Belmary House Book Three (12 page)

“We’ll follow behind you in a few days,” she said, giving Ashford a meaningful look. “We have some things left to do up here.” He felt bad that she still thought she was going to be a part of the Povest fight, and knew she didn’t want to talk about it in front of Dexter.

“Tilly.” Dexter crossed his arms in front of him, once again glaring at Ashford.

He wanted to protest that Matilda had a mind of her own, he was all too familiar with it, and he certainly wasn’t going to argue losing his last precious days with her, though he knew he should give them up gracefully. But he wasn’t a grace filled man and he intended to dig in with both feet.

“What?” she asked innocently, turning back to slicing carrots for stew.

“You can’t be thinking of going back with him, can you? How can you do that to us? Without even seeing your gran?” He looked like he wanted to say more, but only shook his head in disgust.

“Dex, all I said was we’ll follow in a few days. Why are you freaking out?”

“This is your doing.” He rounded on Ashford. “What nonsense have you been filling her head with these last months?”

“Excuse me?” Tilly slammed down the knife and strode around the kitchen island. Mellie fled to a back room, and Liam also melted away from the conflict. “You’re saying I’m so feeble minded I can’t make a simple decision like when to come home on my own?”

“I just don’t think you’re seeing things clearly. You don’t know how hard it was for me to give up Emma, but I did because my life is here. You have family, friends. People need you —” his voice broke and he looked down.

“You should have gone, you dummy,” she snapped. “If you loved her that much, people would understand. They should, anyway.”

Her cousin looked as if she’d slapped him, and Ashford felt certain her words hurt worse than a slap. He’d never seen Matilda be so cruel and unfeeling. He could see she was already sorry for what she’d said, but was too proud to apologize yet.

Dexter took his phone out of his pocket. “I’m ordering a taxi and leaving tonight. I hope you’ll be with me.” He shook his head before storming out of the kitchen.

“I won’t,” she said, perhaps to Ashford, perhaps to herself. She resumed chopping the carrots with gusto.

He got up and placed a kiss on her cheek. “Very well, Matilda. Let’s try and broach the subject of the Povests at supper, shall we?”

Her face was pink from her argument, and she blew out a gust of air. The thought of a plan of action seemed to put her in a better mood. “If Piper agrees to help, between her, you and Liam, we should be able to save Kostya, right?”

He put his head on her shoulder for a brief moment, loving how positive she was. He knew she’d only said the cruel thing to Dexter because it was the way she felt. Fortunately for her, he was going to spare her any painful goodbyes to her family. He hoped she’d thank him one day.

***

Tilly lay on top of Ashford, sated and cozy. As he ran his hands along her sides, she relaxed into him, letting her heartbeat return to normal. She was so glad he’d come to his senses and stopped the nonsense of being afraid to touch her or be near her.

She’d had to throw herself at him to make him see reason, and that he wouldn’t possibly hurt her no matter how worked up he got, but it had been well worth it. Their dinner time conversation drifted into her thoughts as she dozed against his chest, wondering what they would do next.

Dex had barely looked at her when he said goodbye, after he tried to get her to go back with him again. She knew how upset he was and didn’t want to further add to his worries by trying to explain she had unfinished business that needed taking care of. Just because she fell through the portal by mishap, didn’t mean she hadn’t made bonds with the people of her new time, and she was determined do everything she could to help them before she made any permanent decisions.

Piper had flatly refused to join them in their quest to put a stop to the Povest coven once and for all, shaking her head at their audacity to think they could do such a thing. Even though she had never heard of the evil family, which led Tilly to hopefully believe they no longer had any power, Piper had advised them to keep their heads down and live quietly, much as her long ago ancestors had said. Even when they explained Kostya’s plight, she’d sadly told them she just couldn’t, and Lachlan had loudly agreed. She was staying put in this time, in this castle.

However, she’d offered to help Ashford come to terms with his magical side before they left, an offer he’d flatly refused. He didn’t want to know anything about it, not trusting himself after what he’d done to Wodge.

“But look what you did for Emma,” Piper had said reasonably. “Of course there will be mishaps. I used to set fires all over the place. But it’s better in the long run to have at least some control over it.”

He clearly didn’t think so, and his anxious face had made Tilly change the subject to touring the castle before they left, which Piper readily agreed to, eager to show off her decorating skills.

“Shall we leave for London tomorrow, then?” Ashford asked, kissing the side of her neck as he rolled her over next to him.

“Not tomorrow,” she said, sliding her hand down his arm and across his stomach. “I wanted to take the tour, remember? Piper said she’d give me VIP access, show me all the secret passageways.”

“Sounds fascinating,” he yawned.

She traveled lower with her hand, not wanting him to go to sleep yet. “Well, you’ve always lived in grand old houses, but I do think it’s fascinating. You’re not tired yet, are you?”

He moved closer to her, nudging his knee between her thigh. “Matilda, I could never get tired of being with you like this.”

The inexplicable sadness that she’d been noticing ever since they arrived in her time reappeared in his eyes. She stroked his forehead and his jaw, trying to erase it, but while he relaxed his face, his eyes were as bereft as ever. He shook his head, cutting off the question she was about to ask.

“I’m fine,” he said. “So long as I’m with you, I’m fine.”

He kissed her deeply, almost making her forget to worry about him, but when he drew back, the look remained and she gripped his shoulders.

“What is it, Julian?”

She stopped before asking him if he still felt bad about what he’d done to Wodge. She didn’t think he needed to feel any sort of remorse whatsoever, but then again, she’d never been responsible for the death of another. It had to be a terrible burden no matter who it was. And on top of it, they didn’t know if Wodge was really dead, so he might have been worried about that.

He laughed and kissed her again. “You were concentrating so hard just now I thought something might pop.”

She felt the tension in her jaw and smiled. “It’s been a day, hasn’t it?”

“It has indeed, my love.”

“That’s right,” she said, satisfied at last that he wasn’t stewing anymore. “Don’t forget I am your love.”

He gripped her hips and gazed at her hungrily. “Never,” he said. “Don’t you forget about me, either.”

He dipped his head to kiss her some more, and for a second she was overwhelmed by the gentle trailing of his lips against her throat, until his words made their way past the distraction of his touch.

“Why would I forget about you?” she asked, drawing away. She swatted his hands, determined to make him answer.

He blinked. “Did I say me? I meant that you loved me. Don’t forget that you love me. You know, if I’m being a jackass.”

It took a moment for her nerves to settle, and fight off the foreboding feeling she got that he was going to do something stupid.

“
When
 you’re being a jackass,” she clarified. “We both know it’s inevitable.” She pulled him close again, wanting to feel the reassurance of his body against hers. She saw in his clear silver grey eyes that he did love her.

“Quite right, Matilda.”

Tilly was exhausted from the extensive tour of the castle and grounds, but exhilarated to see so many historical nooks and crannies inside, and the gardens were stunning. They’d followed a long, dark secret passage that started somewhere on one of the upstairs floors and wound and descended until they came out far from the castle, at a small lake. After feeding the ducks and chatting about various Glen ancestors, some of whom seemed just awful, Piper had to get back to meet Evie and get some estate work done.

“She only has two days a week without the babies, so we cram everything in at once,” Piper explained as they made their way back to the courtyard. “But feel free to keep exploring on your own. The middle floors are all pretty safe.”

“Oh, this has been great. I can’t imagine what we didn’t see.”

Piper rolled her eyes. “Even I keep finding new rooms and tunnels. My people were crazy about hiding, apparently. Or just crazy.” She cleared her throat. “And speaking of crazy, are you thinking about going back with Ashford? Pardon my terrible segue into prying into your personal life, but you two seem to have something special.”

Tilly kept her head down, embarrassed to be talking about it with a near stranger, but it wasn’t as if Piper didn’t understand their situation. Her own husband had given up everything, leaving the seventeenth century to be with her permanently.

“After what happened with Solomon, I was afraid it was over,” she admitted. “He was so scared to get near me. I think he thought he’d zap me the same way if he wasn’t careful.”

“I can relate to that,” Piper said. “I thought I was possessed when it first started happening. I thought I’d hurt Lachlan, or Evie and the baby.”

“What changed? If you don’t mind me asking?”

Piper shook her head. “I decided, well, I was convinced that I had control over it. And except for a few odd things now and then, I really do control it. I don’t understand it very well, but it doesn’t get the better of me anymore.”

“I hope Ashford can figure it out,” Tilly sighed. “It was nice of you to offer to help him.”

“Well, we have to stick together. He’s family after a fashion, even without the magical nonsense. You’re not scared of him, are you?”

“No, of course not. I know he’d never hurt me, accidental or otherwise. He just wouldn’t.”

“Just make sure he knows that. It’s no fun feeling like a monster, I can tell you from experience.”

“He’s definitely not a monster,” Tilly said, wanting to run to Ashford that minute and forcibly erase those thoughts, if he had them. “And yes, to answer the original question, I am going back with him.”

“He’s okay with it? I felt pretty guilty when Lachlan chose to come to this time.”

“Why’d you let him?” she asked, hoping it wasn’t rude.

Piper smiled off into the distance. “I couldn’t live without him. Love makes you awfully selfish.”

Tilly longed for Ashford to have a response like that, instead of the constant trying to get her to stay. “I don’t think he’s a hundred percent on board, but I know he loves me.”

As they reached the courtyard, Evie pulled up, waving at them as she got out of the car. Lachlan appeared from the stables, a wisp of straw in his hair that Piper brushed away with a proprietary look.

“Oh good, we can all have breakfast together,” she said.

One of the kitchen windows was open and Ashford’s and Liam’s raised voices wafted out, making them pause before entering. Piper was about to open the door when someone slammed something down inside, and she frowned.

“You’re not planning on going back on your word, are you?” Ashford said angrily.

Tilly felt her cheeks heat up, wondering what they were arguing about now. “Maybe we should let them finish it,” she suggested, embarrassed to hover around the door, but not wanting to interrupt.

“I’ll close the portal, but I think you’re being an idiot in not giving Miss Jacobs a choice,” Liam responded.

Tilly gasped and moved closer to the window. Lachlan raised a brow, but she ignored him. If they were discussing her future, she had a right to eavesdrop.

“You know yourself how dangerous a life this is,” Ashford said.

“She’s strong. She beat the stuffing out of me the first time we met, remember?”

“Physical strength is nothing when it comes to the Povests. You know this.”

“I still say she’d be useful, and you should let her decide. She can be a catalyst.”

“Over my dead body.”

“What’s a catalyst?” Tilly hissed at Piper.

Piper shrugged, and Evie ducked down to join the whispered conversation. “I think he means you drove Ashford to use his powers. He got mad enough to lose control because he thought you were in danger.”

“Good lord, Evie, you should be the witch. You know way more than me.”

“No, thank you,” she said primly. “And it’s common sense.”

“It does make sense.” Tilly wasn’t sure how she felt about that.

She hoped she wasn’t a distraction. Liam thought she was worth having around, despite her lack of magical abilities. She vacillated between hurt and mad at their secretive argument. It hit her that the first thing she’d overheard was Liam agreeing to close up the portal. What was that about?

“We stick to the plan, Liam,” Ashford said, voice laced with menace.