Chapter 14 #2
Cynthia rose from her chair and leaned over the table.
‘I am sick to death of men telling me what I can and cannot do. I have spent my entire life following other people’s orders.
My husband is dead. I am finally free. I won’t be dictated to by anyone.
’ Thunder rumbled over the house, shaking the windows.
‘Ever.’ Lightning cracked through the sky.
‘Again. Not even by you, Thomas.’ Rain pelted on the roof.
‘Do not test me.’ Another boom of thunder had Ophelia burrowing into Ellie’s arms.
‘Dick! Dick! Dictated!’ Sir Robin fluffed his feathers, his obsidian eye trained on the ceiling.
Aunt Rowan looked out the window as another flash of summer lightning lit the dark sky. Her sharp gaze cut back to Cynthia before finding Helena.
She has power in her blood. Magic in her soul.
Aunt Rowan’s thoughts echoed in Helena’s head.
Ellie’s blue eyes widened. ‘Holy Hecate.’
Clio looked from Cynthia to Helena and then to her aunt. ‘Oh, my goddess.’ Cynthia is a witch.
This changed everything.
Cynthia took a deep breath and the rain eased to a soft patter.
‘I have no wish to be rude, brother, but I think everyone is missing the point. We went to Damien Sinclair’s gaming hell.
Yes. But we weren’t in any real danger. If he had gotten violent at all, Helena would have unleashed a flood on him that would have swept him and the bastards he runs with into the Thames.
What is far more important than what we did is what we discovered. ’
Cynthia’s faith in Helena’s ability to protect her barely registered as Helena processed the shocking news that the woman claiming her attentions and stirring her desires was actually a fellow witch.
‘Tell them, Helena.’
‘Erm, yes. Right.’ She forced herself back to the moment. There would be time to speak with her coven about Cynthia later. Right now, she needed to focus on the case. Because discovering who killed Hubert Burrows was far easier than untangling the mystery of his wife.
‘Cynthia’s right. We got a name, Uncle Lachlan. Of the man who killed Hubert.’
Uncle Lachlan gripped his fork like a weapon. ‘Who?’
‘George Lippert.’
Uncle Lachlan’s brows drew down in a frown. ‘I don’t know him.’ He looked to Thomas. ‘Have you heard of the man?’
Thomas was still glaring at Cynthia, his jaw muscles twitching.
‘Thomas, have you heard of George Lippert?’
‘Never. Did Sinclair mention him?’
Helena couldn’t stop her smug smile. ‘Not aloud. But when Cynthia asked if he killed Hubert, that’s the name he thought. Clear as I’m speaking to you now.’
‘You asked him outright? Are you trying to get yourself killed?’ Thomas’ face darkened with rage as he swung his gaze back to his sister.
Something in his tone caused a reaction in Helena.
‘Stop yelling at her! She is trying to solve this case and has gotten further than you or Uncle Lachlan.’ She flicked her gaze to her uncle.
‘Sorry. But it’s true. And she’s right. If Sinclair had tried anything, I would have stopped him.
Bluster all you want, but Blair women are far more capable of protecting our own than any pack of men. ’
Cynthia inhaled sharply.
Damnation. Did I just call her my own?
Panic rushed Helena’s next words. ‘I just mean, she is Clio’s sister-in-law now. So, Clio’s family is our family. And we protect our family. That is all I meant.’
‘Marvellous!’ Ellie’s wide smile only made Helena feel like a bigger fool. ‘And because of Cynthia and Helena’s excursion, we have a name to pursue.’
‘We have a name that Lachlan and I will pursue,’ Thomas countered. ‘You will stay put, Cynthia.’
Clio’s fingers sparked as she turned to her husband. ‘Darling, it’s never wise to tell a woman what she can and can’t do. Especially if that woman is as free-thinking and intelligent as your sister.’
‘Blustering dunderhead!’ Sir Robin hopped to the other side of Clio’s chair so he could peck at a fleck on Thomas’ jacket shoulder.
Thomas ignored the bird. ‘Cynthia isn’t like you. She doesn’t have the powers you and your family have.’
Helena bit her tongue as Aunt Rowan shared a knowing look with Ellie.
The gas lights flared, a sure sign of Clio’s temper.
‘She has the protection of our powers. Even you must admit, with Helena by her side, Cynthia is safer than she would be with anyone else. I kept you protected against certain danger not so long ago, or have you forgotten? Because I’ll gladly remind you.
’ The sparks flying from her finger leapt into a single flame in her palm.
Thomas took her hand and placed it against his heart, snuffing out the fire. ‘You keep me safe always. But she is my sister, and she has already suffered enough. I don’t want any harm to come to her.’
Clio’s face softened as she took her free hand and pressed it against Thomas’ cheek. It was a disconcertingly intimate moment to have in the middle of a dinner party.
Cynthia cleared her throat, reclaiming everyone’s attention.
‘I am your sister, and I am right here. Please desist talking about me as if I weren’t present.
One cannot live without suffering some amount of pain.
You know this better than most, Thomas. But your trials did not triumph over you, and neither will mine.
Trust me. I am more capable than you think, and I am tired of people trying to control my choices. Even when they do so out of love.’
‘Bravo.’ The word escaped before Helena could stop it, but the smile lighting Cynthia’s face made her ever so glad she spoke.
Aunt Rowan sipped her glass of wine, her gaze assessing.
‘Siblings are never easy. There is fierce love, but no one knows better how to irritate or enrage. I suppose it’s because our roots are inextricably linked, even if we grow into vastly different trees.
What were you and Thomas like as children, Cynthia? ’
Blinking at the abrupt change in subject, Cynthia huffed out a breath. ‘Thomas is the better one to ask. My memories of our younger years have always been fuzzy.’
Leaning forward, Aunt Rowan pushed her glass aside. ‘When?’
‘When what?’ Cynthia looked from Aunt Rowan to Helena.
Her aunt was seeking information, but she was guarding her thoughts so Helena couldn’t easily read her.
‘When exactly do your memories become clear?’
Cynthia leaned back in her chair. ‘I suppose when Governess Smithers came.’
Thomas shook his head. ‘That woman was a tyrant. I hated leaving you alone with her when Mother and Father sent me to Eton. You would have been seven, because I had just turned ten. It was ghastly knowing you had to endure Smithers and her birch cane all alone.’
Shrugging, Cynthia played with the edge of a napkin and kept her eyes on the table. ‘It wasn’t so bad. They just wanted me to become a lady. Look how well that worked out.’ Her laughter nearly broke Helena’s guarded heart. ‘I don’t suppose they would be very proud of me now, would they?’
‘They were wrong to force your hand in marrying Hubert, Cyn.’ Thomas tapped his fist on the table.
‘You were a wild thing once. You might not remember, but I do. Always begging me to go on adventures with you in the forest, rolling down the hills until your dress was ruined, sneaking to the stables to whisper secrets to the horses and feed them stolen apples from the kitchen.’
‘It’s no wonder they hired Governess Smithers. I certainly wouldn’t have caught a marquess with such manners.’
‘But you would have been happy,’ Helena murmured.
‘And you were seven when they hired the governess? You’re sure?’ Aunt Rowan reclaimed Cynthia’s attention.
Seven. The age a witch first comes into her powers.
Ellie clapped a hand over her mouth as Clio turned from Thomas to stare at Cynthia.
Hamlet bumped against Helena’s thigh, and she buried her fingers in his soft fur, drawing comfort from her familiar.
‘If Thomas says I was seven, then I must have been seven. I told you, his memories of our childhood are much better than mine. But I do remember Governess Smithers. Her personality was impossible to forget.’
‘Fascinating.’ Aunt Rowan sent Helena a look laden with meaning.
She is a witch. Someone trapped her powers, but magic can’t stay bound forever.