Before it was too late.
After being shown to Lady Catharine’s guest chamber, Alaric dared to rest for a few hours, waking up just as the sun began to shine steadily through the window. He got up and dressed in the same clothes he’d discarded the night before and entered the salon where his hostess was munching on a chicken leg.
She waved a hand and the chair opposite slid out for him. “Do not say that I’m not gallant when it comes to entertaining my guests,” she purred.
Alaric chuckled, as he bowed slightly from the waist and then sat down. “I never had a doubt that you could be counted upon when the need arose.”
Her lips curved upward in a smile. “As courteous as ever, Sir Gothry, even after all these years.”
As Lady Catharine held her black cat in her lap, laying a possessive hand upon its side, he started to consume the meal that was waiting for him.
“What are your plans for gaining the information you require?” she asked. “I know seduction is out of the question.”
“Indeed, I would have to decline such an offer if it was made unto me.” He took a sip of his tea and added, “I was rather hoping you would help me gain entry with the special touch that is so eloquently yours.”
She lifted a coy black brow. “How might I be of assistance?” she asked coquettishly.
Alaric smiled slowly as he drained the last of his tea and set it aside. “I’m relieved that you’re so willing to comply, when I haven’t yet told you of the danger involved.”
As suspected, her dark eyes flashed with interest. “You know I have never been able to resist a challenge of any kind, my dear, Sir Gothry.”
“I am aware of that, which is why I must prevail upon you to find a way to get Sir Arthur Montrose and his family out of the house long enough that I can sneak inside and find the link I need to cease Hector’s reign before it begins.”
She laughed in a malicious way. “That is truly all you had to say when it comes to gaining my full cooperation. You know I have never cared for Hector, ever since he murdered my beloved Angela.” She scratched beneath her cat’s chin and cooed lovingly, “Not that you aren’t just as precious to me, my dear Luciena.”
“I am relieved to see that our paths are yet united.”
She lifted her gaze and eyed him evenly. “Don’t say you doubt my loyalty to you or the coven. If you will recall, I was one of your champions all those years ago to gain you the seat of honor you continue to hold.”
“I have not forgotten,” he returned just as smoothly. “But I also know how persuasive the allure of more power can be when it is offered.”
She lifted her hand and snapped her fingers, causing fire to burn steadily from the tips. “I have no need of the Book, if that is what you are inferring. Nor do I care if Hector has found a way to raise Satan from the depths of hell and release carnage on this earth.” She moved her fingers, causing a shadowy illusion to move across her eyes. “I am content with my current abilities. Anything more would scare my dear Luciena, and I shouldn’t want that. Our current situation is quite comfortable. As is my loyalty to you as the High Priest.”
Alaric rose and put a hand to his heart. This time he offered a deep bow. “That is all the insurance I required to fully rest at ease. Next to me, your abilities are the greatest threat should you have decided to turn them on me.”
Lady Catharine stood as well, careful to keep her pet cradled in the crook of her arms. She approached Alaric and grasped his face. Sticking out her tongue, she ran it up the left side of his face and offered a sigh of satisfaction. “Your woman is lucky to have such a worthy male at her feet. Your heart beats strongly for her. If I were inclined to your species, I might offer a bit of challenge. But, as you know, my interests lie elsewhere.” She rubbed her nose along that of her feline and offered a smile as it stretched with contentment in her arms. “Isn’t that right, my pretty, Luciena? Alas, I have to leave you for a time. Wait for me in my bedchamber, and I will return soon.”
She set the cat on its feet, and it started to ascend the stairs. By the time Luciena reached the top, she had assumed her human form. She wore a black, sheer nightdress that reached her ankles, but was slit to her thigh along each leg. Long, blonde hair reached her lower back, and before she disappeared, she turned her head and blew Alaric a farewell kiss.
“She is astonishing, isn’t she?” Lady Catharine said as she headed for the door. “I hope you will be able to find whatever it is you are in need of, because I’m sure you will understand if I don’t choose to tarry overlong. Luciena is insatiable.”
She laughed, and Alaric merely offered a half smile as he followed her outside.
Chapter 15
Alaric stood in the shadows as he waited for Lady Catharine to work her charm on the unsuspecting Sir Arthur and his wife, Sophia. He smiled as she persuaded them to leave the house with her subtle magic and climb into her carriage. She glanced back at him, and he gave a nod as they headed off down the street toward the heart of the city. He had no idea what she’d said to convince them to go with a total stranger, but neither did he care, so long as he could find that for which he had come.
Rather than knock on the door and be subjected to the inquisition from the servants, Alaric called upon the image of the crow and flew through an open window on the second story that led to a bedroom. He remained perched on the sill for a moment, until he could be assured that all was silent in this part of the house. When it seemed as though he wouldn’t be disturbed, he resumed his human form and began to riffle through everything that looked as though it might hold important papers.
When it became apparent he was in the wrong place, and he was in nothing more exciting than a guest room, he dared to open the door and look out into the hallway beyond. Finding it deserted, he stealthily made his way from room to room, searching as quickly as he could along the way. Each room proved to be more uneventful than the last, even the master’s chamber. He made his way downstairs without any further detection and began his search there.
When he heard the sound of footsteps approaching as he was shuffling through the library, followed by a house maid’s entrance, he waved a hand, and she immediately froze in place. The spell he’d cast would keep her immobile as long as he was around, and then scrub her memory of him when he was gone. It was the same one he’d used on Marlene when he’d discovered her in the secret passage and the orangery without any explanation.
He continued to make his way around the estate, but as the clock chimed another hour, he knew time was vastly running thin. When the study proved fruitless, he dared to stand with his hands on his hips in the middle of the room with a thoughtful frown upon his face that he could see in the reflection of the window.
Surely Sir Arthur wouldn’t be so foolish as to discard any sort of important correspondence from his predecessors. But then, Marlene had said they had returned from America, so her cousin likely wouldn’t have thought twice about getting rid of something that didn’t have to do with him or his inheritance.
He was starting to grow highly frustrated, but then he thought of the attic. Perhaps he’d found a way to dispense with anything unwanted without completely eliminating it.
