“That girl will probably show up empty-handed just like last year.”
“As a matter of fact, I happen to have a handkerchief that belongs to Middleton,” Tia said from behind them.
They both turned and hugged the third wise woman. While Tia never seemed to recognize the importance of her position, at least she put in an appearance when needed. The wild redhead looked nothing like her brown-haired twin, except for the soulful brown eyes they both received from their father.
“Let’s get the fire ready for tonight,” Mia said as they pushed the cart up the small hill.
Every year on the summer solstice, they performed the same ritual their mother and grandmothers had for centuries. Standing at the intersection of all three properties, they marked off twenty paces and drew a circle around them. During the ceremony, each wise woman would stand in the circle on the land where she belonged.
They tossed the kindling down and then stacked the wood around it. The fire had to be large enough to cover all three properties. They lit their lanterns and waited for midnight.
As the air cooled and darkened, they finally lit the bonfire. Each woman chanted a blessing for the land, the rain, and the crops just as their mothers had before them. Circling the fire, they sprinkled grains for a healthy harvest into the fire and watched as they sparked upward into the night sky.
Selina smiled as the embers shimmered in the air. It would be a good growing year. And hopefully, the tenants—and the duke—would be healthy.
“Ready the sacrifices,” Mia said over the crackle of the fire.
Selina picked up the book of sonnets but as she did a sense of foreboding swept over her. She opened the cover of the book and leaned closer to the fire in order to read the inscription.
To my dearest husband,
Happy Birthday! I hope you love this book as much as I do. With all my love,
Mary
The book fell out of her fingers as if already scorched by the fire. She couldn’t sacrifice this book. Slowly, she bent down and picked up the volume. Now she had nothing to sacrifice. The sound of a horse galloping closer forced her gaze toward the earl’s lands.
“Oh, dear God, not now,” she whispered.
Seeing the fire on the horizon, Colin propelled his horse to a run. He prayed it wasn’t his home on fire due to some carelessness of the workers. But as he approached, he saw the women standing around a huge bonfire and anger filled his mind.
Did they not realize the danger of building such a large fire? Even though there had been some rain lately, it was still dangerous. These “wise” women were putting all three estates at risk.
He urged his horse faster until he reached the fire. After tying his horse to a tree, he stalked the group of women.
“Good God, women, have you no sense?” he shouted. “That bonfire might spark a wildfire.”
The Featherstone women both gasped as he approached but Selina stared at the ground with a guilty look on her face. Then Mia Featherstone laughed. “Your Grace, we have several buckets of water in case a spark catches. We have been doing this for years . . . centuries.”
“What are you ladies doing here? It’s almost midnight.” His gaze reverted to Selina. In her hands she held a book, most likely some volume of unholy pagan rituals.
“Your Grace, it is the summer solstice. You are welcome to watch us but please let us finish the ritual,” Mia Featherstone said softly.
“I do not want any part of this on my lands,” he replied, staring at Selina, who wouldn’t return his gaze.
“We are almost finished, Your Grace,” Mia replied. “All we have left is the sacrificial burning.”
“The what?” Did they actually toss a sheep or some other animal on the fire?
“We sacrifice an object belonging to the lord of the land,” she said. “The earl offered a lock of his hair. Viscount Middleton offered a handkerchief.”
He crossed his arms over his chest and slowly walked up to Selina. “And exactly what did I offer?”
“Nothing, Your Grace,” she mumbled.
“But I thought you had a book,” Tia said in a questioning tone.
Selina shot her friend a glare. “I was wrong.” She moved her hands behind her back.
“Give me the book, Miss White,” he ordered.
“I already said I don’t have a book.”
“The one in your hand.” He held out his hand, waiting for her to place the book in it.
“Your Grace,” she started as she brought her hand in front of her. “Please, don’t be angry. Once I saw the inscription, I knew I couldn’t burn the book.”
Colin frowned as he took the book from her. Glancing down at the cover his anger exploded. “You thought to burn this book?”
“No,” she mumbled. “Not once I saw the inscription.”
“Where did you get this?” he demanded as the other two women backed away.
“It was on your desk in the library.”
He lifted her chin to look her in the eyes. “You were in my house and stole from me?”
“You left me no choice in the matter. I knew if I came to you and explained the situation you would have laughed at me. Or worse, called me some kind of witch because we believe in these rituals whether you do or not.”
Somewhere deep in his brain, he knew she was right. Nonetheless, he couldn’t grasp the fact that she almost burned the last gift ever given to him from his late wife. He treasured that book.
“Don’t ever step foot on my property again,” he growled and then turned away from the fire.
“Your Grace, I am dreadfully sorry,” she cried. “I promise I wasn’t going to burn the book. I saw the inscription. I know what she meant to you.”
He turned back and glared at her. “You have no idea what she meant to me. Unlike many of the arranged marriages in society, I actually loved my wife.”
“I’m so sorry,” she said softly. “Please, let me continue to help your tenants and servants.”
“No. Don’t set foot on my property again.”
Selina watched him ride away as tears filled her eyes. Damn that stubborn man. Why couldn’t he realize that all she wanted to do was help keep the lands fertile? While it might seem like a silly ritual to him, it was important the tenants know it had been performed.
“What are you going to do?” Mia whispered as she put her arm around Selina’s shoulders.
“Nothing. I will not stop helping those people. I don’t care if he calls the constable to drag me away. They need me.” Selina inhaled deeply. “I won’t stop performing my duty.”
Mia nodded. “Will you be coming home with me?”
“No. I’ll go back to my room at the house.” She gave her friends a watery smile. “He will depart as soon as the wedding is over. All I have to do is avoid him for another few weeks. How hard can that be?”
“Another few weeks?” Mia whispered. “The wedding is six weeks away. Do you really think you can evade him for that long?”
“I have no choice,” Selina admitted. With all the workers about now, he was all over the house. She rarely left her room because she feared he would discover her.
“Do you really think that’s wise?” Tia asked. “Why not come home with me? In fact, you could be the wise woman for Middleton’s lands so I can leave for London.”
“You’re not going to London, Tia,” her sister said firmly.
“I am and no one will stop me.” Tia brushed a lock of red hair out of her eyes. “Selina can stay at my cottage while I’m gone. That way, she is out of the duke’s ire.”
“No,” Selina said. “I will not be evicted from my lands.”
Mia cleared her throat. “They are actually his lands, Selina.”
She frowned at her friend. “I know that. But still, I will not leave.”
Chapter 10
The next few days were uneventful as Selina did everything she could to stay out of the duke’s sight. Unfortunately, the man didn’t seem to leave the house often
enough that she could roam either the house or the estate. She was not a woman who enjoyed sitting around doing nothing like the ladies of the upper crust. She paced her large room, pausing by the window for a breath of fresh air. She desperately needed to be outside, riding or walking, anything to feel less constricted than she did in this house. While it was a lovely room, every day it felt more and more like a prison to her.
Finally, a knock on the door broke the tedium.
She opened the door just a crack only to find Randall in the hall.
“This just came for you, miss.” He slid the paper through the opening and then nodded his head. “Shall I wait for a reply?”
Selina stifled a laugh. “No, if I need to return a message, I shall ring for you.”
“It is no problem to wait, miss.”
“Randall, go back to your position before the duke wonders why you are not at your station.”
His eyes widened as if he hadn’t thought of that possibility. “Very good, miss,” he said, nodding.
She closed the door and then moved to the window where the light was better. She smiled as she opened the missive and read Mia’s note. There was a traveling fair in town and she begged Selina to meet her there this afternoon at one.
Selina glanced at the clock and nodded. She had an hour to determine the best way of escaping the house without Colin noticing her. After changing into her light yellow muslin dress, she walked to the door. She cracked it open and looked both ways before running to the servants’ staircase. He certainly would never use them but it didn’t stop her from peering down the steps before creeping down them. When she reached the second floor, she stopped. This was one of the most likely places he would be this afternoon.
Voices echoed from down the hall. She breathed in deeply to slow her racing heart. As the voices diminished, she peeked around the corner. Seeing no one in the hall, she rounded the corner and continued to the lower level.
Again, she stopped and listened for voices. As no sound reached her ears, she slipped down the hall searching for an exit that wouldn’t reveal her to the duke. She departed from the library door to the terrace. Finally, she could breathe. Even if he found her here, she could use the excuse that she was here to see a servant.
As her heart finally slowed its staccato beat, she walked across the lawn and headed toward town. It would take her an hour on foot, but for the chance to see her friends, it was worth it.
By the time she reached the outskirts of Cheadle, she could hear the noise from the churchyard and square. A rush of excitement pushed her lips upward. She’d attended this fair since she was a little girl. She still remembered her father hoisting her up on his shoulders so she could watch the happenings. One time she even saw a man with a monkey on his shoulder, holding on just as she had with her father. After that day, her father had always called her his little monkey. She wiped away a quick tear that fell down her check. She still missed him.
“Selina!”
She turned at the sound of Mia’s voice. Her friend rushed to greet her with a hug. “I’m so glad you were able to come,” Mia said.
“Me too. I had to sneak out of the house so he wouldn’t see me,” she said with a slight giggle.
“There you two are,” Tia said as she approached them. “You must try these almonds. They are the best I’ve ever had.”
Selina took one from the bag and then chewed the nut. “Is that cinnamon?”
Tia nodded. “Yes!”
“Let me have one too,” Mia said as she reached into the bag. After she popped one into her mouth, a slow smile lit her face. “They are delicious!”
“What have you seen so far, Tia?”
“There is a magician and a fortune-teller over at the square.” Tia leaned in closer. “They weren’t allowed on the church grounds. But the juggler and the menagerie are in the churchyard. They even have a lion this year.”
Selina smiled. “I must see that!”
Mia nodded as she took another almond from her sister. “And we need more almonds.”
Selina and Tia laughed.
Selina hadn’t felt this relaxed since the duke had returned. To be with her friends without the worry of him seeing her made her feel lighter. She glanced around the area one more time just to be certain he hadn’t decided to come to town.
“Who are you looking for?” Mia asked with a knowing smile.
“I don’t want to even think about him today.”
Tia laughed. “The duke would never come to a fair. That is far too unsophisticated for a man of his station. He’s probably back at the estate reading a treatise on our tea exports from India.”
Her friend was most likely correct. Selina almost laughed aloud at the idea of Colin sitting before the fortune-teller looking for some wisdom. Although, she wondered what the woman would say to her. There was only one way to find out.
“I have decided to have my fortune told,” she told her friends as she walked toward the decidedly frightening woman.
“Good luck,” Mia called. “We shall be at the menagerie.”
As Selina approached the woman, she slowed almost to a stop. The woman wore a scarlet dress with a multitude of colored threads shot through it. Atop her head was a black and gold turban. The woman suddenly turned her head and stared at Selina. The fortune-teller frowned her wrinkled face. Black kohl lined her tired eyes lending her an exotic yet daunting look.
The woman crooked a finger at Selina. “Come along. Others will be here soon and you must be first.”
Why would she need to be first? A nervous shiver made her body quake. “I haven’t decided if I want to have my fortune read yet.”
“Of course you have decided. I knew the moment you broke away from your group of friends that you would want a reading.”
Selina took a step closer and then stopped again. What was wrong with her? She never let a person intimidate her. Not even the duke himself could manage that feat.
“Come along,” the old woman complained. “I don’t have all day.”
She swallowed down her trepidation and pulled out the seat across from the woman. “My name is—”
“I know who you are,” the woman said in a harsh tone. “I am Madame Czerwony.” She took Selina’s hands into her own. “And you are the wise woman.”
“I am just a healer.”
The older woman shook her head. “No, my dear. You are one of the few left in these lands.”
Selina was surprised by the woman’s words. No one believed in the tales of the wise women. “Can you tell me of my future?”
The woman, with her one blue eye and the other clouded by a cataract, stared at her until Selina felt forced to look down at their joined hands. “No,” the woman finally answered. “I don’t think you would believe me.”
“What do you mean?”
“You’re already a wise woman. But someday you shall also be a very great lady.”
Selina suppressed a laugh. There was nothing great about her . . . nor would there ever be. “I doubt that very much.”
“Of course you do,” Madame Czerwony said with a slight shrug.
“How will I become such a lady?”
This time the old woman cackled. “The same way they all do. You shall marry into it.” She leaned in closer and whispered, “And if you do, you will be forced to give up many things. So think carefully about whether or not it’s worth the sacrifice.”
Selina blinked back tears. She was no great lady and never would be. Why would this woman tell her such nonsense? She pulled her hands out of the fortune-teller’s and rose. “Thank you.”
She reached into her purse and pulled out a few coins. Her hands shook as she tossed the money on the table.
The woman was wrong. Still, as she walked away from the seer and toward her friends, her body trembled. There was something about that woman that frightened her and Selina had no idea why.
“Come along,” Hart grumbled as he led Colin toward the stables.
“Why
are we going into town?”
“Because you need to have some enjoyment while you’re here. Kate will be arriving in a week or two, so your life will be nothing but preparing the house and yourself for the wedding. This is your last chance at freedom for a few weeks.”
His friend knew him far too well. Once Kate arrived, his thoughts would be on the wedding and, more than likely, the memories of his marriage to Mary. Perhaps a day without worries would be helpful . . . possibly even amusing. “Very well, then.”
Hart’s brows rose slightly as he let out a quick laugh. “I honestly thought I’d have to drag you there.”
Colin shrugged. “You are right. I shall have too many things on my mind in the next few weeks to enjoy myself. So this is my last day for a pleasant outing.”
They waited outside the stable for Colin’s horse to be brought out. As they passed the time, Colin noticed a rider on the horizon and wondered who could be visiting today. The rider approached the stables just as the stableboy handed the mare’s reins to Colin.
“Middleton?” Colin said, surprised that his neighbor and friend was even out in the country.
“Shocked to see me out here?” He laughed as he removed his hat and brushed his dark blond hair back off his forehead.
Hart chortled. “You love London. What brought you out here?”
Middleton shook his head. “Family issues. And summer does become a bit oppressive in London.”
“We’re off to the village. Will you join us?” Hart asked.
“Of course. I hear there is a fair in town. Perhaps a pretty girl, eager to please a lord, for each of us. Or maybe we should pretend we are of lower class and find some amusement there?”
It wouldn’t be that far of a stretch for Middleton, Colin thought. The son of a second son of a viscount whose father had gambled away what little fortune he had, Middleton only inherited the title after a few oddly suspicious accidents in his uncle’s family.
“Let’s be off,” Hart said.
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