by Jane Charles
“Has the cargo arrived? Is there word from your father?”
Claudia nearly jumped at the voice and turned to the door to find Westbrook. She’d not even heard him come in because of her distraction.
“No, neither.” She grasped her skirts and wished her palms were dry. “There is another matter that you need to be aware of.”
He titled his head and studied her with concern.
“Apparently, the girls have decided that you are a warlock.”
“Excuse me?” he choked out.
She could understand his disbelief. Westbrook didn’t know the girls as she did, and Claudia set out to enlighten him about the past, then brought him to the present, the books that had been found, and everything Sophia had told her late last night. “Between my being in here to clean for classes starting in January, the books we tried to hide from them, and the black cloaks you supposedly purchased, Eliza’s mind jumped to the conclusion that you are a warlock, and I’m trying to decide what to do you with you, if you hadn’t already mesmerized me. But, if you have, they are determined to save me.”
At least he was laughing, and it was all quite ridiculous, but Claudia couldn’t find the same humor. She had grown extremely weary of the three as they were quite exhausting.
“It really is a long stretch, even for someone with a vivid imagination,” he finally said.
“Not for Eliza and what she believes. Rosemary does too.”
“What of Lady Sophia?”
Claudia shook her head. “She is the reasonable one and came to me but is powerless to convince them otherwise.”
“They honestly believed Atwood was a vampire who was trying to raise his wife from the dead?”
She nodded. “They believed he succeeded.”
“And covered themselves in flour to appear as ghosts and lead her from the estate.” Westbrook scrubbed a hand over his face. “They believed the Kissing Ghost was a real ghost and kidnapped your friend to take her to the other side.”
“They are a bit romantic as well. The Kissing Ghost had apparently died too soon and had been searching for his lost love so that they could spend eternity together.”
Westbrook chuckled again.
“I am glad you can find humor in this because, believe me, the girls are rather trying at times, and I’m afraid they’ll now be bothering you.”
He leaned against the desk and stroked his chin. “I’m not so certain that is a bad thing.”
“What do you mean?” She assumed he’d want her to have a talk with the girls about leaving him alone and put an end to the witch nonsense.
“If they are looking to me and Harrington Manor, they will not be paying attention to what is occurring beneath Creighton.”
His reaction surprised her. Where Atwood and Kazakov had been irritated and angry, Westbrook wasn’t at all displeased. “What do you suggest?”
“I’m not certain yet, but I do have a few ideas.” Mr. Westbrook grinned. “You walk with the girls every day, do you not?”
“Yes, in the afternoon. We like for them to get fresh air and exercise if the weather permits.”
His grin broadened. “I will be prepared for you and your students tomorrow.”
“Exactly what are you going to do?” Claudia wasn’t at all certain she was comfortable with him actually doing something to further convince the girls he was a warlock.
“You shall see.” He turned for the door. “We’ll meet back here tomorrow night and plan further depending on how tomorrow goes.”
With that, he was gone. She should be glad he found humor in the situation, but it was overshadowed by the disappointment that he hadn’t even attempted to kiss her again.
Chapter 7
I pray where was this experience gained? and why gained by him and not by others?
~ The Discovery of Witches by Matthew Hopkins, Witch-finder
It was a small victory to claim. He may have been able to leave Miss Morris and not kiss her last night, but Gabe questioned his decision for the rest of the evening and into today. It was for the best, of course. While he had many things to consider with regard to bringing respectability to his life, he knew he didn’t want to go about it in a disrespectful way, thus not kissing Miss Morris was the best way to accomplish that feat, though he had every intention of courting her. It might have to wait until after they’d captured the French spy, and if that were the case, he’d explain to Hopkins why he wished to remain in the area.
His servants were on the grounds with him and each was taking turns with the Y-shaped branch from the hazel tree. Gabe already knew it would work for him because it had in the past, and Gabe tested it this morning. Few people knew he kept a hazel branch with him, but one never knew when it would be needed.
He’d merely been a child when he’d gone out with the gardener who was searching for a new location to dig for a well. The man was using a dousing rod and had enjoyed success with it in the past. As long as Gabe promised not to tell, the gardener allowed him to use it, and Gabe found water. Since that time, he’d shown his friends what he believed to be a trick at Eton and at Oxford and never understood how it worked for him and so few others.Not that the reason mattered, but the fact that he could do so now played perfectly into his plans.
The voices of the girls reached him before they were seen, and he took the divining rod from his footman. They all spread out on the property and watched. The girls, Miss Morris, and another teacher slowed and eyed them curiously.
“What are you doing, brother?” Olivia asked.
“We need to find a place to dig another well,” he said. “I am looking for water.” He held up the branch.
Victoria clapped her hands. “May I try?”
He laughed. “After I have found water.”
The three who were the most troublesome gathered together and watched, whispering back and forth. After his discussion with Miss Morris last night, he could only guess at what they were saying, and he hoped they paid close attention because this display was for them.
Gabe grabbed the ends of the branch and allowed the longer end to stick out in front of him at waist level, and he slowly began walking his property. He knew exactly where to go, but wanted to take his time.
As he neared the underground water, the branch began to bend, slowly, until it was practically pulling from him and pointing to the ground. “Mark this spot,” he called back to his servant.
A man rushed forward and placed a large rock where the rod had bent.
Gabe walked further on and as soon as he no longer felt the pull, he straightened out the rod, made a circle and began walking back across the lawn slowly again. When he was not far from a large rock, it began to bend again. He signaled and another rock was placed. Gabe then moved further up, out and away and walked again until the rod bent. The third stone was placed
He straightened and grinned. “We have an underground spring or stream that runs from at least the last rock placed to the first and probably beyond both points.”
The students gasped. The teacher with Miss Morris looked absolutely horrified while Miss Morris held a gloved hand over her mouth, which he assumed was so the students could not see her smile.
“Victoria, would you like to see if it works for you?”
She rushed forward and took the branch from his hands and began walking as he had. Not once did the branch bend. She even stood directly in the line where he claimed the stream ran.
Gabe frowned. “Olivia, you try it.”
She took the branch and repeated what her siblings had done. For her, the rod bent. She returned it to Gabe with a grin.
“Would anyone else like to try?” he asked the students.
They all took a step back and shook their heads. There was a lot of superstition involved with dousing or divining for water, which was why he’d put on this little experiment for all to see. He had no answers for why it worked for one person and not another, but it was jolly fun to see the petrified looks on the three youn
g women who had spent a better part of two years being an irritation to a number of adults.
“Miss Morris?” he questioned.
She glanced around, biting her bottom lip, before she stepped forward. “Of course.”
“It might be best if you remove your gloves if you have not done this before.” He instructed.
Miss Morris obeyed and handed them to Gabe as he gave her the rod and then instructed her on how to grasp the ends lightly, but not so light that she could drop it.
“Olivia and Victoria did not need to remove their gloves,” the redheaded one called.
He really needed to learn which one of the girls was Eliza and which one was Rosemary, though he expected the vocal one to be the instigator, Eliza.
“I knew Olivia already could, because she has in the past,” he called back. “As for Victoria, I wasn’t sure if it would work for her yet.”
At the word yet the redhead’s eyes went wide and Gabe heard a quiet chuckle from Miss Morris.
“Be careful not to overplay your hand,” she whispered.
“Never fear,” he muttered in return and stood back and watched as Miss Morris walked toward the area where they believe the underground spring flowed. As she neared, the rod began to bend.
She gasped when it nearly pointed to the ground, directly in line of two of the stones.
The students gasped as well, and the three troublesome ones drew even tighter together and whispered back and forth. It was all he could do not go grin.
“May I try?” a young girl pushed her way forward.
“Of course, Millicent,” Miss Morris said.
The girl pulled her gloves from her fingers. “My father employs a douser for his mines. I’ve always wanted to try.”
“Mines?” the redhead asked.
“Yes,” Millicent answered. “Diving isn’t just for water, but minerals as well.”
She walked the area slowly but nothing happened. With a sigh, she returned the hazel branch to Gabe. “I suppose Mr. Havish will retain his employment,” she said with a twinkle in her eye.
Claudia waited for Westbrook, unable to keep the smile off her face since she’d had to hide it for the rest of the day and through the evening meal. Especially when the three troublemakers kept sending her questioning and concerned looks. Poor Olivia, they were doing the same to her.
Perhaps this plan was not so well conceived. It was one thing to play on the girls’ superstitions when it was adults who would be targeted, but what if they did something to their classmate? That was Claudia’s concern, and why she’d been able to fight her smile in the presence of the students.
“Miss Morris?”
She turned to find Olivia just inside the door, along with her sister Victoria. “What are you doing out here at this time of night?”
“We wished to speak with you now that the others are in bed.”
“What’s wrong?” She moved toward them.
“Do those three believe my brother to be a witch?”
Claudia bit her bottom lip, not sure how to answer.
“You can tell us the truth,” Victoria said. “We’ve heard parts of their conversations.”
“I do believe they do.” Claudia sighed.
“Our brother knows, does he not?” Olivia asked.
“Yes,” Westbrook answered as he came forward. “Why aren’t the two of you in bed?”
“The dousing was for their benefit, wasn’t it?” Olivia demanded without answering his question.
“Yes, it was.”
Victoria clapped her hands and grinned. “Do you have more plans for them?”
“Do they bother you so much?” Claudia asked in concern. It was one thing to be an irritation to the neighbors but quite another to bother the other students.
“Not us, but we know how they can be, and it was only a matter of time before they snooped around Gabriel’s home,” Olivia answered.
They did have a point.
“Yes. I have other plans, and they won’t come near Harrington Manor once I’m through.”
“Can we help?” Victoria asked with excitement.
“No.”
The girls deflated immediately.
“It is one thing for them to fear me, it is quite another if they start accusing you of witchcraft,” he informed them. “However, if you drop veiled information into conversation, who am I to stop you?” He looked between them. “As long as it doesn’t bring you under suspicion. Only me.”
They bobbed their heads in agreement.
“Now, run along and find your beds.” He followed them to the door. “I’ll watch to make sure you make it inside safely.”
Gabe stood in the shadows and watched as the twins ran back to the house. He’d do anything from them, even if it meant he may no longer be an agent for the Home Office. What surprised him, was that idea didn’t unsettle him.
“About today, Miss Morris,” Westbrook said as he came back into the belvedere. “Your talents were unexpected.
She laughed. “For me as well.”
“You should have seen the looks on their faces,” he laughed. “They reminded me of a bunch of matrons given the newest and juiciest bit of gossip to discuss amongst themselves before they set out spreading it through Society.”
“I can only imagine.” She shook her head. “They’ve watched me with caution since that display.”
With those words, Westbrook sobered. “Is it safe that we continue?”
She did not understand his sudden concern.
“We are having fun, but if one of them actually made a claim of witchcraft against you.”
“Or you,” Claudia pointed out.
“Nothing will happen to me. Rumors have already been printed in the newssheets.” He reached out and took her hands in his. “You, however, are a respectable teacher. I don’t wish for any harm to befall you.”
His hands warmed hers and the heat continued up her arms. What was it about Westbrook that he could warm her with his mere presence?
“I can assure you that nobody will believe them after their past escapades. Even if they wrote to their parents, Eliza’s wouldn’t respond and Rosemary’s are halfway across the world.”
“What of Lord Hopkins?”
“He’d probably assume we are up to something, or question you, before taking any action.” Of that she was certain. Sophia’s father was well aware of how her friends could be and wouldn’t give the idea of her being a witch any serious consideration.
“Good,” Westbrook finally said as he dropped her hands.
If he didn’t wish to hold her hands any longer, then he certainly didn’t plan on kissing her ever again. Disappointment sank into the center of Claudia’s belly, and even though she argued with herself that this was for the best, she wanted so much more.
“I received word that the shipment will arrive tomorrow.” She’d almost forgotten to tell him because they were caught up in worrying about and planning for the girls. Those three could befuddle anyone’s mind. “The message arrived as I was visiting with Mrs. Kazakov this afternoon. After having suffered through many of their antics, I thought she’d enjoy hearing what they believed of you and your response.”
He chuckled at first and then frowned.
Should she not have said anything?
“It will be a full moon.”
Claudia had no idea if it would be or not. She hadn’t ever really tracked the moon, stars, or any of that.
“Do you think I’ll be needed, or can Petrov and Kazakov see to the unloading?”
“I am sure they can. Why?” One of the reasons he was here was because of the smuggling, or had he changed his mind or been given another assignment?
Slowly he smiled. “Do you think they’ve ever been scared before, really scared?”
“The girls?” she questioned.
Westbrook nodded.
Claudia had to think for a moment. “Only when Sophia was taken, I believe.”
“Yes, the kidnapping,” he
said with some thought, then looked at her again. “But not truly afraid of ghosts, vampires, and such?”
“I don’t think so. Or, they believed from all of their reading they knew how to deal with the situation.”
He started to nod. “Then perhaps we should give them what they are looking for?”
Claudia studied him. Was he serious?
“It will keep their attention away from the cave and the beach, especially tomorrow night, and it might teach them a lesson.”
“What are you suggesting?” she asked slowly.
“I do have eight black robes that are not being used at the moment.”
Claudia snorted and covered her mouth. He really had purchased the robes? How many more of the rumors about him were true?
He stroked his chin with his long fingers again. “I’ll just need assistance from my servants, and the stage will be set.”
“If you are planning a coven, then might I suggest Lord and Lady Atwood as well as Mr. and Mrs. Kazakov. If you truly plan on scaring the girls, they will want to take part.”
“Revenge?” Westwood asked, a twinkle in his green eyes.
“Very much so.”
He threw his head back and laughed. “Dear Miss Morris, I don’t believe I’ve had such a grand time in a number of years.”
She pulled back. Was he serous? The newssheets indicated he had a grand time almost daily while in London.
“That is five robes. I’ll use my servants for the other three.”
“What of me? I assume I’ll be wearing the last robe.”
This time Westbrook grinned. “Oh, no, Miss Morris. I have a more important role for you.”
Once again disappointment engulfed her. She wished to be a part of his plan, but he probably wanted her to come upon the girls or something. “What would you have me do?”
His hand came up and caressed her cheek. “You, Miss Morris, are the virgin sacrifice, of course.”
Her face flamed at his words and skin heated at his touch. The low timber of his tone sent a shiver down her spine, as if he was talking about a different type of virgin sacrifice. “The witching hours,” she whispered.
