by Dare, Lydia
A spark of pain lit in her eye and then quickly died. "Very much that's interestin'. She wrote about my father." She sighed long and loud. Then drew in a deep breath. "Ben, can I ask ye for a favor?"
He stepped closer to her and brushed a lock of hair from her forehead. "You can ask me for anything."
"Can ye take me ta London?"
That came out of nowhere. "I said I would, but what's so urgent?"
"I need ta find my father. Ye said yer major could help me."
Ben nodded. He'd been trying to get her to London, away from the others, anyway. What a stroke of luck to have her change her mind to leave sooner. "I believe he can."
"Good, because I'm goin' ta kill him once I find him."
Twenty-three
Elspeth was mortified by what she'd said, and more so by the look of utter shock on Ben's face. Still, she wouldn't take the words back. She was a healer, and she'd never wanted to hurt anyone—except for "Des," whoever the devil he was. Perhaps the loss of a limb would suffice. She scratched her head as she considered her options.
For years she'd heard her grandfather lament the fact that her father had killed her mother. She'd never been sure what he meant by that, since she'd never laid eyes on the man, and her mother had only died five years ago. But now, having read pages and pages of her mother's words, she knew exactly what her grandfather meant. She remembered the day. Elspeth had been sick, so sick that she'd nearly died. She'd been told later that her mother had tried every remedy known to her. And nothing worked. So, in desperation, she'd reached out to El's father for support.
It had taken every bit of power she had, her entire essence, just to reach out to him. And still he hadn't come. The additional stress on her body had weakened her and left her unable to fight when she caught the same illness Elspeth had. It was all because of him. She had called to him, but he hadn't come. He'd put her in the ground, just as sure as if he'd plunged a knife into her heart.
"I must have misheard you," Ben said smoothly.
"Ye heard me correctly. When I find my father, I'm goin' ta kill him."
"You're a healer, Elspeth," he reminded her.
She closed her eyes. It went against everything in her soul to do harm, but how could she let him live peacefully after everything he'd done? "I'll make an exception in his case."
Then she felt Ben's warm fingers brush her cheek, and her eyes rose to meet his. "I don't think you mean that, Ellie. There's not a cruel bone in your body."
She hadn't realized how cold she was in her mother's room, but his touch warmed her in an instant. "I canna just let him roam around out there. No' after what he did ta her."
Not after what he did
to me.
"Are you sure he's even alive?" Ben asked softly.
Elspeth felt the air whoosh out of her. She hadn't considered that. What if he was dead? It would explain why the summoning spell hadn't worked. "I suppose ye have a point. But I need ta find out, Ben. One way or the other."
He flashed her a smile. "We'll find him, one way or another." Then he winked at her. "But you've got to promise me not to kill him, if he is alive."
It should be an easy promise to make. She knew she could never go through with it, no matter how badly he deserved it or how badly she wished she could. Feeling bitter, she simply shrugged.
"Now, I mean it, Elspeth. I won't have you getting yourself into trouble. As Blackmoor's brother I hold a little clout, but not enough to get authorities to ignore murder charges. That sort of thing is frowned upon in England, you know."
Elspeth heaved a sigh. "All right, I won't kill him." But she wouldn't promise not to maim him. Perhaps she should bring the others with her, as Sorcha's, Blaire's, and Rhiannon's powers could do a bit more damage than hers ever could.
Ben's fingers drifted to her neck and he stroked her gently. "What a relief. I'd hate to see this beautiful neck stretched on the gallows. It would be such a waste."
She frowned at him. "Ye make it very difficult for me ta stay in a foul mood, ye ken?"
His smile brightened the dismal room. "Ah, my sweet little witch, you shouldn't have told me that. I'll hold all sorts of power over you now." His fingers moved lower over her shoulder and down her arm, spreading a tingling warmth all the way to her fingertips. "When do you want to leave? Today?"
He was the kindest man she'd even known, completely ignoring his own ailment. She was embarrassed to realize that she had ignored it as well, and now she knew how to fix him. "Oh, Ben, I'm sorry. I was bein' a bit selfish. I do have wonderful news for ye."
He raised his brow in silent question.
"It's all in there." She pointed to the journal. "We
were right. My father came here for the same reason as ye did. He couldn't transform either. All of mother's notes are right here. The potions, oils, spells she used."
She saw pure joy in his eyes. "So you know how to heal me?"
"I believe so. Mother healed him, anyway."
Ben easily plucked her from her seat and spun her around in his arms. "Ellie, you don't know how happy you've made me."
With the room spinning around she had a fairly good idea. A laugh escaped her. "
Havers
, put me down, ye silly man."
But he didn't. Though he stopped spinning, he held her tightly in his arms, her legs dangling off the ground. Then he pressed his lips to hers. Elspeth wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him back, certain the room still spun.
Ben groaned as his tongue explored Elspeth's sweet mouth. She tasted like tea and blueberries. She tasted like Elspeth, which he was discovering was his favorite flavor in the world. He sat her on the long table before them and pressed himself between her legs. What he wouldn't give to sink into her.
The scent of her arousal touched his nose, driving him to distraction. In her flimsy nightrail, he could feel her nipples harden against his chest. He gently pushed her back on the table, never removing his lips from hers.
He started to put himself above her, but something fell from the table and crashed to the floor.
Elspeth sat up with a start. She blinked her striking emerald eyes at him and smiled. "I'm certain we'd be more comfortable upstairs."
He wholeheartedly agreed. Her mattress had to be more comfortable than a hard table in a dank room. "Lead the way, love," he growled against her neck. Unable to resist himself, he nipped her lightly and she raked her hands through his hair.
Ben kissed her softly one last time before helping her off the table. She scrambled up the ladder, her perfect little bottom swaying before his eyes. Her nightrail didn't leave much to the imagination, and Ben had to work to keep his hands to himself, at least for the moment.
He thought about riding in his coach with her for a fortnight. He could squeeze that bottom all he wanted, as well as everything else. It would be the most pleasant journey he'd ever take… one that would surely ruin her reputation, should anyone find out about it.
There was only one solution. They'd leave for London right after he married her. He wouldn't make the same mistake her father made. He wouldn't ever let her go, and he would protect her until the end of time, and that meant more than physically. He wouldn't let anyone ever speak ill of her.
Ben climbed the ladder after her. "Ellie, there's something I have to ask—"
Just as his head popped up in the kitchen floor, a blazing ball of light came hurling toward his head. He lost his balance and fell back into the secret room.
"Good God!" he yelped. What was that? And what
was that smell? He touched a hand to his head and realized the ends of his hair had been singed.
He looked above him and found one of her sister witches glaring down at him. The girl's raven hair hung loosely about her shoulders, and her grey eyes flashed with indignation. "Just what do ye think ye're doin' here, Westfield?"
She knew him, but he had no idea which one she was.
"Blaire Lindsay!" Elspeth's panicked voice filtere
d down to him. "I canna believe ye did that."
A moment later Elspeth peered down at him, concern etched across her lovely brow. "Ben, are ye all right?"
"She burned my hair," he said, at a loss to find other words.
"My aim was off," the vicious witch complained. "I was hopin' for yer handsome face."
"Blaire!" Elspeth admonished. "How dare ye come inta my house and treat my guest in such a fashion?"
Ben leapt to his feet. He was a sitting duck with her standing over him like that. He needed to get to higher ground. He climbed the ladder.
"I dare," Blaire told her in no uncertain terms. "Look at yerself, El. Ye've got next ta nothing on and—"
"My wardrobe is no' yer concern."
Finally aboveground, Ben approached the fighting witches. He stared at the dark-haired Blaire. "What did you throw at me?"
She shrugged, looking completely unrepentant. "A fireball. And I have more, so I'd watch myself if I were ye."
A fireball? That was much worse than the vines that came to life. "Thanks for the warning," he muttered.
"I think ye should leave, Blaire," Elspeth said quietly, though there was a dangerous edge to her voice.
Blaire shook her head. "I dinna come for a social call, El. Caitrin's been hurt. She needs ye."
Twenty-four
"Hurt?" Elspeth echoed. Her heart stopped beating. "What happened ta Cait?"
Blaire's eyes flashed to Ben before she replied, "I'd rather explain on the way."
Elspeth grabbed her friend's hand and towed her toward her bedroom. "Explain while I dress. I may need somethin' from my stores."
She shut the door behind them and went straight to her armoire, pulling out the first dress her fingers found. "Speak, Blaire."
"It was Westfield," she whispered.
Elspeth spun on her feet, panic washing over her. "I beg yer pardon."
"She'd gone out for a walk with her maid, and they were both attacked."
Elspeth shook her head. "Ben would never do that."
"Ye doona even ken the man. How do ye ken what he would or wouldna do?"
She didn't know him all that well, but still… "I ken he wouldna hurt anyone." Except for the "whore" when h
e
had lost control. Had he lost control again? She shook th
e thought from her head. Ben's altercation had been during an act of intimacy. He wouldn't attack two women on a walk. There had to be a misunderstanding.
"Ye would believe him over Cait?"
She had a point. She'd known Caitrin all her life and Ben only a week. "What did he do?" Her heart ached as she asked the question.
Blaire took a deep breath and ran her fingers through her dark mane. "He attacked them both, though Cait got the worst of it."
"Attacked them?" Elspeth echoed in horror.
"Aye, the maid said the wolf came out of nowhere and attacked before disappearin' inta the woods. Will ye dress, already?"
Elspeth realized she was clutching her blue muslin in her fists, and she shook her head. "Sorry." She tore off her wrap and nightrail and started to slip into her dress. "It wasna Ben," she said as she slid into her old, worn half boots.
Blaire let go a beleaguered sigh. "Of course it was. Did ye not hear me say it was a wolf?"
"It canna be. He canna change. That's why he's here."
"How do we ken that for certain? Ye're only takin' his word for it."
Elspeth quickly pinned her hair, knowing the effort was futile. "Then why else would he have come, Blaire? I doona believe it was him. There are wolves out there who doona turn inta men, ye ken."
Blaire's grey eyes bore into hers. "Cait has been the most vocal about her dislike of Westfield. So he meant ta silence her. He's come ta destroy the
Còig
one way or the other."
Finished with her hair, Elspeth picked up a small satchel on her dresser, then crossed to her door. "I doona believe it."
She walked out of the room and into her kitchen, where she found Ben's hazel eyes leveled on her. With his ears, he'd heard every word, she knew it.
"I didn't," he whispered.
Elspeth nodded. She wanted to cry. "I ken." Then she went to the cupboard behind him and began tossing corked bottles into her satchel.
"Can I help?" Ben asked from behind her.
"I doona think now is the time, or ye might be attacked by more than a little fireball."
He squeezed her shoulders and dropped a kiss to her cheek. "If you need me, I'll be at Alec's. I'm so sorry, Ellie."
She looked at him over her shoulder. He was so earnest with his light brown hair with singed ends hanging in his eyes. "Be careful, Ben. If any of the others get a chance at ye, I doona ken what they'll do."
Instead of returning to Alec's as he'd said, Ben ran swiftly through the woods toward Caitrin's home. He followed his nose and used it to find the door the two women had used when they started their walk. Then he followed their trail. They'd ventured much farther into the woods than he would expect of two women who were just taking a casual stroll.
But there was a worn path through the area, and it lead to Elspeth's home, so perhaps this was a path much taken. The wind shifted and Ben inhaled deeply. As usual, he could pick out the scents of animals in the area. But there was a wild scent that was definitely lupine nearby. If anyone knew the scent of a wolf, it was him. Ben crouched behind a boulder at the top of a hill and looked down into the valley. He immediately saw the pups, rustling and tumbling together in the grass. The mother wolf stood sentry nearby, and Ben could smell the father in the area as well.
That explained it. Caitrin and her maid had stumbled upon a wolf den. And wolves protected their young.
Ben heard a low growl behind him, and the hair on the back of his neck stood up. He turned slowly to face the wolf, taking care not to meet his dark stare. If confronted in such a manner, the male wolf would tear him to shreds.
Ben backed away slowly, heading back down the trail as he'd come. He didn't growl or bare his teeth as he would in a normal confrontation. He'd stepped into this wolf's territory, after all. And the male was simply protecting his young. If he'd had children, Ben could imagine doing the same.
The thought brought an immediate image of Elspeth to him, cradling a red-haired wolfling in her arms. Their wolf.
The male wolf continued to watch as Ben turned and jogged back in the direction he'd come. It made Ben feel much better to know there was a valid cause for the attack, if you could consider any cause to be valid.
He circled to the front of Caitrin's house, and the butler opened the door before he could even knock. The man looked down his nose at Ben. It had always amazed him how they could do that.
"If it's not too much trouble, I'd like to check on Miss Macleod," he told the man.
The butler simply nodded and led him to the morning room, where Alec sat, his foot tapping anxiously against the floor as he nibbled his fingernails.
"How is she?" Ben asked, breaking Alec from his fretful fidgeting. He glanced up quickly.
"Elspeth is with her now." Alec stood up to pace. "There was a lot of blood."
"Maybe the wounds are superficial?" No matter what, Elspeth would have to worry about infection.