Page 6 of Haunted Hearts

Two

“They’ll blame you?Bid the devil, Blaze, what did you do?” asked Minerva.

“I did nothing,” he told her. “However, I did happen to come across Henri Bonnel’s dead body on the road, and I think his pageboy might have seen me bending over the man’s body.”

“What difference does it make if he saw you? You didn’t kill the man. Did you?”

“Nay, of course not. I believe Henri was soused and fell off his horse and onto his own blade. Or, at least that is what it looked like.”

“Well, what did the Bonnels say about it when you brought the body back to Alderwood Castle?”

“I . . . didn’t.”

“What do you mean you didn’t?” Her eyebrows dipped. “You just said you were there.”

“Aye, I was. But I decided it would do no good if I got involved.”

“So you left him there?”

“I knew the boy was going back to the castle for help. I was wearing my cloak with my hood covering my head so I don’t think the boy recognized me. However, when I heard him approaching, I moved so fast that I didn’t realize it until later that I had dropped my hunting dagger.”

“Oh, no. That’s not good.”

“I’m pretty sure he saw the dagger on the ground next to the dead body. I had just killed a rabbit and there was blood on it. He was so frightened that he bolted away. I picked up my blade as soon as he left, but it might have been too late.”

“And you didn’t help Lord Bonnel?”

“He was dead, Mother! I checked his pulse. There was nothing I could do. Staying there was only going to raise suspicion and make more trouble for me. He died by a blade to the gut. It was his own fault.”

“His dagger was still there, then?”

“Of course it was. However, it looked like before he died he managed to pull it out. Don’t you see? Because I was there and had a bloody dagger, rumors will surface that I killed him and removed my blade before anyone could find out.”

“Yes. They would say something like that, wouldn’t they?” she said in thought.

“I can only hope the boy didn’t recognize me.”

“Which dagger were you using, Blaze?”

“The one you gave me with the moons and stars and skull on the hilt.”

“That’s not good,” she said, seeming concerned, shaking her head. “That one is too recognizable. It would be best if you put that blade away for a while and used a different one for now,” suggested his mother.

“Don’t worry. I already did.”

Hot wax pooled on the wooden table around the candle holder telling Blaze that his mother had been here for quite some time. Damn. How had he not known of her arrival? If he had been at the manor instead of at the graveyard, mayhap he could have stopped her from ever stepping foot inside his home. Too late now. His mother was here, and with her arrival, bad things were already happening. There was no doubt in his mind that a whirlwind of chaos was about to follow.

“Well, I certainly won’t leave you now, Blaze. If you’re in trouble, you’ll need me.” She narrowed her eyes and spoke softly. “Are you sure you didn’t kill Henri Bonnel? After all, the man was mean and quite quarrelsome. I can’t say I’ll miss him.”

“Nay! I told you, I had nothing to do with his death. I’m sure it was just an accident. He was always riding fast and hunting while drinking. It finally caught up to him, I guess.” Blaze paced to the other side of the room.

“Well, no matter what, we need to cleanse ourselves of all this negativity.” Minerva reached over and fanned at the air with her hand. A swirl of smoke rose up from burning herbs that were twisted together making a wand, resting on his favorite silver dish. The smoke filled the room with an odd aroma.

“Sage,” Blaze complained, knowing the scent only too well. “Mother, I hate the smell of sage and you know it.” He stormed across the room, ripping the wand off his favorite plate, throwing the burning herbs to the floor and stomping out the smoldering stalks with his foot.

Her cat, Sam, was spooked and jumped off the table and hid somewhere in the room.

“You should leave that alone, Blaze. It’s taking the negativity out of the room.” She picked up a bowl of salt, pinching a few granules in her fingers and tossing them at him.