Ghostly Lover by Mary Lancaster

Author:Mary Lancaster [Lancaster, Mary]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fiction, romance, Historical
Publisher: Dragonblade Publishing, Inc.
Published: 2023-10-13T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Four

Alexander was fed and changed and jumping up and down on his bottom trying to catch his spinning top when the maid Jeanie appeared with a tray.

“I brought you some tea and scones, my lady,” she said cheerfully.

“Thank you,” Griz replied from her position on the floor. She spun the top again. “Will you leave it on the taller table, please? Just in case he lunges for it.”

“Of course!” Jeanie all but dumped the tray in her hurry to admire Alexander. “What a happy wee man he is. Shall I pour the tea for you, ma’am?”

“No, that’s fine, thank you.”

“Mr. Tizsa’s just back from his walk with Mr. Richard,” the maid reported, still beaming at Alexander. “I expect he’ll be up in a minute to change. Still raining. Hope it’s better for the guisers tomorrow evening.”

“Ah, yes, Halloween,” Griz said, extracting the top from Alexander, who was sucking on the end of it. She spun it for him again, and he bounced with excitement. “When all the ghosts and demons rise up and the children disguise themselves so they can walk among them with safety.”

“So they say,” Jeanie grinned.

“You don’t believe it?”

“Of course not,” Jeanie scoffed. “It’s just fun.”

“Then you’ve never seen ghosts over at the castle?”

“No!” She looked up at the window, though, through which she could probably see the castle, and shivered. “I don’t like it, mind. Weird place. Always was, but I never saw a ghost there or anywhere else. Some of the others claim they have, but I reckon they just say so for attention.”

She glanced at Alexander again and smiled. “Lovely wee boy,” she told Griz, “but I’d better get back to work.”

“Thanks for the tea.”

When the maid had closed the door, Griz stood and walked to the teapot with one eye on Alexander. Without looking at it, she picked up the pot—and paused for several seconds before she laid it back down again.

Blinking, she went and retrieved Alexander who seemed to have bottom-bumped most of the way to the door. She had just picked him up when the door opened and a rather wet Dragan strode in, shaking his head. As water flew off him, Alexander chortled and grabbed at his face.

Dragan blinked, clearly surprised to find them quite so close.

“Miss me?” he asked in amusement.

“Madly. Dragan, what did you eat or drink last night?” She plonked Alexander back on the floor and spun the top before going to help her husband wrestle himself out of his wet coat.

“I’m not poisoned,” he said mildly.

“No, but you should never have fallen asleep in the cold, should you? Not unless you were dead drunk. Or drugged.”

He watched her as she hung his coat up and went to find him dry clothes. “Drugged,” he repeated, and she knew the notion was not new to him.

“You said yourself there is more than arsenic that could be put in tea. Or anything else.”

He sighed. “To be honest, I don’t really remember going over to the castle. And I had such strange dreams.

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