“She said the days and weeks before the next full moon will reveal my future and when the sun rises the next day, I will know my path.”
“It is possible she is correct, and it would explain your auras.” It also piqued her curiosity. What had the Romani seen, if the Romani had seen anything? Antonia couldn’t imagine much would change at Nightshade Manor, and the only thing different now and between the next full moon and any other time was that she and Samantha were visiting.
For a moment, hope rose, but Antonia quickly shut it down. His changes may have nothing to do with her no matter how much she wished it were so.
Chapter Five
His conversation with Lady Antonia earlier had been far more pleasant than Philip had anticipated. Especially since he had been under the impression that she hadn’t wanted to speak with him at all. At least in the beginning, but after they’d discussed auras, they ventured into new topics, and she promised to speak to his horse to find out why he was so stubborn. The request had been made in jest, but Lady Antonia promised that she would.
Philip had also hoped to spend more time with her in the afternoon, but his cousins had taken her off to the stillroom to make potions.
Lady Antonia was here to visit with them, and not him, but Philip wanted some of her time too. Though, he was not clear on why she and Lady Samantha intended to remain for so long.
He would ask his cousins, but then they would assume that Philip had an interest in Lady Antonia, which he did not wish to reveal at this time. However, after he’d asked her to stroll with him, where his aunt and cousins had heard, they may have already come to that conclusion themselves. Therefore, he would need to be very careful in the amount of attention he gave her, or his family would put their minds to matchmaking.
“We have permission,” Petra announced as she danced into the parlor.
Supper had concluded not long ago, but instead of coming here for tea, Petra had met privately with Philip’s uncle, the owner of Nightshade Manor, along with his cousin, Orion.
“Permission for what?” Philip asked.
“To take Ladies Samantha and Antonia to the vault.”
“What vault?” their guests asked in unison.
Petra turned to them. “You must promise…no, swear, that you shall never, ever tell another soul what I am about to show you.”
Philip nearly chuckled at Petra’s dramatic warning, but she was also correct. The vault was to be known only by the family. Although witches of Drakos blood could get in without a key, there was only one actual key and that was kept by the custodian of Nightshade Manor, his cousin, Orion, which explained why he had to be present if permission was given.
Ladies Antonia and Samantha looked at each other with questions in their eyes before they looked back at Petra. “We promise,” Lady Antonia said cautiously.
“Why do you want to show them the vault?” Philip asked.
“We are looking for a veiling spell,” Maia answered.
He frowned. “What is a veiling spell and why do you need one?”
Before Maia answered, she looked at Lady Antonia as if she wasn’t certain if she should answer.
He barely caught the quick, but negative, shake of Lady Antonia’s head.
Maia smiled and shrugged. “Sometimes a witch doesn’t want to experience gifts and wishes to rest or forget about them for a while. Therefore, a veiling spell is required.”
Did Lady Antonia not want to see auras? Or did she not want to talk to animals?
Perhaps he shouldn’t have asked her to speak to his horse if it was something she did not like to do. Though he couldn’t understand why either gift would be disturbing.
Though if he saw colors around people all the time, he might tire of it. Perhaps Lady Antonia simply wanted to see people as everyone else did. As he didn’t know what it was like to see an aura, that explanation made the most sense.
“We are off to Bocka Morrow,” Amcaster announced as he stepped into the parlor with Cassian.
“Where are you going?” Maia asked with a grin.
“The Crown and Anchor,” Cassian answered.
“Ale with friends,” Philip added to which Petra snorted.
The Crown and Anchor, while a public house, also catered to smugglers, sailors, and rough characters, but they also employed lovely servants who offered more than ale. Not that Philip had any intention of doing anything other than drinking. As for Amcaster and Cassian, he did not know what they planned for the evening.
