Page 18 of Magic Touch
Her eyes grow wider still. "Oh, no, sir. I've never left London, is all. It's an adventure, to be sure. I'm just a bit nervous."
"There's nothing to fear. The country has fewer worries than the city." An adventure is a good way to think about this trip. I, too, am heading into the unknown.
"Yes, sir. Dove said the same. I'm fine. I'm sorry to have worried you." She looks out the window.
A few minutes later, we pull up to Esme's store to find her standing by the door with Minerva.
Dove and Samuel jump down and begin loading her two trunks on top.
"Be careful with the small one, if you will?" Esme says as I jump from the carriage, still amazed that I have no pain in my leg.
Watching the trunks being added to mine gives me pause. "Perhaps I should have hired a second carriage or a cart. Do you think Madam Bishop will have much luggage?"
Esme stares me up and down, as if searching for something wrong. "Are you all right? Has anything else happened?"
Anything else. I spot the green bag on her arm and Simon's little pink nose poking through one of the holes. "It was real? I was here talking to you?"
"You talked to me, but you were not here. That's quite an accomplishment for someone who has no training." She hands Simon into the carriage, and Anne takes the bag before Esme sits next to her.
"I can ride backward, Es... Miss O'Dwyer." I offer from the street.
She grins, settling a second bag under her feet. "I don't mind."
We wave goodbye to Minerva, and roll toward the coven house.
Esme says, "I don't think the great mother will have much luggage. I'm told the cottage is not far. Only an hour or so from Windsor. I don't think a cart will be needed."
With her sitting across from me, I'd nearly forgotten I'd asked the question. I shall have to get these emotions under control. Esme can be my friend, but how can she be anything more? Our lives are not synchronous. She runs a shop and I—honestly, I have no idea where my life is headed. I'm a gentleman with lands that pay. I'm expected to marry a lady in my same sphere. As a mistress, Esme would be acceptable, but I would never wish her to debase herself with such a role. That leaves us together as friends, yet apart as anything more. She shall be my teacher, and when this is all over, I'll know my place in the world. If there are battles to wage, I will fight them. Then I shall return to the life I was born to.
It is perfectly reasonable.
Chapter
Six
ESME
At the coven house, the great mother waits with one small bag, and the entire coven at her back.
William steps down to assist Prudence, but the coven witches begin weaving a protection spell, murmuring in low tones and circling the carriage.
As he looks from me to the ten women circling the conveyance, William's eyes are wide.
Prudence looks in. "This is a fine carriage. I don't think I've been in one as nice in all my life, and that's a considerable time."
I hold in my amusement. It wouldn't do to laugh. "It is quite fine, Great Mother."
Despite his astonishment at the coven’s behavior, William uses great care to help Prudence. "Madam, if you would like to ride forward, I'm happy to ride backward."
"How kind. I would prefer to see what is ahead." Prudence settles into a forward-facing seat. She pats the space next to her. "Come and sit by me, Esme. You will enjoy the ride far better, and Sir William will keep your new friend company."
Giving William an apologetic smile, I do as I'm asked and moved to the bench next to Prudence.
With a soft smile, William tells me it's all right, then returns to watching the witches cast. "How long does this take, Miss Ware," he asks Sara Beth. "Should I continue with my polite attempt at standing amongst women, or shall I abandon my post?"
Sara Beth's lips twitch, and she almost smiles before stopping at the carriage door. "Are you capable of such an abandonment, Sir William?"
He cocks his head and laughs. "To be honest, I have no notion. I have never attempted such a feat."
