Page 75 of Four Promises to Love

“The bastard doesn’t give a damn about clues,” Caleb said flatly. “He wants the jewels. If he doesn’t get them soon, Iris will be paying the price.”

Fear gripped Finn, but she refused to let it get the best of her.

“Then we’d best be as efficient as possible,” she said. “Let’s find the stash and bring Iris home.”

Owen hadn’t been back to the stream since he’d watched a man drown in its currents. Yet he could not allow Finn to venture here by herself—with the purpose of summoning a dead spirit, by God. The woman wasn’t as invincible as she thought. As they walked through the woods, gilded by the sun’s last rays, he was struck again by her delicate beauty. Perhaps it was the way she’d styled her hair, but she looked younger…and infinitely desirable.

Keep your mind on the task at hand. This isn’t a tryst.

Yet being alone with Finn had a profound effect on his senses. His heart thumped faster, his blood ran hotter. He felt alive and present in his own skin—and damnably randy. He was already half-hard listening to her talk. The topic of conversation didn’t even matter; he just liked hearing her voice. It felt natural to take her hand, and she didn’t pull away, linking her fingers with his.

“How are you feeling after today’s sitting?” he asked.

That flirty smile he adored curved her lips.

“The same as when you asked me last.”

“Pardon my concern. I may never get used to you becoming someone else.”

“I am still there.” She canted her head. “Think of it like a dance. The spirit takes the lead, and I follow. Does that help?”

“A little.” He glanced at her. “Whilst we haven’t danced, I have the distinct feeling that you would try to take the lead.”

She laughed. “You know me well.”

“I would like to know you even more.”

The words slipped out. When Finn ducked her head, he silently cursed himself. Knowing how skittish she was, he ought to have kept things casual. But he’d never been good at hiding his emotions. He was terrible at the games of courtship and would have happily avoided the business altogether—if Finn hadn’t come along. She made abandoning his solitary, bachelor ways worthwhile.

“Isn’t that what we are doing now?”

Her light reply relieved him. He hadn’t ruined things by being too forthright.

“I thought we were hunting for a clue left by the mysterious F. P.”

As he spoke, he felt a pang of guilt. While his family now believed in Finn’s powers, they’d yet to reveal their suspicions about Langdon Pearce. After Finn and her entourage had gone back to Pell House, he’d suggested to his kin that it was time to lay all the cards on the table. They needed to trust Finn; withholding information might work against their goal of breaking the curse. And what if the writer of the note—this F. P.—was related to Langdon Pearce? The initial of the surname seemed too coincidental.

Xenia and Gigi had sided with him, but the others had stood their ground.

“This isn’t about trust,” James had insisted. “This is about objectivity. By feeding a medium the answer beforehand, one contaminates the results. It is vital that we do not bias Seraphina with our suspicions about Langdon Pearce. If he is indeed the guilty party, then she needs to tell us this without prior knowledge.”

“I concur with Manderly,” Grantley had said. “But for me, it is also about trust. Whilst Seraphina may have visions, the fact remains that she and her assistants are a havey-cavey lot.”

The group had ended up with a compromise. They’d agreed to wait until the next clue was found. At that time, if Finn hadn’t identified the murderer in Rose’s vision, they would tell her their suspicions about Pearce. Meanwhile, James and Evie had volunteered to search the parish records for F. P.

While Owen didn’t like it, he’d agreed to abide by the group’s decision. Finn would understand. As she’d said before, she was used to skepticism about her work—and if she uncovered the truth on her own, his family would be convinced of her legitimacy once and for all.

“We can grow two plants from one seed,” she said. “Did you and your family have any new insights about the clue?”

His tongue knotted; he wasn’t good at lying.

“We did discuss the matter further,” he said after a pause. “As you know, Gigi believes the water could refer to the spa or the stream, but she agrees that this area is the priority. In her vision of Rose hiding the marriage license, she sensed the latter’s fearlessness. Rose knew her enemy was coming for her—but for the first time, she didn’t run. After the villain had murdered her lover, she was unafraid, as the clue suggests. What she wanted now was vengeance.”

Finn was listening intently. “I don’t blame her. The bounder deserved to pay for his crimes.”

“Bloodthirsty sort, are you?”

“If anyone were to threaten those I loved, I would do everything in my power to stop them.” Her gaze was hard. “And if I failed, I would see that he was punished.”