T

he book appeared to be full of recipes, but on closer inspection they were very odd sorts, all involving herbs and even inedible objects such as acorns.

"An odd collection of recipes to be sure" I said. To which Acton wrote:
"Not recipes, spells."

An example of one will suffice:

"These strange words" I said, "do you know what they mean?" to which he wrote in reply: "I don't read Latin."

I do read Latin, but this was not Latin, although it did have a bit of a Latinate sound.

"Did she ever explain what this spell was for?" I asked.

"Remote viewing" he wrote - "reading someone's mind, or feeling their feelings from afar."

"Well, I suppose that would be useful at times. I don't suppose you were successful with it."

He grimaced and handed me a note from between some pages in the book. A letter from Mrs. Corning.

Dulcissime,
The incantation and materials alone will not be enough. While you perform the ritual, you must also feel the power within yourself. It is difficult to describe exactly what that is, but perhaps think of it as willpower - the thing that makes you go out into the rain when you would rather stay indoors, for example. Or the power of strong desire - you must want the gift of the Earth goddess with your mind, heart and soul. It is not an easy thing to do, so do not feel discouraged. And many people never find success - it is possible that there is an element of talent in spell casting.

Betsy
Totus floreo, novus amor est quo pereo.

"Now this item does contain Latin." I said. "Did she translate it for you?"

He shook his head.

"'Dulcissime' means - well 'sweetest man in the world' - Acton looked away, "and the last bit means... well, 'all a-flower' is the closest thing to 'totus floreo' and 'novus amor est quo perio' is 'new love is killing me.' I suppose the truest translation would be: 'I am overwhelmed by my new love.' Well now." I coughed dryly.

He was blushing at this point and I thought it best to move on. "I imagine the strain of losing her husband of ten years caused her to have a kind of breakdown." I said. "Women can be extremely susceptible to superstitions and the like, and this one seemed to be rather more emotional than most, so this is not too suprising. Unless you wish to tell me that you tried this incantation and made it work."

"No" he wrote, "but she did."

"She read your mind from a distance?"

More text: "She knew when I was thinking of her."

"Oh." was all I could think to say. I considered asking him how he knew this was so, but by this point I was becoming weary of the conversation, especially as it was half in writing, and wished to return home. I asked him if I might take the "spellbook" with me, but he would not part with it.

To be continued...