Slowly, Marlene clasped her fingers around the pentacle, and then she lifted it and put the chain over her neck. It settled in front of her, and she could tell that it immediately put him at ease. Recalling where he had been, she asked, “Did you discover what you were looking for in London?”
“I did.” He withdrew a leather-bound journal from his coat pocket.
She had never seen it before, but when she spied the gold lettering on the front, recognition instantly took hold. “It belonged to my mother,” she breathed. Her eyes widened as she regarded him. “Don’t say that Arthur willingly let you into the house and handed it over to you?”
“Not exactly,” he said with a lift of his mouth. “I went to see a friend while I was there, and she lured him and Lady Sophia away long enough for me to do some investigating.”
Marlene decided that she wasn’t going to let the knowledge of who she was bother her. Instead, she asked, “What of the servants? No doubt they would have questioned your presence there.”
His eyes pulsed with an inner energy. “I have my ways to move about virtually undetected.”
She decided it was best not to delve too deeply into that. Instead, she gestured to the journal in his grasp. “Might I see that?”
“Of course. It was your mother’s.”
He surrendered the diary, and she looked at it with emotion rushing through her chest. She ran her fingertips over the gold lettering and then opened it to see the familiar pen of her mother.
“Does it look familiar to you?”
“Not at all.” She shook her head. “I never knew her to keep a diary, but it is most certainly her writing.” She held it close to her heart. “Do you know what it says?”
“Not completely, but I read enough to discover what Hector wants with you.”
She gasped. “’Tis true that she met him and went to the Cyprian’s ball?” She had been holding out hope that it was a grave mistake, that she had simply wandered somewhere she shouldn’t have been.
“I will allow her words to speak for her.” He bowed lightly. “I shall take my leave of you. After two hard days of travel, I’m quite weary and I’m looking forward to a good night’s rest in my bed.” He moved toward her. “But if you require anything, I will be at your side without hesitation, no matter the request.”
She nodded. “Thank you, Sir Gothry. I appreciate that.”
He reached out and lightly grasped her chin, and then bent down to bestow a light kiss upon her lips. “It was Alaric before. I should hope that hasn’t changed.”
Marlene thought of the she he had mentioned, but then shoved her reservations firmly aside. She had never been jealous by nature, and she wasn’t about to start now. “Not at all, Alaric.”
His smile was slow and devastating. “Good. Sleep well.”
Instead of going to bed like he’d told Marlene, Alaric made his way down to the herbal room and decided he was going to recover the key that had attempted to attack her. He hadn’t wanted to scare her, but when she’d first shown it to him, he could feel the evil emanating from it. It practically vibrated with power. If his recent discoveries about Hector also proved to be valid, Marlene was in serious danger, indeed.
He strode down the hallway on silent footsteps. With caution, he opened the door to the herbal room. He saw the items laid out on the center table, just as she had described, as well as the spell book open and waiting for her to return. He eyed it curiously and tapped a finger on the open page. There could be no doubt that Hector was behind all of this in a continued search for the true Book of Magical Charms. He must have learned that the one Alaric had painstakingly duplicated was not the original.
He searched the cabinet Marlene had indicated, but other than a hole where the key had been, there was no trace of the metal item itself. He uttered a curse under his breath. He searched the floor and the surrounding area, but it was nowhere to be found.
It had disappeared.
Alaric wasn’t even sure if he wanted to tell Marlene and decided it would be best if he saved the revelation for another time.
Returning to his chamber, he lay down and urged his weary body to rest, knowing that he would need the fortification to come. He was finding it more difficult to allow his mind the opportunity to relax in recent days. He hoped that Lady Catharine would be able to assist as she’d promised. She was one of the strongest and most capable witches he had ever known, and if she was determined to take care of something, she usually succeeded quite admirably.
Before they had parted ways, he’d asked her to gather the rest of the coven and make the journey to Rosedale Heights. Although the journal had revealed much, there was still more to this mystery that he was missing. But he was convinced now, more than ever, that Marlene was in terrible danger. She was stronger than perhaps he realized and that was a stern enticement for someone like Hector. It was fortunate that she had found her way to his estate before Hector had swept her away from him.
He closed his eyes and pictured the alluring woman in the adjoining chamber. He hadn’t wanted to leave her; he wanted to go to her still, but at least he could breathe easier knowing that she had calmed from her earlier upset. No doubt she would be up long into the night reading through her mother’s journal. The morning might reveal more than he had uncovered already.
He knew it was best to maintain his distance, even if his body ached for hers. There would be time to continue their affair when he could be assured that any threat to her safety had passed. Until then, he needed to keep a clear head, not only because she had requested such of him, but he was the only chance she had when it came to survival.
Chapter 16
Marlene’s eyes were weary, grainy from a lack of sleep, but as she sat huddled in a chair by the fire, still dressed in Alaric’s robe, she had no desire to sleep. Not yet. Not until she’d uncovered all of the secrets that her mother had written in her own hand.
With each page that passed, she found it impossible to put the journal down. She was learning so much about the woman who had given her life—including the desperation she had been feeling when it came to the welfare of her only daughter.
