The Doppelgänger of Dormond Street by Sue Harry

3. Mr Hollymore Bardon II

Oh she could heal any ailment, disperse the most terrible storm and make a werewolve reform to human with a flicker of an eyelid, abilities that were way beyond a Matriarch of her years but to be able to unleash that type of power without the items she needed for her protection was bad luck. They worried that one day she would rip herself, her husband, her son or them all to shreds with her ill disciplined power. Mrs Sally Mare quietened their fears but still they were reluctant to let their children near her on a regular basis.

My father said this suited her just fine as all they wanted was to be together. By the time I had returned, our plants were dead, all of the animals had either run away or had been taken in by other Matriarchs but when last we were here, the house had been pulsing with life and energy. My mother was a botanist in the truest sense of the word as she grew flowers, plants and herbs from all over the world using just skill. No Matriarch returned without some rare seedling they knew my mother could cultivate and many of the dried sprigs sown into my suit today were the efforts of her labour.

We had a stable full of horses back then, close to the house and they were allowed to wander freely around our grounds much to the annoyance of the servants. It made the house incredibly tempting for the towns children as it truly was the house that was most unencumbered by the effects of The Gift. Publicly the Gifted women complained about her and expressed their doom filled fears and concerns but secretly they all visited or wandered near to the house where they could feel like real mothers if only for a moment and give their children the occasional much needed hug.

They loved her, feared her but mostly they envied her the life she had created for herself and husband. In their hearts, they all knew it could not last and yet her strange life was a joy to watch from afar, and to occasionally partake of up close, although no one would admit it aloud.

I used the morning and much of the afternoon to clear our house of cobwebs, dead plants and shrubs and the like. My father had been in his study since before dawn and it looked like I may not see him for the remainder of the day. Yesterdays unexpected visit had left him exhausted and embarrassed and I feared he would not recover easily.

Mrs Petulia Ketttlehorn had walked straight into our dining room yesterday afternoon and without a word to my father, began searching through the drawers of my mothers tallboy. My father, incensed by the intrusion rushed to his feet but with a swish of her handkerchief, he found himself unable to move or speak. She smirked at the sight of my fathers face turning white with fear and exertion and then turned her gaze to me, half with expectation and half with a look of caution, lest I stand to my feet and force her to treat me in like manner.

While he stood there, rooted to the floor, eyes wide with fear, she continued searching, ignoring her husband, who made loud protestations from where he stood at the threshold, until she found a small golden box that we had procured in The Three. With a deep sigh, she placed her handkerchief in one fold of her dress and the gold box in another, at which point my father flopped to the ground like a rag-doll, and she left, leaving the door wide open upon her departure.

I could remember very little of my mother so this was the first encounter I had had with a Matriarch and it left an unsavory taste in my mouth. From what my father had told me, their manners were usually impeccable and they used The Gift only in exceptional circumstances. It set them apart from common witches who used folk magic for just about everything and were often killed or run out of their homes because of it. Matriarchs were leaders in our world because they inspired awe and reverence, not fear, and any one of them that upset that balance was bad for them all. I hoped we had seen the last of them in our home as I was becoming more and more convinced that I wanted no part of The Seven or The Way.