A moment later, she felt the pressure of her sister’s finger in the middle of the cover. At once, the book seemed to shift slightly and the pages within moved as though it was waking up. Waking up? Goodness! Did bookssleep?
“Well, then.” Alec cleared his throat. “I’ll leave the two of you for now.”
Oh, Poppy wished he wouldn’t leave. She wished…Well, she just wished she knew what to think about him. She offered him a forced smile and said, “We could not have done it without you, Captain. We are forever in your debt.”
“As you saved me at the crossroads, Miss Elstone. I think we’ll call it even.” Then he touched a hand to the brim of his hat in farewell and left the sitting room.
Poppy could not help but watch him leave while her mind swirled with what might have happened between them. Oh! She wished she knew if he’d meant to kiss her.
“All right, out with it,” Laurel muttered.
“Out with what?” Poppy turned her full attention to her sister.
“Something is going on between the two of you.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Poppy hedged.
Laurel heaved a sigh. “I’m not an idiot, you know?”
“No one said you were—”
“Before the two of you went to the attic, the air between you practically sizzled, but then—”
“Don’t be ridiculous.” So, it hadn’t all been Poppy’s imagination! She felt somewhat better, knowing that her sister had noticed whatever was between Alec and her as well, not that she would voice that thought to Laurel.
“Keep your secrets, then. See if I care.” Laurel snatched the grimoire from Poppy’s lap.
“Laurel!”
Her sister speared her with a look of annoyance. “Oh, go drool over Captain Galbraith if you want.”
“I wasnotdrooling.”
“Call it what you will.” Laurel shrugged. “But since I’ve actually bled to open this book, I want to see what’s inside it.” Then she opened the cover.
Poppy leaned toward her sister to see the contents for herself. The pages were old and delicate with very precise penmanship and all in…Welsh! At least she assumed it was Welsh with all the random w’s and y’s sprinkled through the words like dandelion seeds scattered by the wind.
“Welsh?” Irritation laced Laurel’s voice. “You cannot be serious.”
“Mother was Welsh,” Poppy said with a frown. “I suppose we shouldn’t be surprised.”
“Neither of us speak Welsh,” Laurel stated the obvious.
Neither of the them did. That was true. If Alec was still there, he might know a trick or…
Something niggled at the back of Poppy’s mind. Something Great-Aunt Alora had said many times over the years. Then she saw the old woman in her mind’s eye.
“Gadewch i mi weld y gwir,” she whispered the words aloud.
Before her eyes, the Welsh words faded away on the page and then reappeared in English. If Poppy hadn’t seen it herself, she’d have never believed it.
“Goodness,” Laurel breathed out. “How did you know to do that?”
“Aunt Alora,” Poppy said. “It’s like she just whispered it in my ear.Let me see the truth.”
“A phrase I will commit to memory,” Laurel vowed.
There was so much to read, so much to soak in, to pour over and learn. But first...
