Page 57 of Potions and Proposals
“Duty calls,” Benedict said wryly.
Lucy eased Greko’s claws from her clothes and placed him on the floor. She was in the doorway when she remembered they hadn’t talked about the meeting. She hadn’t even asked why he hadn’t attended.
“Thank you for covering for me yesterday at the meeting. You could’ve used my absence to your advantage.”
“Don’t mention it; I’m sure you’d do the same for me.” He shrugged, as though it was nothing.
Lucy left the room, feeling off-balance. She was used to arguing with him, not thanking him.Resting her head on the closed door, she took a deep breath, trying to centre herself. She nearly fell back into Benedict’s arms when he surprised her by opening the door.
“You okay?” he asked, reaching for her, but she corrected her balance, trying not to flush in embarrassment. His soft tone made her downright bashful.
Why had he come after her and risk his staff seeing him in a towel? A voice in the back of her mind said she didn’t wantanyoneto see him like this. Before she could raise her concern, she looked down at what he was holding out to her.
“It’s a ring.” She stared, dumbfounded.
Benedict rolled his eyes and took her hand in his. The coolness of his touch was the first relief she’d had in days from the heat. She didn’t want to ever pull away. Besides, she was curious to know where this was going… and the ring was beautiful.
“I picked it up this morning. I put in a rush order after we nearly destroyed the gardens. I figured you should have it sooner rather than later,” he said, placing the small gold band on her ring finger.
“This is a binding ring?” Lucy breathed as she stared at the glistening crystals held in place by an infinity symbol. It was beautiful, delicate, and fitted perfectly. She’d never expected that he’d be the one to give it to her – or that it would make her stomach flip, in the best way.
“The sunstone and amethyst stones represent both our elements. I know it’s tradition for your ring to hold my element and mine yours, but I thought together would be better. The sunstone will help you to control my element; it has the same effect as the carnelian stone in the necklace I gave you,” he explained, as if giving her a ring that signified spending the restof eternity together was completely normal. He rolled his thumb over the stones, her hand still in his.
She wanted to thank him, but the words caught in her throat.
“I’m relieved it fits; I wasn’t sure. I took a ring from your room the other night.” Maybe her silence was making him nervous. “We didn’t go about this thing the traditional way, but you deserve a ring, even if it’s just for appearance’s sake.”
“Benedict,” was all she could muster. She didn’t care that he’d taken one of her rings, too caught up in the thought he’d put into this. Binding rings had been the last thing on her mind, and she couldn’t help but feel guilty. Even if the coven had ordered their engagement, he was still thinking of her feelings.
Before she knew what she was doing, she rose on her tiptoes and brushed her lips against his cheek and the dark shadow of not-quite-yet-stubble. “Thank you.”
She drew back an inch, hoping she hadn’t gone too far. Benedict’s jaw clenched, and she was about to retreat when his head tilted towards her.
Lucy’s breath caught. He was about to kiss her. She didn’t know if she wanted him to, but the thought of him pulling away troubled her all the more. His hand rose to her face – but he stopped himself, leaving her utterly confused about the disappointment weighing on her heart.
“I-I should go,” she stammered.
When Benedict didn’t say anything, she followed his hard stare over her shoulder and was horrified to see a maid gaping at them. The shock on her face was probably due to seeing her boss half-naked and only inches away from a woman.
Lucy clenched her fists. This would turn rumours of their political engagement into something far more salacious. It’d be much harder to argue their indifference towards each other now.
“Sorry, sir, there was an issue with one of the guests,” the maid said, hurrying back the way she’d come.
“She won’t say anything,” Benedict started to say, but Lucy cut him off.
“I’ve to get back to work,” she muttered. “Thank you for the ring.”
Unable to meet his eyes, she scurried down the hall. The whispers would probably spread throughout town before she even had a chance to reach the library. As she reached the lobby, her heart tightened; the maid was behind the reception desk, whispering to a bag handler. They were doomed.
This was all just thoughtlessness, the ring, their elements, their truce. Out in the air, she pressed her hand over her racing heart.
When she reached the library doors and saw the flowers starting to grow out of the ashes, she realised that if that maid hadn’t interrupted, Benedict would have kissed her, and she would’ve let him.
For the next week, Lucinda kept her head down as rumours of what the maid had witnessed circulated. Some in town congratulated her, and Grams even came home from her tarot reading with some engagement presents from her clients, which felt rather sudden. Others didn’t like the idea of a Matherson sitting by her side as head of the coven, as made evident by some not-so-subtle comments when she picked up her groceries, asking if the engagement and rumour were some elaborate prank. In that moment, she’d felt oddly inspired to defend Benedict, but instead of causing a scene beside the organic grapefruits she decided to smile and move along. Benedict might’ve wanted to try and stop it, but in Foxford nothing stayed secret for long. She was hoping by the next time she saw him, she’d have the ingredients for the curse-stripping potion.
“Another week?” she exclaimed into the phone. “I was hoping to have the ingredients sooner rather than later.” She hated to push, but she was starting to panic she’d never get her element back. She’d already accidentally singed two books when a patron yelled at her about being skipped on the waiting list for the book she’d given Suzy. It wouldn’t be much longer before Rosie started to get curious as to why she was acting so skittish.
“I’m sorry, but one of the roots you need can only be sourced from the peak of a mountain in Thailand. It’s going to take some time,” Myrtle said. “However, I’ve got everything else you ordered ready for collection.” Thankfully, Myrtle never asked what she needed such rare ingredients for. Her motto was don’t ask, don’t tell.
