His Wicked Charm

by Candace Camp

  In the miraculous way of small villages, it didn’t take long for word to spread. It seemed as if half the town was there in a flash. The doctor arrived first in his buggy and began to tend to Lilah’s cuts and bruises. The village constable came next, followed by the magistrate, his hair still standing on end from yanking off his nightcap. Lilah was glad that their sympathy kept them from questioning her but made them turn instead to Con, who was always more accomplished at making nonsense sound like truth.

  As they interrogated them, a rider came tearing up the lane, another horse some distance back, seemingly chasing him. Everyone turned to stare, mouths agape, as Niles Dearborn slid down from the horse and tore across the lawn, shrieking.

  His speech was almost unintelligible in his rage, his words liberally sprinkled with curses, but his intent was clear as he ran at Lilah, shaking his fist. Con quickly stepped in front of Lilah, extending his hands to stop the man.

  “Damn you!” Niles roared, starting around Con to reach Lilah. “You interfering, sanctimonious b—”

  Con shut him up with a right hook that sent the man staggering backward. Niles sat down on the ground with a thump, but scrambled back up, paying no attention to the blood trickling down from his nose. “You ruined everything! It’s gone! It’s all gone.”

  He lunged forward again, but Alex had come up behind him and grabbed him, holding him back. The constable, staring at the scene agape, finally recovered his wits enough to take Dearborn’s arm. Dearborn twisted, raving wildly, spittle flying.

  “Take this madman to jail,” the magistrate snapped, and two other men came up to help the constable drag him away.

  The rider of the second horse had arrived and now ran toward them. “Father!” Peter Dearborn stopped beside the constable, panting for breath. “Please, no, he—he doesn’t know what he’s doing. He’s gone mad. Please don’t lock him up. I’ll take him away. I swear. Please let him go.”

  Niles had now dissolved into tears, mumbling and cursing as he cried. The constable hesitated, turning to look questioningly at Alex and Con.

  “The devil I will,” Con began. “He belongs in jail. Many times over.” Lilah reached out and touched his arm.

  “No, Con, please...let it end.”

  Con grimaced and muttered a curse. “Oh, very well. Take him.” He scowled at Peter. “This is only because it would upset Lilah. But you better lock him up, however you can, or the next time he’ll end up in prison. I swear it.”

  “I will. I promise. Come, Father.” Peter led his father away, still muttering and weeping.

  After that, the magistrate could think of no more questions, and the four of them returned to the house. The servants had laid a midnight repast of cold meats and cheeses on the dining table, and after Lilah and Con went upstairs to wash up and change their clothes, they joined Alex and Sabrina at the table. As they ate, Con and Lilah went over what had happened in fuller, more coherent detail.

  “I still cannot believe Aunt Vesta tried to kill you!” Sabrina said when they had finished. “She was always peculiar but harmless.”

  “She was desperate after she learned we planned to shut the whole thing down. She convinced herself that she if she sacrificed me, she would gain the Goddess’s favor and be given all my power. I think over the years, feeling her powers diminish, she grew...obsessed with getting them back, until it reached the point that nothing else mattered. Not even her own life,” Lilah finished sadly.

  “I’m sorry.” Con squeezed Lilah’s hand. He hadn’t let go of her since they’d escaped, holding her hand even during the magistrate’s and doctor’s visits. “I shouldn’t have released her arm. I never guessed she would run back in like that.”

  “Don’t blame yourself. There was nothing you could have done. She wanted to stay there. She wanted to be with her ‘Goddess.’ Now she is. Forever. Maybe she’s happier.”

  “How did you know what to do?” Sabrina asked. “What the Sanctuary really wanted? Or how to return it to the Otherworld?”

  “I can’t explain it. I just felt it deep inside. It wasn’t even a conscious thought. I knew in my bones, it seemed, that it wanted its freedom, but I realized that we were wrong in thinking it would run wild and destroy everything. It just wanted to go back where it belonged.”

  “I think that when your grandfathers found the place and did their ceremony with blood, even though it was a lark to them, it actually called the entity and anchored it to that room,” Alex said. “They imprisoned it, though I don’t think that was their intention. They believed they were honoring something and being given blessings in return.”

  “It’s no wonder the gifts came with bad consequences,” Sabrina commented. “Do you think it’s really gone? The curse, too?”

  “I no longer feel the energy beneath the ground,” Lilah said. “Or inside me. Do you?”

  “No.”

  Lilah smiled. “I think we’re safe from it.”

  “At least there’s that.” Sabrina yawned, delicately covering it. “I’m sorry. I’m afraid it’s catching up with me.”

  “You should spend the night here,” Lilah urged. “There’s no need to go back home.”

  “Thank you.” Sabrina nodded. “It’ll take care of the chaperonage problem, too.”

  “The chaperonage problem?” Con echoed, suddenly wary.

  Sabrina nodded. “Yes. I mean, now that Lilah’s aunt’s not here. Of course, now Con can stay with us, so that would make it respectable.”

  Con stiffened. “Sabrina,” Alex said in a careful tone. “That can wait until tomorrow.”

  Sabrina glanced at the others and began to blush. “Oh. Yes.” She jumped up from the table. “Well, then...”

  “We’ll just be off to bed.” Alex joined her.

  Quickly Sabrina bent and kissed Lilah’s cheek, bidding her good-night. Lilah rose, too, but Con reached out. “Lilah. Wait. Please, stay. I need to talk to you.”

  * * *

  LILAH TURNED. SHE had turned to ice when Sabrina had pointed out that it would be scandalous for Con to stay here with her. It was over. Con would leave now. That was what he wanted to say to her. Somehow, she must gather her courage and accept it. She wouldn’t break down.

  “About what Sabrina said,” Con began slowly.

  Lilah sank onto her chair, her legs too shaky to hold her up.

  “I suppose she’s right,” Con went on, not looking at her. “It would be more respectable if I stayed there. Would you rather...”

  “If that is what you wish,” Lilah said through bloodless lips.

  “It’s not what I wish,” he shot back. “I don’t wish it at all.” He drew a breath. “But I don’t want to do anything that might harm your reputation. I know how much it means to you to remain above scandal. I don’t... Oh, the devil.”

  Con scowled and jammed his hands into his pockets. He began to pace about the room, his long legs eating up the space and making the room seem much smaller than it was. Lilah knew she should probably ease Con’s way and give him an open path to leave, but she couldn’t find it in her to be that gracious or selfless. If Con wanted to leave, let him thrash about for the words to say it.

  “Blast it!” He whirled and came back to her. “I didn’t mean to do this.”

  “No. Of course not. I don’t blame you, Con.” There. She could manage to be a little selfless. “I knew this day would come.”

  “You did?” He looked surprised. “You think I’m rash.” He scowled. “I’m not rash. I make judgments quickly. That doesn’t mean they’re wrong.”

  “Con, please, just say it. Get it over with.”

  “You’re right. I will.” He went down on one knee beside her chair, startling her. He took her hand, gazing intently into her eyes. “I wanted to show you. I was going to let you realize that I had changed. But I can’t wait that long. I can’t bear it.”
/>   “Changed? Bear what? What are you talking about?” Lilah was utterly at sea now.

  “I can’t bear the thought of losing you. I don’t want to be away from you, even for a day. I cannot wait to ask you. Please say you’ll marry me.”

  Lilah’s jaw dropped. This was so far removed from anything she had thought he was about to say that she could hardly take it in. “You what?”

  “You don’t have to make a decision right now. We can wait. I’ll...I’ll move over to Carmoor if you’d rather. But tell me you’ll think about it. Tell me you’ll give me a chance to prove it to you.”

  “Prove what? Con, I don’t understand.”

  “Prove that I can be...well, normal, I suppose. I won’t hurt your reputation. I won’t cause any scandal. I’ve been thinking. I’ve decided to give up the agency.”

  “What?” Lilah stared.

  “I’ll hand it over to Tom. He does a great deal of the work anyway. We’ll get a house in London, if you like, and, um, I’ll go to parties and...all that.”

  “Are you serious?” Lilah reached out, cupping his face with her hands. “You want to marry me?”

  “Yes.” He sighed. “Lilah, I’m not joking. I promise you. I’m not teasing. I’m quite capable of being serious. And steady.”

  “You would really do that for me?” Tears clogged her throat. “Why?”

  “Why?” Now it was Con who stared. “Because I love you, that’s why. I want to spend my life with you.”

  “Oh, Con!” Lilah leaned forward and kissed him gently. “I wouldn’t ask you to change.” She kissed him again. “I don’t want you to change. I love you exactly as you are.”

  “You do?”

  “Yes. I never disliked you. Indeed, I think it frightened me that I liked you so much. Against all logic, all expectations, you were the man I wanted. I tried to dislike you. I wanted to. But I could never succeed. I think... Maybe I was searching for a man to suit another woman, a woman I tried very hard to be. But that’s not the woman I am, and for me, you are the right man.”

  Con wrapped his hand around the nape of her neck and kissed her more thoroughly. Leaning his forehead against her, he whispered, “I was so scared. When Vesta slammed that door shut, I thought I had lost you forever. I knew if I didn’t have you, I had nothing.” He kissed her again, then sat back on his heel. “Then you’ll marry me?”

  Lilah smiled into his eyes, her thumb softly tracing his cheekbone. “I should say no. I fear madness must run in my family.”

  “Then you’ll fit right in. Welcome to the Mad Morelands.”

  “There’s just one condition,” Lilah told him.

  “What is that?” He stood up, pulling her up with him.

  “You should keep your agency. Make Tom your partner if you like. But I’d never ask you to give up your investigations.”

  “I’m not sure I want them anymore,” Con admitted. “They would take me away from you.”

  “Ah, but I intend to go with you.”

  Con laughed. “In that case, I shall most certainly keep it.”

  “Then, yes, I will marry you.”

  Con pulled her to him for another kiss. “Soon, yes? I can get a special license. I know that’s a bit scandalous, but I don’t want to wait.”

  “Neither do I. Get the special license, and till then...” She looped her arms around his neck. “I find I no longer care about scandal. I want you to stay here with me.”

  “Always. My beautiful Delilah.” He bent to kiss her.

  Lilah made no protest. On Con’s lips, she realized, her name was beautiful.

  EPILOGUE

  CON STOOD QUIETLY with Alex at the vestry door and looked out across the church. His family was all there, taking up several pews. His mother, regal as always, kept a monitory eye on Brigid and Athena. That impish pair, bracketed between the duchess and their mother, were for the moment frighteningly angelic. His father sat on the other side of the duchess, his hand linked with hers, his head lifted in seeming contemplation of the unidentifiable saint’s statue at the front of the church. Con suspected that the duke’s mind was actually somewhere in Greece.

  Uncle Bellard, on the other hand, was fully alert, looking all around the blocky and exceptionally plain church, which he had extolled yesterday as one of the rare untouched examples of pre-Norman religious architecture. His diminutive uncle had been happily occupied the past few days visiting ancient British sites in the area and going through the Barrow House library. He had started the painstaking restoration of the journal they had found in Sir Ambrose’s trunk. Con had the suspicion he might take up residence with them.

  Con’s siblings had come in force to celebrate his nuptials, filling up Barrow House with laughter, talk and children. It would be no surprise if they had several nieces and nephews begging to stay with them, as well. Barrow House was a perfect spot for playing hide-and-seek or acting out days of yore—and only two of them had gotten lost in the maze.

  Con glanced over at his twin beside him. Alex grinned. “Seems like we were doing this only yesterday.”

  “I could hardly let you get ahead of me.”

  As in everything, Con was racing into marriage. It was Lilah’s choice as well, and she had decreed the small wedding be in the quiet country church. Con turned his gaze to the other side of the narrow church, where Mrs. Summersley sat. Kyria’s twins and Olivia’s oldest daughter had decided to keep her company for reasons known only to them. Lilah’s aunt cast a wary eye at them now and again. Con was glad that love had won out over propriety in her aunt and uncle. Lilah needed what little family she had. Despite everything that had happened, she had mourned Aunt Vesta.

  In front of Alex and Con, the priest, pale with excitement and trepidation in the face of so many important visitors, poked the altar boy in the back, and they began their procession to the altar. Alex turned to Con. “Ready?”

  “Of course.” Excitement blossomed in Con’s chest as it did on the verge of a discovery.

  “You aren’t the slightest bit nervous, are you?” Alex said with some envy.

  “No. I’m about to start the best part of my life. I’m eager.”

  Alex chuckled. “That’s you in a nutshell.”

  The two of them started forward, keeping pace in the way they always had. Con thought about his brother’s wedding less than two months ago, the loneliness that had pierced him at losing Alex. Con had learned these last few weeks that he would never lose his twin; Alex’s marriage hadn’t changed their bond any more than Con’s would. He had also found a bond equally enduring, a chain of shining links connecting him forever more to the woman he loved.

  Standing beside Alex, Con watched Sabrina come down the aisle to face them, her face alight with happiness. But Con’s eyes went past her to the open door, where Lilah stood beside her uncle. The morning light glinted on her red-blond hair. The color of sunset, Con thought, as he had the first time he saw her. It was, he realized, the color of the dawn, as well.

  He was going to spend the rest of his life with this woman. He would have the delight of discovering her every day, of learning each twist and turn of her mind and heart. She would be with him always; she would bear his children; she would be the rock that anchored his very soul. Doubtless she would also bedevil and frustrate him and turn him inside out in that way that only she could. He couldn’t wait.

  Lilah started down the aisle on her uncle’s arm, her eyes going to Con’s. He smiled as he stood beside his brother, watching his new life come toward him.

  * * * * *

  THEIR UNEXPECTED ADVENTURE

  Contents

  CHAPTER ONE

  THISBE LOOKED UP from the complex system of bottles, retorts and spiral condenser she had set up on the laboratory table and saw that she had once again lost track of time while she was working. In form and face she might resemble
her tall willowy mother, but her nature came straight from her father. Like the duke, Thisbe’s passion was her field of study, and her mind resided there more often than in the world around her.

  Her laboratory here at Broughton House was not as spacious—nor as safely disconnected from the main house—as the workplace on the country estate, but it held much of the same equipment. The morning light through the windows sparkled on the various glass tubes and fired rainbows from the stand of prisms. To some people, it might look cluttered and unattractive, but to Thisbe it was beautiful.

  Her gaze turned to her husband. Desmond was hunched over his microscope, spectacles pushed up on the top of his head. His dark hair was now sprinkled with gray, but he was still as handsome to her as the day she’d first seen him rushing into the lecture hall, late. Tall and lanky, his hair too long and shaggy, waistcoat buttoned up wrong and ascot askew, he had slid into the empty chair beside her, giving her an apologetic and embarrassed, even shy, smile.

  Throughout the lecture, Desmond had taken squiggly notes with a stubby pencil badly in need of sharpening, now and then shooting quick sidelong glances at Thisbe. She had watched his long, artistic fingers moving swiftly across the page, and by the end of the lecture, she had learned three things: his handwriting was illegible; he was the man she wanted and she would have to be the one to take the first step.

  Looking at him now, Thisbe strolled across the room and laid her hand on Desmond’s shoulder. He glanced up, startled, and smiled at her in that same endearing way. How illogical and wonderful it was that his smile still made her heart flutter.

  “Thisbe, love.” He cast a quick, guilty glance toward the clock. “Is it time for luncheon already?”

  “No.” Thisbe smiled. “I just wanted to kiss you.”

  “Ah. Well, that sounds like a capital idea.”

  She leaned toward him, but at that moment, a wild clattering exploded in the hall outside their laboratory, accompanied by high-pitched shrieks, and a moment later two small girls burst into the room. The younger one, a dark-haired moppet, pulled a wheeled, clacking toy that was the source of most of the noise. The rest of the din was provided by the red-curled whirlwind that rushed past her and launched herself at Desmond. Fortunately, he was able to jump to his feet and catch her in time.