It had been unnerving and frightening.

  After peeling off her clothing, Cordelia had taken a hot bath then settled in to read while she sipped hot tea. The storm raged for most of the evening, but today it was bright, clear, warm, and she was going to enjoy every moment while waiting for a pixie to finally show themselves.

  At least last evening she hadn’t been plagued by dreams and had finally gotten a full rest.

  If only her obsession with Nightshade Manor would ease and disappear as well, but it hadn’t. Not after meeting the residents and not after being on the estate and inside the home. It still pulled and it was all she could do not to get up and walk in that direction.

  Why?

  It was aggravating and frustrating. She didn’t belong there. She wasn’t even really welcome unless it was to assist Ianthe.

  It didn’t matter that Bentford had invited her to tea yesterday because Cordelia was certain that he’d only done so to be polite.

  When Cordelia had the fleeting thought of being smitten, she hadn’t believed it was real. It was just more of a passing fancy, but her heart had ached yesterday to see him with the beautiful Miss Perkins.

  Perhaps Edward was correct, and she was better suited to be a governess. She’d had four Seasons and had not met anyone who made her breath hitch or her heart pound. Only Lord Bentford.

  Maybe she wouldn’t be as lucky as her older sisters. Diana, the oldest, had met her husband during her fourth Season. Miranda had known her husband for four years, but they’d been friends before they admitted their love. As for Adriana, she was two years younger than Cordelia and had only enjoyed two Seasons, but she drew the attention of nearly every gentleman at any function.

  Still, Cordelia couldn’t be sad for meeting Lord Bentford. Until that first encounter, she’d wondered if she ever would experience infatuation, especially when it hadn’t happened in four years. So, at least she was comforted that it was possible and if she were lucky, perhaps she might meet a gentleman who stirred the same excitement next spring.

  Besides, how could she be sad when she had finally witnessed magic, and she’d visited Nightshade Manor?

  As much as she reasoned away her sadness and made excuses and attempted to be hopeful, she was still disappointed.

  With a sigh, she lifted the book to read while watching over the edge for a piece of lace to be taken.

  “The pixies know that you are watching for them,” Edward announced with a snicker as he came up the walk.

  “You don’t know that to be so,” Cordelia defended.

  “The ribbons are still here.” He snorted.

  Cordelia set her book aside. “What do you need, Edward?” Last time they were in this setting the world around them had stilled, as if to announce the arrival of Lord Bentford and his family.

  A few days later, her brother had tried to run away.

  She really should listen to Edward more, instead of arguing and telling him what to do. Had he not encountered Ianthe that day, he might have already been aboard a ship sailing off somewhere and they’d be left to worry until his return. It didn’t matter that he’d left a note because they’d not know what ship he was on, or the type of crew that surrounded him.

  “I don’t need anything,” he answered.

  “So you’re simply here to pester me,” she teased.

  “I thought I would visit Ianthe,” he said looking down and kicked at the small gravel.

  Perhaps she wasn’t the only one experiencing an infatuation for the first time.

  Likely they’d both be heartbroken and maybe she and Edward would finally have something in common.

  Chapter 14

  So as not to be caught alone with Miss Perkins and her companion a second day, Damon did as his mother had the day before and breakfasted in his chambers. He then read and returned correspondence until it was nearly luncheon. He did all of this while sitting at the table beneath the window so that he could watch for Miss Cordelia or to know when Miss Perkins and his mother were otherwise occupied.

  He wasn’t proud that he was hiding from two women, but his mother and Miss Perkins tried his patience.

  Damon waited for the perfect opportunity and as soon as he saw his mother and Miss Perkins stroll into the grove, he left the manor and made his way to the Romani camp.

  “Lord Bentford, how may I help you?” Madam Boswell said as he approached.

  “I assume the storm of yesterday is what you had warned of.” Then he described how if he hadn’t been there, his nieces may have been injured or killed.

  “I wish I could assure you that had been my vision, but it was not. The darkness remains.”

  “Are you certain?” he demanded.

  “Yes. I consulted the crystal this morning. Darkness still surrounds you.”

  “Did it offer any further clues from where it might come or from whom?”

  Madam Boswell shook her head. “It is the same. Danger lurks for someone who you care for.”

  “Who?”

  “It is not clear who, but they are important to you.”

  The only people important to him and also in Bocka Morrow were his mother and nieces. Therefore, he had to agree with his mother—they needed to be on alert for a witchfinder.

  “Guard those you care about, Lord Bentford. If the danger passes, I will send word.”

  “Thank you.”

  For now, he must keep his mother and nieces at Nightshade Manor. However, that didn’t mean that he could not visit the village. If he were to truly watch for danger at home, he needed to know when it arrived in Bocka Morrow and with those thoughts, he walked to Hollybrook Park. He came upon the estate through the back fields and gardens as he’d previously done when he escorted Miss Cordelia home.

  Damon paused for a moment and took in the sight of Cordelia sitting on a bench with the sun casting golden highlights through her hair. He took in her gentle profile, the slight quirk of her lips and the blond curls that danced on the breeze.

  There was nobody more beautiful than Cordelia Vail and Damon suspected that she wasn’t even aware.

  “Good afternoon, Miss Cordelia and Edward.”

  She turned abruptly then stood, her eyes wide and eyebrows drawn together as if curious.

  Damon supposed his coming upon them in this manner was a surprise as most gentlemen would have arrived by the front and been announced.

  Why was it that simply looking at Cordelia eased the tension that had accompanied him from Nightshade Manor?

  “Is Ianthe with you?” Edward asked.

  “She is at Nightshade Manor, where she must remain.”

  Edward blew out a sigh and kicked a stone off the path.

  “You may visit her if you wish,” Damon offered. “I’m certain she would like a distraction from her lesson.”

  Edward immediately cheered.

  “You need to use the back gate. The one you used yesterday,” he continued.

  “I will.”

  “If there are roses in the way, they should part.”

  Edward frowned. “Why?”

  Damon looked to Cordelia, held her eyes and wondered if he should confide in them both. If he didn’t tell Edward the truth, the lad may find a way to help Ianthe escape if she had a wish to and that would never do. All he could hope was that he had an ally and not a foe.

  He then looked to Edward. “It’s important that Ianthe not be allowed to leave Nightshade Manor.”

  “It’s not fair,” Edward whined. “Nothing bad happened when she walked into Bocka Morrow.”

  “This is different.” Damon blew out a sigh.

  “Why, because she might accidentally perform magic?”

  “That is exactly the reason,” Damon answered. “And I don’t wish to see her killed.”

  Bloody hell, he hadn’t meant to be so forceful, but the lad was trying his patience nearly as much as Ianthe had done before she became fearful.

  Had he been such a querulous child? If he had, he owed his mother an apology.

  Bentford’s hard tone startled Cordelia, though she really couldn’t blame him when Edward was being so difficult.

  If Edward rolled his eyes, Cordelia would take him by the ear and march him into Adam’s library to be dealt with properly. Not that her older brother disciplined enough as it was, but she’d make certain he did in this instance.

  Lord Bentford clasped his hands behind his back, straightened his spine further and stared down at Edward in what Cordelia assumed was intimidation.

  Edward looked up and any impertinence was replaced with a bit of fear as if he just now realized that perhaps he had overstepped. Cordelia bit back a smile. It was past time that someone cowed Edward into behaving toward another with respect.

  “Can I trust you?” Bentford asked gravely.

  “Yes,” Edward dutifully answered as he drew himself up, not that his height was near that of Bentford.

  “What I am about to tell you cannot, under any circumstances be told to Ianthe, or my other nieces.”

  Edward shifted his eyes to Cordelia, but she had no idea what secret Bentford was about to share.

  “Do you promise?” Bentford demanded.

  “Yes.”

  “If you breathe a word to her, you will never be welcome at Nightshade Manor again. Further, I will cut down that tree so you can never climb it again to spy on us.”

  Edward swallowed as his eyes grew wider.

  Cordelia was quite pleased to see that her brother was finally being humbled and whatever Bentford was to tell them certainly carried heavy consequences if revealed.

  “I promise, Lord Bentford, I will say nothing.”

  Cordelia quickly glanced to Edward’s hands to make certain his fingers weren’t crossed, which they weren’t, thank goodness.

  “Madam Boswell spoke to me a few days ago and then again today,” he began then went on to describe what she had seen and how they weren’t certain what it meant.

  “Madam Boswell saw this?” Edward asked with alarm.

  Her younger brother trusted everything that Adam’s grandmother prophesied.

  “Yes. Until we know what this danger is and who can be harmed, Ianthe is not allowed to leave Nightshade Manor,” he said. “She is protected there, and nobody can step onto the grounds who has not already been deemed trustworthy.”

  Edward nodded. “I promise that I will not let her leave.” Then he made an “X” across his chest. “I swear that I will keep her safe.”

  Though if anyone or anything wished to harm Ianthe, there was little to nothing Edward could do to protect her as he was just a boy. Still, Cordelia was proud of him in that moment, seeing that he could understand the gravity of a situation and take responsibility with maturity she had feared he lacked.

  “Why can’t she know?” Edward asked.

  “She is finally gaining control of her fear, with the help of your sister.”

  Edward glanced over at Cordelia with a disbelieving frown.

  So much for admirable maturity, but Cordelia held her tongue.

  “If she thinks danger is close, she may become overset again, and it’s important that she learn control and to trust herself, and she can’t do that if she runs and hides from who she is.”

  Edward nodded. “I understand. I will say nothing to her, and I will not let her leave Nightshade Manor.”

  Bentford placed a hand on Edward’s shoulder. “Thank you. It is good to know that she has a friend that I can trust.”

  “I will not let you down.” Then Edward turned from them and ran off to Nightshade Manor.

  “Can I trust him?” Bentford asked with concern.

  “Yes. If it came from Madam Boswell, then Edward will take the words to heart and he will keep your secret.”

  Though, she had to wonder why Bentford wasn’t at Nightshade Manor since the darkness surrounded him. Though the more pressing question on Cordelia’s mind was where was Miss Perkins?

  Oh, she wanted to ask, but didn’t dare, and it wasn’t nearly as important as the danger surrounding Lord Bentford.

  It was likely Bentford was only here to advise Edward of the importance of Ianthe remaining on the estate and then he’d return home and she’d go back to watching for pixies as she’d done most of her life.

  It was all rather bleak and depressing.

  Chapter 15

  Damon had misgivings about telling Edward anything. He was only a boy of thirteen and Damon feared that the lad would not take the matter seriously. At least Edward seemed to understand and promised to keep the secret, but until Damon returned home, he wouldn’t know for certain.

  “I promise, Edward will say nothing,” Miss Cordelia assured him.

  Damon would simply have to trust her as well.

  “If it is so dangerous, why have you left Nightshade Manor?” she asked with concern. “Madam Boswell said the danger surrounded you.”

  “The danger is around me, but those I care about are at risk,” he explained. “So long as everyone remains at Nightshade Manor, they will be safe.”

  “As you should remain,” she insisted.

  “I cannot. I must go into Bocka Morrow.”

  Cordelia frowned. “Why?”

  “That is the reason I am here.” When it occurred to him that he wouldn’t know if danger had arrived, Damon knew that he would need Cordelia’s assistance. At least, that was the excuse he invented when his mother could easily have accomplished what he intended to do by visiting a few witches. “I do not know the residents of Bocka Morrow. You do. I had hoped you’d accompany me into the village and introduce me.”

  “I don’t understand how that would be beneficial.”

  “More specifically, I need to meet those who will be most aware of when strangers arrive and who I could trust to send word to Nightshade Manor.

  “Ships come in and out of Bocka Morrow nearly every day,” she said.

  “I do not worry about the sailors who are here for a short time, but those who disembark and do not leave. Maybe even start nosing around.”

  “I understand.” She gifted him with a smile. Not simply a smile, but a brilliant smile that reached to her blue eyes. “There are those who notice everyone who arrives either by carriage, horse, or ship and it would be my pleasure to assist you, Lord Bentford.”

  Miss Cordelia Vail was one of the most unusual women he’d ever met. Scolding her brother as if she were his mother, showing the patience of a governess with Ianthe, a serious and curious miss when they spoke in his mother’s garden, and now a beautiful young woman delighted to assist and accompany him into the village. How much more was there to her?

  “Shall we?” she asked.

  She was staring at him, and Damon realized that he had been staring at her. She must think him mad. “I will retrieve my carriage and call for you.”

  This time she frowned though humor sparkled in her eyes. “The village is not so far, and I’ve walked it often, unless you do not wish to walk.”

  “I did not wish to presume that you’d wish to do so.”

  “It is a beautiful day, Lord Bentford and the breeze off the ocean is quite pleasant.”

  “Very well, I would enjoy taking a stroll.”

  Besides, he needed to know his way around the area in the event Ianthe went missing again, or heaven forbid, one of his other nieces. One cannot go as many places in a carriage, as they can on horseback.

  “I’ll just step inside and let my family know where I’m going.”

  “Shall I meet you at the front of the manor?”

  “That would be rather rude of me.” She laughed. “Come along.”

  He followed her into a pair of open doors and into a parlor where Viscount Lynwood sat with a child of approximately a year upon his lap. Beside him sat a blonde woman sipping her tea and across was a younger woman with red hair. Miss Cordelia quickly introduced her sister-in-law and younger sister, Adriana.

  It was nice to put a face with a name. “Ah, Miss Adriana, I’ve heard of you, and now we meet.”

  “Do tell me that Larisa will be visiting this summer.”

  “There are plans for her to do so, but I do not have a specific date as of yet.”

  “I cannot wait to see her. Bocka Morrow is quite dull, and I would enjoy being able to visit with my friend.”

  “Lord Bentford would like me to accompany him into Bocka Morrow as he is unfamiliar with the village,” Miss Cordelia announced.

  “If you are going to be in The Hourglass, could you please pick me up some of the cream that Brighid prepares for sunburn. I am all out,” Miss Adriana asked.

  “If you would not spend so much time near the sea without your bonnet and parasol, you wouldn’t become sunburned,” Lynwood warned.

  “You may pick it up yourself,” Lady Lynwood insisted. “Cordelia’s maid has a free day so you shall be her chaperone.”

  “I cannot walk into Bocka Morrow today,” Miss Adriana argued.

  “Why?” Lynwood asked. “Have you made other plans?”

  Miss Adriana bit her bottom lip. “Not exactly. I was going to walk along the beach, as I do every afternoon.”

  “You’ll still be walking except it will be into Bocka Morrow,” Lynwood informed her.

  “Very well,” Miss Adriana sighed as she stood.

  Cordelia would rather not have her younger sister along, but Adam hadn’t really given them a choice.

  As they stepped from the manor, Adriana turned to the path away from the road.

  “Where are you going?” Cordelia asked, though her stomach tightened with suspicion as she awaited her sister’s response.

  Adriana turned with a sheepish smile. “I thought we’d take the path along the sea.”

  “No,” Cordelia answered without hesitation. Adriana knew she hated that path and never took it and for good reason. “The tide is coming in and that path disappears.”