The Witch of Stonecliff

by Dawn Brown

  When her arm tired and her raw skin stung, her knees gave out and she sunk slowly to the bottom of the tub. Kneeling, she tucked her chin to her chest against the spray pelting the top of her head and back. Her ragged breathing sounded in her ears, and the trembling in her muscles eased.

  What a bloody mess she was in. She needed to get away from this house, from the village. But she couldn’t. She was trapped like a fly in a spider’s web.

  She lifted her leaden arm and turned the tap, shutting off the water. Exhaustion slammed into her like a wrecking ball. She wanted to climb into bed and pretend the day had never happened.

  The last thing she wanted was to face Kyle again after he’d witnessed that mess with Paskin. What if he asked questions?

  She should skip Hugh’s dinner. It was the butler’s bloody idea, after all. Instead she dragged on a clean pair of gray trousers and a white blouse and returned to the bathroom. She caught sight of her reflection in the mirror behind the sink and frowned. God, she was plain. From dull brown hair, the ends curling and brushing her shoulders, to dull brown eyes, to pale skin, her blouse and trousers as bland as the rest of her.

  She couldn’t even change. All her clothes were the same, varying only in color—beige, gray, white. All perfectly practical had she still been serving customers in a flower shop, or when she mucked about in the garden, but nothing for company.

  Since when did she care what she wore to dinner? She finished getting ready, and less than fifteen minutes later she was making her way down the hall to the stairs.

  As she rounded the last corner in the passageway her gaze caught on the burned-out wall sconce at the top of the stairs. Warlow still hadn’t replaced it. Dark shadows stretched across the corridor like a veil. Eleri slowed, unease prickling along the back of her neck. The smell hit her next. Putrid and rotted, the stink wafted to her nose, filling her nasal cavities, trickling down her throat until she wanted to gag.

  Whispered voices filled the air around her. The stench intensified.

  Eleri whirled around and started back the way she’d come. She’d use the servants’ stairs again. She couldn’t manage this now. Not after her run-in with Paskin.

  Once on the main floor, she hurried down the hall to the parlor, but Hugh’s voice stopped her outside the door. “We’re delighted you could join us tonight, Mr. Peirs. There are few men willing to dine with Eleri just now.”

  Her cheeks flamed. Why in the hell would Warlow say something like that?

  “I’m not worried,” Kyle replied.

  “How strange. Why is that?”

  “Even if Ms. James were indeed guilty, with an investigation going on, I should imagine her own self-preservation would keep me safe.”

  “But surely you’ve heard the story of the frog and the scorpion? The frog carries the scorpion across the river and the scorpion stings him even though they both will die because the scorpion can’t help what it is.”

  Dull fury pulsed behind her eyes. Eleri strode into the room and pinned Warlow with a hard stare. “In your cautionary tale where I’m the scorpion and Kyle the frog you left out yourself; the big, fat toad.”

  Warlow let out a long suffering sigh from where he stood before the fireplace. “I meant nothing by it, Eleri. You had concerns about Mr. Peirs’s motivations for staying here while there was a murder investigation in the works. This dinner is to help alleviate those concerns.”

  “So the abject humiliation was for my benefit. I should have realized.” Eleri lowered herself to the edge of the settee, half-tempted to sit on her hands to keep from throttling the butler. “You may leave and see to my father now.”

  She risked a glance at Kyle. He watched her, a bemused smile curling his lips, lounging in a frayed chair near the fireplace. She suddenly wished she had worn something else.

  He looked good in dark charcoal trousers, a white shirt untucked—which looked casual rather than sloppy—and navy jacket. His brown hair, a tad too long, was swept back away from his forehead, revealing the long lines of his face, straight nose, slightly pointed chin. Those smoke green eyes stood out bright against the dusky hue of his skin.

  He really was an attractive man. The only thing marring all that perfection was the jagged scar at his neck.

  “Your father’s resting,” Warlow said, dragging her attention away from Kyle. Probably not a bad thing; she was on the verge of staring. The butler nodded to the hissing baby monitor. “As he’s too ill to join you, he’s asked that I stand in for him while we get to know Mr. Peirs better.”

  Of course he would. Warlow had been pulling her father’s strings for as long as she could remember. Even before his illness took root, Arthur James deferred to his butler for nearly every decision. Now that her father was bedridden, was it any wonder Warlow behaved as though he owned the place?

  Though, for all she knew, once her father was gone Hugh Warlow might own Stonecliff. She doubted Arthur would leave the estate to either her or her sister. A small flicker or relief lit inside her at the possibility.

  “What made you choose our neck of the woods, Mr. Peirs, given the current goings on?” Warlow asked.

  Eleri frowned. Something had shifted between yesterday and today. Suspicion laced the butler’s false cheer.

  “Money, quite frankly. You’re charging considerably less than other houses I looked at. While I’ve set some money aside for this little sabbatical, without a steady income I need to conserve where I can.”

  “Did you quit your last job?” Eleri asked.

  He shook his head. “A six month leave to say I gave it a shot.”

  “Had you visited the area before?” Warlow’s chilly gaze was in complete contrast to the wide smile stretched across his face.

  Kyle pinned him with an icy stare all his own. “Never.”

  Eleri’s gaze shifted between the two men, the tension in the air thickening. Was Kyle lying? Had he been to Cragera Bay before, and did Warlow know him somehow?

  “I hope you don’t mind me saying so, but that must have been a terrible injury to your neck.”

  The younger man’s eyes narrowed, features hardening.

  “Hugh!” Eleri snapped. She couldn’t believe how rudely he was behaving. Normally, he was a model of decorum. Pompous and condescending, but always well mannered.

  “It was,” Kyle agreed.

  “I’m sorry if I appear rude,” Warlow said.

  “If?” Eleri cut in.

  Warlow shot her an impatient glare. “Eleri was concerned that such an injury indicated ties to a criminal past.”

  Her eyes rounded. Her face burned. Kyle swung his gaze to hers, one corner of his mouth curling up in a smirk. “Really?”

  “No.” She shook her head. “That’s not true.”

  “That’s exactly what you said.” Warlow’s white brows pulled into a frown, his voice annoyingly patient. “We want to ease your concerns about his character.”

  “You had doubts about my character based on this?” Kyle traced a finger over the ridge of scar tissue.

  Why couldn’t the floor open up and swallow her? “He’s taking what I said out of context. I meant that he didn’t know anything about you, that you could have had criminal ties.”

  That didn’t sound any better.

  Kyle let out a dry chuckle and lifted his right hand as if swearing an oath. “I promise this isn’t the result of any criminal activity on my part. Does that set your mind at ease?”

  Not really. The best way to set her mind at ease would be to stop talking about it.

  “What sort of accident, if you don’t mind me asking?” Warlow said.

  Kyle stared at the man for a long moment before finally replying, “Traffic collision.”

  “Did the recovery take long?”

  “Yes.”

  “I’m so sorry for what you must have gone through. Where about was the accident?”

  “Outside London. Were you hoping to gather enough clues to verify my story? Do you need the date, the hour
of the accident? Perhaps a look at my medical records?

  Warlow turned his attention to her and asked, “Eleri?”

  There wasn’t a hole big enough for her to crawl into. She shook her head.

  A part of her wanted to blurt out that she had nothing to do with Warlow’s probing, but she had suspected him of a criminal past. So when had her opinion changed? When he came to her rescue with Steven Paskin?

  “I’m sorry,” she told him.

  His light green eyes held hers. “You’ve nothing to be sorry for.”

  The low rasp of his voice shivered along her skin and a thin flutter tickled low in her belly. She frowned and dropped her gaze to the floor. What was that about? But she already knew. She found him attractive. Desirable. And that was dangerous for them both.

  Look how things had turned out for Griffin.

  “Dinner has been set in the dining room.” Mrs. Voyle’s sharp voice cut through the tension like a jagged blade. She stood in the doorway, buttoning her coat. “You’ll need to come straight away if you want your dinner hot.”

  Hugh stood, genial grin fixed firmly in place. “I must see to Mr. James, so I’ll leave you to dine without me. Thank you for indulging us, Mr. Peirs.”

  Kyle jerked a shoulder, his impassive features impossible to read. “Of course.”

  Outside the parlor, Warlow started up the stairs, and Eleri and Kyle followed Mrs. Voyle down the hall.

  “You’ll have to serve yourselves,” Mrs. Voyle said, as Eleri and Kyle entered the dining room. “I’ve already stayed later than I prefer. And you’ll need to tidy up yourself. I won’t wait.”

  “Thanks, Mrs. Voyle,” Eleri ground out. If by some unfortunate twist of fate her father should leave Stonecliff to her, after all, Eleri’s first order of business would be to fire the woman.

  Mrs. Voyle hurried away, and Eleri led Kyle to the plates stacked at one end of the sideboard. “I should apologize in advance for Mrs. Voyle’s cooking. Whatever threat you were willing to face by letting the lodge, I’m afraid you may have increased it considerably by agreeing to eat here.”

  She glanced back over her shoulder with a smirk, but the expression dissolved quickly. Kyle stared down at the domed platters, his normally olive skin pale, expression shuttered.

  Of course, he wouldn’t find the crack amusing—especially coming from her. “I was kidding.”

  His gaze met hers and he smiled but it looked forced. “If you’re willing to eat it, I’m sure I’ll be safe enough.”

  Eleri lifted the silver dome off the first platter, and let out a soft sigh. Ah yes, Mrs. Voyle’s infamous gray roast beef. No doubt they would have the woman’s lumpy potatoes and mushy vegetables to look forward to. And of course, her sludge gravy. She forked a slice of meat onto her plate. “I wouldn’t bet on it.”

  “I’m just pleased to be invited for a meal. Saves me from having to cook something.”

  “Are you certain this is better?”

  He met her gaze. “There’s the company, as well.”

  Warm flush tingled over her skin. Was he flirting with her?

  What a lot of nonsense. As if he’d be interested in the likes of her. He was attractive, successful, sexy. He could no doubt do better than a short, plain woman under investigation for murdering men just like him.

  With dinner on their plates, they sat at the large table facing each other.

  “I’m sorry about Hugh,” Eleri said, smoothing her napkin over her lap. “It was wrong of him to pry the way he did.”

  “I should imagine letting your house to a complete stranger is disconcerting.”

  Eleri used her fork to squash the larger lumps in her potatoes. “I can’t imagine anyone choosing to stay here if they had somewhere else to go. And when Warlow said you were a writer, I worried that you might be after a story. I haven’t had great experiences with reporters.”

  The jagged scar curling across Kyle’s throat bobbed. “How do you mean?”

  “A few years back, a man who worked for us vanished. Despite indications that he’d simply moved on, his family was certain he’d met with foul play.”

  “What sort of indications?”

  “His belongings were gone from the coach house and his car had gone. There was no evidence that the man hadn’t just moved. When his family lost faith in the police, they went to the media. One reporter in particular wrote a series of articles, none of them true. He filled the articles with gossip and rumors. He was actually the one to come up with the name The Witch of Stonecliff. Life in the village quickly became unbearable. I left first chance I got.”

  Kyle’s face had paled, his expression intent. “Did you ever meet him?”

  Unease prickled the base of her neck.

  She shook her head. “He asked for an interview, but I refused.”

  “What happened to him?”

  “I’ve no idea. Once the story played itself out, I imagine he moved on to something far more titillating. Alien sightings in the Outer Hebrides maybe. Another royal family conspiracy.” She shrugged. “Who knows?”

  He nodded slowly, his gaze distant as if lost in thought. “Maybe he’s one of the men they found in The Devil’s Eye. Maybe that’s why the articles stopped.”

  Eleri’s stomach squeezed, and she pushed her plate away. She sincerely hoped not. “Surely, if he’d disappeared, someone would have noticed. You can bet the police would have been at my door the minute the man had been reported missing.”

  Kyle stared at her for a long moment without speaking, his expression stony. Something in the conversation had changed. He’d changed. Gone was the mildly flirtatious man who’d arrived. He’d been replaced by a man searching for something.

  Had her initial instincts been right all along? Could he be working with the detective like Reece had been? Related to one of the men police had fished out of The Eye?

  “What aren’t you telling me?” she asked, softly.

  He grinned, all warm charm once more, chilly intensity leaving his light eyes. “It’s not fair how you’ve been treated.”

  Was he being sincere, or playing her? And if it was the latter, to what end? What did he want from her?

  She stood abruptly. “If you’re finished, I’ll take your plate.”

  “Let me help you,” Kyle offered.

  “It’s fine,” she told him, snatching up his dishes and hurrying away to the kitchen. Dumping the plates on the counter, she let out a slow breath.

  What was she doing? She should never have brought up the murders, reporters or anything else to do with The Devil’s Eye. She shouldn’t have agreed to this dinner. She needed to get Kyle on his way back to the lodge and avoid him for the length of his stay.

  “Can I help with the washing up?”

  She started at the sound of Kyle’s voice. He leaned against the far wall, arms folded over his chest.

  A flutter tickled low inside her. She swallowed hard and shook her head. “I can manage. It’s getting late.

  “Have I overstayed my welcome?”

  She lifted her shoulder in a noncommittal shrug. “It’s been a long day.”

  “Did my questions about that reporter make you uncomfortable?” He straightened and took a step toward her.

  “No.” His odd shift in mood made her uneasy. “I’m just tired.”

  “I didn’t mean to upset you.”

  “I’m not upset. I’m…” Her words trailed off, eyes widening as he closed the distance between them. She tried to step back, but bumped into the counter.

  He stopped inches away, so close she could feel his body heat radiating from his frame. Her pulse fluttered in her throat.

  She didn’t like him so close, yet her fingers itched to grasp his loose shirt and tug him nearer.

  Kyle reached out one arm, brushed her shoulder, and she shivered before she could stop herself. His light spicy scent teased her nose. Warm fingers trailed her chin, tilted her head back. Pale green eyes met hers.

  “I’m sorry if I made
you feel bad.”

  She opened her mouth to tell him that he hadn’t, but before she could get the words out, Kyle dipped his head and brushed his lips against hers.

  Chapter Five

  Kyle’s mouth touched hers softly at first, almost hesitant, as if asking permission. Warmth lit inside Eleri, pulsed. He was kissing her. Her. She should push him away. Demand an explanation. Insist he leave. But it had been so damned long since she’d been touched. Held. Kissed. She craved the contact.

  Her eyes fluttered closed and she angled her head to give those firm lips drawing on hers better access. Kyle immediately took advantage, pressing closer until the edge of the counter bit into her back, but she barely noticed. Her senses were filled with him. His rich, spicy scent. His smooth fingers tracing the column of her throat, sending a delicious shiver over her skin.

  His teeth nipped at her lips. She opened her mouth, let his tongue sweep inside. God, he tasted so good. Her head swam. The muscles in her legs softened. She curled her fingers into his solid shoulders to both keep herself from sinking to the floor as much as to draw him closer. His hard, lean body pressed flush with hers. The bulge straining against his pants pushed into her belly.

  “Shit.” Kyle tore his mouth away from her with a gasp so soft she wasn’t sure she’d heard it at all. She wanted to scream, to grab his head and force his lips back to hers. Instead, she bit back the whimper swelling in her throat.

  Get a hold of yourself.

  With Kyle’s head bent so invisible stubble scraped her cheek, his ragged breath tickling the skin just behind her ear, she couldn’t see his face to read his expression. Maybe that was a good thing. He couldn’t see her face either, and she needed a moment to pull herself together.

  She released his shoulders, trailed the flats of both hands down his chest with the intention of pushing him away. Instead, she hesitated, relishing the sensation of his muscles bunching beneath her touch.

  Kyle lifted his head and looked down at her, eyes bright and intent. A deep frown etched his features. Her face flushed and she let her arms fall to her sides.