Magic In The Storm (30 page)

A sigh escaped from her lips as she moved so
she could capture his lips with her own once again. But it must
have been a more chaste kiss than he had hoped because as she
pulled back he still reached for more.

She smiled and put her finger to his lips.
“You should go before Henrietta comes in to check on me,” she said
softly.

Morgan kissed her finger, but then withdrew,
sighing, “I suppose you’re right.”

“I’ll pick you up a little before three,”
Morgan said, as Adriana showed him to the door.

She gave a brief nod, but her mind was now
whirling with panic—how was she going to get out of the house
without Lord Devaux’s permission, or his knowledge?

I
t’s Adriana,”
Tatiana said, sitting forward on the sofa.

“How could it be? How could she be giving
Morgan these powers?” Mary asked, her tea cup clattering into its
saucer.

“I don’t know. But they’ve got to be coming
from her. Nothing else in his life has changed.”

“Perhaps there is something or someone else
you don’t know about?” Mary asked, and then began stuttering,
“I...I mean... certainly there isn’t...well, you know
everything...”

“I know everything that goes on at Vallentyn,
do not think for a moment I don’t,” Tatiana said with dangerous
quiet. She had always liked her eldest daughter, but sometimes she
spoke without thinking.

“Yes, of course you do, but couldn’t there be
something...”

“Do not prove yourself the idiot, Mary,”
Tatiana said, not even bothering to become angry. Her daughter just
wasn’t worth losing her temper over.

“No, of course not, Mother,” Mary said,
actually beginning to show some intelligence. “It must be Adriana,
then.” She paused. “Is she Vallen? Could she be transferring some
of her powers...?”

“No.” Tatiana rubbed her hand over her eyes.
“Mary, please, please try not to be so very stupid?” she said,
swallowing the anger that threatened her equilibrium.

Mary set down her tea cup again and folded
her hands into her lap. “I am sorry, Mother. I’m just trying to
help.”

Tatiana sighed, “Yes. I know you are. But
until you actually have an intelligent thought in your head, the
only way you can help is by being quiet and letting me think.”

Tatiana bent her mind once more to the puzzle
of her youngest child’s newfound powers. There were so many reasons
why this was wrong that she was nearly baffled by it.

It had been obvious to her soon after
Morgan’s birth that there had been a mistake. Somehow, on the same
day, her twin sister had had the child destined for Tatiana—a girl,
born on the night of the summer solstice, of magnificent powers.
Katrina was obviously the one meant to inherit this great destiny.
Morgan was just an anomaly. A child that should never have
happened.

And yet, here he was developing powers he
surely was never meant to have. It was impossible. It was
wrong.

Kat hadn’t been born the most powerful
Vallen, but with Tatiana’s guidance she was learning to make the
most of what she had. Naturally, she would never be as powerful as
Tatiana, but no one could be. No one!

No, it was Kat who was her true daughter. Kat
who would care for her as she grew older. Kat who would treat her
with respect when she had given over her position to the next
generation—to Kat.

Morgan would never do that. And she shouldn’t
have to rely on him to do so—
he would not inherit this
destiny!
A man could not become the high priestess.

She focused on the chalice, which she had
brought with her to London. It stood in an ornate nook over the
fire place very similar to the one at Vallentyn Abbey. It calmed
her just to look at it, and inspired her. It’s magical energy
filled her. Closing her eyes, she felt it’s pulse like a life all
its own.

With its energy thrumming through her, she
cleared her mind. Morgan had to return to Vallentyn. Adriana was
set to marry Jonathan. It was inconceivable that Adriana and Morgan
could...

“I need a woman,” she said, opening her eyes
and turning back to Mary.

“I’m sorry?” Mary asked, lowering the piece
of cake she had been about to bite into.

“I need a woman to distract Morgan,” Tatiana
said, a plan beginning to form in her head. “He is a man after
all,” she continued. “Any woman would do. But I need him to stay
away from Adriana. I told you, she is the key to his powers.”

“Oh, yes. But what woman? How?” Mary frowned,
clearly trying to think this through. But before Tatiana had time
to berate her, she snapped her fingers. “I’ll follow him.”

“What?” Suddenly, Tatiana was interested.
Perhaps the girl did have a brain. She sat back down on the sofa,
across from her daughter.

“I’ll follow him. See where he goes.”

A slow smile grew on Tatiana’s face. “Yes,
you follow him. There is certain to be a woman wherever it is he
goes. Then, you will simply convince her to distract him.” She
looked sharply at her daughter. “You can do that, can’t you?”

Mary looked slightly offended. “Of course I
can!”

“Good.”

“But what good will be done by distracting
him?” Mary asked.

Tatiana closed her eyes and prayed for
patience. “With Morgan distracted, Adriana will be married to
Vallentyn by special license and packed off to the Abbey. Morgan
will follow her, naturally, and then...” Tatiana snapped her
fingers, “we have him. He will return to his forest, and the spells
I have already put into place will keep him there—forever.”

Mary smiled and clapped her hands together in
appreciation.

Tatiana gave a small nod of acknowledgment
before standing up and giving the bell a sharp tug. “I shall make
your job easier.”

A maid servant answered the summons.

“Tell Miss Havelock I wish to see her,” she
said to the maid, and then watched with satisfaction as the young
woman practically ran out of the room on her errand.

Tatiana was helping herself to another cup of
tea when Kat entered the room.

“My dear, would you care for some tea?”
Tatiana asked sweetly.

“No, thank you, Aunt Vallentyn. Good
afternoon, Mary.”

Mary nodded coldly to her cousin, and then
sat back to watch the proceedings.

“Is there something you wished to see me
about?” Kat asked, hesitantly coming a little further into the
room.

“Yes. Come and sit by me,” Tatiana said,
patting the sofa next to her.

“I’d just as soon stay here, if you don’t
mind, ma’am,” Kat answered.

“But I do mind,” Tatiana said, trying very
hard to keep her voice soft and easy.

Kat came forward slowly and sat down at the
edge of the sofa. And then she made the mistake of lifting her eyes
toward Tatiana for just a moment as she sat down. Immediately,
Tatiana had her.

“That’s right, Katrina,” Tatiana said
soothingly. “You are learning, my girl. It makes me so happy when
you cooperate.”

Kat struggled to tear her eyes away from
Tatiana’s but there wasn’t a chance she would succeed.

Tatiana’s eyes held hers firmly as she gently
took Katrina’s hand. “I need information, Kat,” she said lacing her
words with magic. “Will you tell me what I need to know?”

Kat struggled to pull her eyes away. Tatiana
could feel the girl’s magic building as she tried desperately to
shield her mind from Tatiana’s magical fog–laced words. “Do not
resist, my dear. It is quite all right.”

Tatiana added more magic to her voice, magic
that would weave its way into the girl’s mind, making it nimble.
“You remember the last time you and I spoke like this, I told you
not to resist and to give me whatever information I required. Now
calm yourself, Kat, and do as I say.”

Her voice had the desired effect, and the
girl began to calm rather quickly. Tatiana smiled, exuding calm and
tranquility. Out of the corner of her eye she could see Mary
relaxing against the cushions of the chair in which she was
sitting.

“Tell me, Kat,” Tatiana said gently, “have
you been to see Morgan recently?” She let her words slide and
slither their way into her niece’s mind.

Kat gave one last effort to repel Tatiana’s
magic, but the fight was already lost. Slowly, Kat shook her head.
“I haven’t seen him for a few days,” she said quietly.

Tatiana nodded. “Very well, then. I want you
to go and see him tomorrow. I want to know his plans—where he is
going and with whom. I want to know what my dearest son is up to.”
Tatiana gave her niece a soothing smile. “When you find out, you
are to come and tell me. Do you understand, Kat?”

“Yes, ma’am,” Kat said, in the monotone that
came with the befuddlement Tatiana had placed over her mind.

“Very good. Now go and enjoy your rest before
this evening’s amusement. You shall not remember this exchange, but
you will tell me Morgan’s plans as soon as you learn them.”

Kat’s head dropped to her chest for a moment
and then she rubbed at her eyes.

“You look very tired, my dear,” Tatiana said,
gently letting go of Kat’s hand. She laced her words with just a
touch of magic to set them into her niece’s mind. “Why don’t you go
up to your room and rest for a little while before dinner?”

Kat nodded and slowly made her way from the
room.

Mary gave a little giggle. “It is amazing how
you do that, Mother!”

Tatiana narrowed her eyes at her daughter.
The young woman stopped laughing right away and cleared her
throat.

After taking a sip of her luke–warm tea,
Tatiana said, “I will pass on the information when I receive it.
And then you will play your part, Mary.”

<><><>

The summons to Lord Devaux’s study was not a
welcome one. She had yet to finish her morning chocolate and had
only taken a bite of toast when the maid had come in.

Henrietta gave Adriana a startled look. It
was never a good sign when Lord Devaux asked you to his study.

Adriana gave her companion a reassuring smile
as she stood up. “I needed to ask him about going out to the
modiste’s today anyway. I’m glad he called for me,” she said with
more confidence than she felt.

Henrietta nodded, and then whispered “Good
luck” so the maid, who was still in the room, wouldn’t hear.

Adriana braced herself for a potentially
difficult interview as she knocked before entering the study.

Lord Devaux was sitting at his desk, going
over some papers. He didn’t pause or look up as she entered, so she
was forced to stand in front of his desk until he was ready to
speak with her.

It was probably her imagination, but her
guardian’s study seemed to be harsher today. Every piece of paper
on his desk was perfectly squared off, every book on the shelf
stood perfectly at attention. There wasn’t any touch of comfort or
personality to the room at all. Not one painting graced a wall.
Over the fireplace was a framed map of Britain denoting the
counties—it was the brightest object in the room as each county was
outlined in a different color. Everything else—from the books, to
the chairs, to the desk was a plain, ordinary brown. It was as if
her guardian didn’t believe in beauty.

Finally, setting aside the papers, he frowned
at her and then steepled his fingers together. “I ran into Lord
Vallentyn at my club last evening,” he began.

Adriana shivered. This was going to be worse
than she had expected.

“Yes, you should pale at that. He told me you
didn’t wish to marry him—that you were trying to back out of the
engagement.”

Adriana stayed silent—she truly didn’t have
anything to say.

“Do you know what would happen if you did
that?” Lord Devaux’s voice went high with his irritation. “Do you
know how society would look upon that?” He paused, waiting for her
response.

“I knew what I was doing when I spoke with
Lord Vallentyn,” Adriana replied, her voice as steady as her nerves
were taut.

“Did you? Did you
fully
know what you
were doing? Did you think about
all
of the implications of
your actions?”

“Yes. I did,” Adriana answered. She wasn’t
certain, but her heart may have stopped. It was that brief moment,
that stop in time, just before it burst into a thousand tiny
pieces.

Lord Devaux tapped his fingers together. “I
see. Then you want me to destroy all of your paintings, do you? You
don’t ever want to be allowed to paint or sketch...” he left his
words hanging.

It exploded. The pain seared its way down
into her stomach, and up into her head. Adriana blinked back her
tears, but kept her head held high, her back straight despite the
urge to double over with pain. “I cannot marry him.”

“Cannot or will not?”

“Will not. Cannot,” she answered with more
bravado than she felt. She would not put herself at Lady
Vallentyn’s mercy, no matter what. She would rather deal with
this—a broken heart, a shattered world.

Lord Devaux threw himself back in his chair.
“Why must you persist with this nonsense?” A small, cruel smile
flitted across his face. “I will not hesitate to carry out my
threat. I will personally burn all of those pictures. And your
paints and paintbrushes. You will never lift a pencil again except
to make notes as to who to invite to my next political dinner.”

Adriana blinked again. She would not allow
this man to see her pain. She had tried to prepare herself for
this. Naturally, it hadn’t worked. Nothing could prepare someone
for losing the only thing they had ever lived for. But it was the
gleeful menace he used to describe destroying her life that was
making it so she couldn’t breathe. She wished he didn’t have this
effect on her. But he had to rub the salt into her wound.

“Now, listen to me well, Adriana. You will do
as I say and call Lord Vallentyn here. And you will tell him you’ve
changed your mind,” Lord Devaux’s voice was now coarse with anger.
But Adriana didn’t move. She didn’t dare breathe.