After a brief embrace, they sat across from each other. Once they had their plates filled with small sandwiches and treats, their steaming tea in their cups, Lady Erica said, “Might I speak plainly?”
Marlene took a sip of her tea. “Of course. I should expect no less. Besides, I thought we were well enough acquainted that I might dare to call you a friend.”
“Indeed, we are,” Lady Erica concurred. “My nephew told me of all you’ve had to endure of late. I must say I was very sorry to hear of your misfortunes. It must be very difficult to take it all in.” She paused. “Especially now that you know what he is.”
Marlene couldn’t lie. “I admit I was a bit frightened at first, but I know that Alaric would not harm me.”
“No, he would not. He cares very deeply for you.”
She swallowed her tea and found that it was suddenly bitter. She set it aside. “I think a lot of him too, but I daresay nothing can come from such an association.”
“Why not? Do you believe yourself not good enough?” Lady Erica regarded her shrewdly. “Or perhaps it is he who falls short of deserving your affection?”
“Not at all.” Marlene was quick to assure her. “I just fear that we are so different that anything more than friendship would be detrimental to both of us.”
“I see.” Lady Erica sat back in her chair and put her hands in her lap. “Love, nor the path there, is ever without doubt and apprehension. It is even more pronounced when you learn of certain secrets.” She smiled. “I can assure you that my nephew would never make you do anything you do not support wholeheartedly. I admire that about him. He was always a good boy, and now he has become an honorable man, after dealing with his own adversity in life.” She leaned forward slightly. “You must promise me that you will at least give him a chance to prove his loyalty to you, before you discount him completely.” She released a heavy sigh. “I fear that the ultimate test is yet to come. His entire coven has begun to descend upon Rosedale Heights. Lady Catharine, you have already had the pleasure of meeting.”
Considering her tone, Marlene deduced that she didn’t much care for the lady.
“More will arrive to prepare for Hector’s resurgence. He will have felt that the Book is within this house. He has tracked it for years. He will not stop in his determination to retrieve it. And you, as well.” Her blue eyes seemed even more pronounced against her white hair. “Rest assured Alaric has everything well at hand. He is the High Priest for a reason. Hector’s powers are no match for someone like him. The only reason he has not dealt with his foe properly is due to respect for you. He confided in me that, should he release his full force upon Hector, he might scare you away for good.”
Marlene reached out and took one of Lady Erica’s weathered hands in hers, giving it a light squeeze. “As Lady Catharine said, I’m no wilting miss. I will be strong for Sir Gothry. And for myself.”
Lady Erica closed her eyes in apparent relief. “Then we might just survive the battle yet to come.”
Alaric was in his study, preparing everything he would need for the coven meeting that evening, when Lady Catharine waltzed into the room, her feline held securely in her grasp. She reclined on the settee and offered him a glimpse of her creamy leg. At another time, he might have appreciated the sight, but it did not faze him at all now. “You’ve done well for yourself, Sir Gothry. She’s formidable, and absolutely stunning.” The cat gave a slight meow, and she rubbed it behind the ears. “Although she does not hold a candle to you, my love.”
When the cat stretched and began to purr, Alaric knew her mistress was forgiven. Alaric, on the other hand, wasn’t so sure. His brows deepened. “What did you say to her?”
She smiled and tried to appear innocent, when he knew there wasn’t any trait of the sort when it came to Lady Catharine. “Nothing more than a bit of chat between ladies.” She waved a hand. “Focus on the compliment I just gave you, not the words that led to it.”
He withheld a sigh. He knew he should go see Marlene and ensure that she was well after an encounter with Lady Catharine that either resulted in casualties, or madness. But he relied on his longstanding relationship with her to put his mind at ease. It was the only thing he could do at the moment with this meeting at hand. Deciding it was best to turn the subject in that direction, he asked, “Have the others arrived yet?”
“Most have,” she noted. “You do realize that we are still one member short. Without thirteen our bond is not unbreakable, like a weak link in a chain, we are all susceptible to the strength that Hector has grown by offering his soul as a sacrifice to the Dark Lord’s power.”
“So, then it’s true.” Alaric closed his eyes and uttered a curse. He had heard the rumors, but he hadn’t wanted to believe that he had actually found a way to harness Lucifer’s black magic without the Book. “How did he manage such a feat?”
“He traveled abroad.” She rolled her eyes, as if weary of the matter. “Witches from other lands have different ways of using magic. He has made it his life’s pursuit to study them all, and then use the strongest aspects from each of them to call upon the forces of hell.”
“He then intends to use the Book to raise the Prince of Darkness so that he might rule over us all, with Hector at his right hand.”
Lady Catharine sighed. “It all sounds so dreadfully cliché, doesn’t it? However, I fear in this case, it is all too accurate. While most witches would revel in Lucifer’s rebirth, I daresay it would be devastating to the rest of the world. A true hell on earth would be unleashed. We would find ourselves without anything left to enjoy of the mortal world. I should be bored to tears if that happened.” She stroked her cat. “I daresay I might even lose my dear companion should that occur. The Dark Lord doesn’t like competition of any sort when it comes to his servants.”
“Indeed,” Alaric concurred. “We cannot allow this havoc to take place. Suspecting the worst, I have formulated a plan.”
Once he had explained it to Lady Catharine, she smiled broadly, a glimmer of sensuality in her dark eyes. “How I do love a good intrigue, and a masquerade ball.”
He leaned back in his chair. “I thought it only fitting that all of this began with Hector’s greed to obtain the Book. What better way to put an end to it all than by inviting him back into the fold by hosting the same manner of gala that sent him on this path?” He steepled his hands before him. “The issue will be keeping Marlene away while you assume her image, making Hector believe that you are one in the same.”
Her mouth lifted in one corner. “I will let you approach her with your idea, because something tells me she will not bow down lightly.”
“Those are my fears, exactly, but if I have to, I will cast a spell upon her to keep her immobile.”
She lifted a brow. “What do you plan to do, if you survive, and you have to face her wrath?”
“I would rather see her wrath over her demise.” He stood up and walked over to the window to look out at the moors. He had always found a certain comfort in the untamed beauty beyond the pane. “I could not live with myself should Hector manage to draw her within his cruel grasp.”
There was a brief pause, and then Lady Catharine said in the most gentle and sincere manner he had ever heard from her lips. “You truly love her, don’t you?”
