Chapter 25 Secret Meetings #2
Charlotte smiled wryly. “Asmodeus is said to have made deals with men that have ended in horrible curses.” Charlotte leaned forward and said in a conspiratorial voice, “Usually curses that involve genital warts or the inability to get it up for all eternity.”
“And? What was the deal if that was the price?” Elizabeth asked, amused despite herself.
“Power, wealth, whatever someone asked for, but apparently, Asmodeus would tell them the cost would be the thing they’d miss most. And the person would usually insist on leaving their family and loved ones alone, and then, upon wracking their brains for what else could possibly be so bad, they agree. And … you guessed it.”
Elizabeth giggled. “Imagine amassing all the wealth in the world, and the price for becoming rich overnight was that your favourite man parts would never work again.”
Charlotte threw back her head and laughed. “Yes, it is a bit funny.” She quickly sobered. “But I’ve heard of him. He sounds devious. Don’t make any more promises to demons if you can avoid it.”
“I wasn’t planning on it.”
Charlotte wrinkled her nose and looked deep in thought for a moment. “I don’t like this at all. I wish you could leave and stay somewhere else.”
Elizabeth sipped her tea and sighed. “I know. But I signed a contract. I think I’ve made my bed and must lie in it, at least for the time being.”
Silence drifted between them for a while.
Elizabeth broke it by saying, “I think I was blessed by an angel.”
Charlotte gasped. “Lizzy! You did not mention you had spoken to an angel.” Elizabeth gave a sheepish shrug, and Charlotte pressed on. “What did he look like? What did he say? Did he really have angel wings?”
Elizabeth blew on a spoonful of soup to cool it before taking a sip.
“Tall, blond, and ethereal looking. Yes, he did have wings.” She paused.
“He talked to me about magic and told me what his magic feels like.” She tapped her chest. “Then he put his hand on my chest, and I felt something funny happen in here, like something stretching taut and collapsing deep within my chest.”
Charlotte looked stricken. “Tell me exactly what happened.”
So, she did. She told her about what had happened with Ambriel and everything that had happened since leaving home.
It was a relief to speak to Charlotte, but she found herself avoiding certain details, like the bodies in the cellars and the fact that the demons of the castle drank blood in front of her every night. Things that she thought would only make Charlotte worry about her more than she already did.
Charlotte listened carefully and didn’t ask too many questions.
When her tale was done, Charlotte was quiet for a long moment. Finally, she said, “I thought only witches had magic.”
Elizabeth gave her a wry smile. “I did too.”
“So,” Charlotte said, tapping her chin. “You may or may not have magic. And can hear … thoughts.”
Elizabeth pressed her lips together and nodded.
“I don’t believe you,” Charlotte said, grinning. “What am I feeling then? Tell me.”
Elizabeth placed a hand atop Charlotte’s and looked her in the eyes, focusing and casting out her thoughts. After a moment, she said, “Warmth, friendship. A warm, fuzzy, happy feeling. Concern, more than a little.”
Charlotte’s eyes twinkled. “Okay, little miss witch.”
Elizabeth looked scandalized. “Char! Don’t call me that. Someone could hear.”
“Being a witch wouldn’t be the worst thing, would it?” Charlotte mused. “If you are, it wouldn’t matter to me, you know. We would still be friends.”
Elizabeth gave her a look that suggested otherwise.
They collapsed into fits of giggles.
“But I don’t have magic. I was given a … task to try. To lift a stone with a spell, but I can’t do it. It doesn’t work for me. So, while the angel did something, I don’t think the answer is magic.”
Charlotte frowned. “A stone?”
“Yes. When I spoke with the witch, she told me to try a simple spell, like lifting a stone in the air to see if I can harness magic or not. It didn’t work.”
“Hmm,” Charlotte mused, tapping her chin. “What does it look like when you try?”
Elizabeth told her, explaining the best she could.
Charlotte looked thoughtful, and Elizabeth watched the wheels turning in her friend’s mind.
“I don’t know. It sounds like you are imagining it happening, but that’s the same as me closing my eyes here and pretending to do magic.
” Charlotte closed her eyes and waved her hands about as if she were a madwoman.
Elizabeth snorted loudly, quickly covering her mouth.
Charlotte said, “You said you can talk to horses and demons with your mind, so maybe you do have magic. I don’t know.
” Charlotte stared at the wall, appearing lost in thought for a moment.
Finally, she said, “You explained your magic as a feeling in your chest. Tell me about it? What does having magic look like?”
Elizabeth marvelled that her friend was taking this in stride and had not thrown her plate across the restaurant and run off. Elizabeth closed her eyes and looked within herself.
“It’s a well of fire. The fire is green. A pale green, not green like the forest. More like the green of a peridot,” she said to her own surprise.
“A well of peridot fire … hmmm.” Charlotte raised a brow. “Maybe … try … using the well of fire?” She paused. “I don’t know. Maybe the magic needs to come from there. Maybe it doesn’t work if you just wave your hands and say the words.”
Elizabeth thought about it for a heartbeat and declared, “You know, that’s not a half-bad idea.”
Charlotte grinned. “What can I say? My and Connall’s future children will be smart as well as beautiful.”
Elizabeth laughed loudly and quickly sobered, the easy grin wiping off her face.
“I—what if I don’t have magic? And—what if I do?
” She bit her lip. “I thought it was the answer to the angel’s gift, but I was filled with relief when it didn’t work.
” She paused, frowning. “I don’t know if I would want to live my life being hunted as a witch.
Asteria is not kind to magic users, and my life has already gotten dangerous enough. ”
Charlotte was silent for a long moment. Her voice was sincere when she said, “If you have magic, then you do.” Charlotte smiled and shrugged.
“Let us see if the angel gave us a clue to work with. If you have some sort of magical ability, we will work with it to help you survive. And if not, it changes nothing.”
“Charlotte, how can you be so calm? Even knowing me might be dangerous right now.”
Charlotte wiggled her eyebrows. “But where would you be without me?”
Charlotte glanced down in a meaningful way, and Elizabeth was surprised to feel a velvet sack brush against her fingers under the table.
“What’s this?”
“Open it.”
Elizabeth glanced at the contents of the sack and gasped. “Charlotte! I am not worth this.”
Charlotte grinned. “Add it to your collection to sell. We will see you out of this mess one way or another. I fully expect to be visiting you in a manor of your own one day.”
Overcome with emotion, Elizabeth said nothing. A fortune in jewellery was in that sack.
She tapped her chin thoughtfully. “Perhaps I’ll make some inquiries about some of Connall’s cousins. Discreetly, of course,” Charlotte said, wiggling the large ring on her finger. “In a few months, you must come visit me.
“I think if you are seen in town, looking well and healthy, perhaps we can make you seem like a person of interest with great strength of character. Perhaps it will allow us to find you another suitor. One that meets even your high standards.” Charlotte paused.
“So, you can come home and rid yourself of all this nasty business.”
Elizabeth laughed outright. Charlotte’s optimism, even in the face of uncertainty, was contagious. “Oh, if only the queen could plot half as well as you.”
“Truly! I think with the right angle, we could paint you as a woman of passion and worldly travel after this adventure.”
“Men would not want to be with such an unfeminine woman.”
“They would, actually. I’ve been telling you that for years.
None of that docile nonsense matters. You might as well say to the Seven Hells with it and live exactly as you want.
” Charlotte grinned. “Though it’s funny to me that, all this time, everyone thought you were the quiet one who always did what you were told, and I was the wild and unpredictable one. ”
“Perhaps you’re the only one, out of the two of us, who’s brave enough to wear their heart on their sleeve. For me, it does not come so easily.”
Their eyes met for a moment, and Elizabeth smiled sadly.
She was jealous for a hairsbreadth of a second that Charlotte had lived her life wild and free, true to herself, and had found a man who worshipped her.
If her letters were anything to go by, Connall had met her and immediately fallen for exactly who Charlotte was.
The jealousy disappeared in an instant, though, and she berated herself for being anything less than extraordinarily happy her friend had found a man who adored her.
Charlotte looked around the restaurant, ensuring they were not being overheard. “But this angel egging you on about magic is real funny business,” Charlotte said, chewing her lip once more.
“Yes, it was almost like he knew something I didn’t and was trying to warn me. Or protect me from something he knew was coming.”
“Any more bread for you, dears?” the waiter asked kindly, oblivious to the tension in the air between them.
Charlotte quickly shook her head, but Elizabeth nodded. “Yes, please.”
The waiter smiled and inclined his head, departing once more.
Elizabeth tore into another piece of bread, sighing in pleasure. “I can’t tell you what a blessing it is not to have to care about how much I eat and live in constant fear of getting fat.”
“If you don’t fit into your ballgowns anymore, can I have them?” Charlotte asked drily.
Elizabeth laughed. “I’m not … eating myself silly, I’m just … eating for sustenance and joy instead of hating myself for salivating over having a second slice of cake.”
Charlotte said wistfully, “Maybe when I marry Connall, I’ll get to enjoy the feeling.” Charlotte tilted her face. “Till then—” Charlotte hit one hand with the other, as if to say that she was taking her diet very strictly until her wedding day.
They dissolved into fits of giggles.
Charlotte stared off into space, lost in thought.
“It is fortunate you are away from the maneuvering of the court right now, Lizzy. Duke Howard feels slighted and is doing his best to ruin your family. It is a good thing you are gone and have no younger sister.”
Elizabeth poured herself another cup of tea and said heavily. “I figured as much.”
“And this demon. I’m sorry to have to deal with him. He must be awful.”
“He’s not so bad,” Elizabeth said truthfully, smiling a little.
“I don’t like that look on your face,” Charlotte said, looking scandalized. “Lizzy, don’t tell me you’ve grown fond of him? Tell me you’re not in love with that … thing.”
“A demon who drinks blood?” Elizabeth scoffed and wrinkled her nose in distaste. “I would NEVER.”
Charlotte looked slightly mollified.
“How’s Connall?” Elizabeth asked, eager to change the subject.
Charlotte sipped from her goblet and grimaced. “Truthfully, I’m a bit nervous to be married soon.” Charlotte pressed her lips together and suddenly looked more nervous than Elizabeth had ever seen her before.
“I’ve never been married before. What if I make a horrible wife?” Charlotte asked. “Sorry, Lizzy, I don’t mean to lay my troubles on you. I know you’re still sore over your arrangement. We don’t need to talk about me.”
Elizabeth held Charlotte’s eyes and smiled genuinely. “Charlotte. I am so incredibly happy for you. He sounds like a great man, and you deserve the very best.”
Charlotte smiled a little sadly. “Really? You won’t resent me if I become one of those boring married women?”
Elizabeth smiled in exasperation that Charlotte had ever worried about their friendship. “Never.”
Charlotte stuck out her lower lip, her eyes overly bright. “I’ve missed you.” Charlotte wiped her eyes and grinned. “Ah. I’m being silly. Is there anything else that’s new with you? Anything else we still need to talk about?”
Elizabeth thought of the dead bodies in the cellar, the goblets of blood—drunk so casually at dinner.
She feared someday, Caspian’s control would snap, and she would be the next one to wind up in his cellar.
The demon who had attacked her in the field, and the fact that she was frightened that if she did have magic, she was a dead woman walking.
She flicked her gaze to Charlotte and saw her smiling with such warmth and happiness that it twisted something in her gut. She decided not to say anything, not wanting to frighten her.
“No,” Elizabeth said, forcing a smile to her lips. “I think I’ve told you everything.”
A familiar-looking carriage pulled outside the restaurant, visible just outside the window.
“Oh blast! Has so much time passed already?” Charlotte stood and brushed a few crumbs off her skirts, drawing her emerald cloak closer around her. She raised a brow. “Do you need a ride to wherever it is you’re going?”
Elizabeth rose as well, setting a few coppers and a silver noble on the table. “I’ll be alright.”
They made their way outside, and Elizabeth embraced her friend in a quick hug.
“You’ll write?” Charlotte asked.
“Every chance I get.” Elizabeth grinned and waved as her friend climbed into the carriage.
She watched the Harrison carriage as it made its way down the lane and turned out of sight.