A stone wall about hip height surrounded the vegetable garden. Ray rushed ahead to open the creaking gate for her. She bobbed her head in thanks as she stepped inside, her hands twisted in front of her.
The sticky, sweet scent of honey cakes wafted from the kitchen a mere yard away. Ray’s stomach growled. Normally he would have popped in to nick a few cakes. But he supposed as guardian of the gateway, he should at least make an attempt at investigating Lady Thornton.
“Any vegetable or herbs you’d like to have us grow, my lady?” Ray asked, gesturing toward the rows of greens.
She cast a quick glance over them and shook her head.
The vegetable garden had been merely a pretense to study her further, but he had assumed she would say more than a few words at a time. She glanced furtively at him from the corner of her eye. Was it all an act? If she were pretending, maybe she’d come looking for him to get the measure of him as well? A part of him delighted in the prospect. It had been a while since a human had intrigued him so. He hoped she didn’t disappoint like so many others of her kind.
“Shall we move on with our tour then?” he asked.
She bit her lip. “Yes, thank you.”
She lagged behind him as he led her back through the orchard and down and around toward the flower beds that lined the hedge maze. One of the former Lady Thorntons, he couldn’t remember which, had insisted on creating the unnatural monstrosity. A living plant shouldn’t be square and orderly, nor should blooms be decapitated to decorate a human’s dinner table. But humans had many strange quirks he didn’t understand despite all the time he lived among them.
“Oh,” Lady Thornton gasped.
“My lady, did you fall?” Ray turned back to her.
She’d fallen to the ground, one hand braced in the grass damp with dew. Ray approached her cautiously. It might be a trick. Her tapered fingers stroked the cluster of thin leaves of a common plant the gardeners yanked out whenever they saw it. In this neglected corner of the garden, it had flourished, and an umbel of tight white buds swayed atop its leggy stem. It would bloom in a few days, a bouquet of tiny blossoms. Shame, the humans would tear it out if they found it.
“Cow parsley used to grow wild around Elk Grove,” she practically cooed at the sprout like someone would a dog.
He’d never seen a human care so much for a plant, let alone one that most humans considered useless. The flowers were too small, not flashy enough to present, and the plant itself provided no nourishment. He’d only seen forest nymphs treat their saplings this tenderly.
That was it! She must be part nymph or some other sort from the low courts who’d had a dalliance with a human. It was common enough, especially with Thornwood being so close to a gateway.
Shestood. A light dusting of earth clung to her skirt, which she didn’t brush away. “If it’s alright, I’d like to work here. I think it needs a tender touch.” She turned an adoring gaze back on the patch of tangled grasses.
“This is a rather far away spot. There are nicer flower beds closer to the house where you can view them from your window,” he said. If she were lingering around here, it meant going even further afield to hide out from Mr. Rockwell and his ceaseless demands for him to do his work. After a century of not doing his job as a gardener, he had no intention of starting now.
She flushed. “Well, you might find this silly, but I want to help the dandelions and nettle as well. The bees and wild animals rather like them, and it seems that the gardeners pull them out in those other flower beds. I know most people don’t like looking at them, but they’re living plants too...” She trailed off.
Very peculiar indeed. And rather charming, he had to admit. It had been quite a while since he’d taken a lover. Lady Thornton was pleasing to the eye, by human standards. And considering the puzzle she presented, this Lady Thornton might be worth getting to know.
Clouds obscured the sun, and Ray looked up. The sky had been rather gray, but this was nearly black. Would it rain?
“You must get away from him.” A voice slithered into his ear. Ray turned, trying to find the source. A thick fog rolled in and surrounded them both, blocking the rest of the garden from view and carrying with it the stench of decay and a creeping chill.
Lady Thornton trembled as white puffs of breath escaped her lips.
A weak shadow moved around the perimeter. When Ray reached for it, he grasped only a handful of mist. Lady Thornton gasped, and he turned to see a female ghost. Black stained her hands and crept up to her elbows. She’d lingered too long past her death, and her soul had begun to decay. Sheleaned into Lady Thornton, who screwed her eyes shut. She knew enough to ignore it; that was good. Acknowledging them only made them stronger.
He hummed a few bars of an old song he had learned from the villagers centuries ago. “Lady Thornton, it does seem a fog is rolling in. Should I escort you back to the manor?
“Uh, yess—” She cracked one eye open, saw the ghost, and squeezed them shut again. It was a rather persistent ghost; they usually moved on quickly, looking for easy prey to suck the energy from.
“You cannot go anywhere with him. He’ll cut out your heart as he did me!” The ghost screeched and grasped for Lady Thornton’s shoulders, but her hands passed through her.
Did the ghost mean him? He’d had many a slanderous thing said about him, and much of it was true. This was the first time he’d been accused of murder. Death had a way of confusing the deceased. Those that lingered grew more confused and more hostile. The best thing to do was for them both to ignore her. He grasped Lady Thornton by the elbow in an attempt to lead her away, but she wrenched her arm from him as she backed away, staring at him wide-eyed.
She believed this addled ghost? Well, now, he was offended. They’d only just met, and she already assumed the worst of him.
“Don’t touch her!” The ghost hissed and held out her arms as she faced him, revealing her carved up torso. Her killer had cut out her heart. What cruel monster had done this to her? There were those among the fae who delighted in such cruelty. It might explain the ghost’s confusion.
“I think it is time you’ve moved on. If you don’t, then you’ll only degrade further and lose all memory of who you were,” Ray said, attempting to use his glamour upon her. He’d never used it on a ghost before, but it was worth a try.
“I cannot move on until you are punished for what you did to me.” She pointed a pale finger at him. She was gaining power; he shouldn’t have spoken to her. In fact, the glamour might have made things worse. When he said he wanted excitement, this wasn’t the sort of excitement he had in mind. This was bad. He had to stop this before it spiraled further out of control.
