Lenora licked her lips and stood up as well. “I am, too.”
Nicholas didn’t hesitate. “Perfect, I’ll take your place then.”
It didn’t take magic to know that Abigail was thinking of changing her mind and reclaiming her seat. Sadie could have let her. It might even be entertaining watching Nicholas sit next to her for an entire game, since he wouldn’t be rude enough to flee the table simply because Abigail rejoined. And yet, Sadie found herself sitting down before Abigail could react.
Not that the sudden lack of seats deterred her. “If everyone’s tired of playing cards, then we should switch to something else.”
Sadie continued to let the spirit of mischief control her. “It looks like we still have enough people willing to play. But you and Lenora can enjoy a different game. Perhaps Madeleine and Helen will join you.”
Oh, Abigail didn’t like that, but couldn’t object without looking like a complete brat—even she recognized that. So, head high, she slipped her arm through Lenora’s and towed her over to the other end of the room. She’d probably try to get extra answers out of Madeleine now, but the dowager could handle herself.
Nicholas looked at her, and his lips formed the words “thank you.” She nodded in acknowledgement. Poor Nicholas, forced to be polite to all these women he didn’t want in his home for an entire month.
She understood why he was putting up with the invasion now. It had been her question for Madeleine, since the ladies had decided not to share their answers. His mother had explained their bargain and hadn’t seemed worried in the least that Nicholas would end the month without deciding to marry.
In this case, Sadie thought the dowager might have miscalculated. Even with Sadie around to make everyone else look a little more refined and, well, pleasant, she didn’t think Nicholas was going to give up his solitude. Not unless he fell in love.
She tried to picture him with any of the women. Abigail had no chance, though she hadn’t realized it. He’d seemed content enough with Helen while they played, but the two hadn’t talked during their game, and it reminded Sadie of the way Nicholas had pictured Helen as a piece of furniture in his house. He wouldn’t give up his bachelor status and two years without being pestered by his mother for that.
Given the way Lenora mimicked Abigail, she was an unlikely bride, too. Which left Beatrice and Jane. Beatrice was hard to read, even for a telepath like Sadie. Well, she could force her way into the other woman’s thoughts, but she wouldn’t.
She looked between Beatrice and Nicholas as she played. In theory, they matched well enough: highborn, near enoughin age, comfortable with who they were and their place in the world. Yet Sadie couldn’t see it. There was no spark between them, no life. They barely even looked at each other, even when the game called for them to exchange cards.
Meanwhile, Jane, on Sadie’s other side, couldn’t keep her eyes off Nicholas. He’d clearly made an impression on her during their walk together, for she hadn’t looked at him with that wide-eyed sense of puppy love earlier.
Sadie’s efforts with her amulet had dried up near the end of supper, and she’d been catching snippets of thought from everyone the entire time they played. She played as if she couldn’t hear those thoughts, erring on the side of being too cautious and playing poorly rather than winning via unintentional cheating, but with only Jane, Beatrice, and Nicholas at the table now, she was inundated with Jane’s thoughts, which had nothing to do with cards.
The younger woman was in a tizzy, wanting to start a conversation with Nicholas and completely unsure how to. She was in awe of the baron, her feelings more of a childish crush than true attraction. Finally, she gathered the courage to break the silence at the card table. “Thank you again for opening the brewing room to me.”
The words mixed with the various images of potions and ingredients Sadie had seen in Jane’s mind, and she finally understood why the witch was so in awe of Nicholas.
Sadie wanted to cry. If Jane had been given permission to use the brewing room, there was no chance she could sneak in and mix up a few potions herself without being seen.
“I see no reason for it to gather dust when there is a witch with the talents to make use of it in residence.” Nicholas wasn’t looking at Jane, but at Sadie. “The offer is open to anyone.”
Spirits save her. He couldn’t know that she was a witch. He couldn’t.
She needed to control her reactions better when the brewing room was mentioned, before she confirmed every suspicion he might have.
Why, why did Jane have to be a water-witch?
Ten
???
Nicholas had themorning to himself, and though he’d much prefer to be in his workroom engraving a few charms, he had to deal with the business of the estate. The charms could be made later, but he couldn’t ignore the reports from his steward for a month.
He studied the pile of papers spread across his desk. This early in the morning, he had to rely on glow-glyphs to read the reports, as he had chosen a room that faced the west and the forest for his study.
Marstede’s income mostly came from the Gloaming Forest. A steady source of money thrived under the shadowy trees. Unfortunately, it wasn’t only traders from the north who were prone to superstitions about the area. Even people who had spent their entire lives hunting, foraging, or logging in the woods got spooked on occasion, leading to accidents.
According to his steward’s report, the rate of accidents had increased sharply since mid-spring. Most likely some new tale had made the rounds of the taverns, a few people had jumped at shadows, and their misfortunes in turn fed the tales of malevolent spirits. Nicholas needed to find a way to break the spiral of fear and mistakes before it grew any worse.
It looked like he would have to carve out some time from following his mother’s whims to engrave a few charms after all.Giving the people who worked in the woods magical protections would reassure them that no evil spirits would attack while they worked. It was the most expedient solution, even if the charms weren’t truly necessary.
Leaving the reports behind, Nicholas moved from his study to the engraving room. He didn’t have much time before he was expected to escort Beatrice and then Lenora around the grounds for their walks with him.
As he settled in with his tools and stone, he couldn’t help but think about Sadie’s amulet. Protection charms were hardly something most people needed to walk around wearing, but it seemed odd to him that she would have one with such a weak glyph inscribed on it. She had said it was a present from her grandmother. Perhaps that had been the strongest glyph her grandmother knew?
