Wilde Magic by Jenn Stark

Author:Jenn Stark [Stark, Jenn]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781943768936
Publisher: Elewyn Publishing

21

Maria yelped in alarm, but Mr. Gray never wavered. “I confess you have me at somewhat of a disadvantage, Ms. Wilde,” he said coldly.

I snorted at both his unintentional echo of the Magician and the patent falsehood of the allegation. “Based on visual evidence, I’m inclined to disagree.”

My attempt at humor netted me only the thinnest of smiles. This guy needed a joy enema in the worst way.

“When it became clear to me what Ophelia had planned for William, I felt I had to act. William had always cared for his wife, rescuing her from an awkward situation in her youth and giving her the support and seclusion that she required. Yes, of course, he benefited from this arrangement in his business endeavors, but no more than was his due. Mrs. Ambrose was not always the easiest of personalities.”

“Fair enough,” I said. “So what did he do to piss her off?”

“Oh, that’s very much as she indicated,” the lawyer allowed. “He truly did not approve of the psychic dilettantism of his wife and had rather enjoyed the idea that his bloodline had been strong enough to eradicate its negative effects. In the meantime, over the past thirty years, he had contributed quite handsomely to the family’s wealth and no longer felt quite so beholden to his wife. That said, he did love his children and his grandchildren, with the love of a patriarch who wishes to see them have an easy path through society.”

“Well, that’s super gracious of him.”

Milton’s lips thinned. “Regrettably, once Mrs. Ambrose discerned Maria’s psychic abilities, she came to her own conclusions about how events should proceed. She decided to use Maria’s blood for her own gain. That is why they had it in storage, you should know. They have had quite a lot of it drawn, over the past year in particular. Apparently, Ophelia had long suspected Maria’s gifts. William discovered the stash about six months ago. He gradually began moving the reliquaries to his safety deposit box—but there were still too many left for Ophelia to use.”

“Grandma?” Maria asked, her voice sounding a little wobbly. I winced. She was a little young to have her trust broken, but…had to be done.

Nevertheless, something about the lawyer still grated. “So, William came to you with his concerns.”

“He did. And when he abruptly passed, well…I knew that was no heart attack. I made some discreet inquiries and learned that she had been speaking with some rather unsavory parties about potential artifacts for sale.”

“Let me guess. Did one of those parties owe a debt to David Galanis?” It was a shot in the gloom, but Milton’s jerk of surprise provided satisfactory confirmation. No wonder the Magician was on board with this side trip to Savannah. Galanis knew about the reliquaries, and about the augmenting powers of the blood they contained. And we were going to bring one right to his door.

“Naturally, I felt it appropriate to bring these rumors to William’s attention, confidentially, of course,” Milton said. “We’ve been lifelong friends.

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