“She’s very gentle,” Mika assured them. “And she loves a fuss. You’re more than welcome to play with her.”

Altamira squealed and flung her arms around Circe immediately, and Rosetta knelt on the path to stroke Circe’s back with a big, surprised smile on her serious face. Circe let out a contended bark, basking in the attention, and the ice was well and truly broken.

Really, people didn’t deserve dogs.

“Her name is Circe,” Mika said, and remembered, somewhat belatedly, to add, “and I’m Mika.”

Rosetta tore herself away from Circe and politely introduced herself. “And this is Altamira,” she went on. “Terracotta is, um, not feeling very well.”

“That’s a shame,” said Mika, privately wondering if Jamie had also been afflicted with this mysterious illness. “I hope she feels better soon.”

Satisfied that Mika had conveyed them to a place with excellent new friends, Circe trotted back to Mika’s side, tail wagging. Both Rosetta and Altamira took this as an indication that it was safe to come closer.

Mika glanced uncertainly at Ian, Lucie, and Ken, none of whom made the slightest attempt to intervene. She assumed this meant they wanted to let her decide how she wanted to handle her relationship with the girls, which was very nice and everything, but she hadn’t the faintest idea of what to do with children.

Okay, then. Maybe it was best to treat them like they were simply very small adults.

“Do you think you could help me move my stuff into the house?” she asked the girls. “There’s a lot, I’m afraid.”

The girls agreed to this with enthusiasm, possibly because they were just very kind girls or possibly because they were very curious about Mika’s possessions. Either suited her just fine.

“Let me get everything out of the car,” she went on, “and then you can show me where it all needs to go.”

Ian, who was peeking nosily through the car’s rear windscreen, ventured an opinion. “It doesn’t look like there’s much in here, my dear. Where, for instance, is the pond we were promised?”

“Pfft,” said Mika, which made Rosetta and Altamira giggle. “I’m a witch! How long do you think my secret would stay secret if anyone could just peek into my car and see all my witchy possessions?”