Frost Arch (16 page)

“So how do you know he’s not after you?” I hissed.

“Why would he run away from me if I were the target?” Jack reminded me.

“Shush.” I huffed, “Okay, so let’s say he’s lingering around the grounds hoping to catch me alone. I was alone in the stables all night. Anyone could have gotten in and finished me off.”

Jack shrugged, “Maybe we’re over thinking it.” He decided, “I’m sure no one wants you dead.”

“Exactly … I haven’t done anything wrong.”

As I said those words I thought about Mortlock, how I had run away, and those ghastly scars on Helena’s shoulders that were the exact shape as my hands.

“It might not have been Swaggart anyway. Probably a thief.” Jack muttered as he opened the door to the stables and led me inside.

Late that afternoon I was on the second floor of the manor relighting a fire which someone seemed to have put out for a joke. Probably Jack getting me back for the kidney jabs.

As I left the room and bustled away down the hall; a house maid with whom I was not familiar with was hurrying down from the third floor.

“Miss Redding.” The woman called, speeding up when she spotted me.

I turned and watched her approach, “Yes?” I was sure I had never spoken to one of the cleaning staff before. She was an older woman with greying hair, and was quite plump.

“I was up on the third floor, cleaning Miss, when Master told me to summon a Miss Redding from the staff. Is that you?” She panted.

“Yes. How did you know who I was?” I asked curiously.

“Master described you Miss.” She said, “He said look for a pretty lady with long black hair, blue eyes and a nervous disposition.”

I scoffed, “A nervous dispo-”

“Please Miss, Master Noah requests that you see him in his study immediately.”

My heart stopped. Noah.

“H-He wanted to see me, right away?” I felt faint.

The old maid nodded and looked simply terrified of me. Or for me. I wasn’t sure.

“O-okay. Thank you.” I stammered. I gave her a swift smile before hurrying up the stairs, trying desperately to flatten my hair. I caught my reflection on a highly polished suit of armour and tried to fix myself as much as possible. I then hurried to Noah’s study. I knew where this was as I had been lighting the fire in there since day one. It was just two doors up from his bedroom.

I knocked on the door, more loudly than I had intended in my excitement.

“Come in.”

The voice was much softer and nicer compared the last time I had knocked upon his door. I wondered if he recalled our last meeting well. He had been rather intoxicated.

I entered the familiar room laden with books and tables. Candle holders lined the walls and flickered light upon the scene mysteriously. Noah was in the far corner, a book held open before him, but his eyes were not moving across the page, and I strongly assumed that he had not been reading it at all. Perhaps he had picked it up from the shelf at random when he heard my knock in a ruse to look intelligent and preoccupied. Another piece of evidence which supported my theory was the fact that the book was upside down. As I stepped clearly into view Noah looked up and smiled.

“Ah, yes, Avalon Redding.” He said my name with a slight edge to his voice, “That was quicker than I thought.”

“I was just on the second floor, sir, when the cleaner bumped into me. She wasn’t quite sure who I was.”

“I thought I had given her quite an accurate description.” He mused as he put the book back upon the shelf. I felt my cheeks burning. Had he really said to look for a pretty lady? I was no lady. A girl, perhaps.

“I think the, uh, ‘nervous disposition’ might have given it away, sir” I pursed my lips, fighting back the urge to grin. To sing. To dance. He thought I was pretty, with crystal eyes and flowing hair. It felt as though a giant bubble was swelling in my stomach. I was pretty sure that I could float away and out of the window.

“Never the less,” Noah said striding across the room to the opposite book shelf and picking one out at random, “I have some questions for you. But first, I thank you.”

“I’m sorry?” I said confused.

“I thank you, for last night. It was all terribly embarrassing, and I am grateful that you have not told anyone about it.”

“Oh. How do you know I haven’t told anyone, sir?”

Noah watched me carefully and took a few steps closer, “Your eyes betray you.”

I was very silent. Noah was just a meter from me now, looking down with an intense stare. I couldn’t seem to unglue my tongue from the roof of my mouth.

“They are honest eyes.” He clarified after seeing my confused expression, “I can see your entire personality shining out through them, like huge open windows.”

I wasn’t quite sure what to say. Was this his Power? Could he unpick people like stitches?

“I also see a secret.” He smirked, “But that’s okay. We all have secrets.”

I broke my gaze away from his penetrating stare and looked at my feet instead. I had no response for his true statement. My secret was that I was a run-away. I hadn’t even told Jack yet. I wondered if Noah was a mind reader. A personality reader.

“I’m sorry that I have embarrassed you.” He smiled as I looked back up at him, my cheeks burning.

“It’s okay.” I mumbled.

“It’s not what you think.” He continued, turning his back on me and looking at the books around him, “I am just extremely perceptive.”

“What is your Power, sir? If you don’t mind me prying-”

“Hypnotism.” Noah said bluntly, “Though I do not do it often. I cannot control people’s minds, just their bodies. It’s a degrading thing to do, so I refrain from taking away ones free will.”

It sounded frightening and wonderful. I was extremely intimidated.

“You can control people’s bodies?” I pressed, extremely aware of my own body as I spoke. My arms felt silly as they dangled at my sides, and I shifted my weight onto the other foot, “Show me”

“No.” Noah shook his head, “It is wrong. I wish I had not been given this Power. Though of course my father sees it as a great gift.”

Noah looked away, and frowned as though he had said too much.

“Does your family do the same thing?” I wondered aloud. How far would Noah allow my questioning to go? Surely this was not considered appropriate behaviour from staff.

“No. None of us share the same gift, which is quite unusual for a family. I assume you inherited your Power from either your mother or father?”

“Both sides.” I mumbled, “I didn’t have a chance.”

Noah smiled, “You do not like your gift?”

I frowned, “It causes more trouble than it’s worth.” I really wanted to change the subject, “What Powers does your family have?”

Noah looked out of the window, “My mother Winifred is an Illusionist. She can project images into your mind, make you see beautiful and terrifying things. When I was a child she would use it to help me sleep. My father Sebastian has the Power to uncover lies. He can see when people are hiding the truth, and he uses it to his advantage. So naturally you would expect me and my sister to take after our parents.

“For many years before I turned ten my parents assumed that I perhaps had the same gift as my father. It wasn’t until I was eight that I discovered I could make people do what I wanted. I wasn’t aware of it at first, but it made itself clear in due course.

“My little sister Rain abuses her Power, I believe. She can move objects with her mind. We used to fight a lot when we were younger. She would move objects with her mind in an attempt to try and hurt me, but I could control her body at the same time. On countless occasions I would make her lock herself in a cupboard.” He laughed, “But of course her mind was entirely her own, so she was aware of what was happening all the while. She just couldn’t stop her body from biding my orders.”

I gulped. The Forsythe family sounded quite frightening. How strange that a new gift had sprung up in Rain and Noah. I had thought it was an extremely rare thing to happen. Somewhere in the back of my mind I wondered if this was why Noah had called me to his study. I didn’t care. I didn’t care about Jack and Camryn’s warnings either. It was all nonsense.

“So,” Noah’s voice cut across my thoughts, “Enough about me. The reason I wanted you here was to ask about you.”

“Me, sir?” I fretted.

“Of course.”

“But … why?”

“Like I said before, your eyes are like enormous open windows. I see a secret in them Avalon Redding.”

It seemed he knew the effect he had on me when he said my name. I felt weak.

“Sit.” He told me, pointing to the closest green leather couch. I sat on its edge nervously, and Noah sat across from me. A coffee table divided the space between us. Why had he taken such an interest in me? I didn’t want to let my thoughts run amok. I swallowed nervously and looked at my knees.

“How old are you?” Noah asked.

“Eighteen.”

“I assume you didn’t live in Frost Arch prior to working in this Manor?”

“No sir,” I chanced a glimpse at him and found that he was watching me furtively, “I came from a small town called Mortlock. It’s a day away by horse and carriage.”

“I’ve passed it.” Noah nodded, “On my travels. Please, continue.”

“Um, well, I came here to look for work.” I didn’t want to admit that I was a run-away. It would lead to all sorts of awkward questions, and I didn’t want to talk about Helena. She was still a secret, “I’m of age now, and I didn’t want to be a burden on my parents any more. We weren’t the richest family. People are afraid of Fire Mages, sir. It’s hard to find work.”

“Looks as though you found it all right.” He smiled.

“I guess I was lucky. I barely looked at all. I guess I was just in the right place at the right time.”

“Or perhaps you were just meant to be here.” He mused.

“Perhaps.” I looked down at my knees again.

“You don’t seem eighteen. I was much more immature and ignorant when I was your age. It’s hard to believe that it was almost ten years ago.”

I wasn’t sure if it was a compliment or not so I simply stayed quiet until he spoke again. He was ten years older than me. Twenty-eight. Strangely, it didn’t bother me. He didn’t say anything for a long while.

“Would you mind, Miss Avalon, if I requested your presence in this study once a day for a short period?”

My head snapped up, “Why, sir?”

“I find you have a calming aura. I feel quite relaxed and myself. It’s easier to forget unwanted memories that way. I’d like you to be somewhat of a personal servant.”

I stared at him, my face impassive. Was this a joke?

“Will you?” He pressed, “I will ask Charles to pay you extra for your services.”

I nodded slowly, “What exactly is it you will need from me?”

“Just a bit of this and that. I do a lot of research and writing.” He nodded to a nearby desk which was littered with parchment and ink, “I barely leave my room. I get annoyed when many people disturb my thought process, but you seem to do the opposite. I think I would get a lot more work done with your help.”

“Yes, sir.” I breathed.

“So you accept?”

“O-of course.”

“Excellent.” He smiled and stood. I did the same and tried to look anywhere but him.

“I would like you here in this study at six o’clock every evening. Right after supper, when I believe that is a period during which you do not need to worry about the fires?”

“Yes, sir. I usually help with other chores during that time.”

“Good, good. Well I will inform Charles that he will need to find someone else to help with the other chores at that time. I’m sure they will manage without you for a few short hours. And of course you will be pardoned to tend to your speciality jobs such as baths and so on later in the evenings.”

I nodded and Noah opened the study door for me, “Until tomorrow.” He smiled as I exited, my legs like jelly.

Oh my, what would Jack think of this?

He would be furious when he found out. That was, of course, if I decided to tell him

December arrived, and with it winter, though the weather outside was no different. Snow still continued to fall as though it were winter all year long. I had now been working at the manor for a month and a half, and found myself quite at home. Every afternoon at six o’clock I knocked upon Noah’s study. My time there was quite interesting. Most of the evening I flitted around, dusted shelves and polished the windows. Sometimes Noah requested that I pop into the kitchen and grab him some food. He told me to get enough for two. We didn’t talk much because Noah was always doing some serious work, scribbling notes upon parchment and flicking through heavy books. Sometimes he requested that I help him look for books on particular subjects. The study was filled from floor to ceiling with thick volumes and some topics were hard to find. I still didn’t know what he was working on, and I didn’t bother asking, assuming it was none of my business.