I had things to do today, nothing earth shattering, just the weekly security report from Sir Scatterscurry, and jam-making.

Of course I didn’t need a mouse with a sword and an over-developed sense of chivalry guarding my home, but his primary domain was the potting shed, and he did a lovely job of keeping my seedlings pest-free and healthy.

The meeting, as always, finished with me making a ceremonial presentation of the reward for his service – a chunk of St Auger, a slice of cheddar and a nice oozy wedge of some creamy thing with cranberries. He was delighted, thankfully. Sir Scatterscurry has strong opinions on cheese, and I have failed to meet standards in the past.

Reports and bestowals complete, I headed for the kitchen. I’d gathered in a lovely crop of raspberries and was looking forward to proper jam on my toast in the coming months – last year’s crop was abysmal, so I’d been reduced to supermarket stuff for some time.

I was waylaid by my friendly bolene mushroom sprite. We had a deal involving protection from high-pitched, demanding spritelings in return for the occasional basket of mushrooms. The last trade was only a week ago, and she was a quiet one, preferring the peace and solitude of the lower garden to my terrace, so this was unusual.

I sat on the low dividing wall on the edge of the herb lawn, it’s barely knee high, but provides a useful anchor for the house wards, and tilted my head in question.

She shuffled awkwardly. “I have a friend. And, well, I was wondering if maybe you could help them.” Her cheeks darkened and she looked at the ground. “Although we’ll both completely understand if you’d rather not.”

“How about you tell me a little more about your friend, and what sort of help they need. Then I can make a decision.” I smiled encouragingly. “Remember, as a witch, I’m fairly strongly in favour of helping people.”

“Even if they’re poisonous?”

I remembered our first encounter, the bolele sprite hiding in a ring of deathcap mushrooms. “Would this friend be the one who kept the spritelings away from you before?”

The sprite nodded. “And now the little ones have decided they want to be deathcaps and are following her around everywhere.”

I think I need to have a slightly stronger word with the Green King about the manners of his younger subjects. In the meantime though, this was an easy decision.

“Did you know that garden with the wall around it is completely full of poisonous plants?”

The sprite looked at the wall I waved to, her eyes widening. “You don’t mind poison?”

“Some poisons are incredibly useful, and strangely, can even be used to cure things.” I leaned forward. “And I find deathcap mushrooms terribly hard to grow, but very useful for certain protective and repelling spells.”

“So she can come and visit.”

“She is very welcome to visit. I look forward to meeting her.”

It was so nice to see the normally quiet, reserved sprite beaming with joy. “I’ll tell her now, she’ll probably visit very soon, and I’ll tell her about the poison garden. She’ll love it.”

“I’m sure she will.” I waved her off, and continued up the path, my jam wouldn’t cook itself.

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