This witch got two ladies to visit her. One of them belonged to the
court, and her husband had been sent on a far and difficult embassy. The
other was a young widow whose husband had lately died, and who had since
lost her sight. Watho lodged them in different parts of her castle, and
they did not know of each other's existence.
The castle stood on the side of a hill sloping gently down into a narrow
valley, in which was a river, with a pebbly channel and a continual
song.
The garden went down to the bank of the river, inclosed by high walls,
which crossed the river, and there stopped. Each wall had a double row
of battlements, and between the rows was a narrow walk.
In the topmost story of the castle the Lady Aurora occupied a spacious
apartment of several large rooms looking southward. The windows
projected oriel-wise over the garden below, and there was a splendid
view from them both up and down and across the river. The opposite side
of the valley was steep, but not very high. Far away snow peaks were
visible. These rooms Aurora seldom left, but their airy spaces, the
brilliant landscape and sky, the plentiful sunlight, the musical
instruments, books, pictures, curiosities, with the company of Watho,
who made herself charming, precluded all dullness. She had venison and
feathered game to eat, milk and pale sunny sparkling wine to drink.
She had hair of the yellow gold, waved and rippled; her skin was fair,
not white like Watho's, and her eyes were of the blue of the heavens
when bluest; her features were delicate but strong, her mouth large and
finely curved, and haunted with smiles.