If that rugged lady, with tired eyes and hair as black as all her outfits, starts reading what I have left under pretense of an accident, the matter is settled, rejoiced young Kelly.
When he got to the apiary, Pagey had already finished his plate of lumpy porridge for dinner (Neither Lekki nor his adopted child didnt have any culinary skills) and was getting ready for bed. Hom pretended to be surprised,
Why are you going to bed so early?
Were leaving to go to the fair together with Vita tomorrow morning.
Is that a date? Hom was pulling a face. Naturally, no one could believe that the news was already known to him.
Pagey smiled mysteriously,
Its possible.
Great! Good luck tomorrow, then. But that doesnt mean we cant have a drink tonight, does it?
How could Pagey say no to his senior companion? He didnt want to. Having a couple of sips of wine with a strange taste appeared as if from nowhere, he tried to understand what Hom was saying and calmed down due to his friends voice getting into one monotonous sound. Half an hour later, Pagey slept like a dog on a blanket by the fire, snoring peacefully over the crackling of logs. When Lekki returned home and put his fosterling to bed, Hom was ready to leave and told the beekeeper in an apologetic way,