Page 49 of Potions and Proposals
“I’ll water the new hedgerows the gardeners planted in the gardens.” He smiled, something she was getting used to seeing. The loss of his brother and father had aged him, along with the weight of his responsibilities, but when he smiled, he looked much younger. “Since someone burnt the others to a crisp.”
She masked her wince with a chuckle. “How shocking.”
If it hadn’t been for their truce, she might have been tempted to shove him as he climbed off her balcony. Instead, she found herself clutching the warm crystal, grateful to him for protecting her family from his element. Hopefully, by the morning it wouldn’t be necessary.
“Why are you looking at me like that?” Benedict asked, swinging himself onto the strongest tree branch that hung over the balcony.
“I wasn’t looking at you,” Lucy said, leaning on the railing. “I was just thinking that maybe you could’ve used the door after all.”
“And have Grams and your mum see me coming out of your room? We’d be bound by dawn.” He winked before making his way to the next branch. In his crisp suit and smart shoes, he looked distinctly out of place climbing a tree like a boy, but she guessed his fear of being caught by her family made it worth it. She chewed her blushing smile so he wouldn’t think he’d caused it.
“I’ve got to ask,” he said suddenly, hesitating below the balcony.
She huffed, crossing her arms over her chest. “What? I want to go to bed.”
“If Hughes asked, would you go out with him?”
She couldn’t believe this was what he wanted to discuss.I thought I’d already been clear.
“You aren’t going to leave until you get an answer?” Maybe she should let him spend the night in the tree.
He shrugged.
“Why do you even think I’d contemplate it?”What did he see at dinner that made him believe there’s anything between me and Emerson?
“I overheard Grams talking to you in the kitchen,” he confessed, dropping down to another branch. She winced as it crackled under his weight.
“Not helping me trust you,” she said dryly.
“At least I admitted it, and that’s still not an answer.”
She rolled her eyes, needing this conversation to end. “I’ve no interest in dating Emerson.You’vecomplicated my life enough; I don’t need to add another man to the mix.” A small smile rose to the corner of his lips. “I answered your question. Now go before the branch breaks.”
Wait. He must have heard Grams suggest there’s something more between us as well.
“Worried about me, pumpkin?” He jumped to another branch. Lucy flinched; the tree was older than the house.
“I want to take over the coven by right, not because you broke your neck,” she hissed as he disappeared from sight.
There was a thud, and her heart stilled. She leaned over the railing and found him at the base of the tree, safely on solid ground. He gave a bow and left.
Rubbing her temples, Lucy thought of everything Grams had said.What if the spell did bring Emerson to me? If so, then why did my element swap with Benedict’s?
“This is why you aren’t supposed to mess with love magic,” she grumbled in frustration, locking the balcony door.
Placing her glasses on her nightstand, she rubbed the bridge of her nose. Tomorrow, she decided, their elements would be back in their rightful place, and the only thing she’d have to worry about was the binding.
In the early morning, Lucinda found herself sitting at the corner table of Stoker’s Café, discussing the importance of stall placement with the rest of the Autumn Festival committee when all she wanted to do was scream.
Instead of waking up to feel the ebb and flow of her own element, she’d woken in a puddle of sweat as the crystal fought to suppress the flames coursing through her veins. Without Benedict’s help, she was sure she’d have woken to a house made of ash.
Right now, however, she didn’t have time to focus on her disappointment. As much as she wanted to get to the vault and confirm the ingredients for the curse-stripping potion, she couldn’t afford to miss another meeting about the committee’s biggest event of the year.
Having participated in the festival every year; it would have raised suspicion if she had refused, and she hoped the routine would help her focus. After all, her caramel apples were legend. The secret was that she got Rosie to sniff out perfectly crisp apples in the woods. Their sweet yet tangy flavour couldn’t compare to anything found in the supermarket.
Organising the rest of the stalls was a whole different type of pressure. They’d been going over the details for the last three hours, and Mrs Crawford was already on her second coffee, which didn’t make her any easier to deal with. Lucy guessed that Benedict’s disappointment had got the best of him, since he was a no-show. She’d wanted to stop by the manor, but guilt had stopped her. She justified her cowardice by reminding herself that he could probably do with some space.
“We should set up the food stalls and stage for the puppet show around the gazebo but have the food stalls leading into the alleyway, so no matter what direction the visitors travel in, they’ll have food and beverages available to them,” she said firmly, looking over the town map.
