The Witch's Thief by Tricia Schneider Read Free Book Online Page B

he goes and asks Julia Grey to stay and talk with him, knowing full well she was an intelligent woman and able to see through his lies. It was one of the reasons he never said good-bye to her when he left. It nearly killed him to leave like that, but she would have seen the truth if he hadn’t.
    The truth he wanted to keep hidden.
    Or did he?
    He admitted his brother’s knowledge of his condition brought him some relief. When his time came, at least one member of the family would know the reasons why. That he didn’t hurt the people he loved because of recklessness, frivolousness, or vanity.
    No, he tried to protect them.
    Then why ask Julia to stay? While Basil shivered beneath this blanket, he asked her to sit in the chair across from him. She was bound to see something was not quite right.
    And she had.
    After all, she witnessed his disorientation upon his arrival.
    She knew something was wrong. She just didn’t know what.
    Basil sighed. He wished his brother was here now. Or Reed. Reed would have talked sense into him. He would have sent Julia back to her room straight away.
    Then Reed would have helped him to his room when the signs of the attack first reared their dismal head instead of gazing into the fire, thinking about her.
    Julia.
    His memory did her no justice. Either she was more beautiful than he remembered, or she had grown as such. Thoughts and memories swirled together while he gazed into the flames. They had grown up together. Being neighbors and friends with each other’s families made it easy to spend time together. While at first she was content to play dolls with his sister, she soon found her way outside to practice sword-fighting with him and his brothers. George Walters was another of their group. Another neighbor, though his family wasn’t so closely connected as hers. But, they were the best of friends. And as the years grew so did they, until he began noticing the changes between them. She slowly grew from a girl into a woman, he grew from a boy to a man. Their feelings for each other deepened, entwined like the thickest of vines. It felt right they be together. They’d always been together.
    And then he remembered the kiss. The one and only kiss they shared beneath the willow tree outside of Meryton. So deep was he trapped in nostalgia that he hadn’t felt his hands begin to twitch. He didn’t feel the cold run through his veins or the sweat break out upon his brow. It was not until his knees began to tremble that he noted his weakened strength.
    He had thought to sit, simply to catch his breath until he could gather the last remnants of strength to drag himself off to bed.
    Basil cursed himself.
    The journey to Merriweather Manor had been arduous. After receiving Aunt Petunia’s desperate summons, he departed for England immediately, intent to rush to his sisters’ rescue. During the trip he did not rest as he should, and then he used his magic for the mirror.
    Fool!
    Now he must face the consequences of his actions.
    He should have gone straight to bed after Aunt Petunia retired. Instead, he lingered by the fire, daydreaming of Julia.
    He found the blanket Aunt Petunia must use to keep away the chill from old bones nestled next to her chair. He pulled it, covering himself as the shivers increased. Basil resigned himself to spend a sleepless night on the chair when Julia walked in.
    He assumed at the time she needed a good book to help her fall asleep. Dare he think he was the cause for her restlessness?
    No! He couldn’t think that! She was supposed to be another man’s wife. But she wasn’t!
    That fool Walters!
    The spell should have worked. Had he done something wrong? Not used enough of some ingredient? It should have worked. Love spells had never been his forte . He must have mixed something incorrectly.
    Basil sighed and shivered.
    Who was he fooling? Nothing seemed to work. Especially in recent months.
    He cursed. Loudly.
    All these years he thought she married Walters.