Meanwhile a new piece of gossip came into the shop. The King hadquarreled with his own brother, Prince Justin, it was said, and thePrince had gone into exile. Nobody quite knew the reason for thequarrel, but the Prince had actually come through Market Chipping indisguise a couple of months back, and nobody had known. The Count ofCatterack had been sent by the King to look for the Prince, when hehappened to meet Jane Farrier instead. Sophie listened and felt sad.Interesting things did seem to happen, but always to somebody else.Still, it would be nice to see Lettie.

May Day came. Merrymaking filled the streets from dawn onward.Fanny went out early, but Sophie had a couple of hats to finishfirst. Sophie sang as she worked. After all, Lettie was working too.Cesari’s was open till midnight on holidays. “I shall buyone of their cream cakes,” Sophie decided. “Ihaven’t had one for ages.” She watched people crowdingpast the window in all kinds of bright clothes, people sellingsouvenirs, people walking on stilts, and felt really excited.

But when she at last put a gray shawl over her gray dress and wentout into the street, Sophie did not feel excited. She feltoverwhelmed. There were too many people rushing past, laughing andshouting, far too much noise and jostling. Sophie felt as if the pastmonths of sitting and sewing had turned her into an old woman or asemi-invalid. She gathered her shawl around her and crept along closeto the houses, trying to avoid being trodden on my people’sbest shoes or being jabbed by elbows in trailing silk sleeves. Whenthere came a sudden volley of bangs from overhead somewhere, Sophiethought she was going to faint. She looked up and saw WizardHowl’s castle right down on the hillside above the town, sonear it seemed to be sitting on the chimneys. Blue flames wereshooting out of all four of the castle’s turrets, bringingballs of blue fire with them that exploded high in the sky, quitehorrendously. Wizard Howl seemed to be offended by May Day. Or maybehe was trying to join in, in his own fashion. Sophie was tooterrified to care. She would have gone home, except that she washalfway to Cesari’s by then. So she ran.

“What made me think I wanted life to be interesting?”she asked as she ran. “I’d be far too scared. It comes ofbeing the eldest of three.”

When she reached Market Square, it was worse, if possible. Most ofthe inns were in the Square. Crowds of young men swaggered beerily toand fro, trailing cloaks and long sleeves and stamping buckled bootsthey would never have dreamed of wearing on a working day, callingloud remarks and accosting girls. The girls strolled in fine pairs,ready to be accosted. It was perfectly normal for May Day, but Sophiewas scared of that too. And when a young man in a fantasticalblue-and-silver costume spotted Sophie and decided to accost her aswell, Sophie shrank into a shop doorway and tried to hide.

The young man looked at her in surprise. “It’s allright, you little gray mouse,” he said, laughing ratherpityingly. “I only want to buy you a drink. Don’t look soscared.”

The pitying look made Sophie utterly ashamed. He was such adashing specimen too, with a bony, sophisticated face—really quiteold, well into his twenties— and elaborate blonde hair. His sleevestrailed longer than any in the Square, all scalloped edges and silverinsets. “Oh, no thank you, if you please, sir,” Sophiestammered. “I— I’m on my way to see my sister.”

“Then by all means do so,” laughed this advanced youngman. “Who am I to keep a pretty lady from her sister? Would youlike me to go with you, since you seem so scared?”

He meant it kindly, which made Sophie more ashamed than ever.“No. No thank you, sir!” she gasped and fled away pasthim. He wore perfume too. The smell of hyacinths followed her as sheran. What a courtly person! Sophie thought, as she pushed her waybetween the little tables outside Cesari’s.

The tables were packed. Inside was packed and as noisy as theSquare. Sophie located Lettie among the line of assistants at thecounter because of the group of evident farmer’ sons leaningtheir elbows on it to shout remarks to her. Lettie, prettier thanever and perhaps a little thinner, was putting cakes into bags asfast as she could go, giving each bag a deft little twist and lookingback under her own elbow with a smile and an answer for each bag shetwisted. There was a great deal of laughter. Sophie had to fight herway through to the counter.

Lettie saw her. She looked shaken for a moment. Then her eyes andher smile widened and she shouted, “Sophie!”

“Can I talk to you?” Sophie yelled.“Somewhere,” she shouted, a little helplessly, as a largewell-dressed elbow jostled her back from the counter.

“Just a moment!” Lettie screamed back. She turned tothe girl next to her and whispered. The girl nodded, grinned, andcame to take Lettie’s place.

“You’ll have to have me instead,” she said tothe crowd. “Who’s next?”

“But I want to talk to you, Lettie!” one of thefarmers’ sons yelled.

“Talk to Carrie,” Lettie said. “I want to talkto my sister.” Nobody really seemed to mind. They jostledSophie along to the end of the counter where Lettie held up a flapand beckoned, and told her not to keep Lettie all day. When Sophiehad edged through the flap, Lettie seized her wrist and dragged herinto the back of the shop, to a room surrounded by rack upon woodenrack, each one filled with rows of cakes. Lettie pulled forward twostools. “Sit down,” she said. She looked in the nearestrack, in an absent-minded way, and handed Sophie a cream cake out ofit. “You may need this,” she said.

Sophie sank onto the stool, breathing the rich smell of cake andfeeling a little tearful. “Oh, Lettie!” she said.“I am so glad to see you!”

“Yes, and I’m glad you’re sitting down,”said Lettie. “You see, I’m not Lettie, I’mMartha.”

What?” Sophie stared at the girl on thestool opposite her. She looked just like Lettie. She was wearingLettie’s second-best blue dress, a wonderful blue that suitedher perfectly. She had Lettie’s dark hair and blue eyes.

“I am Martha,” said her sister. “Who did youcatch cutting up Lettie’s silk drawers? I never toldLettie that. Did you?”

“No,” said Sophie, quite stunned. She could see it wasMartha now. There was Martha’s tilt to Lettie’s head, andMartha’s way of clasping her hands round her knees with herthumbs twiddling. “Why?”

“I’ve been dreading you coming to see me,”Martha said, “because I knew I’d have to tell you.It’s a relief now I have. Promise you won’t tell anyone.I know you won’t tell if you promise. You’re sohonorable.”

“I promise,” Sophie said. “But why?How?”

“Lettie and I arranged it,” Martha said, twiddling herthumbs, “because Lettie wanted to learn witchcraft and Ididn’t. Lettie’s got brains, and she wants a future whereshe can use them—only try telling that to Mother! Mother’s toojealous of Lettie even to admit she has brains!”

Sophie could not believe Fanny was like that, but she let it pass.“But what about you?”

“Eat your cake,” said Martha. “It’s good.Oh, yes, I can be clever too. It only took me two weeks at Mrs.Fairfax’s to find the spell we’re using. I got up atnight and read her books secretly, and it was easy really. Then Iasked if I could visit my family and Mrs. Fairfax said yes.She’s a dear. She thought I was homesick. So I took the spelland came here, and Lettie went back to Mrs. Fairfax pretending to beme. The difficult part was the first week, when I didn’t knowall the things I was supposed to know. It was awful. But I discoveredthat people like me—they do, you know, if you like them—and then it was all right. And Mrs. Fairfax hasn’tkicked Lettie out, so I suppose she managed too.”