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‘No, I had no idea, but with hindsight it makes sense. He was a fighter, always ready to take an insult and resort to violence to solve it.’
I’d have bet my bottom dollar that young Noah was lying to my face.
He hesitated then said, ‘Honestly, I think he was biding his time to challenge Lord Samuel, and I think Lord Samuel knew it. That’s why he let so much of Mark’s crap slide. In the last year or so, Mark got bolder and bolder. He never disobeyed Lord Samuel’s wishes, but he dealt with stuff in a way that Lord Samuel would never have approved of – but always when he was away. I saw Mark with bruises and stuff, but I just assumed it was because of his pugnacious nature. I never made the connection to black tourneys. If I had, I’d have told Lord Samuel my suspicions and that would have been enough for him to act. He could have called the council. He wouldn’t have needed to fight with Mark one-on-one.’
‘And you, Mrs Dawes?’ I asked. ‘Did you know what naughty Mark was getting up to?’
She shook her head. ‘The tourneys, no. I did hear he was taking drugs. He went through a phase of using Boost – I found some pink bags in his room when I was cleaning. I had a word with him, but he promised it was an experiment and said he was done with it.’
‘Did you tell Lord Samuel?’
‘I – no. I believed Mark, and Lord Samuel was a bit tetchy about drugs. Archie had just gone through a rebellious phase. Lord Samuel had given him enough rope to discover who he was and that drugs weren’t good for the Others.’
‘He didn’t want to give Archie enough rope to hang himself?’
‘No, not that much rope,’ she agreed. ‘Lord Samuel seemed to be giving Archie the freedom to do what he liked, but I know he kept tabs on him. He knew who Archie’s dealers were and where he was going when he went out.’
‘But he didn’t keep similar tabs on Mark?’
‘No, Mark wasn’t his son. He was barely his second and certainly not a trusted confidante, not like you and Manners. It’s good to see an alpha and beta bond working in harmony as it should.’
Noah agreed. ‘Yeah, that’s what it should be like.’
My dough was elastic and soft, so I plonked it back into the ceramic bowl for its first proving and covered it with a clean, damp tea towel. ‘I’ll be back in an hour to knock it back and shape the rolls,’ I said to Mrs Dawes as I washed my hands. ‘Any idea where I can find David?’
‘He’s our resident gardener. You’ll find him out by the roses, I should think. He’s often there when he’s upset.’
‘Why would he be upset?’
‘Well, with Mark and Archie and everything,’ said Mrs Dawes lamely and looked away. I couldn’t blame her: she was the cook, housekeeper and resident counsellor. Everyone seemed to confide in her and the pack needed to know that she held on to their secrets as carefully as her own.
Noah was lying to me, and Mrs Dawes wasn’t being up front. I sighed; perhaps I hadn’t made as much progress as I’d thought. I made a mental note to take another crack at Noah when we were alone.
‘I’ll be back,’ I reiterated. Noah gave me a friendly smile that the optimist in me added to my ‘positive progress’ column. Maybe I’d been wrong when I’d thought that cookies weren’t the way to the pack’s heart – bread sure had worked a treat.
Chapter 23
Thebrethrengroupwerestill working away, but the witches had packed up their paintbrushes and scarpered. There was no sign of the runes I’d seen them painting on the mansion. ‘How come the runes are gone?’ I asked the nearest man dressed all in black.
He raised an eyebrow, as if the answer were obvious. ‘If the runes are visible, you give your enemy the opportunity to counter or nullify them. For these runes to reappear, a witch would need to touch the walls of the mansion. If the enemy has sneaked in a witch close enough to touch the walls, then the witch and her runes are the least of your problems.’
‘Invisible runes. I bet they’re pricey.’
He snorted. ‘Runes are expensive – but invisible runes break the bank.’ He looked me over. ‘You must have done the Prime Elite one helluva favour.’
I smiled noncommittally. Nope, he was just a millionaire dragon shifter in love with my best friend. I sent Jess a quick message, letting her know that Emory had really gone the extra mile in making sure I was safe. I was sure she’d ensure he was adequately rewarded for his kindness. Kindness should be encouraged, after all.
I went into the grounds to look for David. From what I knew of him, he was a quiet guy. He wore glasses, which were obviously an affectation since the first change healed minor issues like poor eyesight or poor hearing. That made me wonder if he was like me, a rare human who’d been changed into a werewolf, rather than being born one. If so, his human family might still expect the specs, though he could have told them he’d started wearing contact lenses.
Less than five percent of wolves are changed; the rest are born. Because the survival rate for the change is so low, the council don’t like too many humans to try to change. It leads to too many bodies that they have to explain away.
As I’d expected, David was out by the rose garden.
Why is he cutting bushes?Esme asked in confusion.
I didn’t know how to explain topiary to a wolf, so I fell back on an old favourite.It is tradition.
Ah, well then.
