'Ah, Mrs Ogg... and Miss Nitt,' said Oats, inching around some mud. 'Er... I trust I find you well?'
'Up till now,' said Nanny.
'I had, er, hoped to see Mrs Weatherwax.'
For a moment the only sound was the chattering of the ravens.
'Hoped?' said Agnes.
'Mrs Weatherwax?' said Nanny.
'Er, yes. It is part of my... I'm supposed to... one of the things we... Well, I heard she might be ill, and visiting the elderly and infirm is part, er, of our pastoral duties... Of course I realize that technically I have no pastoral duties, but still, while I'm here...'
Nanny's face was a picture, possibly one painted by an artist with a very strange sense of humour.
'I'm really sorry she ain't here,' she said, and Agnes knew she was being altogether honest and absolutely nasty.
'Oh dear. I was, er, going to give her some... I was going... er... Is she well, then?'
'I'm sure she'd be all the better for a visit from you,' said Nanny, and once again there was a strange, curvy sort of truth to this. 'It'd be the sort of thing she'd talk about for days. You can come back any time you want.'
Oats looked helpless. 'Then I suppose I'd better, er, be getting back to my, er, tent,' he said. 'May I accompany you ladies down to the town? There are, er, some dangerous things in the woods...'
' We got broomsticks,' said Nanny firmly. The priest looked crestfallen, and Agnes made a decision.
'A broomstick,' she said. 'I'll walk you-.I mean, you can walk me back. If you like.'
The priest looked relieved. Nanny sniffed. There was a certain Weatherwax quality to the sniff.
'Back at my place, then. An' no dilly-dallyin',' she said.
'I don't dilly-dally,' said Agnes.
'Just see you don't start,' said Nanny, and went to find her broomstick.
Agnes and the priest walked in embarrassed silence for a while. At last Agnes said, 'How's the headache?'
'Oh, much better, thank you. It went away. But her majesty was kind enough to give me some pills anyway.'
'That's nice,' said Agnes. She ought to have given him a needle! Look at the size of that boil! said Perdita, one of nature's born squeezers. Why doesn't he do something about it?
'Er... you don't like me very much, do you?' said Oats.
'I've hardly met you.' She was becoming aware of an embarrassing draughtiness in the nether regions. ;Well, yes! That's how it works! So?'
They were shouting at one another, and they both realized it at the same time,
It was raining harder now. Drips were flying off Agnes's hat every time she moved her head.
Nanny recovered a little. 'All right, I s'pose between us we've got enough sense to get in out of the rain.'
'And at least we can light the fire,' said Agnes as they stepped into the chill of the kitchen. 'She's left it all laid-'
'No!'
'There's no need to shout again!'
'Look, don't light the fire, right?' said Nanny. 'Don't touch anything more than you have to!'