Page 76 of Dark Tidings on the Thames
“This enquiry isin need of better transportation,” Kara grumbled an hour later, as she climbed into an open cart for the second time in two days.
“Do you need my coat?” Niall called from his seat on the driver’s bench. “It will grow colder, now that the sun has gone down.”
“No, thank you, but some springs and a bit of suspension might not go amiss.”
“Here’s the thing,” Beth announced. “This is my ritual and I have rules. And the first rule is that I can have no men at my ritual.”
Beside her, Rob straightened. “No men? But we are here to watch over you.” He gestured. “Have your ceremony. We will merely keep you safe.”
“You may keep watch from a distance—and from beyond the sight line. This is to be a purification ritual, and I won’t have it befouled with male vibrations.”
“Vibrations?” Rob scoffed. “You sound like one of those spiritualists. Never say you believe in such claptrap?”
“I don’t think I truly believe in the seances and such, but I do find some of the concepts interesting.”
“Like male vibrations?” Rob asked with skepticism.
“Rob McRae, didn’t you tell me that you’ve seen your grandmother’s ghost?” Beth demanded.
“Aye, but ghosts are real! Vibrations are poppycock!”
Beth raised a brow at him. “Isn’t it interesting, how much we are learning about each other?”
“Rob might have a point,” Gyda said. “What if Royston followed us?”
“Without any one of us spotting him?” Beth asked.
Kara thought about it. “If he had been watching the house for Beth, might he have followed her to the train station?”
“Ifollowed her, and I didn’t spot him,” Gyda said.
“Do you think he’s fixed on me?” Beth asked quietly. “Or is he just looking for another blonde girl?”
“I think he wore tradesman’s clothes and lurked in the servants’ stairwell at the club,” Niall said from the driver’s seat. “I’m sorry to say so, but for some unknown reason, I think it’s you he wants, Beth. But I also think it is unlikely he could have followed you this afternoon. Hewill be looking for you, though. At least, I believe he will. Which is why we will all go to Bluefield Park when your ritual is finished. It will be much more difficult for him to get near you there.”
“We’ve turned Bluefield into a fortress once before,” Kara said. “We will do it again.”
They all lapsed into silence for a while. Eventually, Kara’s practical brain could not keep quiet. “What will you need for your ritual, Beth?”
“Well, my granddam was a Scot, and she used juniper wood and rowan branches for cleansing, so that’s what I’d like to use, if it’s possible.”
“Bah!” Emelia said. “Wood is wood. We will just pick up branches as we head to the ceremonial site.”
“There’s no need,” Kara said. “Emelia, remember the locked boxes at the edge of the clearing? There is dry firewood, as well as smaller trunks of juniper and rowan. Several of the members researched it when we first began to come out here. They recommended both, as they are used in ceremonial rites. There is also a smaller box of dried cinnamon bark, which was commonly sprinkled in the fires at Diana’s original temple, if you’d like to add that.”
“Oh, yes. I’d like to include the ancient ways as well. I don’t think it can hurt.”
“Not like vibrations,” Rob muttered.
Not much more was said as they made their way to the pond, until Niall pulled the wagon to a halt. “This is as far as the cart goes. The rest of the way is on the footpath.”
“Do you really think it is safe?” Kara asked, going to stand close to him as they all climbed down.
Niall gestured at the intense dark of the woods behind them and the star-filled sky hanging over the lake. Now that the cart had stilled, the songs of the frogs and crickets had begun to sound out loud again. “Could Royston have followed us all the way out here? It’s highly doubtful.”
“I suppose you are right.”
Niall raised his voice. “I know Rob will not be happy unless he is at least within earshot of Beth, so I will stay here with the horses and keep watch. He can sit just out of sight until your ritual is complete, then we are off to Bluefield. It’s just a couple of miles away.”
