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“The Goddess, of course,” Louisette snapped. “The Mother of Earth, and of us all.”
“Love is a certain kind of magic, Ursule. A specific kind of magic. I asked for it, and the Goddess provided it.”
“Magic costs us.” Nanette didn’t look up from her work as she bound the fresh twigs together. “If you practice the craft, you will pay a price.”
“Because men believe it’s their right to tell women how to live. They tell us who to marry, what to wear, when to go out and when to stay. Some men beat their wives, and no one speaks a word about it. But despite all the power they hold over us, they feel powerless against our kind. We resist. We cause things to happen. We interfere with their plans, with what they think is the natural order. That frightens them. Men hate being afraid, so they hate us instead.”
Don’t try to think of the words, but when they come to you, speak them. The spoken word holds so much power! You’ll see.”
they think she knows things they don’t, and that frightens them.” “You would think they’d be grateful for women with knowledge.” “It’s rarely true. Men are vain.”
We have to be clever. We have to let men think they are stronger, smarter, wiser than women.”
“Men make decisions for women, Irène, whether we like it or not. A kind man, like Sebastien, is a blessing. A cruel one—or a thoughtless one—is a curse. That’s life.”
Nevertheless, it’s the way it is. Men need to believe they’re in control.”
It was a proverb, one his mam used to say: “Labor postponed is labor increased.”
Your father, like most men, is terrified of a woman who doesn’t fit his ideal of womanhood, because he doesn’t know how to control her. You need to remember that any frightened man is a dangerous one.”
“Our power makes it bearable,” she said softly. “We let them think they’re in control, but we take what we want, when they would refuse us.” The smile faded. “You’ll see,” she said, turning away, starting through the porch. “You’ll learn, just as I did.”
Knowledge, though, Jago—it’s not always a blessing.” “A hard truth. Some things we’d rather not have learned.”
