Chapter 26 #2
‘Enough! If you have more questions, you can ask them after Cynthia and Helena have had a chance to recover.’ Aunt Rowan’s voice echoed on the tile.
‘You never know when to stop, Lachlan.’ She bundled the women into a carriage, and after a quick discussion with Clio and Ellie, they all departed for Blair House.
When they arrived, Ellie busied herself with baking clementine tea cakes. Aunt Rowan put on a pot of chamomile tea for Helena and coffee for Cynthia, and Clio went into the greenhouse to gather the ingredients for a restorative elixir.
Cynthia and Helena went upstairs to change into fresh clothes. They decided, as Cynthia’s one remaining travel dress now had a gaping hole in the chest, she would borrow one of Helena’s dresses, even if it wasn’t black.
Hamlet was given a special hambone for his courage and bravery, so he remained in the kitchen, munching happily.
When the door clicked shut, Cynthia leaned against it and watched her love begin to unbutton her dress. ‘Helena, I lied to your uncle.’
Helena’s brows drew together in a silent question as her finger froze.
‘Hubert didn’t kill himself.’
‘What do you mean? Sinclair told you that he did.’
Cynthia shook her head. ‘No. He didn’t.’
Sitting hard on the bed, Helena shook her head. ‘Why would you lie to Uncle Lachlan? Did Sinclair threaten you to try and save himself?’
Cynthia joined her, taking her hands and squeezing them. ‘Sinclair didn’t kill Hubert either.’
‘Oh my goddess! It’s Mrs Higgins, isn’t it? Lippert thought her name when we questioned him about Hubert’s death, but I dismissed it as impossible. Why would Mrs Higgins ever do such a thing?’
‘She knew what Hubert had been doing to the maids. She caught him strangling one of the poor girls…’ Her throat tightened and the tears she had kept at bay broke free. ‘I couldn’t tell your uncle. She doesn’t deserve to hang for doing what I should have done all along. She stopped him, Helena.’
Helena’s capable hands pulled Cynthia to her in a tight hug. She held her as Cynthia fell apart. She stroked her hair in a soothing rhythm as the fear, grief, guilt, and anger poured from her, poison lanced from a wounded soul. When she was empty, she pulled back, wiping her face with her sleeve.
‘Do you hate me? For lying to your uncle?’
Helena shook her head.
‘Do you hate me for being so blind to Hubert’s crimes?’
‘No. But I’m worried you hate yourself.’
‘I thought you couldn’t read my thoughts.’
Helena traced a finger down Cynthia’s cheek. ‘You don’t have to forgive Hubert. But you do need to forgive yourself.’
Cynthia caught Helena’s hand and pressed it against her cheek. ‘I know. I’m working on it. It isn’t easy.’
‘You do hard things, Cynthia. You’ve done hard things every day of your life. You took down the Devil today.’
‘You took him down.’
‘We did it. Together. Which is how I want to do everything from this moment forward. Our souls are intertwined, after all.’
Cynthia’s lips curled in a small smile flavoured with salty tears. ‘I love you, Helena Blair.’
‘Good. Because I am hopelessly in love with you, Cyn.’
They helped each other change and joined Aunt Rowan, Ellie, and Clio in the parlour. Ellie had a plate of freshly baked clementine cakes on a plate. Two steaming mugs awaited them, one with tea, the other coffee, and they settled themselves on the settee, Helena’s leg pressing against Cynthia’s.
Around sips of their drinks and nibbles of cake, Cynthia took turns with Helena recounting each side of the story. It wasn’t until Cynthia described her confrontation with Sinclair that she could process the memory of her mother.
‘She forced you to bind your magic.’ Clio’s eyes widened. ‘Cyn, that’s awful. Like cutting off your arm.’
‘Or taking away your sight. Our magic is woven into our souls.’ Ellie hugged Ophelia close. ‘I can’t imagine being separated from my element.’
‘She did it out of love. Misguided and manipulative, but I think she truly thought it’s what was best for me.’
Aunt Rowan shook her head. ‘I’m so sorry, Cynthia.’
‘It’s all right. The magic is coming back.
I think you all have a lot to do with that.
’ Cynthia leaned against Helena but before she could rest her head on Helena’s shoulder, she jerked upright.
‘Blasted damnation! I forgot about the photos. Sinclair’s giant took pictures of me.
He escaped before Superintendent Lachlan and my brother arrived.
’ Fear threatened her newfound joy. ‘He’ll use them against us.
I should have told Superintendent MacDougal right away. ’
Clio fed Sir Robin a piece of clementine cake. ‘Should you have told him before or after you lost consciousness from being shot?’
Cynthia opened her mouth to reply and realised Clio was teasing her. That she could do so after everything they’d experienced together was an unexpected balm on her raw nerves.
Ellie primly cleared her throat. ‘I wouldn’t worry too much about those photos.’
Helena stiffened next to Cynthia. ‘Have you seen something?’
Bluebell eyes twinkled with secrets. ‘I see lots of things.’
‘He won’t use them against us?’ Cynthia dared to ask, terrified Ellie wouldn’t be able to give her an answer.
‘He will not.’
Cynthia swallowed, her throat tight. ‘I know it’s wrong. I should be glad that Hubert can’t hurt anyone any more. And I am. But it doesn’t seem like enough. He hurt so many women, and he’ll never suffer for the crimes he committed.’
‘There is much we do not understand, but I know that once a seed is sown, it must be reaped. Whether in this plane or another. No one escapes the consequences of their choices.’ Aunt Rowan sipped her tea, then tapped the cup three times.
‘Lachlan won’t be happy that Sinclair is not to blame for the marquess’s murder.
He doesn’t like being denied that which he desires. ’
Helena’s grip tightened around Cynthia’s fingers as her voice hardened. ‘Well, Sinclair’s certainly guilty of attempted murder. He shot Cynthia and kidnapped me. That should be enough for the House of Commons to keep him locked in Newgate for the rest of his days. If Ellie is right—’
‘I’m right.’
Helena smiled at her cousin. ‘Of course. Which means we needn’t worry about those photographs. Sinclair has been captured. Cyn is alive and safe.’
‘And so are you, Hel.’
‘That is what matters. My coven, together and complete.’ Aunt Rowan smiled at them as an orchid bloomed next to her.
‘Aunt Rowan, how can I ever thank you? Without your help, and Clio’s and Ellie’s, I’m not sure what might have happened to us.’ Glancing at Helena, Cynthia’s heart beat hard in her chest. She could feel the pounding in her pulse points.
Us.
One word that melded two independent women into one powerful unit.
Helena’s eyes flicked to Cynthia’s mouth and everyone in the room disappeared.
Cynthia leaned closer, needing to feel Helena’s heat. Press her warm body close. Know that her love was alive and safe and well.
Clio cleared her throat, loud enough to break the spell holding Cynthia and Helena in thrall to each other. ‘How did you get back from Bath so quickly, Aunt Rowan? I thought you and Uncle Lachlan were meant to remain there for at least another week.’
Aunt Rowan’s nonchalant shrug fooled no one. ‘Ellie isn’t the only one prone to visions. I might not have her future sight, but when one of my girls is in danger, I will always know. That goes for you too, Cynthia. You are part of our coven now. Part of our kin.’
Cynthia’s chest expanded, and she wondered if so much joy could be contained in one person.
As Ellie claimed the last clementine cake, Helena yawned loudly.
‘I think you two should go upstairs and get some rest.’ Clio eyed them both with a spark of mischief in her eyes. ‘You’ll need it if you still plan on attending Duchess Devon’s ball this evening.’
Cynthia slumped back on the couch. ‘That’s right. Today is now tomorrow.’
Helena laughed. ‘I hardly think Cyn is ready for a ball after everything that she’s endured.’ She gently nudged Cynthia’s shoulder with her own.
‘Actually, I feel incredibly well. I don’t know what kind of magic you Blair women performed, but I’ve never felt better.’
‘I put an elixir in your drinks. You should both be feeling rather chipper for the next few days.’
‘Clio! What did you give us?’ Hel spat her tea back into the cup.
‘Nothing bad. Just a little Ashwagandha, some Holy Basil, a little sprinkle of something… extra.’
Ellie exchanged a glance with Clio. ‘Cupid’s cordial?’
It was Clio’s turn to shrug innocently.
Cynthia looked at the woman surrounding her, a new family of powerful friends who embraced the real Cyn. A magic she could never have conjured. Her heart stretched with love.
Helena stood. ‘I’m not subjecting Cynthia to any more of this witchcraft. If we are going to this silly ball, I think a few hours’ rest is required, no matter what you put in our drinks.’ She reached out for Cynthia’s hand. ‘Will you come up with me?’
She returned her gaze to Helena. ‘Always.’