Page 32 of Haunted Hearts

“Really?” asked Orvyn. “Funny, but I just saw my lord in his solar, and you were there too, my lady.”

“You were?” Milo’s head snapped around in curiosity.

“Yes,” continued Orvyn. “And Lord Blaze didn’t mention that anyone would be borrowing his horse for a ride,” he said to Lillith.

“I don’t have my horse with me, and I’m sure Lord Blaze wouldn’t mind. I’ll bring it right back,” said Lillith, flashing him one of her best smiles.

“Weeeeell, mayhap it would be all right. After all, I know you and Lord Blaze go way back,” said the man, smiling back at her.

“Why were you in Lord Blaze’s solar?” asked Milo.

Lillith cringed, but did not answer.

“This saddle is heavy,” said Lillith looking over to Orvyn, trying to act helpless even though she was far from needing his assistance.

“That’s my job, my lady. Let me do it for you.” The stablemaster reached out for it.

“Thank you. Orvyn, is it?”

“Yes, that’s my name,” he said, saddling and preparing the horse for her after all.

Lillith kept changing the subject and engaging the man in small talk, hoping he’d forget she was stealing a horse.

“You seem to know a lot about what goes on around here,” said Lillith.

“Aye, I see and hear everything, my lady. Nothing escapes my notice.”

“Then I suppose you know all about the day that my father died.”

Orvyn became suddenly silent. “I’m sorry for your loss, my lady. It was an unfortunate accident indeed.”

“I saw a man bending over Lord Bonnel but he disappeared,” Milo told him. “So did the dagger that was next to Lord Bonnel on the ground.”

Lillith cringed again. Why had she said this with Milo right here? She wasn’t thinking with a clear head. She’d been trying to change the subject, but now the conversation took a completely different direction than she’d intended for it to go.

“Who did you see?” Orvyn asked Milo.

“I don’t know. I never saw his face,” answered the boy.

“Well, what kind of dagger was it?” Orvyn was good at asking questions and getting answers.

“It was ornate,” said Milo, more than happy to share his information with the most talkative person at Skull Manor. “It had witchy things on it. Moons and stars and a skull carved into the hilt. Have you seen a dagger like that around here?”

“Well, that does sound a lot like Lord Blaze’s dagger. I’ve seen it with him once or twice, but not for a while now,” Orvyn answered.

This only made Lillith more uncomfortable than she already was. The last thing she wanted to do was to make everyone suspicious about Blaze. It was bad enough that everyone feared him. She didn’t want them calling him a murderer now too.

“Milo, I’m ready to go,” she said, mounting the horse. “I want to make this a fast trip. I need to get back to help with the planning of my sister’s wedding.”

“Is Lady Serena really going to marry the warlock?” asked Milo, faking a shiver.

“You know as well as anyone that my uncle made the betrothal to end the feud,” Lillith answered, mounting the horse.

“It is odd that the Bonnels and the Paynes have been feuding for so long and now all of a sudden there’s going to be a wedding,” commented Orvyn, digging for more information. She needed to leave right now before she accidentally said anything else that would put Blaze in a bad light.

“Well, that’s how alliances are usually formed, aren’t they?” she asked, directing her horse out of the stall. She took off at a gallop with Milo right behind her. Lillith rode fast, heading for the woods, not wanting to think about Blaze and his kisses or his dagger anymore. Besides that, she really didn’t want to think about Blaze marrying her sister. That bothered her even more than the fact he’d never told her about his family secrets.

Serena could never make Blaze happy, she decided. Serena would probably never even want to get close enough to Blaze to share a kiss. Blaze was a good kisser. Lillith wondered if she’d feel the same kind of excitement when the baron kissed her someday. Damn, why was she thinking about Blaze’s kisses again? Her thoughts were running wild.