“Now this stack,” Leola said, tapping one perfectly manicured finger against the cards.
Adelaide turned the card over as indicated. It was a building in flames. The imagery was horrific, with people jumping from the engulfed structure. “And this one?”
“The Tower represents where we are now. Upheaval, turmoil, danger… disaster.”
Adelaide’s heart sank. “Oh, god! We’re going to fail.”
“Not necessarily. The card is reversed, so the meaning is not the opposite, exactly but it is lessened. I think what this means is that it is still undecided. But the next card will tell us that for certain. Turn it over, my dear, and let us see what fate holds in store for us.”
Again, Adelaide turned the card over. She had no notion of what she was looking at. “And this one?”
“The Wheel of Fortune. It means that your fate, whatever it may be, is undecided at this time. It is hanging in the balance, but our path, the one we are on right now, is inevitable,” Leola said. “I told you it was a good plan. It’s also the only plan.”
CHAPTER TEN
Eldren had footmen carry the crates inside, deciding that it would appear less suspicious that way. As the last of them was carried inside and placed in the morning room, Adelaide and Madame Leola came strolling up the path from the beach. They were laughing, their heads close together in the way that female friends often did. It was easy, intimate, and appeared to be without any sort of the posturing or competitiveness so often found in male friendships. And yet, while she laughed and talked with her friend, it was clear to him in that moment that there was something false in her manner. The gaiety she displayed was forced. There was tension in her shoulders, her smile was a tad too bright, her laugh just a bit too loud.
Eldren descended the steps from the front door and walked toward them. As he reached them, he held out his hand to her and Adelaide immediately disengaged from Madame Leola and approached him, placing her hand in his. “Is everything all right?” He asked.
“It’s fine. I’m simply second guessing myself. But it isn’t the soundness of our plans that is the issue, but my own fears. We proceed.”
“You’re certain? It isn’t too late,” he offered.
“It is, actually. We’re in it now, and we cannot back down. I had a moment of doubt, but the plan is sound and we should keep to it,” Adelaide insisted. With a smile that was equal parts brave and heartbreaking, she said, “Now, let us go and get Dyllis and a couple of other maids and prepare the house for our holiday celebration.”
Eldren kissed her. It wasn’t passionate, but it was achingly tender. He loved her more than anything in this world. Certainly more than a pile of stones that had brought nothing but pain and misery to every person who’d had the misfortune to inhabit them.
“Let’s get inside,” he said, drawing back from her. “We’ve a great deal of work to do and not very much time to do it in.”
Entering the house side by side, Warren was waiting for them. The servants were all bustling about. Tromley had just informed everyone that they would have Christmas Eve off to attend services in the village and that a party would be held for them at the Assembly Rooms in the village afterward. The food and drink that has been intended to supply the wedding feast for Lord Mortimer and Madame Leola would instead be made available to them as the wedding had been postponed. It was perhaps the most excitement of a pleasant sort that any of them had enjoyed in a very long time.
It caught him by surprise, that sense that he had somehow not taken care of the people who care for him as he should have done. Paying them a generous wage was not enough. They needed joy, they needed moments of happiness and things to look forward to. Such optimism had not been found within Cysgod Lys in a very long time. What would become of all of them when the house was destroyed?
They would go to London with them, if they chose, he decided. And those who did not would be given generous severance and assistance in finding new positions. Warren would need a household, as well, one that had not been tainted by Frances’ presence and that was not manned by servants loyal to their former mistress.
“It will be fine,” Adelaide said, squeezing his hand. “They will be fine. Let us go inside and get things underway.”
“I was just thinking that I have not provided for our servants as I should have. That it takes more than a generous wage to make them happy. I’ve failed in that regard.”
“Then tomorrow will be a step in the right direction, and afterward, we will take more steps in the right direction.”
He nodded at that, grateful that she seemed to understand without his even having to say it aloud that he felt an obligation to them. Entering the house, Eldren did something he had not done for a very long time. He said a silent prayer—for their success, for the end of the evil at Cysgod Lys and for the beginning of a new life, free and without the taint of evil.
Entering the morning room, Adelaide found Dyllis waiting for her along with a couple of maids she did not know quite so well.
“Hello,” Adelaide said softly. “I’m so glad you’ve come to help. I’m very excited to see the house bedecked for Christmas. Have you ever decorated in such a manner before?”
One of the other maids spoke up, “Not since I’ve been here, your ladyship, but my mother worked here before me and she said it used to be lovely during the holidays.”
Adelaide smiled. She was telling them a lie, but it was necessary. “Well, we shall endeavor to match the gaiety and beauty of times past.”
“How would you like the decorations, my lady?” Dyllis asked.
Adelaide crossed to one of the crates and carefully lifted out the garland. “Place these on the mantels in every room, and festoon the doorways, as well. There are wreaths to place on the windows and doors.”
Dyllis stepped forward and accepted the garland from her, as she did, the greenery parted and revealed one of the sticks of dynamite. The maid looked up, her eyes wide with shock. “My lady?”
“It’s fine, Dyllis. Tomorrow will be a grand day for everyone, servants and family alike,” Adelaide said. “It will be a joyous occasion.”
The maid stared at her for a long moment and Adelaide prayed that she would understand the unspoken meaning in her gaze. Finally, Dyllis nodded. “Indeed, my lady. We appreciate the sacrifice you are all making in giving us the day off to attend services and hosting a feast for us in town. We will make certain the house is just as you require it before we leave.”
Adelaide sighed in relief. “Thank you, Dyllis. That means the world to me. Your loyal service to us will always be rewarded.”
It was a layered conversation, full of subtext and unspoken understanding. The maid nodded and Adelaide left them to see check in with the kitchen staff and make sure all of the food preparations for the following day had been seen to. It was the strangest thing to walk around in a house that would be lined with explosives in a manner of hours and to act as if everything was normal, as if it were any other day.
Her mind kept drifting back to the card reading that Leola had done for her. The Tower and the Wheel of Fortune were not unexpected. But it was the first card, The Empress, which plucked incessantly at her thoughts. She wanted all that it represented, craved it as nothing else in her life. To live and love with Eldren at her side, to give him children, to grow old with him—those were things she had never thought to have in her life. Love had been something she had assumed would happen for others, never for herself. And yet she did love him. She loves him so intently it robbed her of breath.
The risk will be worth it, she told herself. It will be worth it.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Eldren climbed the stairs, eager to seek the sanctuary of their chambers. It had been a long day. Needless to say, the idea of sleeping in a house lined with explosives was disquieting to say the last. But it was imperative they act as if nothing were different. They had to keep up appearances at least till the morning. As he traversed the corridor, he felt it again
, that same sense of not being alone. There was no one in the corridor, no one that he could see or hear or smell. And yet, he knew he was not alone.
His steps slowed until he paused there, the gas lamps flickering around him. Long shadows crept along the wall, twisting and writhing in a way that, while not unnatural, was nonetheless unnerving.
“What do you want?” he called out.
The response was a faint whisper, a movement of air along his skin. It raised chills in its wake. Still she did not show herself. Those air currents buffeted him, coming from a dozen directions, moving over him like water. It was a trick, something to rattle his nerves and make him careless.
What are you planning for me, dear Eldren?
The whispered question was so loud it sounded almost as if it was inside his own skull. Fear came on the heels of that thought. Was she inside his head? Could she know what it was that they were about?
“Leave me be, witch,” he said.
Tut, tut. That’s no way to speak to me. I’m your family after all… generations removed, of course.
“You are no family of mine. Family does not cause pain, agony and destruction with such ferocity!”
She laughed then. But they do! My father raped me and my mother despised me for it because she felt I had taken his affection from her!
“And is that why your murdered the entire village?”
No. I murdered them for the power it would bring. To appease the ancient gods we worshipped before the pope would deny us the power of magic and claim it only for his god.
“And the torment and misery you’ve caused since?”
I have no body to nourish and give me strength. I must nourish and replenish my soul by siphoning the energy of others. But your mystic told you that, did she not? What else did she tell you, Eldren?
“Leave me be!” He shouted. He needed her out his head. It was as if he could feel her probing his thoughts, digging inside his mind for the answers she sought.
Further down the corridor, a door opened and Madame Leola emerged. She was wearing a crimson dressing gown, her color of choice.
“Lord Montkeith, are you well?” She queried.
“I don’t suppose you have anything that can stop spirits from talking to you, do you?” He asked.
She remained silent but walked toward him. When she was only an arm’s length away, she reached up and released the clasp of a chain she wore about her neck. It was a large piece of agate set in silver. “This should help. Wear it under your clothes, next to your skin.”
He looked at the silver filigree setting. “It’s a bit delicate for my taste.”
“Only in form, my lord, not function. She speaks to you because she wants to invade your thoughts. You must not let her. Agate has many magical properties and the warding off of negative spirits is one of them.”
“Is she a spirit?”
Madame Leola cocked her head to one side. “In some senses, yes. In others she is more. So much more.”
Eldren closed his hand around the piece of jewelry. It felt cool, but more so, the strange frissons that had been traveling over his skin, the air currents and the whispers and even the chills that had resulted from them began to abate. Was it simply the power of suggestion?
Does it matter? He asked himself that question and found that it did not. He would take any peace he could get. “Thank you, Madame Leola.”
“Just Leola. Madame is a title I use professionally, but it isn’t necessary between friends,” she said with a smile.
He was struck then by the fact that she was lovely, but also that she was far older than he had initially believed her to be. “I wish you and Lord Mortimer—John—every happiness, Leola. And yes, we are friends. Given what we have endured together here, we could be nothing less.”
“Good night, Eldren,” she said softly and turned on her heel, retreating to her chamber. As her door opened once more, he heard a male voice emerging from inside. Their wedding might have been postponed but it seemed clear to him that they were not denying themselves the joys of the marriage bed. He didn’t feel any censure, only a bit of envy, and the desire to seek out Adelaide and the pleasures of their own bed.
Continuing down the hall to their chambers, undisturbed, Eldren entered the chambers and found, to his delight, that Adelaide was neck deep in a tub of water. Her hair was pinned atop her head in a loose chignon with soft tendrils curling against her neck and shoulders. The water barely covered her nipples, the upper swells of her breasts visible above the waterline. Dyllis looked up from her duties and immediately rose and bobbed a curtsy. She fled instantly.
As the door closed behind the maid, Adelaide smiled at him in the most beguiling manner. “You always send her running for the door! What if I needed her?”
“There is nothing you could require of her tonight that I would not do for you,” he replied.
“Can you dress my hair?” She asked.
“I can run my fingers through it. I can feel it wrapped around me as I kiss every inch of you. Isn’t that a more satisfying option for us both?”
She didn’t reply instantly. Her lips parted and her breath hitched. Finally, she offered, “It certainly has its own appeal.”
Eldren reached up and untied his neckcloth. Slowly, he freed the buttons of his waistcoat and then tugged his shirt free from his trousers. Doffing both garments, he was stripped to the waist and savoring the sensation of her eyes upon him. He unbuttoned his trousers and removed them, stripping each piece of clothing from his body until he was completely nude. Recalling the necklace from Madame Leola, he retrieved it from his pocket and then clasped it about his neck.
“It isn’t really your normal style,” Adelaide said, indicating the piece of jewelry.
“I’m a bit offended that I’m walking toward you completely naked and you’re looking at what I have about my neck,” he said with a wicked grin.
She shrugged. “I’ve seen everything else already. The necklace is new.”
He laughed then. “Bored with me already? I feel that’s rather unjust as I could look at your body every day, head to toe, and discover new ways to appreciate how beautiful it is.” As he spoke, he continued walking forward until he reached the edge of the tub. It was not overly large, but there was space enough for the both of them in it. Lifting one foot, he placed it in the water, finding it still steaming hot.
“You’re going to make a mess,” she said.
“I certainly hope so,” he replied. “Make room for me.”
Adelaide shifted her legs then, providing room for him to sink into the water with her. Lifting her feet, he placed them on his lap and began to gently caress the muscles of her lower legs. Kneading her soft, silken flesh, he watched her head roll back against the edge of the tub and a contented sigh escaped her.
“That feels incredible,” she said. “But whatever you have planned, it cannot be done in the tub. Not without sending water everywhere!”
“Under the circumstances, I think any potential damage to the floor is an acceptable risk,” he replied.
Her eyes popped open and she glanced toward the window and the intricately crafted wreath that was hanging there. Another one festooned the door. The garland would not be placed until the morning as it was too dangerous to have it so close to the fire. “I see your point,” she agreed.
Eldren lifted her foot again, pressing a kiss to the delicate bones at the inside of her ankle. “Come here,” he urged.
She withdrew her foot from his grasp and rose to her knees, parting them so that when she sank down, they flanked his thighs. The water in the tub sloshed, arcing up to the side but not spilling over. Adelaide glanced at it and then back at him. “How am I supposed to explain this to Dyllis?”
“Do not,” he said. “Your maid can’t even look at me without blushing as it stands. If we make a mess, we’ll clean it up ourselves!”
“If?”
“When,” he conceded. With that, he shifted slightly, lifting his own hips an
d joining their bodies. That she was aroused, eager for him already was a beautiful thing to him, perhaps the most joyous that he could ever recall.
“Have you given up then?” She asked.
“Given up on what?” He asked, flexing slightly. It was a gentle movement, a soft and slow rocking movement that let the pleasure build slowly.
“On the idea that we should avoid the possibility of children at all cost?”
He sighed. “You asked me to have faith. You cannot have faith without hope. And perhaps this is ours.”
She leaned against him, moving in unison with him, rocking in a slow easy rhythm so that the water sloshed back and forth but never spilled. She looked at it and smiled. “Maybe we won’t make a mess of things, after all.”
Leola sat before her dressing table and brushed her dark hair. There were a few strands of silver weaving their way through the mass. More and more all the time it seemed. Reaching up with one hand, she toyed with a cluster of them at her temple. She could have it dyed. There were ways, of course, but it rarely looked natural and always did damage.
“They are beautiful,” John said, coming to stand behind her and covering her hand with his. “Why do they worry you so?”
“I am not a young woman. Not anymore. I should be angry at you, you know? You wasted my best years,” she said, but the statement was softened with a smile and lacked any heat.
“Surely not your best,” he said. “You are a woman in your prime.”
She laughed scoffingly. “The prime of what? No. Not my prime. Not quite my middle years, I hope. But certainly there are more lines, more silver hairs and flesh not nearly as firm and supple as it once was.”
“You are as gorgeous now as the day I met you… and while I did waste a considerable amount of time, not so much that we are destined for a platonic dotage together,” he protested. “And I might point out, that you’ve wasted some time as well. Were it not for your unilateral decision to postpone our nuptials, we’d be married tomorrow and embarking on that life together a bit earlier. “
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