Page 20 of Charmless
Delphine slunk closer, crouching as though she was getting ready to pounce. I snatched off my shawl, flapping it at her to fend off her attack.
“Shoo! Scat!”
“R-r-r-eow!” She growled at me arching her back higher and higher.
To my horror, I watched her fur start to molt away, revealing patches of pink skin. Her body elongated and stretched upward, fur and whiskers slowly disappearing until Delphine loomed before me in all her naked glory. Her black hair curling wildly about her pale, angry face, the witch pointed at me, her long finger trembling with rage.
“You! You are a treacherous little minx.”
I shrank away from her, stammering, “And you are quite naked. There are men out there on the river, staring.”
“Oh?” Delphine’s attention swiveled in that direction. I expected her to shriek with embarrassment and try to cover herself. But she strolled boldly closer to the shore’s edge.
The witch’s hair had a strange property of changing color according to her moods. Her tangled tresses ebbed from jet black to a bright orange as she beamed and waved both arms at the men in such a way as to fully reveal her small, firm breasts. Mal had often referred to Delphine as being a fine old girl. But I judged her to be not more than thirty. Aside from the fact of her strange hair, she was not an unattractive woman.
The snigglers apparently thought so too. They waved back enthusiastically. One man, craning for a better look, fell overboard with a loud splash.
Delphine chortled with delight. “Oh, the poor dear. But occasionally, I do love to give the lads a little thrill. Fishing for eels must be such a boring occupation, don’t you think?”
“I wouldn’t know. I have never given the matter much thought.” I should have kept my mouth shut. I should have taken advantage of her distraction to escape, not stood gaping at her brazen performance.
She whipped around, glaring at me, the tips of her orange hair curling back to black like wood shavings scorched by a fire. “I doubt you ever give anything much thought because you are a brainless twit. Nonetheless I need to have a word with you.”
“About what?” I asked, although I had a pretty good idea about the cause of her grievance. As she stalked up the bank toward me, I averted my eyes. It was disconcerting enough having a conversation with an angry witch, let alone an angry naked one. I wanted to fling my shawl over her, but I was afraid to get that close.
Delphine snorted. “Well, if you aren’t the dainty little modest wench. Fine! I will spare your virginal blushes.”
Crossing over to Mal’s wash line, she snatched up one of his shirts and tugged it over her head. The well-worn fabric did not cover much because it was still damp and much too large for her. It hung loose on her frame, skimming the top of her thighs, but it was better than nothing.
“There!” Delphine stomped back toward me. “Now what was I saying? Oh, yes. You brainless twit. You little sneak! You betrayed me. You told Mal I can transform into a cat.”
“I am sorry, Delphine, but you were deceiving him. Sneaking into his house disguised as Ebony, rubbing up against him, snuggling beside him in his bed, spying on him when he was getting dressed?—”
“That was always my favorite part of the day,” Delphine interrupted with a sigh. “Licking my paws, grooming myself while Mal bathed that magnificent body of his. I hated it when the time came for him to towel dry and don clothing. Did you know that the rogue doesn’t wear drawers beneath his breeches?”
“Er-no.” I had no desire for such information about my closest friend, although knowing Mal as well as I did, it didn’t surprise me. “The point is, Delphine, what you were doingwasn’t right. It was kind of creepy and you ought to be ashamed.”
“Oh, please!” Delphine rolled her eyes. “Every woman needs to be a little sneaky to get closer to the man she loves. I daresay you’ve got a few tricks of your own. But now that Mal knows the truth, he wants nothing to do with me.”
Delphine’s lip quivered. “Mal ordered me to stay away from him and after all I have done for the ungrateful wretch, helping him to master his magic. When he was trying to develop his hair potion, I even let him test the first batch on me and look what happened.” Delphine held up one of her tresses as it faded from black to a deep shade of blue. She sniffed. “I ended up with hair that turns every color of the rainbow.”
“Mal did that? I thought that was caused by your own magic.”
“Why would I do such a thing to myself?” Delphine demanded indignantly. “A woman likes to have a bit of mystery about her, not hair that alerts the world to her every mood. But I forgave Mal for his little accident because I adore him that much and now, I have lost him forever.”
Delphine hung her head, her hair turning completely blue. Despite my disapproval of the deceit she had practiced upon Mal, the witch looked so forlorn, I could not help but pity her.
“I am sorry if you and Mal have quarreled.” I said. “As Mal’s friend, I had no choice but to tell him the truth.”
Delphine’s head jerked up, resentment filling her eyes. “Hisfriend?Don’t even try that one on me, missy. I know your schemes, always running to Mal with your problems, batting your pretty blue eyes at him, making him pine after you. You wanted Mal for yourself or at least you did. Now I hear you’re all set to marry the prince and break my poor boy’s heart.”
“None of that is true,” I protested. “I am not marrying any prince and Mal and I will always be close friends, nothing more.”
“Ha! Try telling him that.”
“I have! Many times.”
“You should have tried harder! You could have convinced him if you had really wanted to. I certainly know how to discourage a man’s unwanted attentions.”
