Read Belmary House Book Two Online

Authors: Cassidy Cayman

Belmary House Book Two (18 page)

BOOK: Belmary House Book Two
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She should have slammed the door in his face and ignored him, trying to calm Ashford down enough not to hit him. Not that he didn’t deserve it.

“I was in the pub,” she told him soothingly. “Just in the pub.”

Ashford made an anguished sound. “I was so certain you wouldn’t go in there.” He stopped short as if realizing something and finally noticed Liam.

“Sorry about that,” Liam said with a bow. “That was me, I’m afraid. I really did need to speak with Miss Jacobs, though.”

Ashford set her gently aside and strode to the door, dragging Liam through it by his collar. “Who in blazes are you?”

Tilly fumed to learn Liam had put a hex on the pub to keep Ashford from checking it, causing him needless worry, but didn’t want to waste time having to revive the infuriating man.

“Don’t hit him, Julian, I already knocked him around pretty bad.”

Ashford looked at her incredulously before resuming throttling Liam. She hurried forward and got in between them, holding Ashford back with all her strength after saying who he was, and begging him to listen while they explained.

“You’re joking,” he said, after they both managed to get it all out.

He gave first Tilly, then Liam, a scathing look. He stood and opened the door, gesturing for Liam to leave.

“We can use his help,” she said urgently, holding out her hand for Liam to stay put. “We need him.”

“We certainly do not,” he said imperiously, making her stamp her foot, not sure who she was more irritated with, the bumbler Liam or hard-headed Ashford.

“Did the Glens say they would help?” she asked, thinking that was the only reason he could be so unyielding.

He turned a violent shade of red before sighing deeply. “They won’t help,” he admitted. “If they’re afraid of the Povests, what can this one man possibly do?”

“You’re right, of course,” Liam said, giving her an apologetic glance. “But if these Glens won’t help, why not ask different ones?” He had a glint in his eye that caused both Tilly and Ashford to gape at him. “We can time travel, can’t we? Go to a different generation. The one who owns it in Miss Jacob’s time might help you.”

Tilly watched in fascination as Ashford digested this seemingly simple answer. It looked painful for him.

“The Glens don’t own it in Matilda’s time. It’s a rich American.”

Liam shook his head, clearly delighted to have a story to tell. “Yes, she’s American, but she’s also a long lost Glen. She didn’t buy the place, she inherited.”

“Even if that’s true, we don’t know if she’s aware of anything,” Ashford grumbled, but Tilly could see his resolve wavered, and he was getting interested.

“I took the tour there about a year ago, hoping for some information about my son.” He flinched when Ashford stepped forward automatically at the mention of Solomon, but hurried on. “I didn’t get any, and didn’t even get to speak with her alone, but she introduced herself to us on the tour, and I could tell from twenty paces she’s got it.”

“Got what?” Tilly interjected, taking Ashford’s hand and squeezing.

“Magic, power, whatever you want to call it.”

“How could you tell?” Ashford demanded.

“Same as you, I suppose,” he said, waving his fingers around his head. “Like an aura, but you feel it more than see it? It feels kind of … gold?”

Ashford nodded, seeming satisfied, even though it sounded like malarkey to Tilly. How could something feel gold? Sometimes she felt jealous of the odd abilities Ashford possessed, even though he would swear up and down he had none. She’d never once witnessed something like what Liam described.

“I can’t use the portal here,” Ashford admitted, as if that settled everything, and Liam recklessly jumped up.

“Haven’t you been listening to a word I’ve said? I can get us to any time you want to go. It’s as easy as exhaling.”

Ashford looked as if he wanted to give Liam something to exhale about, namely a fist to the solar plexus, but he only stood there, deep in thought.

“This American Glen is in Matilda’s time?” He turned to her, looking an odd mix of tender and sad. “You could go home, love.”

She shook her head, blinking away tears at hearing him call her love.

“Are you just trying to get us to go to the year Solomon’s in?” she asked Liam, thinking he was being awfully solicitous with his suggestions all of a sudden. She refused to think about anything else right now.

“Yes, obviously I have my own intentions,” he said. “I’ve told you from the start I need to find Solomon, get him to meet with me. But I have nothing against you getting what you want as well, if it all matches up.”

“Aren’t you the saint,” Ashford said witheringly.

“I’m not, I know I’m not. I only want a chance to set things right. I’m not above anything anymore.”

“I won’t be beholden to you,” Ashford said. “Now my house is destroyed I have no means of my own to travel. But I’ll allow you to help Matilda.”

Tilly turned in a full circle to keep herself from screaming, then realized that in their tumbling haste to get Liam’s story out, they’d accidentally omitted the part about Belmary House not being destroyed. She quickly told him that Solomon had somehow amassed a fortune and now owned it, was even restoring it in her time.

“Solomon Wodge owns my house?” he asked, a little too calmly.

“Yes,” Liam said. “I think he’s got a block on the portal, but it’s most definitely still standing.”

“Your son controls my house,” he repeated.

“Well, yes.” Liam looked at her nervously and she shrugged.

Ashford nodded, patting his side where he kept his gun holstered as if without realizing it.

“When do we leave?”

Chapter 16

Tilly put her whole body down against them leaving immediately, wedging herself into a chair and clinging to the armrests. The men wanted action, but she could see the fatigue in Ashford’s eyes after riding all day and flatly refused to budge without a good night’s sleep. She glared at Liam until he gave up and left, promising Ashford he’d return the next morning.

“What did you do to him to make him fear you so?” Ashford asked, pacing restlessly. “He really should have been more afraid of me.”

“You’re very scary, Ashford, don’t worry about that,” she soothed.

He frowned and sat down on the bed. “Can we trust this man? He may be luring us directly into his son’s trap. You really shouldn’t make friends so easily, Matilda. It’s worrisome.”

“I don’t fully trust him,” she admitted. He had accosted her after all. But he seemed sincere, and didn’t seem wily enough to trick someone as skeptical as Ashford. “But what else do we have? The Glens were a bust.”

“Indeed,” he said, collapsing backward onto the mattress. “As much as I don’t like putting my faith in this Liam Wodge, I can’t let Solomon have control of the house. It would have been better if it was destroyed. Who knows what havoc he’ll wreak.”

She snuggled up next to him, and he put his arms around her. “And I don’t like thinking about him being so close to Dex and Emma. Do you think he knows about Emma?”

“I’m quite certain he must. He’s definitely a danger to her.” He nudged her. “Which is why I don’t understand why we aren’t moving now.”

“Because no matter how tough you act, you’re about to collapse. A few more hours won’t make a difference. Please get some rest, for me.”

“For you, then, Matilda.” He kissed her forehead. “If nothing else, you’ll be home. You must be delighted.”

She wasn’t. She felt sick about it, in fact. “We don’t know if it will work yet,” she said in a rush. “It’s not worth thinking about too much until it actually happens.”

He got up on his elbow to look down at her. “What is it?” he asked. “That’s not your delighted voice at all.”

She smiled, but the tears were close. How could she leave a man who knew the differences in her voice? He was so affectionate lately, and seemed to rely on her more and more, so she didn’t understand why he was so eager to get rid of her.

“I guess I’m a little less delighted than you are,” she said, the last word getting cut off due to the lump in her throat.

He gathered her closer, rolling her body toward him and sighing against her hair before answering.

“How can I ask you to give up your life?” he asked, so quietly she wasn’t certain she was supposed to hear.

Just ask, she wanted to plead, but couldn’t make the words come out. It wasn’t only Ashford that made her want to stay. She had truly grown to love so many things about this time, and the life she’d been living the last six weeks or so. Such a short time to base her entire future on. She knew pragmatic Ashford would pounce on that very argument if she tried to convince him otherwise. The only thing she could do was see how she felt when she got back in her own time, and hold onto Ashford as hard as she could until then. She did that very thing, wrapping her arms and legs around him and burying her face in his chest.

“Let’s get some rest,” she said, already immeasurably comforted by the sound of his heartbeat against her ear. “If it works, things are going to move fast.”

***

Liam Wodge was irritatingly chipper when they met him the next morning, bouncing around on his heels in front of the inn. The sun was the merest hint of amber on the horizon, the ground cold and wet with dew. He had them trudge to the farthest edge of the village, then wanted them to go into the forest.

“Is this necessary?” Ashford groused.

Tilly had to agree with him. Her thin boots were soaked through, and the menacing dark trees made her apprehensive about Liam’s intentions. They were already far enough from civilization to hide what they were about to do, so she didn’t understand the need to go into the spooky woods on top of it.

“Lord Ashford, please pay attention,” Liam said, making Ashford’s already grim expression turn positively ominous.

She knew he was on edge having to rely on someone other than himself, and that he didn’t trust Liam nearly as much as she did, which wasn’t very much at all. She gave Liam a look telling him he better get on with his explanations. He motioned them a few more steps toward the trees and Ashford grudgingly followed, his expression changing.

“Is this Glen land?” he asked.

“Bingo,” Liam said. “I wasn’t sure about Miss Jacobs so thought we better get as much help as we can. Truthfully, if you’ve never gone using a spell, there’s no guarantee it’ll work for you, either.”

“Aye,” Ashford agreed. He turned to her. “It’s like Rouleney. So many people have done spells here, or left something of themselves, that the land is soaked in power.”

“That gives us a better chance?” she asked, thinking she understood.

He tapped her on the nose and smiled. “Exactly.”

Feeling better about things now that Ashford was appeased, she followed while the two men discussed the possibilities of the spell failing. She didn’t think it was worth worrying about until it happened, but she understood their anxiety, and their soft mumbling calmed her own nerves about having a magical spell cast on her that would send her through time. She hadn’t been prepared for the portal so didn’t know to be scared then. She hurried to catch up with them and asked if there were side effects.

Liam puckered his face while he thought about it, looking around and deciding they’d gone far enough.

“The one I’m going to try is the most benign. You might get a headache for a while, but that’s about it.”

“What about the others?” she asked, nerves flaring now that they were so close to actually doing it.

He motioned for them to sit down as he cleared an area on the ground. “There’s one that’s hard for me. I’ve only done it once, but it’s fast and you don’t need much prep like this one. My wife did it with no problems, but it hurt me so I didn’t try it again.”

“Hurt how?” she perversely asked.

“It felt like my skin was on fire,” he said absently, concentrating on spreading out some dried, flaky herbs in the space he’d cleared.

She glanced at Ashford and he shook his head at her, clearly thinking she asked for it with her curiosity.

Liam chattily continued, warm to having an interested audience. “There’s a last one that I know of, that neither my wife nor I ever did. It can make you so sick you’ll die if you don’t have a special protection amulet prepared. As far as I know it was the first one, before they got refined, and not many people use it anymore.” He turned and waggled his eyebrows as if telling ghost stories around a campfire. “It needs human bones.”

Tilly squeaked and fell backwards, quickly trying to cover her fear by pretending to dust off her skirts.

“That’s enough with the storytelling,” Ashford said. “Let’s get on with it.”

“I apologize, Miss Jacobs,” Liam said, taking out a knife. “Unfortunately, they all need blood.”

She watched him cut the inside of his arm and shake a few drops over the herbs, feeling dizzy and having to corral every last ounce of her daring, which tried to gallop off at the first sight of the knife. Ashford swore and took the knife, doing the same thing.

“Filthy witchcraft,” he muttered. “Portals are so much more civilized.”

BOOK: Belmary House Book Two
7.76Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
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