Lacybourne Manor (Ghosts and Reincarnation #3)(65)

As an answer, she hedged, “Perhaps I should get Colin.”

“Sure,” Claire agreed happily. “Here I am, monopolising the conversation, as usual. I didn’t get your name.”

Sibyl opened the backdoor and walked stiffly through the garden. She loved her garden, with its flagstone paths and beautifully laid flower beds that were carefully created to look wild.

At that moment, however, she didn’t even see it.

“Sibyl Godwin,” she replied without thinking and heard the woman’s shocked gasp.

Her extremely shocked gasp.

“What did you say?” Claire whispered, her voice sounding strange in Sibyl’s ear.

Why everyone that had anything to do with Colin (although, if she was honest, it was really just Marian, Colin and now his sister, then again, those were the only people Sibyl knew who had anything to do with Colin) reacted so strongly to her name was beyond her.

She didn’t have time to consider it; Sibyl had made it to the door of the Summer House.

Colin was still sitting in the wicker chair, his forehead resting in his hand, his elbow resting on his knee.

He glanced up at her when she arrived and instead of repeating her name to his sister, Sibyl told her, “He’s right here.”

Claire didn’t reply and her silence was deafening.

Sibyl extended the phone to Colin and announced, “It’s your sister.”

He took the phone but stared at Sibyl intently. She had no idea what her faced looked like but she could tell by his look that he could read her dazed reaction to the phone call clearly.

“Claire,” he said by way of greeting, his eyes never leaving Sibyl’s face. Then upon whatever his sister was saying, they closed, slowly, and when they opened again, they rolled to the ceiling of the Summer House in exasperation.

Sibyl stood motionless inside the doorway. But at his rolling of eyes, she moved jerkily forward, set the glass of water on a counter and went to finish with the salts.

She heard him talking behind her and felt his eyes on her back.

“Claire, can you be quiet for one minute?” Silence and then, “Do not call Mum.” More silence. “Claire, if you tell –”

He must have been interrupted because, seconds later, she heard the electronic beep of him disconnecting and the flip of the phone being shut.

Before he could light into her, she quickly and defensively explained to her salts, “I was thinking about you. I heard the phone ringing and I just grabbed it. It was a reflex action.”

She felt him come up behind her but she didn’t turn.

Instead of his voice being angry as she expected it to be, it was soft when he asked, “What are you doing?”

She was surprised at his question and the curious tone behind it.

“Making bath salts. I have a small business,” she answered.

He made no reply.

Then she felt his finger run gently along the marks on her right arm and the skin tingled where he touched it. Then she felt him move closer to her back.

She continued talking to her salts; she’d completely filled the jars and was now screwing on their lids. “Have you ever had an episode like that before?”

His reply was immediate. “Never.”

She felt the word on her neck and then, to her complete surprise, she felt his chin settle on her shoulder as his arms slid around her belly.

She sucked in breath. It was a moment so tender, so unlike anything she and Colin had ever shared, Sibyl froze.

And in that moment, she knew she should tell him everything but she decided there was the good possibility that if she informed him that she thought she was a latent witch, expunging magical powers through her dreams or possibly her home (or both) and he was bewitched, he would think (perhaps rightly) she was a screaming loon.

Furthermore, she didn’t want to do anything that would make him pull away from her when he was holding her like that.

Therefore, instead she remarked, “You should see a doctor.”

This was true, he probably should, but she knew in her core Western medicine would probably not be able cure this ailment.

“I’m sorry I hurt you.” His voice was warm and she felt a shiver pass through her not only due to his tone but also due to the guilt she felt. “I don’t remember it, not a moment, but that’s no excuse.”

It was an excuse, since he had been possessed by some other being, but Sibyl couldn’t tell him that. Therefore, she could do nothing but nod her head and whisper, “It’s okay.”

His arms gave her a gentle squeeze then he queried, “Did I say anything to you?”

At that, she shook her head and lied, “I just knew, the minute you arrived, you weren’t you.” Then she shrugged her shoulders as if to indicate it was a matter of little importance.

“What did I say?”

“Nothing that made sense.” That was almost true. “Nothing important.” That was most definitely not true.

“Why was I kissing you?”

She smiled to herself at the memory of the kiss, a secret smile she hoped he couldn’t see.

She had broken a rule, she knew, not blatantly but she still broke it. She had allowed another man to touch her and kiss her, even though it was Colin, it was also not.

She lied again on a whisper, “You always kiss me.”

Colin was silent a moment before he said softly, “If this was as unimportant as you wish me to believe, why aren’t you looking at me?”