Page 66 of Magic Touch
Esme pulls on her boots and ties them. "Henry. William, I'm going to get cleaned up and find Prudence. I think we must make arrangements to return to town as soon as possible."
"Because of the near drowning? But I am fine, and you said Trina was also unharmed." I take the clothes from Henry and put them on the end of the bed while he fills the washbasin in the corner.
Shaking her head, she rushes back to me. "You are both fine. It's not that. Something was in that pool with you, and it was not of the light. Some force that I have never felt before held you to the bottom and nearly kept me from getting to you. It means that you are important, as we thought, and whoever gains from your death knows we're here."
My stomach grips. "What if it is the coven who wants me dead?"
Esme cocks her head. "What I felt didn't seem like one of the coven witches, but we shall watch all."
Marching around her, I close the door. I trust Henry completely, and he should know what is said between us now. "I must be very clear with you, Esme. I will do what is right and what protects this country and my king."
"I know." Eyes serious, she pulls her lips up in a soft smile. "I know you, William. No amount of power will sway you against what you believe to be right and just. The Witches of Windsor have protected the English crown for five hundred years. Even as they were hunted and killed, they protected the crown. If that has changed, and I don't believe it has, I stand by you."
Flooded with relief, I kiss her cheek. "I'll meet you downstairs after I've dressed."
With a blush and a look toward Henry, perhaps because of the kiss, Esme nods and rushes from the room.
Brushing out my clothes while I wash up, Henry says, "She saved your life with her own breath, plans to take on whatever evil may come at your side, but upon my seeing a chaste kiss, she blushes like a girl of fifteen. You have a rare woman there, Will. I hope you appreciate that."
"Then you do not worry over the difference in our status or upbringing?" I pat my face dry. Shaving can wait until after we speak to Prudence.
"Is my approval important?" His hand stills.
"To the world, perhaps not, but it is to me." I pull on my shirt and trousers.
Holding my coat so I can slip my arms in, Henry is silent. He tugs it into place and adjusts the shoulder. "If a woman like that looked at me the way Miss O'Dwyer looks at you, I'd save the entire world to be with her, and let social customs be damned. Of course, I am not in your sphere socially. Your mother might disapprove, but I have met few women I like more than Miss O’Dwyer."
"Thank you, Henry. I think my mother will love her despite her lack of elevation. If my father had any of what I have, it's hard for me to believe my mother was ignorant of the fact." At some point, I will inquire about that. Something else worries me. "I feel something big and not at all pleasant is about to happen. Should I be killed, you will tell my mother I suffered an illness. If she was ignorant of the family's talents, she'll only think you mad if you tell her the truth."
Henry's frown is awash with disapproval. "I will do what needs doing on your behalf. Your job is to do what's right and stay alive to confront your mother yourself."
Satisfied, I tie my cravat and go downstairs. In the front room, all three ladies are breaking their fasts with toast and coddled eggs.
"Good morning, ladies. Trina, are you recovered?" I go to the sideboard and fill my plate with sausage and coddled eggs. My stomach grumbles at the scent.
"I am well, Sir William. Thank you for coming in after me." The contriteness of her voice is out of place for the exuberant, selfish girl.
I sit and take a piece of toast from the plate while Anne brings my coffee. "Thank you, Anne. I hardly think drowning with you requires any thanks, Trina."
Trina's face turns red. She focuses on her plate, pushing the eggs around rather than eating them.
I drink a long sip of coffee and bite my toast. I'm ravenous, and eat as if it's been weeks since I've seen food. When my plate is empty, I look up to find the women watching. "I beg your pardons, ladies. It seems I was famished after yesterday's events."
"Indeed," Prudence says. "May I ask you a question, Sir William?"
I nod.
Anne arrives with fresh coffee.
"When you were pulled under the water, did you try to save yourself?" She stares into my eyes as if she's reading something more there.
I think back to yesterday. It all seems so clouded now. "I was going to the pool. Trina was supposed to meet me at the pond, but she wasn't there. I thought perhaps we had gotten our meeting place confused. We were scheduled to work on water magic on a larger scale. I followed the stream, and when I arrived at the pool, Trina was grinning and dancing on top of the water toward me. I laughed. Then she dropped. I called out about that being what she gets for showing off, but then she didn't resurface. I tried the spell for lifting objects, but when nothing happened, I jumped in."
Esme leans forward with her hands folded on the edge of the table. "So, you tried magic first?"
"The memory is foggy, as if it were all a dream." I close my eyes again, trying to remember. "The water was warmer than it's been since the weather cooled. I swam to where Trina fell and dove under. When I saw her, I reached for her, and as hard as I pulled, she wouldn't come off the bottom of the pool. It was as if she were stuck in the mud. Then my foot touched the bottom, and something grabbed it." It's hard to breathe. The memory is like an assault all over again.
"I kicked and pulled, but I couldn't free Trina, and my foot was stuck. I called for Esme with my mind. My lungs filled with water when I could no longer resist the urge to inhale, and everything went black."
