The Little Yew Tree Witch: A Chapter And The New Cover

Stourton Hall 1809

Octavia was the youngest of four her eldest brother Hugh had died before she was born, her Father would never except his tragic death and his bedroom and place at the table stilled remained as if he was just out on a walk and would soon return.

Octavia had two elder sisters Cecelia and Olivia. Octavia considered that she had the worse possible name in the world, her Father had just named her the month she was born, October and from a very young age Octavia felt no more than an after thought, her Mother Beatrice had tragically died only hours after giving birth to her and her Father saddened beyond belief, would also she thought have preferred a boy, an heir to his banking empire and vast inheritance, a child to replace his lost son.

From a young age Octavia called herself Avia and sought ways to entertain herself away from her Fathers disapproving eye, he was rarely in residence since their Mothers death, so the girls knew little of their Father other than he had a passion for antiquity. Their Grandfather had been a keen collector of Italian art and bought his ideas back to England, an Italian renaissance from the grand tour transformed the house and gardens. He had travelled through Europe, China, Japan, India and the America’s each time bringing back ideas in styles, cultures and cuisines. The huge stately home and stunning gardens became the envy of many wealthy land owners and many would seek invitations to the lavish dinner parties, only attended by aristocracy and the very wealthy. Avia’s father had been left all of this empire, he had no appetite for any of it though, since the loss of Beatrice his dear wife, he would leave the banking to others and pursue his love of archaeology and art. Sadly poor Avia would not feel her Father’s love, he could hardly look at her and as she grew, he avoided home more and more. For Avia unlike her sister’s, she was a mirror image of her Mother, Avia’s Father Lord Richard Hoare would from the day she was born spend most of his time in his study, in London or abroad, the children were left with the adoring Nanny Maud and a host of governesses and servants, they did experience more freedom than most girls of that era, however they felt like they were orphans at times in a huge stately home with empty rooms and endless corridors.

Avia and her sister Olivia were still too young for the social scene and were kept supposedly hidden in the wing of the nursery. Cecelia would be the first being the eldest to be found a suitable husband, he would have to be from a wealthy family with a very good standing in society to reach her Fathers satisfaction. Olivia her middle sister had already in secret given her heart to a wealthy boy who lived not far away in a very impressive Stately home just outside Bath, they had a huge deer park and although their gardens, were no where near as impressive as Stourton, the grandeur was still very imposing, the young impressive lord was called Thomas Blaywayt, Avia doubted though he would stick around forever he was so young, even though Olivia was the cleverest girl he would probably ever meet.

The three girls were incredibly different in both looks and personalities. Cecelia was fair with the greenest of eyes and small with a tiny frame, Olivia was taller and slim with light brown hair and greenish grey eyes, Avia was tall and skinny with the darkest of hair and eyes, they were all exquisitely striking, Cecelia loved books and spent hours in the library she would often talk about her favourite books and the characters as if they were real, often she would discuss them with her governess as though they were sitting there in the same room. Avia loved it most when Cecelia read to her, her most favourite story was about a little Princess who went to live in an orphanage and got rescued by her adoring Father who had been away in India. Avia thought she would like to go to India it sounded amazing with all the colours, spices, elephants and tigers. A guest had once said it was very hot and stuffy and far to crowded in the city, with a dreadful smell, he however complained the fish was to salty at lunch, so Octavia thought he was not worth his salt, even she knew salmon gravlax could not help but be salty. Avia’s other sister Olivia was different she spent her life learning, she could speak french perfectly and knew all sorts of things you could do with numbers, she would often strut around talking of how she would love to go and be a scholar in London, her boring friend Thomas was going to go to London, like his Father to become a Lawyer, they were unbearable together and spent hours learning and when the weather was very fine they would spend hours on the swing, just chatting and reading informative books to one another. Olivia was most definitely the favourite she could play the piano beautifully and sang like an angel, although Avia found it a little high pitched and often it would irritate her, so she would excuse herself with a headache, not that she had really ever had one, it was just that was how she had seen her Aunt escape a room in a very silly and dramatic way, Avia had watched her intently and had her performance off to an art. Avia by far the wildest of the three loved the gardens, she would spend hours roaming and learning all about the trees and plants, she knew the name for nearly all of them on the estate, she was learning all about the flowers and how they like to be positioned, it seemed some were very fussy about full sun, shade or their soil and some preferred more water than others, they needed pruning and dead heading and all sorts of attention, there were bulbs and seeds that required different steps, topiary, hedging, climbers and creepers the list was endless, what she really wanted to learn though was how to take a cutting from a plant to grow another, this to Avia was the most fascinating of things.

She loved the gardeners and thought them her friends, they were always happy to chat to her and showed her how to weed and plant. Sometimes she got to go back to Tomsk cottage on the estate his daughter was her age and called Lottie they would play in her little garden. Avia loved Lottie’s cottage in the winter it was wonderfully cosy with a roaring fire in the one room that they all lived in, you could smell the delicious bread cooking in the smoky range, in the summer she loved the washing on the line and the way Lottie was aloud to take her toy outside and leave things lying around. Miss Bonneville the housekeeper was very strict about leaving things around at Stourton Hall, Lottie’s Ma and Pa were warm and friendly they were always hugging Lottie and they played with her and listened to her. Lottie knew everything about her Ma and Pa and it seemed her Ma and Pa knew everything about everyone in the village and on the estate. Lottie’s sister Lucy worked up at the Hall as a scullery maid, she was always kind and cheerful, she had lovely long blond hair and blue eyes like her Ma and Lottie. Avia always thought it was funny how everyone came into the world a different shade, her sister Olivia had explained it was to do with your genes, something like if a bay horse and a bay horse have a foal it will most definitely be a bay, with a slim chance it could be chestnut or a grey, should one of its Grandparents have been one of those colours, it was all a little complicated and Avia had just pretended to understand, although she had put the theory to her thoughts and wondered if you could mix the colours up of flowers, when she asked Tomsk he had said that it was possible with something called cross pollination, he had no time to show her though, it was very disappointing to Avia and she was not certain he knew how, however this topic of interest would force her to the library on a cold and rainy day imprisoned by the bad weather. Nanny Maud forbid her to step a foot outside in case she caught a cold and died, this seemed a little dramatic Avia did love her Nanny though, so didn't wish to upset her by dying and stayed indoors.

The library was always a little stuffy it was kept warm by the fire and huge drapes kept out the draft and candles lit the room for reading. Avia would select a book with difficulty, flower and garden books always won in the end, she would then go and sit on the floor in-between the drapes and the enormous windows that stretched from the ceiling to the floor, this way she could see the pictures and read some of the words and she was almost outside, but not so she would not catch her death. Avia would often though end up just staring out of the window and day dreaming about being outside in the gardens running free.

The Little Yew Tree Witch Blurb

Avia finds solace in the stunning gardens of her home at Stourton Hall,

her strange discovery unravels a world of witches from long ago and her curiosity

grows more than flowers, as she becomes tangled in the witches plot.

In this bewitching tale three worlds collide, Agnes an abandoned witch from four hundred years ago, Avia born

into Georgian aristocracy and Jack the loveable farmers boy, all become entwined in an ancient legacy.

An evil force gathered long ago, with a trick of a witch and a powerful warlock's prophecy, Avia and Jack are thrown into an unknown world, their only hope is Agnes and the strange housekeeper Miss Bonneville. When the witch of a warlock brings the coven to the door, Agnes has to try and save her knew home and all she has grown to love.

From the magical forts of ancient India to the medieval streets of London and castles of old England, a whirl wind battle through time commences from the sands of the deserts, where everything began.

Charming and adorable characters in a spellbinding and thrilling story.

I hope you enjoyed this chapter

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Victoria J Hunt author & illustrator ©️