‘I’ll see what I can do,’ she said.
‘That’s all I can ask.’ They returned a satisfied nod. ‘Very well. I can tell you both that many moons ago I sold a number of magical items to a werewolf. One of those items was a bellarmine jug.’
Alexander was already leaning forward. This was good news. He was perfectly placed to strike a deal with any werewolf in Coldstream. ‘And you think this werewolf still owns it?’
‘The werewolf in question is now dead.’
Goddamnit. What use was that? Mallory ground her teeth in frustration.
Trilby hadn’t finished. ‘As far as I’m aware, his heir has not sold any of his father’s items. He likely doesn’t realise what he has.’
If that were true, it would mean that this unnamed werewolf probably didn’t care about the jug. He might be persuaded to part with it.
‘Who?’ Alexander demanded. ‘Who are you talking about?’
Trilby’s smile widened. ‘That part’s easy. I’m talking about you.’ Alexander rocked back on his heels as the stallholder continued. ‘I sold your father a bellarmine jug almost eighteen years ago. Unless you’ve sold it after his untimely death, Mr MacTire, it should still be in your main residence.’
Back at theMacTire stronghold they burst through the gates, past the guards on duty in the courtyard and ran inside. Hannah was in the main lobby. ‘Is everything alright?’ she asked.
‘Fine,’ Alexander said. ‘Hunky-dory.’
She glanced at Mallory, undisguised hope flaring in her eyes.
‘We’re heading to the basement,’ Alexander told her.
Her optimistic expression faltered. ‘The basement? But…’
‘It’s fine, Hannah,’ Mallory said.
‘Should I come with you?’
Alexander and Mallory glanced at each other then simultaneously shook their heads. ‘No,’ Alexander said. ‘In fact, some privacy would be welcome.’ He pointed to an unobtrusive door behind the grand staircase. ‘It’s this way,’ he told Mallory.
She smiled uncertainly at Hannah and followed him. It seemed too much to hope that there really was a bellarmine jug in a dusty old box in the MacTire basement, but she felt hope all the same.
The stairs leading downwards were rickety, and their creaks bounced off the old walls until it sounded as if they were listening to an orchestra of strange sounds. On anotheroccasion Mallory might have paused to enjoy the oddly melodic cacophony but today she simply stayed hot on Alexander’s heels.
At the bottom he led her down a dusty corridor. ‘The wine cellar is that way and that room to the left has all sorts of old crap in it.’ They passed it. ‘This one is where all my father’s stuff was stored after he died. I don’t normally come in here, but I did last month when his study was finally cleared out.’
Mallory nodded mutely. He turned to look at her. ‘You do realise that I only changed the décor to impress you?’
‘You don’t have to do anything to impress me, Alex,’ she said softly.
His eyes darkened. ‘Yes, I do.’ He turned into the old store room and flicked on a light.
Mallory’s mouth dropped. She’d been expecting a lot of boxes but the piles of them were innumerable.
‘Yeah,’ Alexander said. ‘My father liked owning things. He saw everything as a possession, and the more he owned the happier he felt.’ He cast a critical eye around the room. ‘It might take a while to find the jug. Maybe I ought to get the others down here to help.’
‘No.’ Mallory couldn’t say why but it was important that she and Alexander completed this search. ‘Let’s do this together, just you and me.’
His eyes gleamed suddenly. ‘As you wish, honey.’
For a moment, they gazed at each other then she turned to the first box. ‘Come on,’ she whispered. ‘Where are you?’ She flipped open the lid and started to rummage.
The box was full of random objects. Mallory found a pair of antique candlesticks that appeared to be hundreds of years old and fashioned using druidic magic. They were nestled next to a grubby teddy bear with glass eyes that certainly possessed no magic properties whatsoever. There was also a collection of old coins in a battered tin.
‘I’d forgotten half this stuff existed.’ Alexander’s head was buried in another box. ‘I should have got rid of it all years ago.’
