And there was something more. She was attracted to him in a way she’d never felt towards any other man. He was so large, with a raw strength that emanated from his very being, and yet he had been kind, gentle and soothing when she had been in pain.
He had healed her.
But that was impossible.
Men, no matter how strong or calming, could not heal broken bones. Yet he had. He had placed his hands around her leg and...
Adriana touched her leg where Morgan had touched it with his large, warm hands. It was bruised, but that was all. A shiver ran up her spine.
She had to find out more about him. Knowing his name was not enough.
The thought of asking her sent a chill through her, but Lady Vallentyn was the only one who would know.
Five
There were only a few candles lit in the long, dark solarium, creating a small pool of light at the table where Lady Vallentyn and her niece, Miss Havelock, were working. Every so often, flashes of lightning from outside the large windows dispelled the shadows. The women paid no attention to the storm, however, speaking quietly and intently as they tended to their plants. Adriana hesitated at the door, unsure of whether she should interrupt them.
It seemed as if a lesson was going on. Lady Vallentyn, who had her back to Adriana, was explaining something to Miss Havelock about the particular plant in front of her. Miss Havelock nodded her understanding, but before she could say anything, Lady Vallentyn held up her hand to quiet her.
“What is it, my dear?” Lady Vallentyn asked sweetly, turning around and looking over at Adriana. “I do hope that you had no trouble finding your way back to the abbey after my son so rudely abandoned you.”
How had Lady Vallentyn known she was there? The question flitted ever so briefly through Adriana’s mind, but she the sickly sweetness in her hostess’s voice distracted her. There was something about this woman that made Adriana very uneasy. She was so cold and serious. Adriana suppressed a shudder.
“It was not a problem, my lady. I didn’t get lost. I merely continued my ride alone.”
“And where did you go, alone?” Lady Vallentyn asked, sending shivers up Adriana’s spine.
“To, to the forest,” Adriana began hesitantly. She then shook off her irrational fear, told herself she was being ridiculous. Lady Vallentyn was clearly mistress of this estate; if anyone knew who this man was, it would be her. Adriana then succinctly told Lady Vallentyn all that had happened—including how Morgan had healed her with his touch. As she finished her tale, a bolt of lightning illuminated the look on Lady Vallentyn’s face and Adriana knew that she had just made a mistake. Possibly a very serious mistake. She took a step backwards toward the door.
Even now in the bleak candlelight, she could see that Lady Vallentyn’s face had gone quite pale. Her deep red lips were pressed together to form a thin line. Suddenly Adriana was very scared—but still, she had to know.
“Do you... do you know who he is, this man?” Adriana asked, gathering her courage.
Lady Vallentyn’s mouth turned up into an unpleasant smile. She took a few steps toward her, and, with some effort, Adriana held her ground.
Putting her hands on Adriana’s shoulders, Lady Vallentyn looked into her eyes. When she spoke her voice was oozing with so much sweetness that Adriana almost shook with fear.
“My poor dear. Obviously you hit your head when you fell.” Her voice became deeper and more resonant as she said firmly, “There is no man who can heal bones with a touch. That is patently ridiculous, as I am sure you would agree.”
Adriana shook her head. That was an odd sensation—it was almost as if she had heard the words inside her head. Had she said them, or had Lady Vallentyn? She couldn’t be sure.
Lady Vallentyn turned Adriana toward the door and walked her to it with her arm across her shoulders. When they reached the entrance, she faced Adriana again. “You must go directly up to your room, my dear Miss Hayden. You have had a terrible shock. You are clearly imagining things.”
“But what about the man? He said his name was Morgan. Do you know of him?” Adriana was unsure of why she kept asking questions. She wanted nothing more than to get away from this woman. There was something odd happening. It frightened her.
She felt very confused. She should just go back to her room. But then it happened again.
“There is no man. It was all in your imagination.”
Adriana saw Lady Vallentyn’s lips move, but the voice she heard was in her mind.
Lady Vallentyn looked at her with some concern. “Go now and lie down, Miss Hayden. You do not look well. I will send a maid up with a draught that will calm you down and make you feel better.”
Adriana paused just inside the door and looked up once more into Lady Vallentyn’s eyes. They were black, shuttered and cold. Adriana suppressed another shudder and then did as she was told.
“Oh, and Miss Hayden...” Lady Vallentyn called after her.
Adriana stopped and turned around.
“Please do not ride in the forest any more. It is an old wood and clearly there are many unstable trees. I would not want you to chance getting seriously hurt.”
Adriana gave a little nod, and then turned and went up to her room.
Once again she had heard that voice in her mind. As she climbed the steps to her room, Adriana tried to shake off the creepy feeling this left her with. She had the impulse to shake her head, as if she could shake the voice out of it. Instead, she felt the words interweaving through her mind, entwining with her own thoughts and ideas. They began to mesh and blend so that it was getting to be more and more difficult to remember what Lady Vallentyn had said to her and what she had thought on her own.
Did the man Morgan really exist or had she just imagined him? What would happen if she went riding in the woods? Would a tree fall on her again? Or perhaps she would become seriously hurt in another way? She could not take that chance, it was too dangerous—or was it?
Adriana’s head began to ache from trying to figure out what was real, and what she had imagined; what she had said or thought, and what had come from Lady Vallentyn. Hopefully, the draught would not only help her sleep, but would make her head stop aching as well.
<><><>
“Morgan, I would speak with you,” a voice called from outside.
All of the animals in the barn suddenly became very quiet. Morgan finished cutting the apple in his hand and distributed it to a few animals. Sheathing his knife, he gave Apollo a gentle pat on his nose and then went out into the pouring rain.
His mother sat on her large black stallion, waiting impatiently for him. The rain fell in sheets all around her, but not one drop dared to fall directly on the lady or her horse.
As he moved closer to her, the rain bent to avoid him as well. Within her protective circle, it was as if there was no storm. No rain, no wind. Just tension. While all around them mother nature gave vent to all of her feelings, within Lady Vallentyn’s world there was nothing.
“Good afternoon, Mother,” Morgan said, giving her a slight bow, and ignoring the cold rain water that dripped from his hair.
“You met a girl today and healed her broken leg,” she began without preamble.
“Yes.” Dare he ask about her? He had hardly been able to focus on caring for the animals in his barn for thinking about her. He had to find out who that girl was.
“You imbecile!”
Morgan flinched and automatically turned his shoulder toward her as her harsh words cut him. “You know very well what would happen if she were to tell anyone of the man who could heal broken bones with a touch. We would all be discovered.”
“I was aware of the consequences of my actions,” he said. He stood tall, all of his muscles tense, ready for the scolding she was about to unleash upon him.
“But that did not stop you?”
“No. She was in pain and needed immediate care.” He didn’t mention the fact that he couldn’t stand to have anyone that beautiful in such pain
, nor how brave and strong she had been in light of the situation.
Do you worst, Mother, he said in his mind, knowing she could read his emotions if not his very thoughts. I would do it again in a moment were I given the chance.
His mother let out a sound like the hissing of a cat. “You spineless little boy. Such weakness will be your downfall. Just be sure that it is not mine as well.”
There was nothing for him to say. He had known when he healed the young woman that he was doing something dangerous, something that he would pay for. He did wonder how his mother had found out, but then, she always seemed to know whenever he had done anything wrong, no matter what it was.
“Is she all right? Who is she?” Morgan bit his tongue, and wished the words back into his mouth.
“You are not to seek her out,” his mother said, in her deep commanding voice. Her words resonated in his mind.
Morgan knew what she was doing—she was using her powers of persuasion to make sure he did her will. He had experienced her powers enough times in his life to know that he would not be able to stop them from taking hold of him.
That didn’t stop him from trying to fight them. He stared into her bottomless black eyes and tried to block her words with his mind. Even as he did so, however, he felt the coils of her power insinuate themselves into the niches and crevices of his will, and he knew he could never win. His mother’s words bound him, and forced him to obey.
His hands balled up into fists as he stared harder at his mother, fighting her power over him with everything he had.
He would not obey. He would seek out this girl. He would find out who she was. He would not obey his mother. He would do as he willed.
A sharp pain caught him directly between his eyes. Thrown backwards, he had to break eye contact, and ended up on the ground.
Frustration seethed from within him. He was destined to be the most powerful Vallen of all time! And yet, he could not even protect himself from his own mother’s powers. How was he to attain his destiny if he were so helpless? He knew his mother was strong, but he should be even stronger.
His mother laughed. “What a fool you are, Morgan. You think you can best me? I am the most powerful Vallen in Great Britain, and you...” She moved her horse forward so that it was only inches from him. “You are nothing but a man.”
Morgan held himself stiff, refusing to let her see the pain she was causing as her words cut deeply into him. She leaned down and whispered, as if telling him a great secret, “Never shall you know your full powers, Morgan. Never.”
She sat straight again and looked down at him with contempt. “You are nothing, and you never will be anything because you are male. It is your own doing. Had you been born a girl, as was destined, you would not be in this position now.”
It wasn’t his fault! He wanted to scream at her, to shout and fight against her for taunting him as she always did. But it was of no use. Not only wouldn’t she listen to him, but she would laugh. She would laugh at his impotence just as she always had—and that would hurt more than anything else.
Her cutting words had already reopened all of his old wounds, the lashes that criss–crossed his back. Soon his shirt would be soaked with his blood, but he ignored the pain. He would not give her the satisfaction of seeing how she hurt him, nor would he back down. He would never...
“Give up, Morgan.”
He seethed, his heart pounding with anger.
“No! Never! I will be powerful. I will attain my destiny!” Morgan’s shouts echoed through the woods as he leaped to his feet.
“You are nothing!” she said quietly, interrupting his rant. She had no need to shout. She could make her herself heard with a mere whisper. “You are nothing, and soon you will be even less.”
That stopped him. “What do you mean, I will be less?”
“You shall see. It is almost time,” she said cryptically, but it was the true happiness on her face that terrified Morgan. “No longer will I have to worry about you stupidly misusing your meager little powers. Soon, Morgan, very soon.”
“I did what I had to do,” he ground out from between his teeth.
His mother’s eyes narrowed in anger. “Then you will pay for it.” She raised her hand, palm facing outward and focused her eyes on the barn.
“A pox on all that dwells in this place!” Her voice resonated throughout the clearing, permeating the air and was carried, swirling into the barn.
“No!” Morgan bent his mind to retrieve the words, to pull them to him instead, but it was too late.
With a laugh, his mother turned her horse, and rode away into the dark woods.
Morgan dropped to his knees, his heart pounding hard in his chest, as he watched her ride off. Slamming his fist into the soft, wet ground beneath him didn’t do anything, but his frustration and anger demanded some action.
Morgan looked up, thankful that the rain was falling on him once again. He needed to feel it on his heated face and body. He needed it to cleanse him of his anger.
As his heart slowed, he realized that there was something missing. He had felt something leave him earlier when he was working in the barn, but now he felt it more acutely. It was like a hollow in the pit of his stomach. Something had been taken from him.
Had his mother taken it? She had extracted no promises from him, and he had given none. He didn’t quite understand it, but somehow some small piece of him was gone.
Slowly, he got up and wiped the dirt from his hands on his breeches. He paused to remove his shirt and vest—he would reopen his wounds if he took them off later, once his cuts had begun to heal. Tossing his ruined clothing towards the door of his cottage, he went back to the barn.
How many animals would he have to cure of the pox? How many hours of sitting and making the needed potion and then feeding it to the innocents his mother had harmed due to his own stupidity?
No, not stupidity. He had known he would pay for healing the girl.
Six
Adriana was finally able to escape her duties later the following afternoon. She had to search for Morgan—had to find out if he was real or not.
She immediately changed into her riding habit and, armed with her sketchbook, went out riding towards the forest.
It was a perfect day for a ride. The sun was shining, and the storm of the day before had moved off in the night, leaving the world looking bright, and smelling refreshed.
She enjoyed a brisk trot, moving with her horse and relishing the feel of the warm air brushing against her face. She felt good just knowing she was taking steps towards solving the mystery that had been plaguing her.
She would find out the truth. She was determined to scour the woods for any sign of this man—for anything to clear up her uncertainty.
As she neared the forest, however, a strong feeling of foreboding overcame her. She did not know why, but suddenly riding through the forest was a terrifying proposition. She jumped as a large black bird swooped over her head and landed just in front of her horse. It was the same raven she’d seen the other day. She didn’t know if this was a good omen or not. She nearly laughed at herself—it probably lived in the woods, that was all.
Still, her stomach muscles tensed as she looked at the thick stand of tall trees. Why, anything could happen if she rode through the forest. The trees were old and set so close together. She had been extremely lucky the day before when the tree had only fallen on her leg. She might not be so lucky this time.
Adriana stopped short of the line of trees. No, it would not be a good idea to ride into the woods. Not today. Possibly not ever.
But she had to find out if Morgan existed!
Adriana sat on her horse in indecision for a few minutes, trying to figure out how she was to do this. Slowly, she dismounted, keeping her eye on the forest. If she was going to have any chance of finding this man, it would be here, in the woods.
Just as her foot touched the ground, she realized what she could do.
What if she walked throug
h the forest? Surely there was nothing wrong in that. She couldn’t fall from her horse, and if a tree began to fall, she could run for safety.
She loosely tied her horse to a tree. Tucking her sketchbook under her arm, she took a few hesitant steps into the wood.
This felt right.
She took a few steps more and decided this was indeed the answer. She could most certainly walk through the woods, but never, ever ride. Riding was simply too dangerous. She had realized that yesterday—or had Lady Vallentyn told her this?
She couldn’t quite remember who had said it, but then, there were a few things she was uncertain of after her conversation with Lady Vallentyn. It was very odd.
Now, however, she would find out whether Morgan was just a figment of her imagination. For once and for all, she would solve this mystery.
She focused her mind on her search and, with growing confidence, followed the path her horse had taken the day before.
She found the tree that had fallen and pinned her down quite easily. It lay just where she remembered it. Was there any sign that it had been lifted and put back down or that her leg had been caught under it?
No. There was nothing to show that any of that had happened.
Perhaps when she found Morgan again—if she found him—she would be able to find out what had really happened. But where could he be? Did he live in the forest, or had he just been passing through when he had heard her scream?
Adriana spent nearly an hour wandering the paths around the forest, searching for any trace of her rescuer. The more she looked, though, the more certain she was that it had not, after all, been real.
Only one thing was certain—there was no man in these woods and nothing to indicate there ever had been. She could find no trace of him, or of anyone at all.
It was just a lovely old forest. A perfect place to lose oneself.
The cool, quiet of the woods soothed away the pain that had been throbbing in Adriana’s head all day. Although she was horribly disappointed, the peace of the forest enveloped and comforted her. It rather reminded her of her painting studio—only good feelings pervaded here. Adriana felt almost lulled by the tranquility she found in walking through such majestic trees.
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