Or he could return home.
Except he did not want to leave Nightshade Manor because Lady Antonia was here.
Blast!
He wanted to pursue her, but would it end as badly as it had in London?
He lifted his glass of brandy and took another drink.
“Perhaps I should take my leave,” Amcaster said, intruding on Philip’s thoughts.
“You can depart on a whim with barely a snap of your fingers. If they set their eyes on you, simply transport yourself home.” Especially if Lady Antonia suddenly became interested. “As for me and Cassian, we do not have such an easy escape as neither of us possess even a drop of magic.”
“There was never any fear that someone would expect me to wed.” Cassian laughed.
“Do not be so certain,” Philip warned. “My mother raised you from when you were only six. I have no doubt that she intends to find a suitable witch for you to wed as well.”
Cassian chuckled. “If my last name was Cardwell, I would be concerned. As it is not, I will not worry.”
“The gentleman that we should raise a glass to is our fallen friend, Harcourt,” Amcaster offered in a solemn tone.
Philip’s cousin, Pierce Drakos, Viscount Harcourt, had fallen in love in the days leading up to the Witches’ Ball. The bride was Amcaster’s sister, Clara.
“My mother had hoped that at least one of us would find a spouse at the ball.” Amcaster grinned. “I cannot express how happy I am that it was my sister who wed instead of me.”
Philip raised a glass to his fallen friend then took a deep drink of the brandy, enjoying the warmth that spread through his belly, then sighed.
“It is still a requirement that you wed,” Cassian reminded them. “You are both heirs and thus will need one of your own.”
“You are also an heir,” Amcaster reminded Cassian.
“Ah, but I have no land or wealth. My only possession is a French title that is worthless, unlike the two of you.” Cassian grinned.
“It is a shame none of us can see into the future,” Philip offered. “I would like to be warned before my time comes so that I can properly prepare and fully enjoy my last days of freedom.”
Lady Antonia Kerrigan had almost not attended The Witches’ Ball.
It was the ball that she had been dreading, not the visit to Nightshade Manor. With so many gathered in one place, even in the days leading up to the ball, she was not certain she could endure so much for so long. However, she needed to attend because her dear friends, Lady Petra Drakos, Lady Maia Norcott, and Lady Samantha Ellis were going to help Antonia with a spell or potion.
She had also waited until the last moment to arrive, and trepidation had filled her being at seeing Lord Chedworth again.
Antonia had been smitten with Chedworth last spring, and she had hoped that more could become of their relationship, and so had he, but being in London made it impossible. He had danced with her, and they had strolled in the park, but he hadn’t courted her. She also wasn’t surprised when he had walked away from her that last night.
If she were truly honest with herself, she had hoped that Chedworth would have had a change of heart and called on her family during this past summer, but she’d not seen him after she had left London. However, all concerns had been set aside and Antonia couldn’t help but smile when she remembered how when she had walked into the Witches’ Ball and Chedworth saw her that his aura shifted from orange and yellow to green and pink, but then returned to the colors she had always associated with him, as if he had reconsidered how he thought of her.
It had been a stab to her heart, but it also answered a lingering question. She now knew that there was no future, and he intended to have nothing further to do with her.
She was proven correct when he did not ask to waltz, nor had he come near her or sought her company these past twelve days, much to her disappointment. Then again, she’d made herself scarce and was usually with Petra, Maia and Samantha in the stillroom working on potions and spells. It was the safest place for her to be while guests still lingered at Nightshade Manor. But today, the last of the guests had gone, leaving her, Samantha, and Lord Amcaster as the only remaining non-family members.
Would Chedworth still avoid her? Had he simply been too busy with the guests?
Should she seek him out?
Antonia had foolishly hoped that in the country, where they could be away from others, Chedworth might reconsider a potential courtship, but he hadn’t.
Antonia tried not to think about it overmuch, but she was disappointed.
Except, Chedworth was not the reason she was at Nightshade Manor. And, if all went well, by the time she left, she’d have the spell or potion that she had so desperately needed since she was a child.
