by Sharon Booth
'But Jennet—'
'Forget Jennet,' she snapped. 'He may never remember her! What's the point of hanging around, doing nothing, while you wait for his memory to return? What if it never returns? All this sacrifice and being noble will have been in vain, and in the meantime, he'll be hotfooting it back to the new world with Amy Adams there and then it's all over. God bless America.'
A dark shadow seemed to pass over me. 'What did you say?'
Sky laughed. 'Okay, but you've got to admit she looks a bit like Amy Adams, don't you think?'
'Not that,' I said uncertainly. 'Something else.'
She gave me an odd look. 'I don't know. I was just saying you shouldn't be noble because Blaise might never remember Jennet, that's all. Stop trying to change the subject.'
'What do you know about Trinity?' I asked, feeling something was nagging away at me but not sure what it was.
'Not much. Like I told you, she works for Jethro's publisher and she's over in Yorkshire tracing her family tree and helping him with the book while she's here. Why?'
'And there's nothing — unusual — about her?'
'Unusual? In what way? Not unless you count how she behaved when she got off the train,' she said, rolling her eyes. 'She hugged me as if she'd known me all her life. It was quite disconcerting. I reckon that might be your one weapon in the fight for Blaise, you know. He's not one for public displays of affection, is he? If we can get Trinity to keep on being — well — Trinity, we may win the day yet.'
'I wish you'd take me seriously,' I said.
Sky's smile dropped. 'You mean it, don't you? Lord, she's not another witch, is she? You and Star are so much better at sensing these things than I am. I'm still getting the hang of it.'
'She's not a witch,' I reassured her. 'I'd have known if she was.'
'So what's wrong?'
I shook my head. 'I don't know. I'm being stupid. Forget I said anything.'
She nudged me, her smile firmly back in place. 'See? Jealousy. Your radar's working, that's all. You don't want another woman that good looking anywhere near your precious Blaise.' She gave me an understanding look. 'Truthfully, I can't blame you. I'm not awfully thrilled she'll be sleeping under our roof. Jethro seems far too struck with her.'
'Under your roof?' I frowned. 'I thought she had a hotel booked?'
'She thought so, too,' Sky said. 'But when we got there, the booking hadn't gone through at all, or there'd been some sort of mix-up or something. Anyway, she had nowhere to go so of course, we offered. It's not as if we haven't got lots of spare bedrooms, is it?'
'And she couldn't get another hotel?'
'It wouldn't be very polite of us to suggest that would it?' Sky looked pensive for a moment, stroking Belle's ears thoughtfully, then she relaxed. 'I've just remembered, Belle took to her straight away. She even sat on her lap for a while, so there can't be anything dodgy about her, can there? Belle would have known, wouldn't she?'
'Yes,' I agreed. 'I'm sure she would.'
And she would, I was sure of it. One hundred percent. Well, maybe ninety ...
Sky jumped suddenly as Belle shot off her lap and leapt away from the sofa. 'What the — oh, look! We have a visitor!' she squealed, nodding at the window behind me.
I turned around to see what she was looking at. Belle sat on the windowsill, staring intently at a solitary raven who was sitting on the sill outside, staring in at me. She took no notice of the little black cat but, as I watched, she tilted her head slightly as if studying my reaction. I felt goosebumps break out on my arms and I couldn't hold back the shiver that rippled through me.
'It's not Bran or Belasko, is it? I think he looks different,' Sky said.
'She's a female,' I whispered. 'Definitely not one of ours.'
The raven flapped her wings, then flew away.
'How odd,' Sky said. 'I wonder if she's one of the castle ravens?'
She'd certainly started frequenting the castle, I thought. I was no expert on ravens, but I knew beyond doubt this was the same raven who'd sat watching me on the bench that day, and who'd been with Bran and Belasko this morning. Who was she? And why was she so interested in me suddenly? Was she watching me on purpose? Had someone sent her? But who?
For the first time I could remember, I felt real fear. I shivered as the sensation of someone walking over my grave made my skin erupt in goosebumps. If the raven had something to do with the prophecy, then it was definitely unfolding before our eyes. What exactly were we heading toward?
Chapter Fourteen
Sirius seemed a little more cheerful the next day. It was a surprise to find him sitting at the breakfast table, tucking into scrambled eggs and fresh orange juice, and chatting happily away to Blaise.
'What's happened to him?' I whispered to Castor, who was busy frying bacon for the non-vegetarian members of the household. 'He seems almost like his old self.'
'Planning the season at the castle,' he whispered back. 'All lad needed was summat to do. Told you so.' He glanced away from the frying pan and his eyebrows shot up and nestled somewhere under his hairline. 'Blimey, what have you come as?'
'Don't be horrible,' I muttered.
Scarlet with embarrassment and feeling horribly self-conscious, I sat down at the table and poured some juice.
'Morning, darling.' Mother was buttering toast, but she paused and stared at me surprised. 'Oh.'
I gave her a pleading look, and she resumed what she'd been doing but kept sneaking peeks at me when she thought I wasn't looking.
I fought the urge to run back upstairs and grab a bundle of wipes. What had possessed me anyway? I never went to work with full makeup on. I rarely wore makeup, to be honest. And as for wearing a dress ... All right, it wasn't exactly daring, and I was wearing it over leggings with ankle boots rather than heels, but it was still a dress. I wished I'd stuck to my usual jeans and jumper as I listened to Sirius telling Blaise what would happen in the coming months and tried to ignore Castor smirking at me from the range.
'It usually starts with Easter,' Sirius explained. 'We have an Easter trail and an Easter egg hunt in the castle grounds. From the Easter holidays until the end of the summer holidays in September, we have a paid tour for visitors.'
'Does Blaise know what an Easter trail is?' Mother asked, pouring coffee.
'Oh, yes. I've seen it on the iPad,' Blaise assured her. 'I've been looking up modern traditions and customs. It's amazing how different things are in some ways, and yet the core remains the same.'
'I expect it is,' Mother said thoughtfully. 'At the heart of both Christmas and Easter is an eternal story. I don't expect you had chocolate eggs in all the shop windows back then though.'
Blaise gave her a wry smile. 'Hardly.' He turned to Sirius. 'You say you have a paid tour? What is there to tour? The castle grounds are open to the public already, and there doesn't seem to be much left to visit.'
'The ground floor and the first floor of the keep are still safe,' Sirius explained. 'We keep the gates locked normally, but for a small charge a guide will take them in there and explain what those rooms would have been like back in the castle's heyday. We also tell them about the history of the castle. It's popular because the views from up there are spectacular. Then we take them down to the dungeons. They're the best-preserved part of the castle and in excellent condition, considering.'
'The dungeons!' Blaise flashed a distracted smile at Castor, who was dishing out bacon. 'Thank you, Castor. I remember the dungeons. You say they're still in good condition?'
'They are,' Sirius said. 'We keep them sealed off over the winter, and they're only open during daylight hours, even in summer. We don't want any accidents, do we? They're thoroughly checked every evening to make sure there's no one left down there when we lock up.'
Blaise seemed to be only half listening.
'Are you okay?' I asked him.
He blinked and shook his head. 'Sorry. I was miles away.'
'Are you remembering something?'
&nb
sp; 'I'm not sure. I just had a strange feeling when Sirius mentioned the dungeons.' He picked up his fork. 'I don't know. Are the sallyports still open?'
Sirius looked at him in surprise. 'You remember those, too? One of them is. They blocked one off when they filled in the moat, not long after — not long after you left your time. The other is still accessible, though.'
'And is that open to the public?'
'It is, but only on certain days. We don't allow them through it alone, you see. Definitely guided tours only down there.'
'And who is the guide?'
Sirius shrugged. 'Castor's done it, I've done it. If not, one of the castle groundsmen will do it.'
'You have groundsmen?'
'Of course. We have to keep the estate neat and tidy and safe for visitors. We have several people who maintain the grass areas, the gardens and buildings. Lots of locals are passionate about the castle and are happy to volunteer to be tour guides.'
Blaise prodded at a grilled tomato. 'Is the sallyport complete?'
'Yes. The gate in the moat's locked at the moment, but obviously we open it up when the tours start. Are you okay, Blaise? You look peculiar.'
I had to agree with my brother. Blaise had gone very pale. He pushed his plate away and folded his arms.
'Blaise?' I said tentatively.
He smiled. 'I'm all right, don't worry. I don't know what it was. It felt as if a dark cloud had descended upon me for a moment, but it's passed now.'
I smiled back. 'If you're sure?'
'I am. Thank you, Celeste. You take such good care of me.'
Oh lord! That wasn't what I wanted him to think of me at all. There I was, all glammed up and trying my best to look gorgeous and womanly for him, and all he could say was I took good care of him! Now, if he'd said, "Thank you, Celeste, and can I say you look incredibly attractive today and I'm having trouble keeping a respectable distance between us", that would have been much better. But he didn't.
Instead, he turned to Sirius and said, 'Perhaps I could give you a hand at the castle? I'd like to make myself useful. I can't hang around here all day, doing nothing. I'd love to be back there. I'd enjoy showing people around and telling them about the place.'
Sirius grinned. 'Well, no one's got better knowledge of it than you, I daresay.'
'Actually,' Blaise confessed, 'I've learned more about its history since I've been here than I knew back in my time. I suppose we were too busy focusing on the problems of the current day to worry much about what had gone before. Since I've had access to the internet and the library, I've learned so much more about what came before me. It's fascinating. I think it's safe to say history is my favourite subject.' He laughed. 'Who'd have guessed that?'
Oh gosh, you're so sexy when you laugh. 'Great,' I said, pretending to be fascinated by the dish of scrambled eggs in the middle of the table. 'I'm sure Sirius would be glad of the help.'
'Absolutely,' Sirius said. 'That's settled. We can make start making plans after breakfast when Celeste's gone to work.'
He reached for some grilled mushrooms and added them to his plate, then smiled at me. I watched, paralysed with fear, as the smile froze on his face and his eyes widened. Evidently, he'd just noticed he was sitting opposite a Barbie doll. He frowned, glanced at Blaise, then back at me. I saw his mouth twitch and an annoying gleam appeared in his eyes. 'You're looking very — er — smart today, isn't she, Blaise?'
Blaise was concentrating hard on cutting up bacon. He gave me a quick look, nodded and carried on. Clearly, food was far more appealing. 'She is indeed,' he mumbled, then shoved half a rasher of bacon in his mouth, his eyes firmly fixed on his plate.
Sirius's twitch turned into a broad grin but, thank God, he didn't pursue the matter. 'By the way, Celeste,' he said, 'how did it go last night? With the editor woman, I mean. Was she bearable?'
I frowned, not sure what to say. Part of me wanted to tell him how unsettling I'd found the previous evening — what with my strange reaction to Trinity, and the raven's return. But I didn't want to cast a shadow over Blaise and Sirius when they both seemed much more cheerful and optimistic today and, besides, Blaise didn't know of Aveta's warning about the prophecy. I didn't want to draw his attention to it, and telling Sirius of my worries about the new raven on the scene would lead goodness knows where.
Sirius paused, the dish of mushrooms still in his hand. 'Something wrong?'
'What? Oh no, no!' I forced a laugh. 'She's just very American, as Sky pointed out the minute I arrived.'
Mother sighed. 'Oh, dear. She hasn't put her foot in it already, has she?'
'No. Trinity wasn't there when she said it. She was with Jethro in the living room. Then she was with Jethro in the study.' I smirked. 'I think that's half the problem. She's ever so pretty and Sky said Jethro quite perked up when she arrived.'
'Well, that's men for you,' Mother said, earning a chorus of disapproval from all three males present.
'So, she's pretty, eh?' Sirius said. He gave me a knowing look. 'Maybe we should all meet her, what do you say, Blaise?'
I glared at him. That was just plain mean! 'I thought you said it would be best if Blaise stayed away from her?'
Sirius grinned. 'And you said you thought I was being over-cautious. Have you changed your mind?'
I stared at him so intensely it's a wonder he didn't melt. 'Maybe,' I said at last. 'She's certainly a shrewd judge of character. As soon as I met her, I could tell she's no fool. She seemed to look right through me. I wouldn't risk putting Blaise anywhere near her for a good long while, if at all.'
Sirius's eyes sparkled with amusement. 'There you go. Seems you're banned from meeting the lovely Trinity, Blaise. What do you think to that?'
Blaise was still focused on his breakfast and didn't seem particularly bothered one way or the other. 'Whatever you all think is best,' he said with a slight shrug. 'I'm sure you know more about what editors do than I.'
I breathed a sigh of relief. Trinity was far too attractive for my liking, and what Sky had said about me being in the friend zone still rankled. In fact, I'd thought of nothing else all night, lying in bed trying to work out ways to make Blaise see me as a girlfriend. I still wrestled with the fear his memory of Jennet would return, but a part of me also accepted he might never remember her. If I held back just in case, I might miss out on what could be a wonderful relationship, all for nothing. And boy, wouldn't I curse myself if he met Trinity and fell in love with her? I'd never forgive myself. He needed to notice me as a woman, and not just his nanny — as Sky had so charmingly termed me. Unfortunately, all my efforts to look thoroughly gorgeous for him this morning seemed to have been pointless.
'How did the house hunting go last night?' Castor asked, sitting down at the table finally and reaching for the marmalade to spread on his six slices of toast.
'Oh!' Mother shook her head impatiently. 'Don't ask. Honestly, Raiden has ideas above his station. The house was perfectly charming: a sweet little three-bedroomed semi in town with a decent-sized garden that would have been perfect for Aither as he grows. But Raiden was clearly determined not to like it from the start. It was most annoying. Poor Aurora got quite upset. She wants a place of her own, and who can blame her? But unfortunately, her dear husband seems to think he's entitled to something the size of this place, and that won't happen.'
'They seemed perfectly happy in my old cottage in Ballydraiocht,' Sirius pointed out. 'And that only had two bedrooms.'
'Yes, but Raiden was in disgrace then. Now he's back in the fold, and in his own hometown, he seems to believe he's gone up in the world again. He's got unrealistic expectations. It's not as if he can use magic any more to get his own way.'
'Aurora could, though,' I said. 'She's still got her powers, thanks to getting pregnant with Aither.'
What a blessing that had been! Aurora had been determined to have her powers stripped last summer: partly to be on the same level as Father, and partly — or mostly — to annoy her own father. Luckily, Aveta
had realised Aither was on the way and the High Council had halted the ceremony. Since then, Aurora seemed to have changed her mind and was happy to remain a fully practising witch, much to our relief.
'She likes to do things the traditional way,' Mother explained. 'She wants to get a mortgage, and she's far more realistic than your father. She earns decent money as a translator, but a three-bed semi is much more in her financial league than Castle Lodge, for goodness' sake.'
Blaise frowned. 'Surely, it's for the husband to decide where they live?'
We all exchanged glances.
Sirius whistled. 'Brave man, Blaise,' he said, 'though slightly misguided.'
Mother tutted. 'Slightly?' She gave Blaise a stern look. 'These days marriages are equal partnerships. The days when a man could lay down the law and impose his will on his wife are long gone. If anything, Aurora should have the final say, given she's the one making the money.'
Blaise looked stunned. Sirius and I looked at each other and he obviously thought a change of subject was called for just as much as I did.
'Are they looking at any other houses?' he asked, earning a grateful smile from me.
'Yes.' Mother sighed. 'They want me to go with them to another viewing tonight. I said I would, although it's jolly hard to bite my tongue when Raiden criticises perfectly good rooms.'
'I'm out tonight,' Sirius announced.
It's difficult to say who among us looked the most shocked. 'Out? Where are you going?'
He raised an eyebrow. 'Is it so surprising?'
'Yes!' Mother couldn't disguise her delight. 'You've barely stepped outside the door except to go for those wretched long walks of yours. Wherever you're going, I'm delighted.'
'I'm going out with Castor,' he explained. 'Aren't I, Castor?'
Castor's cheeks were bulging with toast and marmalade. He gave Sirius a weird look, then nodded. 'Aye, that's right. He's coming with me,' he said.
Mother looked dubious. 'With you? Where to?'
'Don't say it like that,' Castor reproved her. 'It's nowt dodgy.'