Storm On The Horizon, a paranormal Regency romance novella (Vallen)

by Meredith Bond

  Kit chuckled. She was clearly very comfortable with her magic. He liked that. She wasn’t using her power to harm anyone, only to ensure her own comfort. There could be nothing wrong with that. He admired her pluck—she used her magic, but discreetly enough so no one would notice.

  The other night, of course, had been a different situation. He’d had to stop her from using her magic against ordinary men. She’d clearly been furious, and rightly so, at getting snubbed. He was sure, however, that she wouldn’t use her magic against others for her own gain.

  “And what about your sister?” he asked, noticing Ekaterina Ashurst standing not too far away, surrounded by a handful of gentlemen.

  Tatiana glanced behind her. She turned back with a charmingly mischievous smile on her face. “She can feel no cold, not with all those men around her.”

  Kit laughed and had to agree with her assessment.

  Tatiana took the arm he offered, and they began to walk slowly down the lane. There were few riders out at this time—but they were more people who’d elected to ride through the park on their way somewhere, rather than members of the ton out to see and be seen. So the walk was pleasant and uninterrupted.

  Kit debated taking a side path through one of the smaller gardens, but decided it would be best to stay to the main pathway. With Miss Ashurst so busy and having Tatiana all to himself, Kit delved right in to his plan to learn more about her situation.

  “It is your grandmother who is sponsoring you and your sister? Do your parents not care for London?” he asked, beginning his campaign in a gentle way.

  “Only Trina is being brought out. I honestly don’t know how my mother feels about town, but my father certainly does not enjoy it.” She turned toward him with a smile and a slight twinkle in her eye. “He always feels compelled to go to Parliament and then becomes upset at the goings-on there.”

  Kit laughed. “My father is exactly the opposite. He loves being in town. Loves attending Parliament. He even insists that I go, even though I don’t have a seat.”

  “But you will have a seat, so perhaps it’s a good thing to get you used to it, to learn how to manage. I don’t know that my father ever had anyone take him under his wing like that.”

  Kit acknowledged the wisdom of her words. “I never actually thought of it that way. Personally, I side with your father in that I don’t enjoy it at all. But if I were to tell that to either my father or grandfather, I would be drummed right out of the family for such heresy.”

  “Oh, dear!” she laughed. “Are they very devoted, then?”

  “Very!” But this line of conversation wasn’t getting him any closer to what he wanted to know. He paused to regroup his thoughts and then asked. “And how do you feel about London? Are you enjoying your stay so far?”

  Tatiana turned her head away with a thoughtful look on her face. He wondered if she was aware how expressive her face was. If only he could read thoughts or emotions, he would be able to decipher all that was clearly going through her mind.

  Her expression seemed pained at times, but determined. And he realized, with a start that she looked different. Somehow she looked… beautiful.

  Her lips and cheeks seemed to be fuller, her eyes an unfathomable black, and she seemed suffused with an inner radiance... He felt his senses tingle as a flame of desire flickered within him.

  And then she turned back towards him, and he realized it must have been his imagination playing tricks on him. For she looked just as she had before—pretty, but not the stunning beauty he thought he had somehow espied.

  “Enjoying my stay? Yes, I am, now that I’ve met you.”

  Her words, although softly spoken, hit him hard. The flame resurrected itself, but now spread heat throughout his body and mind. The only thing keeping him from figuratively jumping for joy was the sadness laced through her words. Could it be true that she had an offer of marriage waiting for her? Could that be what was making her unhappy? But then, why couldn’t she just turn down the offer if she was no longer interested in the gentleman?

  Unless she didn’t have a choice in the matter.

  The thought sent ice following the heat already running through him. That must be it. That must be the answer to all of his questions. For some reason, she was being sacrificed in marriage while her sister was free to choose whomever she wished.

  Were those unshed tears glittering in her eyes? She shook her head. “I apologize, I should not have spoken so freely.”

  She was misinterpreting his silence. Kit’s heart lurched within his chest. “No. No, I appreciate plain speaking. More than most men, I imagine. It is just that I am feeling the same way. I… I am thoroughly enjoying your company as well. Much more so than, perhaps, I should.”

  “What do you mean?” she asked, cocking her head a little to one side and pulling a smile from somewhere deep inside of her.

  Kit gave a little shrug. “It is nothing. You are a thoroughly delightful companion, that is all.” How could he possibly complain to her about being pressured to find a wife, when she had no alternative at all but to accept some stranger as her husband? He, at least, had a choice. “I was saddened to hear rumors that you would only be in town for a short time.”

  Tatiana turned her eyes away from him again. Immediately, Kit wanted to cut his tongue out. Why could he not keep the conversation on a light and happy subject? He was only making her upset with this line of questioning.

  “Yes. Unfortunately, my parents only allowed me to come to see my sister settled. I’ll be returning home in less than a fortnight.”

  “That is a very short time!” Kit couldn’t help the words popping out of his mouth.

  Less than two weeks! How could he possibly get to know someone in so little time, especially when society dictated that they spend no more than thirty minutes together at a time? And he did, indeed, want to get to know Tatiana much better. He was drawn to her unlike any other woman he’d ever met. She was clearly Vallen, and comfortable with her magic. She had an easy confidence and a frankness that he found disarming and attractive, but certainly wasn’t practiced in the banter and flirtation that was the currency of the ton. She wasn’t even very beautiful—or was she?

  What exactly was it about her that he liked so much? He didn’t know precisely what it was, or wasn’t. He only knew what his intuition told him—Tatiana was a very special young woman.

  She was giving him a sad, little smile. Her gaze slipped behind them for a moment, but then her whole head turned to look back.

  Kit followed suit to see what it was that had caught her attention. It seemed as if a comedy was being enacted behind them. Miss Ashurst was attempting to walk forward, but there were so many men surrounding her that it was nearly impossible. All of the gentlemen were jostling each other, elbowing and walking around one another trying to be the one to walk beside her. As each one tried to capture her attention, he would move forward to walk next to her, forcing the others to shift and make room for him. Then another would discover something to say, and so it went. It made for a rather amusing dance.

  “It is so sad,” Tatiana said, turning back to face him, both amusement and concern on her face. “She is completely overwhelmed by all the attention.”

  “She does seem to be that way,” Kit agreed, looking back over his shoulder. Miss Ashurst certainly did not look particularly happy—more like she was lost in a sea of men, having her attention tossed this way and that by the waves of their persistence.

  “Maybe…” Tatiana’s word trailed off as she turned and began to raise her arm toward the group.

  As he had the night before, he grabbed her hand before she could let lose any magic. All right, so maybe she wasn’t always so discreet with her magic. “But if you do that, it will spoil all the fun,” he said, laughing. “Surely, your sister can handle this.”

  Tatiana’s eyes widened, and a slow blush crept into her cheeks. Her eyes darted around to see if anyone else had noticed her slip. “I don’t know that she can, but y
ou’re right, I should not, cannot use magic here.” She shook her head and put her hand to her now flushed cheek. “I’ve got to remember where I am. I’m afraid I’m just not used to being in such a public place. At home… well, we don’t think about using magic whenever we want. But it is wrong. I know that. Poor Trina, though, has never had so much attention before. She’s completely out of her league.”

  “Well then, what she needs is a little guidance—a word or an idea of how she can handle the situation.” Subtlety was his favorite way of approaching challenges. Between that and his charm, he’d never encountered a problem that couldn’t be solved. And magic, he’d learned from an early age, was not always the best solution.

  Tatiana nodded, still caught up in her own thoughts. But it was one of his own thoughts that nearly stopped him cold. He wasn’t upset that Tatiana had nearly used magic against unsuspecting people. Why not? He usually became furious when he saw magic being done in public.

  But somehow Tatiana’s near use of magic didn’t bother him. Why? Could it be how repentant she was when he caught her? That she so easily acquiesced to his alternative suggestion? Whatever it was, it was very strange. But he truly wasn’t bothered.

  He looked over at her and wondered if she was doing something magical to him. Something to make him so attracted to her?

  No. This wasn’t magic, at least not the ordinary sort. It was simply Tatiana.

  He couldn’t help but watch her as a smile slowly grew on her face, until finally she gave him a bright, happy grin. “Yes, of course. How absolutely brilliant, Mr. Vallentyn.”

  She stopped walking to turn toward her sister. Peering at Miss Ashurst through the men, Tatiana seemed to be calling her name, only silently. Kit was impressed. She could speak mind-to-mind to her sister. They must have a special connection, he thought—they were twins, after all.

  Miss Ashurst looked over at Tatiana questioningly, and not a little exasperated. Her expression cleared almost immediately, though. She even went so far as to smile and give her sister a quick nod of her head.

  She stopped walking. This caused all the men around her to bump into each other; some had stopped with her and others had kept on walking. Miss Ashurst smiled, looking around at all of the men from under her lashes. She said something that Kit couldn’t hear, and then put her hands through the arms of the two men standing closest to her. They all found whatever she said quite amusing.

  The crowd laughed and bowed, and, to Kit’s surprise, all but the two she held on to said their prompt goodbyes. Within moments, there were only the two men left—and the trio were able to walk forward again quite comfortably.

  “Well done!” Kit said, taking Tatiana’s hand and pulling it around his own arm.

  It took very little effort to keep a light and entertaining conversation going for the remainder of their walk. Once he had stopped trying to get information from her, Tatiana was a cheerful, charming companion.

  Upon reaching the main gate once more, Kit turned to Tatiana. Taking her hand in his, he bowed over it, saying politely, “I have enjoyed your company thoroughly, Miss Tatiana. Thank you for allowing me the honor of escorting you this afternoon.”

  She gave him a smile and a small curtsey. “The honor has been mine, sir. Will I have the pleasure of your company sometime soon? Perhaps you’ll come to call on Thursday? My sister and I will be at home.”

  The thought that he could see her again—that she wanted to see him again, and in merely two days—made him happier than it should have. “I will do my best, but I’m afraid I can make no promises.”

  The flash of disappointment in her eyes almost made him promise something which he knew he couldn’t. He would do his best to get away, but couldn’t risk making a promise he might not be able to keep. He didn’t know how amenable his father would be to him visiting with Tatiana again.

  He departed before Miss Ashurst and her entourage caught up to them. Perhaps if he told his father that he would be meeting Miss Ashurst, he wouldn’t mind Kit taking a hour off from work again. And if he did call at their home, then he would be meeting the elder sister, so he wouldn’t be lying. The thought kept him in good spirits for the rest of his walk home.

  So, is there one gentleman you favor above the others?” Tatiana asked her sister, as they walked home from the park after saying goodbye to the two remaining gentlemen who had escorted Trina.

  Her sister looked at her, eyebrows knit. “How could there be, when I have only just met them?”

  “Well, you spent a good deal of time at the ball, the soir�e last night, and then again today speaking with the most fervent of your admirers. Surely, you have some impression of them. One or two who you like better than the others?”

  Trina thought about this for a minute. “No. They’ve all only spoken of such silly things. There is no possible way I could make a decision based on such nonsense.”

  Tatiana laughed at her sister. “Well, what did you expect, for them to discuss the merits of chamomile over ginger in calming the stomach? Of course they only spoke to you of nothing. That’s what social discourse is.”

  “Well, I wouldn’t expect them to know anything herbs,” Trina said, frowning.

  “Do you want them to discuss politics with you, then?”

  “No. I don’t know what they might find interesting, but surely they must have some intelligent conversation,” Trina snapped. If she’d put any magic behind her words, Tatiana might have felt them, but luckily Trina didn’t have such power. In fact, she had almost none at all. It made Tatiana sad to think of all that her sister was missing because of her. She was sure that she had gotten both her own and Trina’s magical ability-—simply because Tatiana held the very special position as the seventh child.

  Her guilt nagged at her, driving her determination to see Trina happily married. She wondered if it would it be better if Trina married an ordinary man. With so little power of her own, it would probably make no difference who she married—so long as she was happy.

  “No. I’m sorry, Trina. These men honestly have nothing of interest to say,” Tatiana said, pulling her mind back to the matter at hand.

  “Nothing at all?” Trina asked, clearly shocked by this news.

  Tatiana shrugged. “Not really. Or, I should say, it is very rare to find a man who does have any sort of intelligent conversation he is willing to share with a female. I’ve tried, I assure you.”

  “What about your gentleman? What’s his name?”

  Tatiana couldn’t help but smile. “Mr. Vallentyn. Christopher Vallentyn.”

  “ Vallentyn? Are you serious? Such a name exists?” Her sister was as amused as Tatiana had been when she’d first heard his name.

  Tatiana laughed. “Yes! And, yes, he is Vallen, although I don’t know how powerful. He doesn’t seem to like to use his powers, nor does he let me.”

  Trina stopped completely to stare at her. “What do you mean he doesn’t let you? Has he stopped you?”

  Tatiana took her arm, leading her into the quiet square where their grandmother lived before answering. “I, er, was tempted last night,” Tatiana began, avoiding eye contact with her sister.

  Trina began to laugh. “I knew you would not be able to deal with not being the favored one. I knew it!”

  “No! That’s not right. That’s not fair. I’ve just never realized…” Tatiana said, attempting to defend herself.

  “You never realized just how awful it is to be the ugly one. The one that the men ignore, or only pay attention to in order to finagle an introduction,” her sister finished.

  Tatiana felt ashamed of herself. Her sister, of course, had hit it right on the mark.

  “I knew it. I told you not to dampen your own looks, but you insisted,” Trina shook her head and fell silent as they entered the house.

  Tatiana hated it when her sister was right.

  “Did you have a pleasant walk, girls?” their grandmother asked when they joined her in her cozy private drawing room. She paused, givi
ng Tatiana a confused look. “Oh dear, did something go wrong? Tatiana, you are looking daggers.”

  Tatiana cleared the frown off of her face as Trina laughed. “Don’t mind Tatiana, she always gets angry when I’m right. And you were correct too, ma’am.”

  Lady Ashurst raised her hand to pause her granddaughter’s flow of conversation and gave a nod to the waiting footman. Thomas was also Vallen, although not very powerful. He had the immensely useful ability to know in advance when his mistress would be wanting something. He always appeared at her side before she was even aware of her desire. She gave a satisfied smile, then motioned for the girls to continue.

  “Yes, Trina was absolutely mobbed by gentlemen,” Tatiana said, sitting down in the chair opposite her grandmother, and schooling her face into a pleasant expression.

  “No, that’s not what I was referring to. Tatiana’s right, though, I was,” Trina said, looking down at her hands for a moment. “I managed to send all but two of them off, promising that I would see them Thursday afternoon when they came to call.”

  “Very well done, my girl,” her grandmother said approvingly. “Then what else was I correct about?”

  “Tatiana couldn’t stand not getting all of the attention at the ball the other night,” Trina said, giggling. “She nearly did something to the men surrounding me. It was only that gentleman, Mr. Vallentyn, who stopped her.”

  Their grandmother laughed. “I suspected as much. He seems to be a very nice young man. I like that one.”

  “On our way home from the park, I tried to find out which one of the many gentlemen surrounding Trina she liked more than the others, but she refuses to make a decision,” Tatiana said, trying to push the conversation back away from her own failing.

  “And I told you that there is no possible way that I could know, since they all speak in nothings,” her sister answered. “Why can’t you let me have more time to decide? Is there a rush?”