Spellbound: The Awakening of Aislin Collins (20 page)

“I am sorry that I am not doing a good job of
warming you my love,” he said, as he tried to pull his coat around
both of us.

“I am comfortable. It is nice to be alone
with you,” I sighed contently.

He kissed my cheek and hugged me into his
chest. I felt happy, more so, I felt complete. Yet the carriage
ride ended all too soon and thrust us back into the cold night air,
giving us a sudden slap that awoke us back into the reality in
which we lived.

********************

Greer stepped out of the carriage first and
then he lifted me out. He paid the old man who had kindly driven us
back. The little man tried to refuse Greer, but in the end, he took
the money, wished us well, and then rode off. The door to my house
was open, and the light from inside silhouetted my father's frame
as we walked up the path.

“Thank the Lord that you are safe,” he said,
as he hugged me.

Greer waited patiently on the front steps
while my father examined my face, placing both hands on my cheeks
and looking into my eyes. “I heard what Zachariah did today. Let us
get you inside and warm you by the fire.” He turned to Greer next.
“How can I thank you for seeing my daughter home safely?”

“There is no need for thanks,” Greer said
while balancing all my purchases in his arms.

My father noticed the bundles and bade Greer
to come into the house. “The least that I can do is to offer you
some food and the warmth of the fire sir,” he insisted.

My father took some of the bundles from
Greer's arms, and then properly introduced himself, “I am Gerald
Collins and you are . . . ?”

“Greer Ruthven, of Perthshire, Scotland.”

My mother embraced me, “We did not know what
happened to you. We have been praying the whole time.” Her voice
was weary and I could tell that I had frightened her. I knew she
thought that the Puca and its master had finally gotten to me.

“Greer protected me from Zachariah and found
someone to give us a ride home.”

Greer and my father went into the kitchen,
and my mother and I followed. My mother quickly set up tea and I
helped to place down cups.

“I did not know that Zachariah was such a
fiend. If I had, I would never have agreed to let Aislin marry
him,” said my father in a feeble voice.

“Is she still promised to him, even after his
behavior today?” Greer questioned.

My father sat quietly and thought about how
to answer the question. As I poured his tea, his eyes caught mine
and he shook his head. “Aislin never wanted to marry him. It was by
my force that she was committed. You must understand that his
father wields great power in this town and my business, our whole
livelihood, could be destroyed at his word.” He looked from Greer,
to me, and then to my mother. “I think that I now possess enough
leverage to withdraw from our agreement . . . although I dread what
the consequences will be.”

“What if Aislin wanted to marry someone
else?” Greer asked with a forced casualness.

My father lifted his gaze to me and I smiled
slightly, acknowledging that I indeed wanted to marry Greer.

My father seemed to understand, “Aislin has
not been raised like other girls. I have tried to force her to
behave the way a typical girl would after years of giving her the
same freedom that a boy would enjoy. I cannot take away her
liberties again, so the choice of who Aislin will marry now rests
in her hands.”

Greer and I smiled at each other and I felt
color flood into my cheeks.

My father raised a hand to quench our
excitement. “Of course, I will require that you demonstrate that
you can aptly provide for her before I will allow you to take her
as your wife. I do, after all, need to look after my daughter's
welfare.”

Greer nodded in earnest understanding, “I
would expect nothing less. I will send a letter to my estate and
request proof of my wealth. I assure you that you will find my
financial status to be more than adequate,” he said
confidently.

“We can find a post boy to carry your letter
with the next ship out, although it will be quite expensive,” my
father added hesitantly.

Greer did not flinch at the suggestion of
expense, “I will hire a post boy first thing in the morning.”

“As soon as I can hold verification in my
hands, you can make her your wife. I will inform the Marthalers of
the relinquishment of our agreement in the morning.”

I could hear a tinge of anxiety sneaking
passed my father's businesslike mannerisms. Mr. Marthaler terrified
him.

I could not help myself. I threw my arms over
the table and hugged my father, “Thank you Father. You have made me
so happy.”

He returned my hug and smiled, “It is nice to
see you in high spirits again.”

Greer was smiling too, and graciously shook
my father's hand. My mother rushed over and gave Greer a hug,
welcoming him into the family.

“Where do you stay?” my father asked.

“I have been staying outside of town, but I
will move to the Inn tomorrow. It is closer and I can make sure
that Zachariah does not bother Aislin again.”

“What about tonight? It is late, and you
cannot walk out of town by yourself.”

“I can manage.”

My father stood from the table and looked at
my mother, “We have an extra room that you can have for tonight. I
do not think it would be appropriate for you to stay more than one
night now that you are in pursuit of my daughter's hand. But I
would be honored for you to stay here for the time being, and
tomorrow I will help you gather your possessions and move to the
Inn.”

“That is very kind of you sir,” Greer said
thankfully.

My mother and I went up to the extra
bedchamber and made it ready for company, while Greer and my father
talked of his wealth, land and education.

I was not allowed to go back downstairs, but
was told to change into my bedclothes and try to rest. It was
already passed midnight.

********************

Sleeping would be impossible. Greer was only
a room away from me and I could not think of anything else.
Sneachta thumped me with her tail in aggravation and stuck her
claws into my foot more than once when I had shifted in the bed.
She may be faerie, but she is also a cat and has the sharp
needle-like claws to prove it. I threatened to raise her in the air
and she swiftly stopped her temper tantrum.

I heard movement downstairs and flew out of
bed.
Was Greer leaving?
I wondered as I quietly made my way
down the stairs. I was almost half way down when I saw a dark
figure looking up at me. Two hands reached up and lifted me from
the steps, placing me gently on the floor.

“I have to hunt. I have not fed in a long
while,” he whispered to me.

“Will you come back?”

He ran a hand through my hair and carried me
silently back to my room. “I will return as soon as I can. You can
wait up if you like, and we can talk when I return.”

In an instant, he was gone. I ran to the
window to see if I could catch a glimpse of his shadow in the
moonlight, but I saw nothing.

I flopped back into bed and snuggled Sneachta
against her will. I was daydreaming about our wedding and being
forever with Greer. I thought of the look on Zachariah's face when
he discovered that I would not be his bride, and that made me
smile.

It seemed like hours went by and Greer had
not returned. I busied myself by practicing lifting, spinning and
dropping objects onto my bed.

“You are getting very good at that,” his soft
voice said from the corner of my room.

I smiled and opened out my arms for him to
come to me. He leaned in to kiss me and I spotted something on his
lips. I reached up with my finger and wiped it from his bottom lip.
In the darkness of the room, the liquid looked black upon my
finger. I held it close to my face so I could see what it was, but
Greer placed my finger between his lips and licked the droplet
away. I knew then that it was blood. I did not want to know what
type of animal had lost its life tonight. I felt very connected to
all the animals that dwelled in the forest by my home.

“Did you find enough food?” I asked.

“Yes, my energy is restoring now. I feel much
stronger than I did earlier today.”

He climbed onto my bed and held me near him.
I could feel how powerful he had become after feeding. His grip was
stronger than it had been before, even though he was trying to be
gentle with me. He was warm too: heat was radiating off his skin,
which even in the candlelight, was now quite dark in comparison to
mine.

“What about my parents?” I asked.

“They are sleeping. Do not worry about
them.”

I rested my head upon his chest and played
with his hair, “Greer?”

“Yes my beloved?”

“Why did you decide to ask my father for my
hand? You told me that we had to be as discreet as possible and
that I had to pretend to be Zachariah's fiancé . . . . and now . .
. .”

Greer breathed in deeply and pressed his
cheek against my hair, “Do you remember earlier today when you
asked me if I wanted to marry you?”

“Yes,” I said while looking up into his face,
his eyes were shining back at me.

“That is why. When I saw Zachariah near you
at the port after being with the whore, when I saw the look on your
face as he came near you, I could not tolerate it any longer. I
realized that by hiding this way, I was denying my love for you.
You had every right to question my intentions towards you. I need
you to know that I love you and that you are more important to me
than anything else that exists in this world. If I would not come
out of hiding, I could not prove that to you and I risked losing
you in the process.”

“You would never lose me.”

“I lost you for a long time.”
As the memory of my death returned to him, he pulled me even
closer into his embrace.

“What are we going to do about Lamont?” I
questioned, almost afraid to hear the answer.

“I do not know yet,” he said in a frustrated
tone, “We will figure out something. Now sleep my love.”

“I do not want to,” I protested.

“Why? You must be tired. The sun is almost
up.”

“If I sleep, then you will leave and this
will have been our only chance to spend such time alone
together.”

“I promise that it will not be our last night
alone together,” he laughed quietly.

I yawned and stretched and I fell quickly
asleep in his arms.

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

When I awoke, Greer was no longer at my side.
I felt my heart pounding against my chest and I frantically looked
around the room.
Had he left? Had he changed his mind about
us?
I bolted from my bed and pulled the bedroom door open. I
was flying down the stairs in search of Greer.

As I bounded down the steps, I heard the most
beautiful sound, the sound of his laughter. I stopped abruptly and
realized that I had not combed my hair, nor washed my face and that
the linens had left creases on my skin. I froze in the middle of
the stairway, and then tried to creep back up to my room.

“Good morning Aislin,” his soft words seemed
to be whispered directly in my ear, although he was nowhere near
me.

“Good morning Greer,” I groaned.

I turned back and walked down the stairs,
while I tried to smooth my hair with my hands.

He was sitting with my father, who was having
tea and bread for breakfast. My mother was busy cleaning the
kitchen, while Sneachta was secretly being fed Greer's breakfast
from underneath the table.

“Aislin, I will be helping Greer get settled
into his lodging today, and then we will be visiting my shop. I
would like for you and your mother to meet us there at twelve
o'clock and bring us lunch.”

I nodded that I understood, and tried not to
look at Greer. I would surely blush if our eyes met, and I did not
need to hear my father's laugher.

They stood from the table and my mother
grabbed their coats. My father kissed her while Greer and I
struggled not to embrace. I walked into the other room to avoid my
father's suspicious glares and they left.

“Help me wash the linens,” my mother
said.

I rolled my eyes at the thought, but went
into the kitchen and placed the large copper pot on the fire. Then
I went upstairs and collected all the linens from our beds. I
absolutely hated this job but at least I did not have to fetch the
water by myself anymore. That task has not been mine since the Puca
showed up.

“You can roll your eyes all you want,” my
mother said in annoyance, “but you will learn that a woman's work
is continuous.”

I shook my head and piled the bundles of
linens onto the kitchen table, while my mother gently placed them
into the boiling water. After the caldron was full, she turned her
attention to washing the dishes in another bucket that was filled
to the brim with soapy water.

“Get ready to dry as I wash,” she said to me
while she seated herself next to the caldron and started to
scrub.

I stood by her side and wiped dry every dish
that she handed to me and then placed them back to where they
belonged.

“Has Greer told you anything about Lamont?”
she asked in a casual tone.

“Nothing more then I have already told
you.”

“You must find out all he knows. If he has
truly been following this man across the ocean, then he surely must
know how to destroy him.”

I looked up from what I was doing, “Do you
not trust him?”

She furrowed her brow and concentrated on her
work, “I like Greer, but I find it odd that he is letting Lamont
linger about you when he is obviously a threat to your well
being.”

“I do not think Greer knows how to destroy
him, but he has been protecting me since he arrived in Burlington,”
I said defensibly.