Page 72 of Witchbane

‘Yes, sir.’

Pierre returned. ‘I have been instructed to allow you in.’

I thanked him and wondered where the women were, but decided to get on with what I was here to do and went upstairs. The first room I entered was, judging by the attire in the wardrobe, Rue’s grandmother’s. Shame washed over me as I began lightly searching for evidence. I soon realised there was nothing there apart from a few trinkets and pictures. I was relieved to leave the room and went to the next along the corridor.

I opened the door upon a lighter room that I took to be Rue’s bedroom. There were flowers in a chipped vase, and a worn doll that I fancied might have been a gift from her mother. The thought saddened me and lowered my mood even further. A small, hand-sewn pouch tied with a red ribbon drew my attention. I hesitated before picking it up from on top of a painted box and saw a fine circle painted on it in gold. The circle was empty and for some reason that seemed odd.

‘Don’t touch that,’ a woman snapped. I immediately let go of it, grimacing when it dropped to the floor. I bent to pick it up and spun around to face Rue, who stood in the open doorway. I felt as if I had been caught doing something dreadful. I wondered what the pouch represented to her. ‘I’m sorry. I do not take pleasure from this.’ I lowered my voice and looked pointedly at her bedroom door. She closed it.

‘Rue, this is a necessity if we are to prove to my father that there is no evidence against you.’

She didn’t speak immediately but seemed thoughtful. ‘I know,’ she said. ‘And I also appreciate you doing your best for us.’

‘You do?’ It was a relief to hear her say so.

‘Yes.’ She frowned. ‘Not that it makes it much easier.’ She cocked an eyebrow at me. ‘We are not accustomed to having strangers rummaging through our private things.’

I winced. ‘I know. And if there was any other way, I would do my best to take it.’

She smiled. ‘We both know your father’s ways. Everyone does.’ She gave a sad laugh. ‘I shall leave you to it.’

‘You are welcome to remain here while I continue,’ I suggested, mostly because I wanted to make the most of whatever time I could spend in her company, but also because I wanted her to witness that I wouldn’t delve through her possessions unnecessarily.

She stared at me. ‘You’re an enigma, Theo Le Cerf,’ she said thoughtfully.

I was intrigued by her comment. ‘Whatever do you mean?’

‘I’m not sure whether I should like you or distrust your intentions towards us.’ I frowned in confusion as she continued. ‘You want us to think of you as a kindly man, who despite circumstances, hopes to help us as much as he can.’

‘That is the case,’ I insisted, hating the idea that she or her family might think otherwise of me.

She narrowed her eyes and tilted her head. ‘Is it?’

She genuinely didn’t know whether to trust me or not. The realisation stung.

‘You are hurt by my admission,’ she said. ‘I don’t like to upset people but if you aren’t who I hope you are inside, then you could be a very dangerous person for me and those I love.’

‘Why? If you’re innocent, surely who I am shouldn’t matter.’ I wanted to tell her that it mattered very much to have her trust me. ‘You are innocent, aren’t you?’ I teased, intending to lighten the mood in the room.

My question had an unexpected effect. She glared at me, not speaking, for a few seconds. Then, turning to the door, she took hold of the handle and looked over her shoulder at me. ‘I refuse to dignify your question with an answer.’ She walked out of the room and slammed the door behind her.

How had I misread our conversation so badly? ‘Fool.’

Chapter Thirty-Six

RUE

Ileft Theo to rummage around in my bedroom, feeling oddly violated by him seeing my most personal items of clothing, and my letters, though I guessed he probably wouldn’t look at them. Angry with him though I was – or pretended to be, to cover my concern when he questioned my innocence – I knew him to be enough of a gentleman not to pore excessively over my things.

How was he going to react when he discovered I had been lying to him all along? I didn’t like to think of him being disappointed in me. That surprised me, but if I was honest with myself and admitted that the more time I spent with him, the more he got under my skin, I shouldn’t really be surprised at all.

I stopped walking, stunned by the revelation that I cared what Theo thought of me. I wanted him to like me, to approve of me. It was the strangest feeling and not one I could recall having had before. My grandmother always insisted it wasn’t my business what people thought of me or my family. She believed, too, that only fools made their minds up about people they knew little about.

I carried on walking downstairs, reflecting on how much of my youth had been spent at a distance from strangers. I supposed people had been left to judge me by my mother’s past, so they couldn’t really be blamed for having fantastical notions about my family. I now knew the reason: my aunt and grandmother had been shielding me. Caring what someone beyond my family and close friends thought of me was a new sensation that only added to my confusion about Theo. The realisation chilled me. Feeling this way made me vulnerable where he was concerned, and that wasn’t a good thing.

‘Psst.’

I turned to see my aunt waving for me to join her in the kitchen and hurried to her.