Page 75 of Tea & Alchemy
I felt a fizzing in my chest as I took in these details.This is becoming real.Yet I began to fear that bringing Harker to this point had been easy compared to what was coming.
“I don’t think we can,” I said. “But we could easily arrange a ceremony that matches what we’ve seen in the vision.”
The sudden flash of his eyes would have caused me to step back had I been on my feet. “That wouldn’t be a legal marriage.”
I nodded faintly. “We could make it legal once the banns were read.”
“And in the meantime,” he said, “you will have to remain here with meas ifwe are married. You know what people will say about that. They’ve always gossiped about me, but I don’t want that for you, Mina.”
Wringing a corner of the blanket, I replied, “I don’t know how it can be helped. My brother’s life ... finding a way to prevent future killings—these things matter more than my reputation.”
His gaze fixed on me. “You could lose your job. You might not see Mrs. Moyle again.”
I hadn’t thought of this, but of course he was right. If I was ruined in the eyes of the village, I could hardly continue working in the tearoom. “Yes,” I said softly.
Thankfully he let his head tip against the top of the chairback, so he didn’t see my tears pooling. I wiped my eyes and held my breath.
After a few moments, he said, “When?”
I stifled a sob that was equal parts relief and regret. Clearing my throat, I replied, “As soon as possible. Tonight. If we mean to save Jack, we shouldn’t wait.”
He looked at me, worry lines etched in his fine skin. “What if he’s already dead, Mina? What if it’s a trick? We’ve no reason to think we can trust Goosevar.”
I nodded, looking down as tears again stung my eyes. “If he tricks us, then we needn’t be bound by the handfasting. We needn’t go through with the official wedding.”
My whole life would be upended either way. Bound to Harker, or, with Jack gone, no way to support myself. Even if what I made at The Magpie had been enough, I couldn’t live alone as an unmarried woman (a painful reminder of the sacrifice Jack had made for me). With Mrs. Moyle’s help, I might be able to seek out my kin in Yorkshire. But I’d lose what was left of my Roche family—Mrs. Moyle and Harker.
Harker rose from his chair and came to kneel before me, stopping my heart.
“I agree to this on one condition,” he said, resting a hand on the blanket beside me. “If Goosevar spares Jack, first thing in the morning, we go to the parish priest and tell him we wish to be married. When the banns are read Sunday, people will at least know we intend to do the honorable thing.”
I quietly let out my breath. “I agree. And we can go to The Magpie before it opens, so Mrs. Moyle may see that I am well. I can tell her then that I won’t be back. If people aren’t seeing me going between here and the tearoom, we might avoid a scandal.” I might lose my job, but if we were careful enough, I might keep my friend.
His eyes followed an escaped tear down my cheek. “I have many regrets, Mina. But none so great as you ever becoming involved with the Tregarricks.”
I lifted my chin. “I have regrets of my own, but meeting you is not one of them.”
The deep, dark purple of his eyes was soft as velvet. He raised his hand and brushed the tear track dry with his thumb, sending a shiver through me.
Then he got to his feet and held out his hand. “Come. I have a trunk full of old things upstairs. There may be something that will suit.”
At first I didn’t understand. Then it came to me—for the handfasting. Unless I wished to be wed in my shift or my bloodstained muslin, I would need a new dress.
I wrapped the blanket around my shoulders and took his hand. It was warmer than usual.
Because he’s feeding.
My steps were stiff and slow on the stairs. “Where will we do this?” I asked.
“The trees in my vision reminded me of the woods below the chapel. Perhaps there.”
“Do you think he’ll know, or will we have to search him out?”
“I doubt much of anything happens on the estate without him knowing it.”
Upstairs, we crossed to the stained glass window and his narrow bed beneath. A heavy trunk rested at its foot.
“Here, sit down,” he said, and I sank on the edge of the mattress.
