Give Me (Wyrd and Fae #1)(21)
“Turnabout is fair play.” Marion’s bubbly personality went flat. “He was very good to me once. Gave me the Tragic Fall, you know.” She and Bausiney shared a sentimental smile. Lilith and the sisters waited for details, but none were forthcoming.
They were going in the wrong direction, away from the castle ruins, but halfway up one hill Lilith saw that the road made a circle, an outer ring around the village. If they continued this way, they’d curve around and end up at the castle, and beyond the castle was Igdrasil. Farther along, the drive passed a lone cottage on the border of a small forest.
It was colder out on the open road, but the hat and gloves Marion had given Lilith yesterday made her feel cozy. In her sweater, khakis, and good walking boots, she was perfectly comfortable, but she wouldn’t mind if Bausiney was inclined to wrap his scarf around her again.
Drat! It was a mistake to think like that. Yesterday’s strange attraction took hold before she could stop it and heat pulsed through her. She longed to touch him. How would he feel inside? Her breaths shortened to short gulps of cold mist. Fergawdsake, she was panting. It didn’t help when she noticed him looking at her mouth.
“Oh, this is me.” Marion perked up.
Bausiney’s lips twitched as if he was fully aware of Lilith’s torment. “Can we stop?” he called up to the driver. The carriage turned onto the end of a drive that disappeared into thick trees. “Let us take you on to the house, Moo.”
“No, no. We’ll have none of that.” Marion handed the jar to Lilith while she got out of the carriage. “Ian usually brings me up the hill in the morning, but he’s gone for supplies. Tonight we’ll have a nice Wellington.”
“That sounds lovely.” Lilith handed her the jar of gruel.
“And tomorrow, Ian’s specialty—liver and onions!”
The dismay on the French girls’ faces was priceless. Lilith hoped she had better control.
“You young people should get to your fun. See the sights.”
Cammy said, “Are you sure we can’t give you a lift?”
Bausiney gave Cammy a brilliant smile for her thoughtfulness. Of course that was exactly what the little vixen had intended. The sting of jealousy Lilith felt was surprising—so was her triumph when Bausiney shifted over to take Marion’s place beside her.
But then wanting to touch him only got worse.
“That’s sweet, but no, dear.” Marion backed away. “The mist has lifted, and the walk will do me good.” Leaving them, she wiggling her fingers over her shoulder. Lilith thought of someone tossing salt.
She was struck by a feeling of overwhelming sorrow and of deja vu. Where had she seen that gesture before? She twisted the ring under her glove for comfort. I must be developing obsessive-compulsive disorder.
At the castle another twenty or so tourists waited to join the tour. Bausiney gave them all a cheerful welcome. He was hatless today, and with the breeze his hair flew all over the place. Cammy’s face fell when Bausiney told the crowd to be ready to go in five minutes.
“Oh, Cammy,” Bella said. “Were you thinking to get him alone today?”
Cammy actually stuck her tongue out. “At least I haven’t given up on finding a man.”
Tintagos Castle was in ruins—not that Lilith expected tapestries and ceilings or finished walls. But she had expected to recognize the layout. Instead, the great piles of rocks were like a maze. Many walls still stood. There were a few stone stairways the tour was allowed to take and several modern wood stairs and causeways. Window-like holes in the walls provided the same prospects seen by others in ages long past.
One such window perfectly framed the oak tree—and the woman in the cloak. She was standing beside Igdrasil, watching the castle. Watching Lilith.
When are you coming? Elyse’s voice. There isn’t much time.
“Do you see your ghost then?” Bausiney stopped behind her. With his words, Elyse disappeared.
“Is that what she is?” Lilith shuddered. What would he say if she told him the ghost had spoken to her? “At first I thought she might be your wyrding woman, but that can’t be. The woman I saw, my ghost, was young.”
“I always think I’m seeing ghosts around here,” Bausiney said. “My romantic sensibilities get the best of me.”
She felt comfortable with Bausiney. There was none of the underlying tension always present with Greg, the feeling of not being good enough. As a future peer of the realm, Bausiney had actual reason to take that view, but there was nothing like that from him. She felt accepted and enjoyed on equal terms. And at the moment it was more than that, almost painful being so close to him. It would be the most natural thing in the world to lean back and kiss him, as if it were all settled and he belonged to her—hers to hold, to joke with, to make plans with.
The steps dipped unexpectedly. As she lost balance, Bausiney grabbed her from behind to steady her. “Are you all right?” His hands stayed on her hips, but he moved down a few steps until their eyes were level. “Seriously, Ms. Evergreen—Lilith. Are you ill?”
“Oh, Lilith!” Cammy pushed through the people behind them until she was on the step with Bausiney. “You look terrible. What can we do for you?”
You can shut your mouth and step away from the tour guide.
“It’s nothing.” Lilith said. “I took a bad step. Where’s your sister?” Far better Bella’s wounded sarcasm than Cammy’s saccharine faux regard.