Chapter 24 #2
Grabbing Sadie’s wrist, he tugged her toward the door that led from the kitchen to the outside.
The same door she had knocked on her first night at Marstede.
She tried not to notice the speculation in the cook’s thoughts as she let herself be towed away.
They weren’t being booted from the kitchen because making chicken and peas required all the counters, but because Mrs. Benson’s helpers were too busy sneaking glances at how cozy the baron was with Miss Sadie to pay proper attention to their tasks.
Once they were outside, Sadie laughed. “I think your cook will lay the blame entirely on us if the peas end up overcooked and mushy.”
???
The mention of peas reminded Nicholas that Sadie would sleep in his room that night.
Unlike Jane, she would certainly take full advantage to snoop.
Would she find the peas his mother had him hide?
The entire situation was ridiculous, and yet he found himself reevaluating where he’d put them.
Would Sadie root through his bowl of stones if he left one in the bottom?
He wasn’t sure exactly what his mother hoped to learn from seeing if the women found the peas.
Was Jane’s polite indifference the goal?
It probably should be. But Nicholas rather liked the idea of Sadie being curious enough about him to sift through his belongings.
If their roles were reversed, he’d certainly be thorough in his inspection.
Not that he would invade her privacy without invitation.
But if she invited him in? He wouldn’t let manners get in the way of learning everything he could about her.
For today, though, he had to push the curiosity aside.
He had promised to pretend nothing had happened the other night and then purposefully shifted away from asking Sadie more about brewing.
The difference in her demeanor afterward had been stark.
For today, he’d enjoy whatever parts of herself Sadie chose to share with him without pushing for more.
Maybe that’s what he should have been doing all along.
Except he couldn’t convince himself that she only needed time.
If he didn’t push, she’d never open up. But he could build her trust in him more slowly.
He had time. Even if she didn’t open up before the month was out, Lamsdel was a short trip away.
“Where are we going?” Sadie asked.
He realized he still had her wrist in his grasp and altered his hold, sliding his hand down to hers and lacing their fingers together. She eyed their clasped hands but didn’t try to free herself. She felt the same pull he did, and it was more than physical attraction.
“I want to show you something.” That was an overstatement. He wanted to be with her, but there were several spots in the forest that made for a good excuse.
He showed her the clearing that always contained some sort of cute, fluffy animal when he visited—this time, it was both a fawn and a rabbit.
He showed her the stream that he didn’t visit as often as the spring, but which had a similar calming effect when he felt overwhelmed.
And then, he forgot to show her anything else, choosing paths at random as they simply enjoyed the woods together.
They lapsed into a comfortable silence around the time that they both knew they should suggest heading back to the manor. It was taut with unspoken things, yet also comfortable.
Until, suddenly, it wasn’t.
Nicholas fought the urge to place a ward around himself and Sadie, not sure what was triggering the instinctive reaction. If he could have constructed a ward that moved with them, he probably would have.
Then Sadie shuddered.
He stopped and cast the ward. “What is it?”
She shook her head. “I don’t know. The forest just feels …” She bit her lip and wouldn’t quite look at him.
He finished the sentence for her. “Haunted. It feels haunted suddenly.”
She nodded. “The last time I was here, it felt like this for a little bit, but then the feeling went away. I assumed it had to do with the fact that Abigail was with me, since the sensation disappeared the same time she left.”
“Why was Abigail with you?” he asked, distracted from the creeping sensation that had the hairs on the back of his neck rising.
“She didn’t appreciate that I won the connections game and thought I had cheated. She wanted proof that I knew about the spring and hadn’t just copied the answer from your slate.”
He looked around, taking in which part of the forest they had ended up in. “We aren’t particularly close to the spring.”
“We didn’t make it there either, and when I went on my own afterward, everything felt normal.”
They were actually quite close to the manor. And probably already late for luncheon. He sighed and dropped the ward. “We should head inside.”
Sadie looked around, then nodded. “I suppose we should.” She looked up at him. “I won’t judge the people who call the forest haunted as harshly anymore—though I still think it is generally a matter of them jumping at shadows. Mostly.”
“I’ve lived next to this forest my entire life, and this is the first time I’ve felt this way. It is almost certainly mostly jumping at shadows.” He glanced at those shadows, which seemed deeper now. “But perhaps I, too, will be more understanding in the future.”
They followed the path around a bend, and a form leaped out at them.
Sadie jumped, pulling her hand free as she slapped it over her mouth to stifle a little shriek.
Nicholas had a ward around them again in a blink.
Then they both realized that the “demon” that had startled them was none other than Abigail, in her pouffy white frock.
Given where she was standing, she had to have been on the path as they rounded the corner, and there really wasn’t a way to hide such wide skirts covered in ruffles, yet she had taken them both by surprise.
Honestly, Nicholas might have preferred a demon. He reluctantly dropped his ward.
Abigail crossed her arms. “There you are. Everyone was worried when you didn’t show up for the meal. We thought the demon might have gotten you. You could have at least warned someone if you didn’t plan to come in.”
From trying to force herself on him to nagging—Abigail certainly had an interesting technique for securing a suitor.
He kept his tone mild when answering her, though he didn’t really feel like it.
Sadie was right; he was too nice. “We didn’t realize how late it had gotten.
I hope no one felt the need to delay their own meal because of our tardiness. ”
“Apologizing after the fact doesn’t change that we were sick with worry when you didn’t show up,” Abigail snapped. “What if Sadie were possessed, and she led you out here to murder you?”
Nicholas bit his tongue, wanting to give Sadie a chance to respond to such an accusation herself. She’d no doubt have a scathing reply. But she said nothing.
He looked over to find her standing there with a grimace on her face, her eyes clenched shut, and her hand wrapped around the amulet she always wore.
The tiny surge of power he sensed had to be from her tracing the glyph on the back with her thumb.
Whatever her power was, Abigail’s confrontation was aggravating her limited control.
Nick wrapped an arm around Sadie’s shoulders, afraid she might just topple over with the way she was swaying. From the corner of his eye, he saw Abigail recoil. Sadie shuddered.
Not turning away from the woman in his arms, he addressed Abigail, his voice now frosty. “You can go tell everyone no demons got us.”
“How do you know she’s not—”
“Go, Abigail. Now,” he snarled.
Nicholas could be polite for his mother’s sake, but he wouldn’t let social niceties get in the way of protecting Sadie.
When Abigail didn’t leave, he turned, giving her his back, standing between her and Sadie, and gently pried Sadie’s fingers from around her amulet.
He flipped the agate over and traced the unknown glyph with his nail, willing more magic to flow into the stone.
Sadie shuddered again, but this time with relief as the glyph activated and blocked her own power. She leaned forward, resting her forehead against his chest, and he listened to her breathe. First a few harsh breaths, then they slowed and calmed.
He also heard Abigail’s footsteps as she finally walked away, but that was a distant thing. His focus was entirely on Sadie.
“Better?” he asked when her breathing was normal once more.
She nodded against him. “Thank you.”
He pulled her closer, kissing the top of her head. “To be clear, Sadie, I still don’t like not knowing exactly what that charm does, and have no intention of strengthening it for you indefinitely. However, I’m not going to leave you to suffer when I know it can at least help you in the short term.”
She pulled back slightly, and he had to force himself to let her, then rejoiced when he realized she wasn’t trying to get away, but to look at him.
“I’ve never had quite this problem before,” she told him quietly.
She licked her lips. “You know I have trouble controlling my magic, but it doesn’t usually affect me like this. ”
“Can you tell me what was different just now and the other morning in the foyer?” He knew she didn’t want to expose what form her magic took, but maybe she could give him enough that he could make her a new charm, something that would help without bottling up her magic like he suspected the glyph on her amulet did.
She shook her head, but then spoke anyway. “I’m not sure. Both times what I … sensed … was more powerful than usual. But it wasn’t just that. It felt malevolent. Like—”
“Like the forest did until Abigail left.” Nicholas finished, realizing that the shadows no longer looked as deep, and that he wasn’t flinching at things moving right at the edge of his vision.
He met Sadie’s dark brown eyes, and they both fell silent for a moment.
“It has to be a coincidence, right?” Sadie finally asked.
“Or we are looking to make connections where none exist because Abigail gets on our nerves.”
“Right. If Abigail really was the cause, it wouldn’t only happen in the forest and that once in the foyer.”
“Exactly,” Nicholas said firmly.
He only wished he felt as certain as he sounded.