Now, now, now, you must know Irish traditions are not the sort of thing to be trifled with. We Irish folk take our superstitions seriously.

No, but that was a dreadful cruel trick to play on you! And I should like to find that woman and give her a piece of my mind for it. As for this Mr. Bixby - I hold out hope that by the time you receive this letter in return you will have been freed of that Utter Hell, but if not - I am more than willing to come by and chop off his hand if it helps. I needn't use magic, if magic has failed you thus far.

I am sure that would be enough to stem the rumours. Not that you should pay any mind to the rumours at all! It sounds like pure nonsense, and far too outlandish for people in society to believe it! (...Although I suppose society sorts are not the pinnacle of our race, and so perhaps may lack the brains to dismiss it.) But you are quite right about Mr. Devine, of that I am sure! His family and friends must have the common sense between them not to trust such trash, and he is not like to believe whispers of scandal from anyone else. The best person to address these sorts of rumours must be you, yourself... but if you can avoid doing so at all, so much the better. Besides, I am induced to think this will blow over, for isn't Witch Weekly bursting with new scandal every week?

You must be calm about this, O. Remember how sickeningly happy you have been and how awfully endeared Mr. Devine is to you - the worst outcome of this should merely be that the wedding must be postponed, and certainly nothing more severe. I am almost convinced the man would marry you even with Mr. Bixby attached to you, so you mustn't fret. (I rather hope you weren't hoping to weave handfasting into your ceremony, because, well...)

I reiterate again that I half-expect the ordeal to be quite over by the time you receive this, but if it is not, you must let me know if there is anything that I can do for you, for I shall do it at once! I can visit you at home, if you like - forgive me for not offering to hold your hand through it, for I fear that is in bad taste. I wasn't joking about hacking off his, though.

Be assured that I am

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