Page 8 of The Tea Witch's Promise

"Both. They'll need a building to teach, and funds to afford time and loss of clients. In the short term, they'll be able to do fewer tattoos but once the apprentices are adequate, they'll be able to do their part."

"So you want to start a school?"

I nodded. "I suppose so, yes. You train people at the infirmary, don't you? So I thought you would be the right person to talk to."

"We do. Reese is the teacher in the family, but I helped work out the practicalities." He skipped ahead so he could bow down to me. "I would be honoured to help, my lady."

Banjo barked at him and I snorted. He was so goofy and despite his attempt at charming me, it did nothing for me which was a relief.

Brew was just Brew.

Chapter5

Katie

Brewster Hall came into sight,stately as always with its pale bricks and glass windows. I hadn't always appreciated how beautiful a place it was until people had started moving to Purple Oak and I realised that some of them hadn't grown up in such beautiful homes and with plentiful lands around them. It was one of the many reasons we'd done things like open up our land for others to use, and why the Brewsters and Steepers had set up the infirmary where they could use their magic to heal anyone who needed it.

A loud shriek came from the air, breaking through my thoughts. Even without meaning to, I flinched back as the shadow of Howie descended upon us. Oliver had better get his familiar trained and in a more compliant mood.

Banjo barked loudly, though I wasn't entirely sure if it was because of the loud noise, or because he sensed the tension.

The young owl flapped his wings and collided into Oliver, almost knocking my brother off his feet.

I smothered a laugh, unable to help myself. I wasn't sure what it was about the bird, but Oliver seemed to have very little control over him.

"Ouch, you birdbrain. You have to slow down," he grumbled, earning new scratches on his forearm as the owl tried to perch on him.

Grandpa let out a disgruntled hum. "You're not teaching him right."

"I'll teach him however I want," Oliver countered as he gave Howie an affectionate stroke.

I just shook my head and gave a confused Banjo a pat between his ears, grateful that my beautiful familiar had been a delight to train.

"Maybe you should've left Howie at home," Grandpa suggested as we made our way inside.

Oliver gave his owl a gentle kiss. "No chance. This is a great opportunity to teach him how to behave in a crowd."

And a crowd it was. Even though there were only four families in charge of Purple Oak, it was a lot of people crammed into one room, even one as big as this. The long banquet table was already set with glasses of water and the Millers' daughters were in their usual seats, far apart from each other.

Taz raised her hand and I headed over to her, smiling in greeting.

"Hey. How's your mother?" I asked.

"She's resting," Taz replied as she brushed some of her short hair back. "Giving birth is hard work."

"I can't imagine. How's the newest Miller doing?"

"Well, I think. He cries at all times of the night. It doesn't make me want a baby."

I snorted without meaning to. Not having any younger siblings, I didn't really have any experience of it, but I'd seen enough babies around the settlement to know that they were loud and needed a lot of attention, which was one of the reasons Mrs Miller wasn't here.

We exchanged a few more pleasantries before parting ways and I went to sit down in my chair in the middle of the table, while Oliver and Grandpa went to opposite ends. Considering all the arguments they had about Howie in the past week, that was probably for the best. Family disputes needed to stay at the farm. There was no reason to bring the other residents into them. Something I was willing to remind them of if they got out of hand.

The door on the other side of the room opened and the first half of the Brewster family sauntered in with the expected ruckus of Cami and Brew's heated discussion. It was no surprise that they had designated seats on the opposite ends of the table as well. It wasn't that they didn't get on, more that they did. That could cause just as many problems.

"Hey, all." Brew waved broadly before sitting down in the seat directly opposite of me. He looked directly at me, his smile changing into something I didn't really recognise. "Hi, Katie."

"Brew," I acknowledged before greeting the rest of his siblings, just so he didn't think he was special.