“Sure thing,” he lifted his hat to her and then slapped the reins. The wagon creaked and screeched as it bumped down the dirt road.
Ella took in a deep breath and pushed through the gate. She never thought she’d be here again, and now she’d returned to beg for assistance. Tossing aside any hesitation, she raced up the gravel path, not even stopping when a pebble found its way into her boot. Ahead, the large Georgian mansion looked anything but welcoming against a black sky. This place had been her home for years, so why did a shiver of unease race down her spine the closer she got? She stumbled up the wide, shallow steps and pounded on the door. A sudden burst of barking made her jump back. A dog? When had Lady Buckley gotten a dog?
She narrowed her eyes and focused on the animal. Angry, bent on protecting, on destroying, forced to be mean…the animal’s feelings rushed through her in heated waves. He’d been beaten, and he still was. She calmed her racing heart and poured love and calmness into the animal. Through the doors, she heard him whimper and felt his body ease. A second later he became alert right before she heard the thump of footsteps. The door was jerked open, and Cammie stood there in her night rail, the housekeeper’s face tired and haggard.
“What in bloody…” Her eyes widened. “Ella?”
Ella rushed forward and hugged the woman. “Yes, it’s me, Cammie.”
Cammie remained stiff, her arms at her side. “What in God’s name are you doing here?” She didn’t hug Ella, but stepped back.
Ella brushed off the hurt she felt at her less than warm welcome. “I need Lord and Lady Buckley, quick, Cammie.”
Cammie shook her head. “Lord Buckley is gone. In London, I believe.”
Ella waved her hand through the air. “Fine, Lady Buckley.” She stilled. “Why aren’t you in the kitchens? Where’s John? Why in God’s name do you have a dog when they make Clara sneeze?”
“John was dismissed.”
Ella’s mouth dropped open. Old John? The kindest butler she’d known?
“As far as Clara, Lady Buckley’s children were sent to London with their father.”
“But, why?”
She glanced over her shoulder, then focused on Ella. “Doesn’t matter. You should leave too. Go, Ella, while you still can.” She started to push the door shut, but Ella stuck her foot in the way.
Annoyance mixed with fear. Shaking her head, Ella continued, “Get Lady Buckley, and hurry.” Ella pushed past the woman and slipped into the hall. What had happened since she’d been gone? She settled her hand near the black dog’s snout and allowed the pup to lick her fingers.
Cammie shut the door, her shoulders slumped. “Go on to the parlor.”
“What are you doing here?” The familiar voice cracked through the silent house, and Ella’s breath caught. She turned to see Lady Buckley standing at the top of the stairs. The dog’s fear swept into Ella, and he cowered beside her.
“I…I need your help,” she said, looking down at the mutt, her brows furrowed in confusion. Why was he so afraid of Lady Buckley? Her words were cruel as a whip, but surely the woman wasn’t the one who beat him.
“Cammie, tea,” Lady Buckley snapped out as she made her way down the steps. The servant scampered from the room, her head down. “Come,” she said, sweeping past Ella and into the parlor. She wore a white wrap over a white night shift. Never had Ella seen the woman in her night clothing, and the look didn’t soften her. Reluctantly, the dog circled the rug in front of the fireplace and lay down.
But Ella was too anxious to sit and instead paced the room. “I need your help.”
Lady Buckley settled in a chair, her back perfectly straight, and quirked a gray brow.
“I mean, please, I need your help.” Ella fell to her knees in front of the woman. “You are the only one I could come to.”
With an arrogant tilt of her chin, the woman said, “What is it?”
“Leo…the man I’m tutoring, he needs help.”
“Man?”
Ella flushed and dropped her gaze. Suddenly, she felt a child again, evil and impure. Every single sinful thing she’d done with Leo flashed through her mind. No, she wouldn’t think of their time together as sinful. Besides, there was no doubt in her mind Lady Buckley knew Leo was an adult. “Yes. I didn’t know until I’d accepted.”
“And you couldn’t leave?”
“And go where?” Ella snapped, jumping to her feet. Immediately contrite, she gasped, and covered her mouth with her hand.
Blast, she’d come to ask the woman for help, not make things worse.
Cammie shuffled into the room carrying a silver tray, her eyes downcast. Ella sank into the chair across from Lady Buckley. She wanted to rush to Lady Buckley, grab her by her round shoulders, and shake a response from her. Instead, she waited, her body stiff, as Cammie poured the tea. The servant curtsied and then left the room, closing the door behind her.
“Well,” the woman finally said. “I see your manners have not improved.”
This time Ella didn’t flush. Damn the woman; didn’t she realize how important this was?
“Go get that box on the bookshelf.”
Ella stood and rushed to the shelves, eager to do anything if it would help Leo. Barely visible in the dim light, she stood on tiptoe and pulled the wooden box from the shelf. She rushed back to her chair and set the object on the table.
Lady Buckley handed her a cup of tea. “Drink, restore your strength.”
Ella sipped the warm liquid, cringing as it burned down her sore throat, and watched as Lady Buckley opened the box. What in God’s name was the woman doing? She resisted the urge to tap her foot impatiently.
“Do you think it all coincidence, Ella?” the woman asked as she shuffled through the box.
Confused, Ella shook her head. At her feet, the dog whimpered. “I…I don’t understand.”
“Lord Roberts…the estate…you going there.”
The words sank heavy into Ella’s mind, and a cold chill raced down her spine. She swallowed hard. “Yes, I suppose I did.”
The woman shook her head and pulled out a small, leather-bound book. “Silly girl. And I thought you were smarter than that.”
Ella couldn’t breathe. Her gaze darted to the closed doors, and her mind began to swim…thoughts swirling…rushing through her head. Her stomach churned, and she felt the dog’s anxiety race through her. Her gaze dropped to the mutt. He watched her with wide, brown eyes…sad eyes.
“Did you think coming here when you were a child was mere coincidence?”
Ella jumped to her feet, but the room spun and her legs refused to hold her weight. Her knees gave out, and she sank to the ground, her right ankle painfully twisting as she fell. The dog whimpered, his nose, wet and cold, nudging her cheek. She wanted to comfort the animal, but couldn’t seem to move her hands. Slowly, she turned her head to look at Lady Buckley. The woman sat in her chair, relaxed, the small book in her lap.
“Nothing is coincidence. We know about you, Ella. The world knows. Some think your power and the information you hold is too valuable, and set out to destroy you. It’s why the first orphanage was set afire, to get rid of you and the evil you possess.” She held up the book, covered with symbols that blurred together. A cross, a lotus, a God and others she couldn’t quite identify.
“No,” Ella whispered, closing her eyes. She couldn’t look at the woman for fear she’d get sick, and so instead, she focused on the throbbing pain radiating up from her ankle.
“We saved you, Ella. Brought you here.”
“Why not just kill me?” Her words came out slurred.
“Because, you hold the power to open the map. We’ve been waiting for the right moment, and the right moment is now. You see, I knew you were coming here tonight.”
“I don’t know anything about a map,” she whispered. She could barely hear Lady Buckley over the buzz in her mind. “What did you put in my tea?”
“Just something to make you rest until he comes for you.”
“Who?” Ella whispered.
“I know about your necklace, Ella,” Lady Buckley said, and suddenly Ella could feel the woman’s presence, smell the scent of age, and she knew the woman was close. “But we do not know what the necklace means. You will tell us.”
“I don’t know,” Ella cried out. Had she spoken the words, or merely thought them? She was too weak to know the difference. Gathering her strength, she opened her eyes and found Lady Buckley hovering over her. The woman’s round face was blank, like a statue. No emotion, no love, no sympathy.
“We must keep the power safe, Ella. For God, we must not allow the heathen power to be released.” She turned and stared toward the far corner or the room. “She’s ready.”
Insane. The woman was insane. Slowly, Ella forced her eyes to focus on the corner. A human shape emerged. A dark shadow that slowly morphed into a man. Ella’s heart squeezed painfully in her chest, even as she wanted to scream out a denial.
“No,” she whispered.
The man leaned over her, his eyes glowing an eerie, familiar green, and she knew she was going to die. They were the same eyes she’d seen that night of the fire at the orphanage.
Tears slipped down her cheeks, and too weak too resist, Ella allowed her lashes to drift down. “Leo,” she whispered as the light faded and her mind went blank.
A fine mist fell from the skies, and a soft fog hovered over the land, the kind that made a person believe in magic and fairytales. Exhausted and his mind just as muddied as the landscape, Leo wasn’t sure if he dreamed and was truly still stuck in that prison, or if he’d actually been freed. His mount snorted and pawed at the ground, as eager as he to leave. Leo patted the animal’s neck and flicked an impatient glance at Colin. Archie’s son handed an innkeeper some coins and then trudged across the muddy ground toward Leo. They’d taken a carriage through London, then, at the outskirts, switched to horses and back roads to keep hidden.
“Did he know the way?”
Colin nodded and tossed him a bag. “We’ve got about six hours left.” He settled onto his own mount, and they started down the damp road.
Lack of sleep made Leo’s head ache, and with each jarring step the horse took, pain shot down his neck. He needed to be alert when he confronted his grandfather and Henry, but anxiety made him eager to race toward the estate.
“Best eat your lunch—you’ll need your strength,” Colin said.
Barely thinking, Leo reached into the bag and took out a loaf of bread. He tore off a chunk and forced it down his dry throat.
“What’s the plan when we arrive?” Colin asked.
Leo released a harsh laugh. “I was hoping you’d tell me. I suppose I confront my grandfather.”
Colin was silent, but Leo could feel his gaze on him, hard, piercing.
Leo sighed and glanced his way. “What?”
“You realize your grandfather most likely knows what’s happened.”
Leo’s stomach churned. Surely he didn’t know about the death sentence Henry had placed on his head. But then…why hadn’t he told him Henry’s father’s name was Will?
“How are your hands?” Colin asked.
Leo flexed his fingers and the dried blood cracked, revealing fresh wounds. “I’ll live.”
They kicked their mounts into a gallop and lapsed into silence. Out of the fog, an old man and little girl appeared as if sent by some form of ancient magic. The girl’s round face tilted up to Leo, and he met her wide blue eyes. Ella’s eyes. Leo swallowed hard. If they had a child, would she resemble the girl? They passed the two, and Leo turned in his saddle, watching until the fog consumed them.
“You know what they’re looking for?” Colin asked, interrupting his thoughts.
Leo turned back around. “A map.”
Colin laughed. “Much more than that, my friend. They’re looking for power, power to control, to heal, to do anything you could possibly imagine.”
Leo’s head snapped toward him. “What do you mean?”
Colin leaned forward and urged his mount faster. “You really don’t know? Any of it?”
“Do I look like I bloody well know?”
Colin raised a brow at his surly tone.
“Well?” Leo demanded, in no mood for secrets.
“The ancient stories say that for every great religion of the world, there is a statue of untold power. And for every one of those statues, there is a keeper, or keepers. Someone who holds the power to use those statues.”
Had he heard him right, or were the fog and exhaustion making them both daft? Leo laughed and shook his head. “That’s ridiculous.”
Colin shrugged. “There are a great many things ridiculous in this world.”
“More ridiculous than statues with power?”
“Whether it’s ridiculous or not, all that matters is that they believe it.”
“And you do as well?”
Colin didn’t respond. Leo shifted in his saddle and resisted the urge to cross himself, and he wasn’t even Catholic. “What do you know? There’s something you’re not telling me.”
Colin glanced at him, curiosity and amusement in his blue eyes. “She didn’t explain? You didn’t uncover her secret?”
Leo stiffened. “Ella?”
Colin nodded.
“What?” Leo leaned forward, his hands fisted. “What about Ella?”
He sighed and urged his mount faster. “My father was the keeper of the necklace because only he could open the map.”
“What the hell do you speak of? I’m tired of half truths.”
“Are you willing to keep an open mind?” Colin asked.
“Tell me,” Leo snapped, as they crested a small hill.
“My father had powers, Leo. Abilities that no one else had. He could read people’s minds. Know when they lied or not.”
Leo couldn’t find the words to speak. Had no idea what to say. Part of him wanted to laugh. Of course, Colin was mad. Apparently everyone in this blasted country was mad.
Colin shook his head. “I knew you wouldn’t believe me.”
“If he could read minds, why the hell didn’t he know the men in the camp would kill us?”
“Because those men were trained. They knew how to block their thoughts. Had spent years learning. He caught only glimpses once in a while, enough to make him uneasy.”
Leo shook his head, unable to believe the words.
But then suddenly he was a child again, sitting on a boulder next to Archie.
“What is it, my boy?” Archie had asked.
Leo shook his head. “Nothing.”
“I know when you’re lying, Leo. Come on now, speak up.”
Leo picked up a stone and tossed it into the creek. Taking his lower lip between his teeth, he glanced over his shoulder to see his mother and father cuddling. Their gazes were fastened on each other, noticing nothing else. Farther away, the group of men they’d hired sat huddled around a camp fire, their heads close together.
“You don’t trust them,” Archie said.
Leo jerked around to face him. “How’d you know?”
Archie put his arm around Leo’s shoulders and winked. “I know lots of things, and I don’t trust them either, my boy.”
“She’s never done anything strange?” Colin’s voice jerked him back into the present.
It took a moment for Leo to understand what Colin meant. “Ella?”
He nodded slowly, his eyes locked on Leo, looking for only God knew what.
Leo drew is horse to a stop. “What are you implying?”
Colin stopped his mount next to Leo’s. “My father believed she could speak to animals. Somehow she always knew when one was in trouble.”
Shivers raced over Leo’s skin.
“You know, Leo. She’s different. It’s why they hunted her down. Why they tried to kill her years ago with that fire. Two groups with two different intentions. One to kill people like Ella. One to use people like Ella.”
Hunted her down. Like she was an animal to slau
ghter. Leo’s nostrils flared, and his heart clenched in his chest. They’d kill her for some blasted map, some myth of a statue?
“It took me years to find Ella. When our grandfather died, my father had planned to come for her and send her to America to live with my mother and me. But he never came back.”
Leo’s heart raced in his chest. Surely this was all insane. It couldn’t be true, could it? Did Ella really have powers? Then he remembered the doe trapped in the underbrush…Charlie…the horses…
“It wasn’t coincidence that Ella was saved from that fire and brought to Lady Buckley’s estate and then the castle. They call themselves ‘The True Keepers.’ A group of rich men who have made it their lives’ mission to hunt down the statues and their power, no matter what it takes. Your uncle belonged to that group and now your cousin.”
“And the men who want to kill her?” Leo asked.
Colin shrugged. “No one knows who they are.”
“The necklace,” Leo whispered.
“Yes, they all wear a similar necklace. How’d you know?”
“We found one at a man’s house north of London.”
“Convey’s house.”
Leo jerked his gaze to him. “You know him?”
Colin grinned. “Yes, I was there, although I had a beard at the time.”
“Did you kill the man?”
Colin laughed. “What use would he be dead? He was gone before I arrived.”
Leo kicked his horse into a gallop, mulling over the news, part of him not believing a word, but the other part…
“Ella’s necklace holds the truth, and your ring holds the key, Leo,” Colin called out.
His gaze fell to the emerald sparkling on his finger.
Colin’s horse caught up, racing beside his. “Whether you want to believe it or not, Ella has abilities others don’t. Because of that, she’s in danger.”
Chapter 24
Waves of unconsciousness gave way to a foggy reality. Vaguely, Ella became aware of the sharp pain that pulsed through her head. She wasn’t dead…yet. Blast, but she couldn’t seem to move, and her lashes felt as if they weighed stones. Taking in a deep breath, she finally found the courage to open her eyes.