Chapter 20
Because it was far too easy to let life go smoothly for us in any remote shape, form, or fashion, my nana from hell dropped a bombshell on us. First, dear old Francis had us brought in from making our preparations in the garden about an hour before lunch to let us know that our new spiffy duds had been delivered and were now in our dressing rooms. We were ordered to go get cleaned up and dressed to go out to lunch. Oh, and we only had thirty minutes or less to get ready. I asked him to send Lisette to help me, and Francis smugly agreed, no doubt thinking that I was succumbing to the lure of luxury and was integrating myself into their snooty clique. As if!
We quickly made our way upstairs and washed our faces and hands. I came out of the bathroom to find Lisette was already there, busy laying out clothes on the bed. Charles was already unbuttoning his shirt, and my mouth went dry looking at the sneak peek at the firm swell of his pecs. I glanced away, ashamed at myself for perving on one of mine and Laurent’s best friends. That’s when I noticed what she was holding up for me.
“Which one?” she asked excitedly. “The Crunchy Baguette is smart casual, leaning more towards the smart rather than the casual.”
Was this some kind of a joke?
“Umm, how about neither?” I ventured.
“Okay, I’ll pull out something else,” she said.
I followed her into the dressing room. It quickly became apparent that my choices were limited, especially as the guys were already putting on the suits she’d given them. Slacks with Nehru jackets and Chelsea ankle boots meant I had to go with that 60s vibe.
“The black and white geometric mini dress with the black go-go boots,” I told her reluctantly. Don’t get me wrong, it was cute. It just wasn’t me. I came out of the dressing room to find the fellas sitting on the bed waiting for me, George calmly washing her butt while sitting on my pillow.
I sat down at the dressing table and let Lisette brush my hair, slide on a black and white plastic headband, then take a round brush and whisper some words softly. I stared in amazement as the ends of my hair curled up. A quick application of some neutral eyeshadow, black eyeliner, blush, and pale pink lipstick, and we were ready to go.
“You’re late,” the old bat said, from where she waited for us at the bottom of the stairs.”
“Sorry, we didn’t know–” I began.
“Well, if you employed a social secretary, you would be able to keep up with your appointments,” she sniffed as she sailed out the door.
I wanted to snark back that even then, we’d have to be told well in advance so the secretary would know, but Brent stopped me, placing a hand on my arm and giving his head an almost imperceptible shake.
“I know, but she’s baiting you,” he murmured.
“Don’t give in to her pettiness,” Laurent agreed in a low voice.
Charles made a wry face at me, showing he knew exactly how I felt. And they all probably did. It was if I could feel a soft hum of anger emanating from them both. It was most substantial from Laurent. Then it clicked, this was our bond! Now I know why they wanted us to get all lovey-dovey; our emotions for each other nurtured the magickal link, maybe even formed new bridges between us. I made a mental note to ask them later, if we got back in time to still try our little experiment.
“Ladies first,” Laurent said diplomatically.
“Oh! I’m sorry, I didn’t think,” I said, feeling like a dumb ass. Of course, the reason they were all still standing there was because I had to leave first.
“So glad you could join us,” Grandmommy Dearest said as I climbed into the car, having left us behind.
I gritted my teeth. Laurent gallantly swooped in. “The zip on one of her boots caught on her stockings. We had to extricate it before it developed a run.”
“Hmmph.”
If you’d told me a short while ago that I’d want to punch an old lady in the throat, I’d have thought you were crazy. Now, though? I’d ask if it was her. Evil old biddy! Not that she looked that old, thanks to her magickal whatever that was better than any facelift. Bitch.
My mood didn’t improve when we got there and found we were joining a group of already seated people. I could tell the Royal Trio weren’t happy either, from the way their posture stiffened, and dismay began to bleed through our bond.
“Hello, Laurent,” his father said in greeting. “You’re looking well.”
Laurent didn’t reply, instead politely pulling out a chair for me while Brent did so for my grandmother. Charles waited politely with them for us to be seated, nostrils flaring in irritation at what we had to look forward to.
Yeah, lunch was gonna be one big shit show. I idly wondered if a crunchy baguette was going to end up shoved up anyone’s ass. I had a few nominations for the (un)lucky recipient and I was positive the guys did too.
It was late midafternoon before we returned to the manor. To top it all off, it now looked as if it wanted to rain, the sky above the mansion as grey and cloudy as our feelings.
“Shall we go for a stroll in the garden?” Brent suggested.
“I just want to go get out of these clothes,” I grumbled. “And to bury my face in my pillow and sulk.”
The news that a formal betrothal soiree in our honor had been planned for early next week had not been well received by the guys nor me. We knew full well they’d organized it weeks ago, probably around the same time they’d gotten together to arrange to bring us here, and were only just now confirming the date.
“Not even to let off a bit of magickal steam?” he hinted.
“What? Now?”
“If we don’t go now, the rain will wash away the wards,” Charles pointed out.
“Kissing you would be a great way to improve the mood,” Laurent said.
I melted at the heated look he gave me. I liked…no, strike that, loved kissing him, too. And maybe indulging in our bond, reminding us all that we were in this together, wasn’t such a bad idea.
“Okay,” I said. “Let’s go!”
Laurent led me by the hand through the foyer. We exited out through the door of the solarium, not wanting to draw any undue attention to ourselves. This was strictly something for us, not anyone else. Once outside, Charles took my other hand, and we strolled four abreast down the garden path until we reached the almost hidden nook around a hedge. This area was an alcove bordered by a hedge of rose bushes, a bench on one side, and a small patio table and chair set in a corner on the opposite side. It was obviously made for privacy, and my imagination had fed me the image of romantic trysts being held here. I wished fervently that we’d been allowed a picnic lunch here, instead of that disaster of a meal at that twee faux-French cafe. So what if it was cold? A simple charm took care of that for short periods of time.
We’d created a circle of protection in the center of the space, its outline mere inches from our feet as we settled onto the bench, Charles and myself sandwiched between Brent and Laurent. Laurent tilted my chin up, slanting his mouth over mine. I parted my lips and sank into the bliss of having him here with me like this, our tongues lazily stroking each other. I knew without a doubt that behind me, Charles was doing the same with Brent. Until he wasn’t, because Charles was turned towards me, kissing the side of my face, wrapping his arms around both myself and Laurent. I broke the kiss then, turning my head towards his, and he took advantage of that, Charles capturing my lips.
I kissed him back, hesitantly at first. There was no tongue with Charles, at least, not until Laurent pressed his mouth against ours, and Charles turned to include him. I felt the swipe of their tongues against my lips as they darted from each other and back to me, and I felt my core heating. Brent came to join us, and suddenly there was nothing but mouths and hands, each one tasting unique, the tang of their mouths somehow identifiable with the surge of desire that fed along our bonds. When we finally broke apart, I couldn’t have told you which way was up. If they’d suggested stripping off our clothes and making love right then and there, I’d have probably
done it. Okay, I totally would have. No sense lying to myself.
I stood up dazedly as Laurent guided me to my place within the circle. He snapped his fingers in front of my face. “Come on, honey. You gotta focus. More play later.”
I blinked, the world slowly coming back into focus for me. Right, the spell.
The three of them stood across from me and joined hands, Laurent in the middle. I thought of George as I tugged on the mental image of a glowing string tying my familiar to me. She appeared then, slowly emerging from the between like the Cheshire Cat, kitty grin first, the show-off. I bent down to pick her up and began chanting the spell the boys had me memorize that morning. My part only had three lines of Fae to remember and no hand movements, so I was good to go. They started their much longer and more complicated chant, breaking their hands apart as the glow of magick surrounded us. In unison, they began the complex mathemegrams needed to complete the spell. Their soft blue light and my pink one reached for each other, becoming that pretty shade of purple I’d seen before. The glow grew brighter, ballooning out. George went back into the between, and as she did so, it was as if a balloon popped, ribbons of our magick disappearing as they raced outward.
“We did it,” Brent breathed. I looked around in amazement. The hedge was covered in rosebuds and blooms. George popped back into view, just in time for the first raindrops to begin pelting us.
Laughing, we ran back towards the house, only to slow down in amazement. Not only had the roses around us bloomed, but so had everything else as far as our eyes could see.
“I don’t think we’ll be able to hide this,” I said.
Laurent laughed, shrugging.”Ah well. Guess they’d have found out sooner or later that we could do this sort of thing now.”
“Yeah,” I admitted. The rain began to really come down, it’s iciness feeling like daggers.
“Let’s go to the kitchen!” Charles shouted, turning to go inside that way.”We can see if they’ll send us some hot chocolate to warm us up after we change into dry clothes.”
Now that was a solid plan we all could get behind.
Chapter 21
Not a word was said about the blossoms all over the garden. We weren’t sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing. I decided to go with the good. There’s enough negativity about with all that’s been happening recently that I wanted to hold onto all the positives I could.
It rained for three days straight, then the first snow fell.
“It’ll get colder yet,” Laurent said. “Winter Kingdom, remember?”
“I want to go to Hawaii,” I whined. “Or maybe Bora Bora. That sounds cool, right? Why can’t we open a portal and go?”
I was silly, and I knew it, but seriously, I was so over this. It got cold in Kansas, sure, but I never liked it then, either. I was a stay-inside-and-drink-coffee-and-cocoa kinda gal, who wished all the while that Bowring would relocate itself to sunnier climes. Preferably by a beach, as I’ve never been, and people who sucked could stay behind.
Laurent quirked his lips up in a smile. “The humans do a thing called honeymooning, yes, after their wedding?”
“Yeah, why?” I replied, not following.
“We can go to this stupid ass party and tell everyone how happy we are and that we dream of the day we can go on our honeymoon. Mention Bora Bora if you wish. Maybe the family will cough up to pay the bill for us to go do it.”
I looked at him in speculation. “You think? I mean, we are eventually going to have a formal wedding type ceremony, so we really should have a honeymoon, huh?” Maybe not Bora Bora or Hawaii, but I wouldn’t say no to having fun with the guys at Disney in Florida. I just wished the married sort of bonded thing was by our choice. The working relationship being required was one thing, but marriage was a whole other ballgame.
“But how to know if we want it to be in this Bora Bora place or Hawaii?” Charles said, warming up to the plan to stick them all for a big, fancy vacation. “ Or maybe somewhere else entirely? If we have to wait until after graduation for the trip, surely we should be able to take the time to properly review our options!”
I laughed. “And what? Take mini trips to tropical getaways all over the world?”
“Why not?” Brent rejoined. “Not like any of our folks are short on wealth. In fact, sending us off to go check out potential places while we enjoyed some extra bonding time in romantic settings would add to their cachet. Everyone would know just how rich and connected they all are to be able to get us portaled over so often. That takes a lot of magick. Plus, to have so much money not only here, but there?”
My mouth dropped open. I hadn’t thought of any of that. Just how wealthy were these people? I’d thought they were like ordinary rich people with inherited old houses that needed a lot of upkeep, not gazillionaires or whatever.
A soft knock sounded on the door to our rooms, and I went to answer it. It was Lisette, bearing a tray of pastries as well as a coffee pot and four cups. I moved aside to let her in. She sat the tray down onto my bedside table, then took a small charm and sat it on the mantelpiece. “Fireplace charm. Activate to clean the chimney and start a fire,” she said. “And I’ve got some news that might cheer you up.”
“Oh yeah?” I prompted her, eager for her to start dishing.
“Mrs. Murtagh told the cook that the morning after the party, she didn’t need to prepare meals for the four of you until further notice. She said that after careful consideration, they have decided to send you back to the academy the day after the party. You’ll be returning on the occasional weekend, on a rotation with stays at the boy’s’ family homes.”
“Oh, ho!” Laurent said, which made me laugh. Who said that in real life? “Laugh it up,” he said to me, looking at me with a look of fond exasperation. “I’d say that their alliance is starting to crack apart. We’ve not had much contact with anyone, not your grandmother, not with any of our parents, no tutor or anything else they talked about materialized, bar the tailor and your stylist, and now we’re being sent back to school with a shared custody arrangement. Not to mention your grandfather has been M.I. A. this whole time.”
He was right, it did feel a bit like that. Still, I really liked the sound of getting back to our regular classes. I missed hanging out with my friends and not having to walk around on eggshells all the time. Plus, there was the whole not being suddenly surprised at any given hour of any given day with a change of plans we knew nothing about, like the lunch date from hell we recently endured. I still regretted the lack of baguettes being shoved where the sun didn’t shine in certain people.
“I can’t wait to see Joanna and everybody!” I said, clapping my hands together eagerly, shoving that unpleasant memory away.
“We’ll be back to our old rooms,” Charles noted. “Back in the dorms.” He sounded a bit forlorn about it.
“You’ll still have Brent,” I teased. “And it’s not like we aren’t in some of each other’s classes.”
Charles brightened up at that. “True, and we can go back to always eating and studying together with everyone. It’s just that, well, I’ll kinda miss how close we’ve been. Us against the world.”
“It’ll still be us against them all,” Brent said wearily. “Think about it. While they are doing whatever infighting they have going on, and shuffling us between them trying to gain, I dunno, our loyalty or something, they have us apart, so we have less time to nurture our personal bonds.”
“Which affects the strength of our magickal bond,” I whispered.
Lisette began pouring us each a cup of coffee. “Well, the scuttlebutt is you guys are mad, crazy powerful already. That stunt you pulled making the roses bloom did not go unnoticed. The staff was all instructed to not say a word regarding it or face the sack.”
I took my cup from her wordlessly. Of course, it hadn’t. They’d kept quiet about it while they decided what this meant for their plans going forward. This was one big game of chess, 3-D chess like Mr. Spock played and we were still
learning the rules of play.
I took a sip of my coffee.
“We need to be more careful with our practice,” Laurent said. “Make sure it’s only stuff we can either clean up, hide, or pass off as something natural.”
Brent swallowed thickly, placing the scone down before he took a bite. “I hadn’t thought about that. You’re right. The more promise we show now, the higher the interest they can garner from a mage who wishes to bind us in service.”
“And the higher the price,” Charles agreed.
I sat my cup down, my stomach churning. Why couldn’t they just leave us alone?
Lisette turned to leave. “One more thing, miss. When you return to school, I’m to go with you.”
“What? No one else has a personal maid!” I said. “Where will you even sleep?”
“The academy will be providing me with a cot in your room.” She giggled. “I was told to keep a strict eye on you and report back on how you progress with these three as well as your studies. They also asked me to guide you, offering advice on who would be the most suitable leisure companions. She threw us a wink. “I pretended to be all for it, but don’t worry. I’m no spy. At least, I won’t be a very useful one outside of my maidly duties. I do a mean cleaning routine.”
She winked as she left left, leaving me to stare after her.
“Well, that’s going to cause a stir,” Charles smirked. “I know a certain someone who is not going to be happy that you were permitted a maid, and she wasn’t.”
I looked at him, startled. I hadn’t even thought of that. He was right.
Oh, crap.
Chapter 22
Lisette artfully turned my hair into a soft jumble of loose curls. “There, it’s all done.”
I stood up and regarded myself in the full-length mirror in one corner of my dressing room. Add the right jewelry and a tiara, and I’d look every bit of the princess I felt like. Seeing my reflection brought back memories of my childhood, Marla and I sat on her mom’s sofa, juice boxes, and fruit roll-ups in hand, watching The Princess Diaries. I blinked away the sudden mistiness threatening my eye make up. I wished Marla could see me now. She’d never believe it.
Discovery of Magick (Dark Light Academy Book 1) Page 15
