“Which way is that, my dear?” He grinned.
She shook her head and smiled back. “Lovely biscuits.”
*~~*~~*
She was hedging. He could see it, sense it in the way she responded to him, and it left him in no doubt that his feelings were returned. But then again, he had some years on her, and plenty of experience. Elinor clearly didn’t. Which fact made him extremely happy, since he was now committed to ensuring any and all “experiences” she had would be with him.
“Queen Mab,” she said.
“Er…what?” He blinked. “Forgive me. I lost track of the conversation there for a moment or two.”
Elinor sighed. “I know. And it’s quite all right, because I did too. Fortunately, I recalled what I wanted to tell you about Tylwyth Teg and the Ellyllon.”
They sat on either side of the little tea table, and Caleb listened as Elinor related some of the stories she’d read, and how Tylwyth Teg had been mentioned many times as one of the seats of power, and royalty.
“There’s no word on whether Queen Mab actually stayed here or lived here, but she is, supposedly, their monarch, so one could easily imagine the Ellyllon inviting her to the place named after her people.”
“This must have been centuries ago,” he murmured, distracted by her words. “I knew this was an old estate, but I had no idea it went back that far.”
“I doubt that what we see now is that old,” Elinor glanced around. “You have windows, fireplaces, sturdy walls, and other more recent features.”
“True.”
“I did find one illustration, actually, but it was in a very large book, so I couldn’t bring it with me.”
“You know, I never thought to look in some of the oldest books here, because those seem to be mostly records of sheep, farms, and market days. Oh, and pigs.”
“Hmm.” Elinor raised an eyebrow. “You don’t have pigs here now, do you?”
“Lord, no. If I did, you wouldn’t need to ask. You’d detect their presence several miles downwind.”
She chuckled. “I take your point.”
He finished his tea. “If you have time, what about taking a look in the library? Some of my old books might complement some of yours…”
“I’d like that.” She put her cup and saucer back on the tray. “And, although it unnerves me a little, I’d like to see if that strange book is still here. The one I touched last time…”
“And scared the daylights out of me,” finished Caleb. “If it has returned, you are not allowed to touch it, Elinor. I won’t go through that again.”
She smiled sweetly. “I’m sure we won’t have any difficulties this time.”
They rose, and he politely took her arm as they once again crossed the hall to the library. He rather liked the fact that it seemed quite usual for them to walk like this together.
They fit.
She was beautiful and delicate enough to be utterly feminine and thus complement his undoubted masculinity. But beneath her tender demeanour lay an iron will and a sharp, intelligent mind, both of which he admired every bit as much as the outside decorations.
“I love this room,” she said as they crossed the threshold into the library. “It smells of wonder.”
Caleb sucked in a breath. “What an amazing thing to say,” he breathed. “And you’re absolutely right.”
She nodded. “You like it too. I can see that quite easily.”
He bit his lip, knowing that she was looking at his desk, which—at the present time—was all but buried under an arrayof papers. There was a broken pen on the floor, and several candlesticks that obviously needed replenishing.
He cleared his throat. “Er, yes. Yes, I do. And I’ll confess to spending quite a lot of time in here, on…on one thing or another.”
“I can well understand. Running an estate, especially one like Tylwyth Teg Abbey, with all its eccentricities, must be quite an undertaking.”
