Page 76 of The House Saphir
“I did!” Mallory reminded her. “But she didn’t want to say, and you didn’t want to press her—”
“So you do think it’s my fault?”
“No, of course not!” Mallory thought of that perfectly pressed flower tumbling from the pages of Julie’s book. And how angry and hurt she’d been on the terrace overlooking the gardens. The way she’d swooned and joked about kissing a lord, right in front of him.
A naïve girl. A secret wedding. And the lord of the manor, who had such a genuine smile it did not seem possible he could be harboring a taste for brutality.
A smile so genuine it had even made Mallory forget herself.
Anaïs deflated. “I could have told her something. Something true. She saw it in the cards. I know she did. But I lied through my teeth, and she believed me.”
“Because she wanted to believe you. That isn’t your fault.” Mallory leaned against the windowsill. “We need to do something, before he figures out that we have no idea what we’re doing.”
Anaïs looked at her, incredulous. “Are you really concerned about tricking Armand into paying you right now?”
“If Le Bleu killed Julie, then getting rid of him solves two problems, doesn’t it?”
Anaïs drummed her fingertips on the windowsill, studying Mallory. “But you don’t think it was him.”
“It’s the only thing that makes sense.”
After a beat, Anaïs asked, “Is it?”
Mallory swallowed. “What about protective wards?”
“Protective what?”
“Mother used to go to people’s houses and draw symbols on their doors. It was supposed to create a barrier against evil spirits and dark magic. We could do that.”
“You think a few doodles are going to frighten away Monsieur Le Bleu?”
“Of course not, but so long as Armand thinks we are useful, he is more likely to keep us around, and give us a chance to determine what is really going on here.”
Mallory knew she would need to tread carefully. If Armand was so cruel and manipulative as to be the real murderer, she had to stop saying anything that might reveal her suspicions.
“All right,” said Anaïs, sounding doubtful. “Any idea what those protective wards looked like?”
Mallory didn’t respond. It had been many years since she’d believed she would ever need to know the shapes of magical runes, but… yes. She still remembered them as clear as crystal.
Anaïs let out a tired huff. “I’ll find some chalk.”
Mallory spent two hours walking around the house marking the doors with elaborate designs inspired by those she recalled from her mother’s books. Runes to call on favors from the gods. Runes to protect. To banish. To… well, she wasn’t entirely sure what, but they certainly made all this magic businessfeellegitimate. A constellation of stars. A two-headed snake. A ring of brambles and roses.
She needed Armand to witness her putting these protective wards on the house. There was no point if he didn’t notice. He had to believe that she had her sights fully and entirely focusedupon his great-great-grandfather, and she was more determined than ever to send him back to the land of the lost.
Besides, she wanted to believe that perhaps the ghostwasstill the biggest threat within these walls. If she should miraculously succeed in banishing him, or at least making Armand believe that she had succeeded…
Three thousand lourdes. A new life. Travel to far-flung places. Everything she could ever ask for.
But those fantasies were tainted now. Julie had marriedsomeone, and Mallory didn’t think it was a hundred-year-old ghost.Someonehad driven a sword through Julie’s chest and had the strength to lift her onto those antlers.
Much as she wanted to believe otherwise, she could only see one possibility. But if Armand was as devious as his ancestor… then why bring her and Anaïs here under the ruse of needing their help?
If Mallory found evidence that he had killed Julie, then…poof. No more payment.
But if she found evidence that itwasn’thim…
Then what?
