To Catch a Witch

by Sharon Booth

  'Why is he giving you presents?' he asked. 'Are you and he—?'

  'No! Goodness, no. No way. He's just a friend. Not even that, really. A friend of Benedict's. And Star knows him a bit, too. But that's all. Heavens, I barely know him.'

  He frowned. 'I don't think he should give you gifts unless his intentions towards you are honourable.'

  'Intentions towards me?' I burst out laughing. 'I've told you before, he doesn't have any intentions towards me! He's a nice man, that's all.'

  'I'm glad to hear it,' he said.

  My heart fluttered. 'Are you? Why?'

  'Well,' he said, sounding almost shy, 'why do you think?'

  I gazed at him longingly. 'I don't know,' I managed. 'Why don't you tell me?'

  Blaise stared at me for a few endless moments. Then he leaned over and kissed me gently on the cheek.

  'Gosh,' I said, feeling dizzy with the thrill of it all. 'Thank you.'

  He grinned. 'Thank you? An unusual response.'

  'Sorry,' I said breathlessly. 'I just wasn't expecting it.'

  'But you're not offended?'

  'Offended? Oh, golly, no way. Not at all.'

  He gave me the most ravishing smile and put his arms around me, pulling me close. 'Perhaps you won't object to this either.'

  I just about managed a little squeak of excitement before his lips crushed mine, sending ripples of pure, unadulterated lust through my entire body. I barely noticed as the Jane Austen box set escaped my grasp and landed with a thud on the ground.

  Chapter Eighteen

  Blaise and I were a couple. I could hardly believe it myself, but he wasted no time in making it perfectly obvious to my entire family. Considering he'd been so slow at coming forwards that he'd practically gone backwards, it was quite a turnaround. Over the course of the following week, he made it clear to my parents and siblings that he and I were made for each other, that he had every intention of taking good care of me, and that he would always behave honourably towards me.

  'Not too honourably, I hope,' Star said, grinning at me as we pulled up outside Castle Lodge. She'd given me a lift home, since it was pouring down with rain, and her one topic of conversation on the entire journey had been my new romance.

  'Don't say that,' I said. 'He's a gentleman.'

  'But you don't want him to be a gentleman in every department,' she said knowingly. 'I mean, surely he's done more than kiss you?'

  'Star!'

  'What? Oh, for goodness' sake. It's the twenty-first century and you're nearly twenty-eight. What the hell are you waiting for?'

  'He hasn't — I mean, we haven't discussed ...'

  'So it's jolly well time you did.' She gave me a sympathetic look and her voice softened. 'Don't take this the wrong way, and do correct me if I'm wrong, but — you haven't ...' Her voice trailed off, and she shook her head. 'Forget it.'

  'I know what you were going to say,' I mumbled, 'and no, I haven't.'

  'I knew it!' Her head whipped round, and she stared at me in amazement. 'I can't believe it! On the other hand, yes, I can. I've never seen you with any man, ever, so why should I be surprised? Golly.' She leaned back in her seat and puffed out her cheeks. 'You've got an awful lot of catching up to do.'

  'I'm scared actually,' I admitted.

  Star reached for my hand. 'Why? No need to be scared. I quite envy you. You'll have such fun finding out what you've been missing. And with Blaise, too! Your hero. You know, I always thought you were ridiculous, saving yourself for some perfect man you'd probably never meet, but it seems now you were right. On some level, you knew you were waiting for the one. It's incredible how it's all turned out, isn't it? Blaise has been your hero for so long, and now your first time will be with him, of all people! What are the odds?'

  I couldn't deny it was a fantastic turn of events. She was right, too. Somewhere, deep inside me, I'd known I had to save myself for that one special man. It had always been very clear to me there would only ever be one, and I'd always feared I'd be alone and unloved forever, because never in my wildest dreams had I imagined Blaise St Clair and I would ever meet, and I couldn't even contemplate the possibility that anyone else might be the one. Yet the universe had conspired to bring us together. We were destined for each other. I'd been right to save myself, and now the time had come, and I could finally give myself to him.

  'Give yourself to him?' Star burst out laughing when I tentatively voiced my thoughts to her. 'Oh, Celeste darling, you're priceless. No one else could think or talk like you. However,' she added, suddenly serious, 'I think you and I ought to have a little talk about the birds and the bees.'

  'I know all about that,' I said indignantly. 'Don't treat me like an idiot.'

  'I'm not,' she said, 'really I'm not. It's just, I don't want your first time to be a disappointment. You've waited so long for this, and I'd hate for you to just lie there and think of England while your seventeenth century brute has his wicked way with you.'

  'He's not a brute!'

  'I know, I know. It was a figure of speech. I worry, though, that your expectations of your first night together will be different to his, and I'd like to give you a heads up.'

  'Oh, Star, please don't,' I begged. 'It's too embarrassing. Besides, I'm sure it will all come naturally when the time's right.'

  'When the time's right? You mean, it isn't right now?'

  'Well, no,' I said. 'At least, he hasn't said anything. I'll wait for him to give me the signal.'

  'Lord, Celeste, you're not going on a smuggling mission. Give you the signal! Just tell him what you want and go for it, that's my advice.'

  'You and I are very different people,' I reminded her.

  'Ain't that the truth!' She rolled her eyes. 'Oh very well, I'll leave it up to you. I'm sure you'll find your way.'

  'Are you coming in to say hello to them all?' I asked her, glad to change the subject.

  'No, not tonight.' She gave me a mischievous smile. 'We've got company coming, actually.'

  'Oh?'

  'Benedict's invited Hector round for dinner, and I have some traditional cooking to do.'

  'Oh? That will be nice. He's a good man,' I said.

  'Yes, he is. Far too good to be left sitting on the shelf. I can't imagine why he's still single. I mean, he's gorgeous, isn't he? It makes no sense. Benedict says, as far as he knows, Hector's never had a serious girlfriend. Isn't that ridiculous?'

  'Ridiculous,' I agreed, wondering if she'd already forgotten our conversation.

  'Anyway, we intend to change all that. Benedict's also invited one of his work colleagues round for dinner. She's a history teacher. Since Hector's so keen on history, we're hoping they'll hit it off. It would be lovely to get him fixed up at last.'

  'Fixed up? He's not a dilapidated building,' I snapped.

  Her eyes widened. 'All right, all right. I wasn't saying he was! Goodness, you're edgy tonight.'

  'Sorry,' I said. 'I think I'm nervous about — well, you know.'

  She smiled. 'Don't be. It will all work out beautifully. I'll see you tomorrow.'

  'Night, Star. Thanks for the lift.'

  'No worries. I'll pick you up tomorrow morning if it's raining again.'

  I climbed out of the car and hurried down the drive into Castle Lodge. I'd barely hung up my coat when Blaise appeared. He pulled me to him and kissed me passionately.

  'Wow!' I gasped. 'What a welcome home.'

  'I've missed you,' he said. 'The days are too long without you.'

  I shook my head, marvelling at how much he'd changed. Not long ago he'd refused to hold my hand in public, even as friends. Now he kissed me and hugged me at every opportunity and didn't seem to care who saw him do it. Not that I was complaining, but it was a bit puzzling.

  'You two at it again?' Castor tutted. 'It's sickening to see. At least wait until I've had me dinner.'

  Blaise laughed. 'She's a wonderful woman, Castor. Can you blame me for wanting to show her how much I care?'

  'I know how wo
nderful she is,' Castor grumbled. 'Don't need you shoving it down me throat every five minutes.'

  'He's not very romantic, is he?' Blaise whispered.

  'Not really,' I whispered back. 'Although he's had his moments. He and his late wife had a very happy marriage. I expect he must have been romantic towards her at some point.'

  'I can't imagine it,' he admitted.

  I grinned. 'Me neither, and I don't want to. Come on, let's sort out dinner.'

  I tried very hard to dismiss the sadness that Spirit hadn't greeted me at the door as she used to. Hard enough she no longer came to work with me, but now she wasn't even saying hello or goodbye to me. It was as if she were distancing herself from me deliberately, and I didn't understand why.

  Blaise remained in a very good mood as he tucked into spaghetti and meatballs and chatted amiably to Sirius about the castle and forthcoming events that were planned there. I noticed Sirius had a sparkle in his eye, too, and my own good humour seeped away from me as I considered my own worries.

  Sirius had fallen for Trinity. He hadn't said as much, but he couldn't hide it. He was spending more and more time at Sky's and no one was under any illusion he'd suddenly developed an overwhelming interest in Jethro's book. The problem was, I'd had a horrible thought about her, and the more I considered it, the surer I was I was right.

  It had hit me when Sirius had been defending her love for all things olde worlde. As he pointed out where she'd come from, our little town must seem positively ancient, it had dawned on me that Trinity came from America, and that America was the new world.

  Almost simultaneously, I recalled the words of the prophecy:

  'From new to old the white bird flies'.

  Aveta, Father and I had all assumed it meant someone planned to go back in time and meddle with events, putting us all in jeopardy. But what if the white bird was a plane? Hadn't Mother Clipson once referred to huge birds, which carried people in their bellies, in another prophecy? And rather than "new to old" meaning the present day to the past, maybe she'd meant from America — the new world — to the old country, England. If I was right, and that's what Mother Clipson's meaning was, Trinity was the danger. She was the one whose arrival would cause storms to rage and thunder to roar. I dreaded to think how.

  But Sirius was so happy for the first time in years. What if I was wrong about her? What if Aveta's suggestion had been the right one? I could jeopardise his happiness for nothing.

  I ravelled spaghetti onto my fork, then unravelled it again, deep in thought. There was another problem, of course. Blaise. He and I were together at last, as I'd always dreamed. But there was a shadow over our happiness — one he didn't even know existed. Jennet. And when he remembered her, how would he feel about me? Would guilt get the better of him, causing him to push me away? Or would his heart be so broken with the grief of losing her he would lose all interest in me? Until I knew for sure, I couldn't fully relax.

  'Aren't you hungry, darling?'

  Mother's voice cut through my thoughts and I blinked and sat up straight. 'Sorry, yes. Yes, it's delicious. I was just daydreaming.'

  She smiled understandingly, and I realised she thought I was having romantic thoughts about Blaise. I blushed, wishing I could be honest with her.

  'Any news on the house hunt?' Sirius asked her.

  Mother tutted. 'They've seen around half a dozen houses now and your father's found something disagreeable about every single one of them. I've advised Aurora to put in an offer for her favourite and tell Raiden to lump it.'

  'I should blooming well hope so,' Castor said. 'They need a proper home and the sooner the better. If they must come back to Castle Clair, that is. Which,' he added gloomily, 'I suppose is inevitable.'

  'I rather think it is,' Mother said, her eyes twinkling with amusement at Castor's obvious disapproval. 'It will be good for the children to have their father so close again, and especially good for Aither to grow up with his family around him.'

  'And good for Aurora, too,' I pointed out. 'Her own family hardly bothers with her. I know Elvira pops to see her when she can, though Zephyr and Easton visit a little, and as for Titania, the least said the better. Here she'll have all of us, and Benedict. They are step-brother and sister, aren't they?'

  'Quite. I suspect Aurora will put her foot down any day now. She'll only take so much nonsense from your father, thank goodness.'

  'I should think so, too,' Castor said. 'No use shilly shallying around folk. Too many people with no nerve, that's the trouble these days. Face up to things, that's the way.' He sighed heavily. 'Leastways, it should be.'

  He was right, I thought with a sudden lurch of nerves. I had to face up to things, too. And the first thing I had to tackle was this ongoing uncertainty about Blaise's feelings for Jennet. The only way to get over it was to go through it. I had to know if Blaise would still want me once he remembered her. And there was only one way to do that. Tomorrow, I decided, I would take him to the museum to show him her portrait. One way or the other, I had to know what I was dealing with.

  ****

  'Are you sure about this?' Blaise drew to a halt outside the museum and grasped my hand firmly.

  'Shouldn't that be me asking you?' I said lightly, though inside I was a mass of horrible gut-wrenching nerves. 'These are your memories. Your life. And it's your decision whether you want to go through with it.'

  'I'm not sure why you want to reveal things to me now,' he said uncertainly. 'All this time you've told me I have to remember for myself, so why suddenly am I being shown around the museum to jog my memory?'

  I looked into his dark eyes and felt a stab of fear these would be the last moments we would have together as a couple. In a few minutes, he would enter the museum and see the remnants of his life; see the magical tools that were reputed to have belonged to him and to his family; see the portrait of his lost love, Jennet. 'Because,' I said heavily, 'we can't move forward unless you know the truth about your past.'

  'You think it's all in there?' he asked, nodding toward the museum door. 'You think I'll walk in and remember what happened that night?'

  'It's not about that night,' I said desperately.

  'Then what? What is it you want me to remember?' He sounded anguished and I couldn't blame him.

  I cupped his face with my hands. 'If we're to have any future together,' I said, 'you need to know what — who — you've left behind in the past. This is something I should have told you a long time ago, and I'm sorry because it will hurt. But you need to face it and deal with it. And I'll be there with you every step of the way.'

  'You're worrying me now,' he said.

  'Don't be afraid,' I murmured.

  He straightened immediately. 'I'm not afraid! I'm merely puzzled and naturally apprehensive about what's in there.'

  'Come on,' I said. 'Let's find out.'

  The museum had never looked so unwelcoming to me. Usually, I loved this place, but this Sunday morning it was cold and as bleak as the weather outside. I led Blaise through the reception, aware that he was looking around him in amazement at the posters and information on the walls, then into the first room, which was a general history of magic through the ages. Blaise barely had time to register what was on display before I pulled him to a halt outside the door that led to the second room.

  'In here,' I said, my voice trembling, 'is where we keep all the information we have on Castle Clair. On the legend. On you.'

  'Me?' His eyes widened. 'There's a whole room in here about me?'

  'About you and your immediate family, yes.' I tried to smile. 'Told you your legend was a big deal around here.'

  He took a deep breath. 'Come on. Time to face up to the past.'

  I gripped his hand and pushed open the door, leading Blaise into a room that was rather gloomy, and full to the rafters with details of his life.

  I switched on the lights so he could see better — not wanting to open the shutters — and gave him an encouraging smile.

  'I'll leave
you to look around on your own,' I said. 'I don't want to interfere with any thoughts or memories that may occur. I'll be right here if you need me.'

  He nodded. 'Thank you.'

  I leaned against the wall and tried to breathe deeply as he wandered around, stopping to look at each display cabinet and perusing every information board with obvious interest. I waited anxiously, expecting him to comment on the artefacts filling the room, but he didn't seem to find anything that meant much to him. Over on the far wall, the portraits of himself, Jennet and Bevil hung, waiting for him to notice them. It amazed me he hadn't seen them straight away. They were just about all I could see, to be honest, but I suppose that was inevitable, given my anxiety about them. I'd expected his gaze to go directly to them.

  He'd stopped and was staring in clear fascination at an information board near to the portraits. I watched as he leaned closer, taking in every word. I saw him step back and turn to face me and I knew, by the look on his face, that something had come back to him.

  'What is it?' I whispered.

  'Mother Clipson!' he said.

  I pushed away from the wall, and my heart thumped. 'You remember her?'

  'Of course! She was my mother's midwife. Did you know she delivered both me and my brother?' He sighed. 'She was out of town, visiting a relative in Somerset, when my sister was born. Perhaps, if she'd been there, she could have saved my sister and my mother.'

  'I'm so sorry,' I said.

  'How could I have forgotten Mother Clipson?' He shook his head. 'She was a big part of our lives; always there for us. She lived with us, you know. My father had great respect for her and protected her from some of the more — shall we say — wary people of the town.'

  'He did?'

  'She was a healer,' he explained. 'She cured many people in the castle. We were all very grateful to her. After the war started, and Father sent away Mother and us boys to live with an aunt, Mary came with us to care for us. When we moved into Castle Lodge, she had a home there with us, too.'