A Discovery of Witches – 2.9

By: Ellie Yates

In London, 1951 Diana (Teresa Palmer) is still trying to make sense of The Book of Life. Struggling, she wraps it up in a cloth and places it under one of the floorboards in the bedroom. She tells Matthew (Matthew Goode) that perhaps they could build a life here with Jack (Joshua Pickering), but Matthew says that they may have been in this time for too long. Matthew takes Diana to visit Goody (Sheila Hancock) before going to see The Queen (Barbara Marten).

When Matthew drops Diana off at Goody’s, they are greeted by Susanna (Aisling Loftus) who tells them that Goody has been unwell. Goody seems to perk up; however, when she sees Diana. Goody tells Diana that due to recent treatment of the witches they are the only Weavers left. Goody looks at Matthew and tells him that the dark clouds that used to surround him have lifted and she’s also noticed something else – Diana is pregnant!

Matthew is struggling to believe that Diana is pregnant, but she tells him that she has felt different recently. She just hasn’t dared to think about it. Although they don’t want to leave Jack behind, Matthew says that they need to leave and go back to the future, as they are in unchartered territory. Diana says that they can’t go yet as she still needs to perfect her magic. Matthew says he will meet Queen Elizabeth and buy Diana the time she needs.

Diana continues her training with the other witches. Rhyming her way through the ten magical knots she still needs to master, Diana gets to number seven when a fire drake surges from her stomach and sits in the magical Rowan Tree, before returning to Diana’s stomach. It was very magical, honest. Goody tells Diana that her “familiar” will return when needed.

Whilst Diana is having magical fire birds burst out of her stomach, Matthew is accosted by Kit (Tom Hughes) in an alleyway. Kit asks him if he’s free of Diana, causing Matthew to lose his temper and pin Kit against the wall. Matthew tells him that as long as he and Diana are alive they’ll never be parted. After fending off Kit, Matthew meets with The Queen who is suffering from toothache. She’s not happy that Matthew hasn’t brought her Edward Kelley and she knows he was more interested in liberating a book. Matthew asks for forgiveness and says the book was lost on their way back from Bohemia, but Elizabeth orders Cecil (Adrian Rawlins) to oversee a search of Matthew’s house and retrieve the book. The Queen warns Matthew to stay at the court until Cecil returns. She warns there will be grave consequences if he’s lying and if he tries to flee she will “treat [Diana] as the witch she is.”

Matthew later decides to tell The Queen the truth. He bites his finger to draw blood and places it on The Queen’s tooth, curing her toothache! She says that his blood could make her immortal, but Matthew says they can’t alter time (probably a bit late for that though). Elizabeth asks Matthew what will happen when she’s gone and Matthew tells her. He reveals he knows because he’s from the future and Diana is a time-spinner. When Elizabeth believes him, Matthew says her true Shadow would have never disappointed her. He tells her that her realm is secure and people are still talking about her five hundred years later.

On her way back home Diana is stopped by Kit in the street who tells her that Matthew is in grave danger and that The Queen has him locked in a dungeon. Diana wants to find Gallowglass, but Kit tells her they don’t have time to search all the taverns. He rushes Diana onto a boat which takes her to a dungeon where Louisa (Elaine Cassidy) is waiting for her.

As Matthew’s house is searched, Cecil notices a creaky floorboard and lifts it up to find the book. He takes it, along with every other book from the house, but is stopped on his way out by Gallowglass (Steven Cree). Gallowglass tries to stop Cecil from leaving with the books, but after a nod from Pierre (Milo Twomey), he steps aside letting Cecil leave. When Matthew returns home he finds Francoise (Holly Aird) cleaning up the mess Cecil and his men have left and she tells him that they took every book in the house – except The Book of Life that Jack stole back whilst Gallowglass was distracting Cecil, yes kid! Matthew’s relief is short-lived; however, as Pierre and Gallowglass return home to tell him that they can’t find Diana.

Louisa has Diana chained to the walls of the dungeon, but Diana warns Louisa that if any harm comes to her that Matthew will despise her forever and Phillipe will seek vengeance. She reveals that her and Matthew are married, which shocks Louisa, and, therefore, she’s Phillipe’s blood-sworn daughter. Believing that Diana must have bewitched Phillipe, Louisa points a gun at Diana. However, instead she tells Kit to take the first shot. As Kit is about to, unwillingly, fire the gun at Diana she begins to recite one of his poems – “Hero and Leander.” She tells Kit that she can tell him his future, which Kit wants, but Louisa strikes him and fires the gun at Diana. Louisa misses! When she goes to shoot again, Diana summons her familiar. As the fire drake hovers over Louisa and Kit, Diana conjures up a circle of fire, trapping the pair. She tells them that they have no future and their death will not be gentle. Matthew turns up just in time with Gallowglass and Father Hubbard (Paul Rhys) who tells Diana he will deal with Louisa and Kit. As soon as Diana hears the calls of her familiar and the flames disappear, Matthew charges at Kit with a knife. Father Hubbard pulls Matthew away and Matthew tells him to take Kit and Louisa to Bedlam as he’ll deal with them there.

Later that evening Diana is concerned that Matthew is still at Bedlam and tells Gallowglass to take her there or she will go herself. Once there, they find Matthew in the middle of a blood-rage, covered in blood with Louisa and Kit bloodied and chained. When Louisa insults Diana, Matthew grabs her by the neck and holds her in the air. Louisa tries to provoke him into ripping her throat out, but Diana tells him to think about their baby. Matthew throws Louisa across the room before Diana approaches him and tells him to come home. Matthew leaves with Diana as Kit shouts after him.

The next morning Matthew admits that he struggles to fight his constant need to possess Diana. Diana suggests that Matthew drink her blood, but he says “to drink from one’s mate is to know that nothing is hidden” and he would know Diana’s secrets, but she wouldn’t know his. Diana says she can give him a witches kiss which would allow her to see into his soul. Matthew drinks Diana’s blood and she plants a witches kiss on his forehead, causing a magical thread to protrude from Matthew’s head to Diana’s heart. Matthew asks her what she found, to which she replies “You. Only you.”