Chapter 9
Pulling up to what had been the back entrance of an old hunting lodge, where rough brown stone stood in sharp contrast to the creamy stuccoed front, he climbed out of his Jaguar and lifted his bags from the trunk.
Deb says that the inspiration for Hamish’s hunting lodge is Chatelherault, in Hamilton, Scotland. The estate is described as a “folly
,” which is the architectural term for an building constructed primarily for decoration. Once upon a time, people had a penchant for throwing up fake temples and such on their properties – they built towers and palaces, pyramids and obelisks. I am particularly fond of the Swallow’s Nest folly in the Ukraine.
Personally, I adore that every character in the AST has a special scent. Hamish’s particular scent – lavender and peppermint – is one I feel like I can imagine without much effort. In herbalist lore, mint is apparently associated with money and healing. Lavender is for protection, longevity, and peace. Mint also has a mythology, which I didn’t know before today – it’s associated with Minthe, a wood nymph loved by Hades. Out of jealousy, Persephone changes Minthe into a crawling plant. Hades remembers Minthe by making the plant smell sweet when crushed underfoot. Charming? Not especially. The name for lavender may come from the Latin lavare, meaning “to
wash,” but it could also come from livere, which means “blueish.”
In this chapter, we learn that Hamish suspects that Matthew is mating. Wolves mate for life, but only the alphas of the pack mate – apparently, this keeps population numbers down.
Hamish suggests that the manuscript might contain the secret of the philosopher’s stone, sought by alchemists for the ability to transform base metals into gold and purify the human spirit. The Atlas Obscura has a great article on the philosopher’s stone and the man who claimed to have successfully created the stone, Nicholas Flamel. Sound familiar? That’s because he’s a minor character in Harry Potter.
If you’d care to try your hand at Wild Mushroom Soup with Sherry, the dish that Jordan serves Matthew and Hamish, you can find a recipe on Sur le Table. If you prefer peanut butter and banana sandwiches, I can help with that, too.
You can find the Daemons Discuss ep on Chapter 9 here, and the All Souls Podcast ep here. Deb’s post about Hamish reveals that he was a surprise for her – and we’re very lucky to have him! We talk about Chapter 9 in our third episode, Lipstick on a Bat.
We’ll talk about Chapter 10 – which occurs simultaneously – tomorrow, on 27 September. See you then!
Love,
Cait
Chamomile & Clove 