A Spoonful of Sugar by Kerry Barrett Page B

time – because it’s in between summer and the ski season, you know – but she’s turning people away. She and Allan have worked out packages for people booking retreats – it’s really taken off.’
    Harry looked pleased with herself.
    ‘This is exactly what I hoped would happen,’ she said, throwing me a smug smile. ‘I knew once people saw Claddach they’d realise how amazing it is up here.’
    ‘You called it,’ I said. ‘But this is bigger than anyone could predict. All this publicity for the show and the press hanging round, and Amelia shouting her mouth off to anyone who’ll listen. It’s all worked out to our advantage.’
    ‘Harry was just saying she doesn’t think it’s someone attacking the competitors,’ said Suky. ‘What do you think, Esme?’
    ‘I’m really torn,’ I admitted, helping myself to salad. ‘On the one hand why would anyone target a baking competition and its contestants? But on the other hand, it does seem a bit odd that three people have had these unfortunate accidents.’
    Harry nodded.
    ‘But I think that’s exactly what they are,’ she said. ‘Unfortunate accidents.’
    I chewed a piece of cucumber thoughtfully.
    ‘I don’t see how they can be anything else,’ I said. ‘It can’t be any of the contestants because, apart from it being totally ridiculous to take a game so seriously, they’re all nice people, they wouldn’t do such a thing.’
    Harry made a face.
    ‘I reckon Amelia would,’ she said. ‘She’s ruthless, that kid.’
    I giggled.
    ‘You’re not wrong there,’ I said, trying to remember who was where when the accidents happened. ‘But she wouldn’t have done that to herself – she was genuinely upset when she had to have her hair cut off. And she wasn’t even here when June got hurt. In fact, none of us were there when Ronald got stuck in the freezer. We were all in the marquee. We only found him because you listened in …’
    I trailed off as a horrible thought occurred to me.
    ‘Exactly,’ said Harry. ‘Which is why these must be simply unlucky accidents.’
    Mum and Suky agreed and Mum started talking but I wasn’t listening. I was wondering if Harry was the person behind all the accidents.
    Being in the marquee while Ronald got stuck in the freezer inside the cafe wouldn’t be any barrier to Harry locking him in. None at all. She could easily have slammed that door shut if she wanted to. Perhaps that’s how she knew where to find him?
    And she’d made a real show of not being able to help Amelia pick up her chocolate buttons when the caramel fell. Her being at the other end of the tent meant that, as far as normal, non-witchy people were concerned, she couldn’t have pushed the bowl off the bench – but I knew that wasn’t true. She could easily have made it fall from across the room. It was such basic witchcraft that even my little Clemmie could do it.
    Greasing the outside of June’s tin was equally easy for a witch like Harry. In fact, she could even have persuaded June to do it herself – and then forget she’d done it. That’s how good Harry was.
    There was a rule in witchcraft that you didn’t ever use it to harm others. If you did, we believed, it would come back on you threefold. We stuck to it, by and large. But like Amelia, Harry was ruthless. She was always focused on getting what she wanted – she kept her eyes on the prize as it were – and if that meant trampling over others to get there, then that’s what she did.
    Absent-mindedly, I poured more water into my glass and stared at my cousin. She was telling a story about something funny her twins had done and laughing. Her eyes were shining and her smile was broad and that made me think. She had surprised me with how much she’d taken to motherhood and family life. She adored those kids and her wife, Louise. Surely she wouldn’t put them at risk just because she wanted to promote Claddach. Witchcraft was unpredictable and dabbling in the darker shadows