Fair Maiden by Cheri Schmidt Read Free Book Online Page A

stones.” She continued to mutter to herself as she practically stuffed
her face into her large purse, then shouted, “Ah-hah!” when she lunged upright
with eight stones in her hand.
    The smooth rocks had symbols etched into them: a moon,
stars, a sun, the flames of a fire, a swirl of some sort, a circle, a tree, and
a spider.
    The old woman shuffled to the left until she stood directly
in front of her and then began chanting words in Gaelic as she tossed the
stones into the air. They popped from her palm, twisted above her head, and
then plummeted to the floor with eight little thumps.
    The witch stooped over the stones, babbling as she
considered each one. But she appeared to grow distressed as she gathered their
meaning. With knobby long fingers that trembled, she collected them back into
her hand. When she stood upright again she swayed and paled. The old woman’s
gaze slid to her and reflected a mixture of shock and…angst?
    “Please sit, Tabitha, you do not look well,” Christian said
kindly as he pushed a chair closer. It appeared she was about to collapse.
    “Thank you, young man, you’re very kind.” Tabitha sat,
though she made a desperate glance toward the doorway.
    “What did the stones say?” Christian crouched down in front
of her, flashing his dimple.
    Tabitha shook her head, wringing her bony hands. “It seems
that you do not need my help.”
    “Oh, but we do. We must know her name. Did the stones tell
you that?”
    The witch said nothing as the corners of her mouth twitched
lower, and she continued to shake her head causing her unruly locks to bob back
and forth across her face.
    “I beg you, Tabitha, please tell us what you’ve learned.”
    The witch suddenly sprang to her feet, knocking Christian
backwards, threw her stones into the bag, lifted it from the table and
scampered toward the door.
    “No, not again,” Christian muttered as he took pursuit.
“Please don’t be frightened! She is gentle. I must know her name.”
    Tabitha halted at his words and spun to face him. “I will
not speak her name!”
    “Then you must know it! I’ll double your fee. Please—”
    Jackson made a gurgling choking sound, but when she glanced
toward him, he looked all right.
    Silencing Christian with one palm shoved in his direction,
Tabitha spoke, ignoring his questions about her name all together, “And I am
not frightened of her, I know she is harmless, but she is in danger! You
do not need my aid! Faeries would be of more use to you than me. Good day, my
lord!”
    “How is she in danger? Please, Tabitha!”
    “I must leave.” And with that, the witch jumped into a run
for the door. In her haste, her shawl slipped from her shoulders just before
she quickly tugged it back into place.
    “But don’t you want your fee?” Christian called out, running
after the woman who was moving rather quickly for an elderly lady.
    “Pay me when you marry,” she threw back.
    “Excuse me?” But she left without another reply. “What did
she mean by that?” Christian asked as he skidded to a halt in front of his door
just as it was slammed shut. He wrenched it open and continued to look for the
woman, but she’d vanished.
    As Christian reentered, Jackson stepped forward. “Was she
suggesting that you two would wed?” Jackson asked. “Or just in general?”
    “I…” Christian looked at her, and she knew her efforts to
hide the sadness overtaking her was not working. “I don’t know. And what was
that bit about faeries?”
    “I do not believe they exist. Chris, you’ve exhausted enough
of your time and funds for this folly—”
    “Jackson!”
    When she began to back away, Christian leapt toward her and
attempted to capture her arm, then spoke abruptly when that failed, “No,
please, princess, do not flee. Please.”
    But her thoughts would not stop so she could not either.
She’d realized she would have accepted a proposal from him even though she had
not known him for very long. Was that because