Chapter 6
Over the next few days, Maggie found herself fighting off Brielle’s attempts to harm her more and more regularly.
She had to keep her guard up and remember to use the spell of protection whenever she was in Brielle’s presence.
Not always an easy task, as Brielle had a habit of sneaking up on Maggie at the oddest moments.
So far, she was aiming the majority of her magick at Maggie and she had, for the most part, left the others alone while she focused her attention on getting Maggie out of the way.
That’s not to say that she wasn’t causing problems throughout the castle.
In the grand scheme of things, they were just small problems, but to the residents of Breaghacraig, they were as annoying as the midges that pestered them when they ventured outdoors.
“Alec, would ye mind helping the boys mop up the water pouring down from Ashley and Cailin’s chambers, please?” Irene looked completely flummoxed as she came storming through the great hall. “I’m not sure where all that water is coming from!”
“Aye. I’d be happy to help,” Maggie said.
Making her way to the stairs, she saw an unbelievable amount of water cascading down and several young boys with mops trying in vain to wipe it up.
As fast as they were mopping, the faster the water was falling.
Maggie ran up the stairs to the source of the flood and found a bathtub filled with water.
Upon further examination, she noted a good size hole in the side and while water was pouring out through it, the water level in the tub had not diminished.
She focused her intention on the tub and with a minimal amount of effort, she was able to plug the hole as if it had never even been there.
Next, she used her magick to dry up the water in the bedchamber and the passageway leading to the stairs.
When she was satisfied that the water had been stopped, she headed to the stairs where she found the boys looking extremely relieved that the waterfall that had been pouring down the stairs had stopped and they were finally able to make some headway in their efforts to clean up the mess.
Maggie made it to the bottom of the steps and discovered Brielle staring at her, a malicious grin on her face, but before Maggie could open her mouth to speak she heard Mary caterwauling from the kitchen.
“Och! What have ye done here, Jenna?” Mary cried. “I’ve nae seen anythin’ like this.”
Maggie headed towards the source of the shouting and found Mary and Jenna surrounded by loaves of bread that had been set to rise. The only problem was, they had risen to ten times the size they should have and were slowly making their way across every surface in the kitchen.
“I cannae believe this,” Mary said in exasperation. “Ye are truly bad luck, lass. Ye always seem to be about whenever something goes wrong in me kitchen.”
“Mary, I don’t know what happened! You can ask Sophia. We made the bread the same way we always do. There was nothing in the bread that would have caused this to happen.”
“Dinnae speak to me of Sophia. She’s as cursed as ye are. I dinnae believe I want ye in me kitchen again!” Mary ran from the room with Jenna in hot pursuit.
Maggie took the opportunity to fix the mess that Brielle had undoubtedly created and when she left the kitchen, the loaves were back to normal and ready to be placed in the oven.
Mary and Jenna passed her in the hallway, on their way back to the kitchen.
Mary was waving her arms and going on and on about the bread and the mess in her kitchen.
Jenna followed behind her, trying to get a word in edgewise.
Maggie waited nearby, to hear the two women’s reactions as they entered the kitchen and saw the bread and kitchen looking as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened.
Mary abruptly stopped speaking and from the sounds of it, Jenna ran straight into her back as she entered the kitchen and came to a standstill.
“I cannae believe me eyes,” Mary said. “Jenna, were the loaves not overflowing all over the kitchen when we left?”
“They were,” Jenna sounded just as confused. “This is weird. They shouldn’t have been overflowing in the first place and now it’s like nothing happened.”
“Strange things be happenin’ here in Breaghacraig, Jenna. I dinnae ken why, but someone is using magick. I feel it in me bones.”
Maggie listened as the two, obviously at a loss for words, began working together again in the kitchen.
“Well, let’s get this bread in the oven and hope nothing else happens before it’s baked,” Jenna suggested.
Satisfied that all was well in the kitchen, Maggie went back to the great hall, where Irene was filling Robert in on all of the odd happenings occurring around the castle.
“Alec,” Irene said. “Thank ye for helping the boys with the mopping. I see that ye got it under control a lot faster than I would have believed possible.”
“Yer verra welcome. I am here to help in any way that I can,” Maggie replied.
“Well, if I could ask one more thing of ye, lad,” Robert said. “Dylan is out trying to round up the horses that escaped the barn earlier this day. He could use some help. The stable boys are out with him, but there are many to catch and I believe they could use another pair of hands.”
“Of course. I’ll go right away.” Maggie wasn’t sure she wanted to be anywhere near Dylan.
She wasn’t verra good at masking her feelings and she had to work extra hard at it when she was around him.
It was a mixture of love, anger and jealousy, which overcame her whenever she saw him. Especially when Brielle was nearby.
***
It was apparent that every horse in the stables had gotten loose and they had all fled through the open gates into the pasture surrounding the castle.
They were obviously happy to be out and were running like the wind, bucking and crow hopping everywhere she looked.
Dylan and the boys were approaching individual horses, ropes in hand.
Every time they would get close, the horses would bolt away.
Without caring what the others would think, Maggie stood perfectly still with her hands out towards the horses.
She settled her mind and called to them.
The entire herd of horses trotted her way.
“Alec,” Dylan called. “Be careful. They’re heading right at you.”
Maggie didn’t respond. She was focused on getting the horses to come to her and she had no time to worry about what would happen when they reached her.
She only hoped they’d stop before they trampled her and much to her relief, they did.
She spoke to them softly as Dylan and the boys ran over to her.
“Don’t frighten them,” she ordered. “They’ve stopped and now, if you don’t mind, I’ll head back to the stables with them.”
“That’s impossible. How are you going to get them to follow you,” Dylan questioned.
“You’ll see.” Maggie turned her back on the horses and speaking softly to them coaxed them into following her.
She looked like the pied piper as the horses fell into line behind her and followed her back through the gate into the courtyard, where she turned and headed toward the stable.
The doors were already open wide in anticipation of the return of the horses and Maggie walked down the center aisle, opening stall doors as she went.
Each of the horses obediently entered their own stall as they came to them and Dylan and the stable boys closed and locked the doors behind them.
Finally, the last horse was settled into his stall.
“Are you some kind of horse whisperer?” Dylan asked. He had one brow cocked over his beautiful, deep brown eyes.
“Let’s just say I have a way with animals,” Maggie answered, trying not to make eye contact with him.
She got all fluttery in the belly when he spoke to her, which was not good.
She turned to walk away, but Dylan grabbed her arm firmly.
The feel of his warm skin through the light material of her shirt got her mind wandering to places it shouldn’t.
“I’d say you have more than a way with animals, Alec. I’ve never seen anything like that. The boys and I were out there for more than an hour, trying to catch even a single horse with no luck and you walk out and stand perfectly still and they come to you. What’s your trick?”
“I have nae trick,” Maggie lied. It was her secret and she was not about to share it. “I must go. Irene may need me help.” She wrestled her arm out of Dylan’s grasp and attempted once again to walk away.
“Wait. I’ve been meaning to talk to you.
I haven’t had much chance since the other day, and I know you told me you don’t know Maggie, but it sure seems like you do.
I was wondering if there was anything you could tell me about her.
Anything Edna or Angus might have mentioned to you?
” Dylan was watching Maggie intently, and she quickly glanced down, rather than risk giving herself away by mooning over him.