Tall, Dark and Wolfish (17 page)

Maybe she was right.

"…and he always had butterscotch candies in his pocket. Every time I saw him he'd give me a piece of candy. 'And how are ye feelin' today, Sorcha?'

he would ask me. Then he'd sit back in his chair and let me prattle on and on about Mama being overly strict and Wal ace no' being fair—"

"
Havers
, Sorcha!" one of the other witches said. Ben wasn't certain which. "Is it possible for ye ta keep yer trap closed for five minutes? I canna even

hear myself think."

He heard Elspeth take in a sharp breath and he started forward. What was the matter with these women? They fought like sisters. In just a few strides he

was in front of the cottage and knocked lightly on the door.

Natural y it was Miss Macleod who answered, with her perfected sneer. "What a surprise."

Ben wouldn't al ow her to bait him; Elspeth didn't need that right now. He looked past her and found his little witch standing in the middle of the room. Her

eyes seemed to sparkle when they landed on him.

"El ie," he said with a smile. "Why don't you come for a walk with me?"

"There's so much ta do," Caitrin Macleod cut in.

The little liar. Al the food was out as wel as the tables and chairs. Plates, cups, and utensils were simply waiting for the hoard to arrive. Elspeth wouldn't

get another break until afterward. "Wel , Miss Macleod," he replied smoothly, "I'm certain the four of you won't mind finishing up whatever it is that needs

Elspeth's attention, would you?"

There was no other answer she could give other than to nod and, of course, glare at him.

Ben paid her no attention. He outstretched an arm and waited for Elspeth to come to him. The look of relief as she moved toward him was thanks

enough.

He tucked her hand around his arm and led her toward the scenic path she'd pointed out earlier.

"Ye canna be gone long," one of the others cal ed after them.

"I'l have her back in plenty of time."

Once they were out of earshot from the others, Elspeth looked up at him and smiled. "How did ye ken I needed an escape?"

Ben squeezed her fingers. "I didn't for sure. But if I'd been in there with those harpies, I would have needed an escape."

"They're no' harpies," she said quietly. "They're tryin' ta help me, and I'm simply worthless today."

They entered the woods at a slow pace, and Ben watched a skylark fly above them. Elspeth noticed it, too. "My grandfather loved birds."

"Did he?"

"Aye. Sometimes he'd sit in the woods just ta watch them."

She was quiet. More wistful than he'd seen her thus far. "Do you want to tel me about him?"

Elspeth smiled. "He was a simple man, and he always wore a smile no matter what went wrong."

"A good quality to have." One Ben did not possess.

"He was my rock. When I was growin' up, children were particularly cruel about my situation. He would sit me down and say, 'Elspeth, I'm no' goin' ta tel

ye ye're just as good as those other
tumshie heids
.'"

Tumshie heids?
"What is that?"

"Loosely translated?" she giggled. "Turnip heads."

"I see. He didn't want you to be a turnip head?" Ben smiled at her.

"He wanted me ta be better than the others. He never let me feel sorry for myself."

"He sounds like a wonderful man."

Elspeth smiled up at him. "He was the best of men. He always pushed me ta do my best."

"Sounds like my brother." Simon's last lecture echoed in his ears.

She stopped walking and faced him. "Ye never speak of yer family."

Ben shrugged. "There's nothing much to tel ."

"I doona believe that for a second. Ye come from a family of
Lycans,
and yer oldest brother is a
duke
."

When she put it that way, he couldn't help but laugh. "I suppose I don't think of them in those terms. They're just my family."

"There are three of ye?"

He nodded and led her deeper into the woods. "Simon is the Duke of Blackmoor, and Wil iam is the next in line. I'm off the hook unless they both fail to

produce an heir."

"Is neither one of them married?"

Ben laughed again, finding the image of Simon or Wil in front of an altar particularly humorous. When she stared at him, he brought his levity under

control. "Sorry, it's just hard to imagine. You see, Simon is extremely careful where women are concerned. He keeps them from getting too close, lest they

discover our secret."

"And Wil iam?" she prodded.

"Is a stubborn mule."

"What do ye mean by that?"

"There's a girl back home—Prisca. Her family is our closest neighbor in Hampshire. She has a hoard of brothers, and we al grew up together. Anyway,

she and Wil … Wel , he should have married her long ago. It's obvious how the two of them feel about each other, but Wil walked away from her and never

looked back."

"Why?"

In the distance, Ben could hear a large number of people heading their direction. "I think the funeral is over, El ie. Are you ready to return?"

She faced him and smiled softly. "Ben, thank ye for everythin'."

He wished he could do more. Once he got her to London, he'd do everything he could to make her happy. A strand of her hair had come loose from her

wolf clips, and he curled it around his finger. "It was nothing."

"How can ye say that?" she whispered.

"Because," he began and dipped his head down to hers. "I want to give you everything."

Then he touched his lips to hers. The rest of the world vanished for a moment, but not nearly long enough.

The rest of the day was a blur to Elspeth. It seemed as if al of Edinburgh had come out for her grandfather's feast. Neighbors, people she hadn't seen in

ages, and some people she'd never met before. But only Ben kept her interest. He never left her. Whenever she was thirsty, he handed her a drink. If she

was hungry, he got her a plate. When she was tired, he made her sit.

Caitrin, Sorcha, Rhiannon, and Blaire watched on from a distance, but they never approached her. Somewhere in the back of Elspeth's mind she knew

that something had changed in her life.

Twenty-two

Once Ben and al the townspeople left, it took less than a minute for the five witches to return the cottage and land to its usual state. After a few simple

spel s, no one would ever know that half of Scotland had been there moments earlier.

Elspeth col apsed onto her settee, ready to fal asleep as soon as her friends returned to their homes. The four of them had watched her al afternoon but

hadn't real y spoken to her, until now.

"Ye ken I doona like him," Sorcha began.

Elspeth closed her eyes and wil ed them away. Were they going to have
this
conversation again? "Please doona start. No' tonight. Ye can al have a go

at me in the mornin'."

Sorcha flopped down next to her and Elspeth opened her eyes. The girl was frowning. "I was just goin' ta say I thought he was real nice ta ye today. Real

attentive."

Rhiannon dropped into a chair across from them. "Almost as though he knew what ye needed al day without ye havin' ta tel him."

"Ye real y are connected," Blaire added from her spot across the room.

"Aye." They real y were connected, in more ways than her friends could understand.

"Wel ," Sorcha added quietly, "if ye do leave us for him, I could understand it."

"Sorcha!" Caitrin barked from the doorway, arms folded across her chest.

The youngest witch thrust out her chin. "Wel , I could, Cait. He's handsome and rich and—"

"A beast," the seer reminded them al .

"There is that," Sorcha replied. "But a wel behaved one. Did ye no' see how he took care of El the whole day?"

"Do ye ken what wil happen if Elspeth goes with him? Our circle wil fal apart. In six hundred years the circle has
never
been broken."

"What wil happen if we separate?" Sorcha asked quietly. "Wil we lose our magic?"

"We canna be certain," Caitrin said with a pointed look toward Elspeth. "It has never happened."

"I ken," Sorcha whispered. "I just wish it wasna that way. It seems like he wants ta make El happy, and I think she deserves that."

"We al want Elspeth ta be happy. Just with a decent human. Edinburgh is no' smal . There are many men ta choose from."

Elspeth had heard enough. They could go on like this for hours. When she saw them next, they'd probably stil be discussing it. She rose from her seat.

"I'm goin' ta bed. Once ye've al sorted out my life, let me ken what ye've come up with."

She awoke early the next morning. It felt a bit strange to be in the cottage al alone, but it was something she would get accustomed to in time.

Ben, Ben, Ben. She'd thought about him al night, even dreamed about him. She supposed she should go through her mother's old things looking for

something Lycan related. How did one go about healing a werewolf who can't change with the moon?

While an enchanted spoon stirred her oatmeal cooking on the stove, Elspeth removed the rug from the kitchen floor, revealing a hidden door. She hadn't

been in her mother's space for years, as she preferred to work on her potions aboveground.

She tugged the door up and peered into the darkness beneath her cottage. Shivers raced down her spine. She'd always hated the stale air and freezing

room down below. Her mother had loved the quiet and solitude of the dank quarters. She wasn't afraid of the darkness or the bugs and would sequester

herself there for hours at a time, completely engrossed in a new project.

Elspeth tested the top rung of the ladder with her weight. She was surprised when she found it held her with ease. She held a candle aloft and stopped

as she descended into the darkness to periodical y wipe spider webs from her path. The most stubborn webs clung to her hair and clothing. She fought

back revulsion as she pul ed the majority of the sticky strands from her hair. When her foot hit the solid earth that was the room's floor, relief flooded her.

She lifted the candle and used it to light tapers on the wal . The room was immediately flooded with light. Much better.

Along one wal , her mother had stacked the bottles used for her potions and healing remedies. Elspeth stepped closer to the far wal , which housed a

cabinet of smal drawers, each no more than three inches in width. She tugged one of the smal drawers open and smiled when her nose was assaulted

by the smel of mint. She opened another drawer and oregano tickled her nose.

Elspeth went on to find basil and bay leaves. If she couldn't conjure a spel with these, her mother could at least make a decent stew. She laughed lightly

to herself at the thought.

A long table was in the center of the room. She recognized her grandfather's handiwork in the piece as she ran a finger longingly across the surface.

Atop the table, books were stacked in abandon, some stil open to the page her mother had last studied. She felt a tiny catch in her throat as she saw the