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“Young lady. It is clear Daniel did not spank you enough as a child!” Benedict chided, and Henrietta’s dimples appeared as she smiled.
“Well, you’ve been a buffoon, Bene. Head up your backside and all that!”
“Oh, I have?” Benedict asked, looking at Mariah, who shrugged. She didn’t have a clue.
“You bellowed at the boys when they came to help. So, we came to put your head straight,” Henrietta replied as she sat and arranged her skirts.
“My dear, you may attempt that. But I felt a surge of power, and I need to investigate,” Benedict spoke grimly.
“Henrietta has an infinity for water,” Emile said placidly as she folded her hands primly in her lap.
Mariah almost laughed as Benedict’s head swivelled between the two women.
“Henrietta has a what now?” Benedict questioned.
“An affinity for water. It appeared when St John didn’t recognise her and was supposed to have ended when she returned to human form. But St John still ends up in Courtenay Lake often. And any other lake, for that matter!” Emile explained.
“I never sensed magic about you!” Benedict exclaimed as he opened his senses and sought something different about Henrietta. There, he saw it, a strand of blue woven with gold. A sign of water magic.
“Do I pass muster, Benedict?” Henrietta asked cheekily.
“I’m rather surprised because it wasn’t there before,” Benedict replied as Mariah put plates on the table and the platters of food she’d made.
“It could be from the trauma Henrietta suffered that triggered it. That’s what Melisandre and I believe. While we all regained the memory of our demise, Henrietta never has,” Emile explained as Mariah placed drinks down.
“This looks excellent. Thank you. Shall I fetch Melisandre? She’ll forget to eat otherwise?” Henrietta inquired and then, without waiting for a reply, dashed off.
Mariah looked amused.
“Does she ever stay still?” she asked.
“No. Henrietta drives St John mad with her escapades. But he’s learning to silence his tongue, or he ends up with an impromptu shower. It is no joke that she keeps chasing him into a lake one way or another. St John must be at his wit’s end!” Emile commented.
“That would be quite the trick. Instead, I nearly died in a sinkhole!” Mariah spoke sharply.
“No, you wouldn’t have, or that animal you call a cat. Miserable creature. I was watching the entire time. I planned to pull you out at the last minute.”
“There were worms and other bugs! I shall not forgive so easily!” Mariah said with a glint of humour in her eyes.
Benedict had the grace to look ashamed as Emile tutted at him.
“Now, Benedict, sit, and we’ll discuss your foul mood. Daniel, St John, and Tristian came to offer a helping hand. You’re rather lucky that Jeremy has Lavinia locked down at DeLacy Park. He has just discovered they are expecting, and Lavinia is to be treated like a china doll. I shall give her two weeks before Jeremy learns a harsh lesson,” Emile commented with a look at Mariah.
“Men do go overboard,” Mariah agreed as Benedict bristled.
“Women need to be protected in delicate conditions,” Benedict responded, and both Emile and Mariah laughed.
“Benedict, women work up until six weeks before their due date!” Mariah exclaimed. Benedict looked horrified as Melisandre and Henrietta swept in. Mariah sat back and enjoyed one of the funniest lunches she’d had as the three ladies ganged up on Benedict and put him to rights.
Benedict
Watching Mariah relax and hold her own against a duchess, countess, and viscountess was something to be seen. Mariah was at ease in their lauded presence and wasn’t deterred that they held titles. Benedict would have been happy to claim her hand and show her off if she had been born in his time. Mariah, while scrappy, he believed the word to be, had an elegance and poise about her.
She had adjusted quickly to unexpected guests and hadn’t made them unwelcome and instead gone out of her way to be friendly. He was coming to realise that Mariah was lonely. Her close circle of friends were all busy, although he did not know with what. They spoke on the phone often, a marvellous contraption, but she missed them. As they sat eating dinner, Benedict wondered about her family. She never mentioned them.
“Mariah, a rather impertinent question, but do you have parents?”
“Yes, they live up North in Northumberland, near Chillingham Castle. They enjoy their ghost hunts there.” Mariah smiled.
