Charms and Tomes (Dragon Thief Book 3) E-Book

Mac Flynn

• Herausgeber: Crescent Moon Studios, Inc.
• Kategorie: Gesellschafts- und Liebesromane
• Sprache: Englisch
• Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2024

Beschreibung

The days grow shorter and the nights colder, but for Millie Lucas and her wealthy protector Benjamin Castle, things are about to heat up.

The trouble starts on the road when they nearly have a collision with thunder, the name for cars in the strange world in which Millie finds herself. The driver is unscathed, and Millie finds herself intrigued by the vehicles. She discovers that Ben is also an enthusiast, and together they delve into the world of thunder racing.
Unfortunately, trouble is never far behind and they find themselves neck-deep in charms, talismans, and witchcraft, all carried by the thunder drivers to ward off a string of bad luck that stalks their members. Ben smells something fishy about the whole thing, and they delve deeper into the mystery only to find that his suspicions are more than just true. They’re deadly.

As if that wasn’t enough, Millie finds herself the talk of the town when an exclusive book club asks her, as the intimate companion of a nobleman, to join their group. A simple ‘no’ is never accepted, and she is thrown into a perfumed jungle of secrets, lies, and a petty jealousy that may threaten the very life of her newest friend.

Magic and mayhem collide as the lovers wade through the mysteries of the city and dig up the ugly intentions of those who would cultivate chaos, and where a single misstep could spell their doom.

Leseprobe

CHARMS AND TOMES

DRAGON THIEF BOOK 3

MAC FLYNN

CONTENTS

Copyright

Author’s Note

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

Chapter 23

Chapter 24

Chapter 25

Chapter 26

Chapter 27

Chapter 28

Chapter 29

Chapter 30

Chapter 31

Chapter 32

Chapter 33

Chapter 34

Chapter 35

Chapter 36

Chapter 37

Chapter 38

Chapter 39

Chapter 40

Chapter 41

Sneak Peek: Sands and Tombs

A Small Favor

When’s the Next Book?

Series by Mac Flynn

About Mac Flynn

COPYRIGHT

Charms and Tomes (Dragon Thief Book 3). Copyright © 2024 by Mac Flynn.

Published by Crescent Moon Studios, Inc.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, disseminated, or transmitted in any form or by any or for any use, including recording or any information storage and retrieval system, without the prior written consent of the author and/or artist. The only except ions shirt excerpts or the cover image in reviews.

This is a work of fiction. All the names, characters, organizations, places and events portrayed in this novel or on the cover are either products of the author’s or artist’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental and not intended by the author or artist.

AUTHOR’S NOTE

Dear Reader,

Thank you so much for joining me on a journey through my imagination. If you’re looking for romance and adventure with a guaranteed Happily Ever After, then you’ve come to the right place. My books contain paranormal plotting and fantastical action, and I hope you enjoy reading them as much as I enjoy writing them.

* * *

You can keep in touch with me by joining my newsletter or checking out my website for the latest updates.

Check out my website

Sign up for my newsletter

Thank you for giving my book a chance, and Happy Reading!

- Mac Flynn

CHAPTERONE

The day had finally arrived.

I lifted my chin and took in a deep breath of country air. Birds flitted about the groves of trees on either side of the road that stretched out of view. Rabbits scurried off the winding dirt road and into the tall grass that lined the path. They disappeared amidst the mess of brush a few yards beyond the dirt edges.

And a handsome dragon man sat by my side in the carriage seat. He, too, had a calm smile on his lips as he admired the view.

“So how long has it been since you were there?” I asked him.

A chuckle escaped him. “So long that I hardly remember. I believe it was some time before my twelfth birthday. My aunt had invited us for a visit and my father could get away from his duties only long enough for a weekend.”

I lifted an eyebrow. “Why so long ago?”

He leaned back in his seat and sighed. “As you know, there were some health complications due to my condition, both before and after my mother’s intervention. I was thought too frail to make this half-day journey, especially as my doctor rarely desired to leave the city.”

“Who was your doctor?”

“Professor Impara.”

I snorted. “I can believe that. He doesn’t seem the type to go anywhere unless it’s for his honor.”

“Or a summons from the academy, though even that’s doubtful due to their treatment of him,” Ben mused.

His words perked up my ears. “Treated him? What did they do?”

He folded his arms over his chest and shrugged. “Truth be told, even I’m not sure. The details have been obscured by time and secrecy. I only know that he had a falling out with them and left the academy many decades ago.”

I snorted. “Are you sure he didn’t try to blow up the academy?”

Ben chuckled. “That may not be far from the truth, but we’re forgetting the beautiful view around us.”

I took a deep breath and smiled. “It is nice to finally get out of the city.”

“Has the view begun to bore you?” he wondered.

There was a touch of worry in his voice. I smiled and nudged his arm with my elbow. “I haven’t had a moment’s boredom since I got here, but I could use a break.”

And that’s when the car flew out of the nearest thick grove of trees and careened toward us. Ferox reared up and the carriage rocked from side to side. Ben pinned me against the seat with his body as our steed scurried backward and pawed the ground. The strange vehicle, meanwhile, had flown across the road and into a mess of brambles on the opposite side. The bushes had stopped its maniac driving and swallowed all but the rear end.

Ben sat up and I craned my neck to catch a glimpse of the driver and his machine. “You guys have cars?”

My local guide shook his head. “I don’t know that word, but I believe the machine is called a thunder.”

I blinked at him. “Why?”

“Because they’re known for being as loud as that force of nature,” he explained as he climbed out of the carriage.

“But that one wasn’t,” I pointed out as he helped me down.

“No, and that makes it rather unusual,” he mused as he stepped off the road and navigated the broken bramble branches to reach the vehicle. “Hello there!”

A soft groan came from the driver’s compartment. Ben held out both hands and his fingers lengthened into dragon claws. He used the talons to slice through the brush and reach the driver.

My heart beat hard in my chest as I watched Ben unbuckle the person and drag the semi-conscious driver out of the bucket seat. He was about thirty and shorter than average height. The man wore a simple brown suit and a pair of goggles. His short brown mousy hair was filled with bits of brush and dirt, and his face was scratched in many places.

Ben carried him over to the road and lay him on the dirt. “Is he going to be alright?” I asked him.

Ben nodded. “Yes. I think he hit his head on the wheel, but it’s nothing more than a bad bump and a pair of black eyes.”

A stampede of hooves made us look up. The sound came from a pair of horsemen who sprinted in our direction. One was tall and lean with a tan overcoat flowing behind him. The other man was slightly shorter with longish hair and a plaid cap perched atop his head.

They skidded to a stop close by us and leapt off their horses. The taller of the two tossed his reins at his companion, who gave him a scowl in return, and hurried over to us.

“What’s happened?” he questioned us.

Ben stood and shook his head. “I’m afraid we don’t know many of the details ourselves. This thunder shot out of the brush in front of our carriage and crashed into the bushes on the other side.”

The man who held the reins snorted. “Of course he did.”

Ben gestured down at the man he had carried out of the machine. “We don’t think there’s any lasting damage, but you may want to take him to a doctor.”

“I doubt that’s necessary,” the tall man replied as he knelt beside his fallen comrade and rapped on his head with his fist. “Mouse! Mouse, wake up!”

The short man stirred and his eyes fluttered open. They were unfocused until he squinted up at us. A loopy smile slipped onto his lips. “Hey, there. How’d I do.”

The other man rolled his eyes. “Terrible, as usual, and you’ve wrecked the car again.”

“Again?” I repeated.

“It’s his second time in the driver’s seat and the second time in a ditch,” the taller man explained as his compatriot eased himself onto his arms.

‘Mouse’ winced and clutched one side of his head in his hand. “What hit me?”

“I believe it was the steering wheel,” Ben told him.

“At least you used the hardest part of your body to cushion yourself,” the other man quipped.

Mouse grinned. “I did, didn’t I? How’s Bashful?”

His companion rolled his eyes. “We are not calling it that.”

“Bashful?” I repeated.

Mouse bobbed his head. “That’s the name of the thunder because it’s so quiet.”

“We are not calling it that,” his acquaintance insisted as he climbed to his feet. “Now get up on the horse and let’s get you to see a doctor before I finish the job you started.”

Mouse tried to stand, but the moment he climbed onto his feet his legs wobbled. He would have toppled over if Ben hadn’t caught him. Mouse sheepishly smiled up at him. “Looks like I don’t have my land legs back yet.”

“I don’t believe you’ll have them back for a while,” Ben mused as he turned his apologetic face to me. “It would be best if you came with us in our carriage.”

I sighed but nodded. “It would be safer than him falling off a horse, but will he fit?”

“I can ride Ferox,” Ben offered. The horse in question flung its head and whinnied in protest.

The man who held the reins walked over to us. “We wouldn’t think of burdening you two with our nincompoop friend.”

I smiled and shook my head. “It’s no problem.”

“Then why don’t we have you take him back to our rooms at the inn?” the taller man suggested as he nodded down the road in the direction of the city. “We can get a doctor to come see him there and the rest of us can have a pint while we wait.”

“And where is that, Mr.-?” Ben asked him.

“The Griffin Arms,” the man replied as he waved a hand in the air. “And the rest of that can be taken care of later.”

The man who held the reins glared at him. “Your manners, you oaf. We need to introduce ourselves or they’ll think we’re taking them for a ride.”

His compatriot shrugged. “I don’t see the point. They probably already know who we are.” Ben and I shook our heads in unison, and his face drooped. “You don’t recognize us?”

“Should we?” I wondered.

“See? I told you those posters were no good,” his acquaintance scolded him.

The tall man recovered from his disappointment and cleared his throat. “Let’s not bother about that right now. My name’s Grant Pender, and these two fools-” He nodded at the man standing and then his limp comrade, “-are Chase Cobb and Paul Mallory.”

Paul’s grin widened. “Surely you know us now.” Ben and I shook our heads, and Paul slumped deeper into Ben’s grasp. “Damn. . .”

“Are you guys famous?” I guessed.

“Only on the three continents,” Grant assured us as he puffed out his chest a little. “We’re known for being-”

“Long-winded and not getting on our way,” Chase piped up as he shoved one set of reins in his friend’s hand. “Now let’s get going.”

Ben and I looked at each other, and a smile slipped onto both our lips before we shrugged. We’d found ourselves another adventure.

CHAPTERTWO

Grant and Chase climbed aboard their steeds and Ben helped Paul into our carriage. I slipped into the seat beside him as he slumped a little. His face was slightly haggard and his eyes were still unfocused.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” I asked him.

He grinned up at me. “Never better.”

“Don’t feel too sorry for him,” Grant warned me as he trotted up beside the vehicle. “He’s been in more accidents than a toddler’s diaper.”

I glanced over to the ruins of the vehicle. “Will that be okay there?”

“Nobody’s going to steal it, if that’s what you mean,” Chase piped up as he came on the other side of the carriage. “It’s just a hunk of junk until we get it fixed up again.”

Ben gingerly climbed aboard Ferox’s back. The spirited steed eyed him with a sharp, ire-filled look, but Ben only smiled and patted the back of his neck. “I don’t like this any better than you, but it’s either that or walking.” Ferox bobbed his head up and down. Ben’s eyes twinkled as he grinned at the horse. “That will make you late for your afternoon grain.”

Ferox snorted, but faced forward and turned the carriage around. I looked wistfully down the road as we made a U-turn to go back to Validen. Some day we would reach Ben’s estate, but today was not that day.

Tomorrow didn’t look good, either.

We trotted back down the road while the two men on horseback bickered with each other.

“I told you we shouldn’t have let him behind the wheel,” Chase scolded his companion.

Grant rolled his eyes. “You know he wasn’t going to stop whining about it until we let him. How was I to know he would step on the fuel that hard?”

“Because he always does something stupid and almost gets himself killed,” Chase reminded him.

“So do you guys build, um, thunders a lot?” I spoke up.

Grant nodded. “It’s our calling.”

“They’re a lot more comfortable than this way, and a thunder won’t buck you off,” Chase chimed in with a sharp look at his companion. “If the Goon here wouldn’t stop messing about and wrecking our schedule.”

Grant glared back at him. “I keep telling you you’re too slow. Is it my fault if that’s the truth?”

Chase scoffed. “You wouldn’t know the truth if it bit you in the ass.”

“So have you three known each other for a long time?” I asked them.

“It feels like forever. . .” Grant mumbled.

“Unfortunately, we’ve been working together for about ten years now,” Chase told me with a frown still on his lips. “We broke into the circuit about seven years ago and were just going to show this at the Plaza in Validen when Mouse there-” He nodded at the man seated beside me, “-asked to take it out for a trip.”

Mouse sheepishly grinned at him and rubbed the back of his head. “Sorry about that, but if it makes you feel any better, I don’t think it’ll take very long to fix it up again.”

“It better not,” Grant scolded him. “It’s only two days to the show.”

“Then you gentlemen are part of the thunder tract?” Ben guessed.

Mouse sat up a little straighter and lifted his chin. “We’re only the best of the builders.”

“The less said about the racing part, the better. . .” Grant grumbled.

Ben lifted his chin slightly and furrowed his brow. “I haven’t seen a thunder race in quite a few years. It still takes place in the emperor’s horse training track, doesn’t it?”

Chase nodded. “That’s right. We’ve entered the car-”

“Bashful,” Mouse spoke up.”

“I told you weren’t not calling it that,” Grant snapped.

“Why do you want to call it Bashful?” I asked my carriage companion.

“Because it’s as quiet as a shy lady,” he pointed out as he folded his arms over his puffed-out chest. “And that’s all thanks to my latest invention. We’ll make a fortune selling these cars to all those same women. You know the kind, the ones that don’t want to be heard.”

“Are most cars-I mean, thunders, that loud?” I wondered.

“Haven’t you seen one?” Chase asked me.

There it was again, that situation where I was a fish out of water. “I, um, don’t live near any of the tract areas.”

“No wonder you didn’t know who we were,” Grant spoke up as he seemed to breathe a sigh of relief. “As for your question, they’re very noisy.”

Chase stuck a finger in his ear and winced as he rubbed it exuberantly. “Painfully so.”

Mouse’s eyes widened and he shot up. He began patting himself furiously all over with both hands. “Wait a minute! It’s not here!”

Everything came to a standstill as we all watched him furiously beat himself.

“What’s not here?” I asked him.

“My lucky piece of wood!” he shouted as he turned his pockets inside out. Bits of twine, metal washers, and lint fell out, but no wood. “I must’ve lost it in the seat! We have to go back to get it!”

Grant scoffed. “Like hell we are. It hasn’t done you much good since you picked it up in the barnyard two years ago.”

“But it has!” Mouse insisted as he continued his furious search. “I’d be dead without it!”

“You’ll be dead if we have to go back for it,” Chase snapped.

Mouse’s face fell. “Come on, fellas, it’ll only take a minute. Besides, you know we need it for what’s coming up.”

Grant rolled his eyes. “And if I go back for it you’ll shut up for the rest of the day?”

Mouse crossed a finger over his chest in the shape of a cross. “I swear on the stone that I will!”

Grant sighed but turned his steed back down the road. “Alright. I’ll be right back.”

He galloped away, leaving a sheepish Mouse at my side and an irritated Chase glaring at his comrade. “You and your damned foolishness,” he scolded him.

Mouse winced. “Oh, come on, it isn’t that foolish. I mean, you haven’t changed your underwear yet, have you?”

Chase’s cheeks glowed red and his hands that held the reins shook a little. “That’s not what you’re supposed to bring up in polite company!”

Mouse studied Ben and me. “They are polite company, aren’t they? And they’ve got a nice carriage and horse, too. By the way, what’s your names?”

Ben twisted around in his seat atop Ferox and nodded at me. “The lovely woman beside you is Miss Millie Lucas, and I’m Ben Castle.”

Chase’s eyes widened. “Ben Castle? Not Count Benjamin Castle?”

Ben chuckled. “The same. Have you heard of me?”

Chase nodded. “We heard a ways back that you used to be quite the thunder driver.”

I whipped my face around in his direction. “Really?”

Ben chuckled. “That was a long while ago.”

Mouse took up one of my hands and, with his eyes twinkling, he pressed a light kiss on the back. “It’s an honor to meet Count Castle, but it’s a pleasure to meet you, Miss Lucas.”

“Millie,” I told him.

He grinned. “I’m Paul, but those two-” He jerked his head in Chase’s direction, “-call me Mouse. I don’t know why.”

“Because you’re as short as one,” Chase retorted before his horse gave a little snort and flung its head. The man’s face went a little pale and he clung to the saddle horn. “Damn you and your stupid driftwood.”

“That’s what makes it even luckier,” Mouse insisted. “It’s a drifter just like us. You should be worshiping it as an idol.”

Chase looked like he was about to show Mouse some tough adoration when Grant returned. He tossed a brown, thin object some five inches long at Mouse. “Now shut up and let’s get going.”

Mouse caught the item and I had a good look at his lucky driftwood. It was a rough piece of timber with no discernible special features except that the surface had been smoothed by Mouse’s constant rubbing. He gave the wood a quick rub on one side before he tucked it into a pocket on the exterior of his vest. A supremely satisfied look featured on his face as we rolled along.

CHAPTERTHREE

We drove to the outskirts of the large metropolis known as Validen, but our path steered us onto a byroad about a mile from the city proper. The bumpy road led to a primitive cul-de-sac with great oak structures aged by time and weather. Many were two stories high and featured unique amenities such as outdoor balconies and exterior stairs up to the second floor.

One of the largest of the buildings was an inn of some archaic date with a livery standing only thirty feet away. The second floor protruded out from the first some two feet and provided a slight cover over the front door. The paned windows looked in on wooden floors and oak-plank walls stained black with chimney and pipe smoke.

We rode up to this singular establishment and the two riders dismounted. Ben hopped down and with Grant’s help, they pulled Mouse out of the carriage. I followed after him and found myself sinking a few inches into the muck that covered the yard.

Grant helped Mouse into the inn while Ben offered me his arm for support. I was glad to have it as we slipped and slid over to the wide plank sidewalk that wrapped around the whole of the establishment. We slipped inside after our new companions and found the entrance room large, but comfortable. A warm fire burned in the huge hearth to our left, and tables and chairs dotted the room. A desk stood to our right and behind that was a wall that separated the hall from the partitioned lower floor of the building. A narrow doorway just past the desk allowed entrance to those rooms situated behind the wall, and a wide staircase in the center of the rear wall ran up to the second floor.

A man at the desk smiled at our arrival, but on seeing the state of Mouse he shot around the counter and over to us. “My goodness! What’s happened?”

“A little accident is all,” Grant assured him as he hefted Mouse toward the doorway. “We’ll be needing some brandy.”

The proprietor bobbed his head. “Of course! The man must be in shock!”

Grant scoffed. “It’s not for him, it’s for me.”

Their host blinked at him but still nodded before he hurried off to obey. Ben and I hesitated in the entrance hall, but Grant turned to us with a smile. “Thanks for the help, but we can take it from here.”

Mouse grinned at me. “Thanks for the company. It’s the best I’ve had in a long time.”

“I’d like to speak with you later about your machine. I’m interested in the future of your ‘thunderless’ thunder,” Ben told them, and much was their surprise.

“You would?” Mouse squeaked.

Ben smiled and handed Grant a card, the face of which he studied. “Send a crow my way when you’re rested. I’ll keep myself available.”

Grant nodded as he pocketed the card. “Of course. We’d be delighted to talk with you as soon as we can.”

Mouse grinned at Ben. “I’ll be rested and ready to go by tomorrow.”

Grant rolled his eyes and dragged him down the hall. “Only if you stop being an idiot, and that isn’t likely to happen.”

Ben and I left the inn and climbed aboard our carriage. Chase came by and stopped beside our vehicle. “It was rather kind of you to help us out back there.”

Ben shook his head. “We were glad to do it.” Ferox threw his head back and snorted.

I laughed. “Most of us, anyway.”

Chase nodded his head at us. “I hope to see you around.”

“So do I,” Ben returned before he looked to our steed. “Home, Ferox.”

Ferox turned around and trotted out of the cul-de-sac. Ben and I leaned back and enjoyed the ride as we drove back into the bustling burb that was the city of Validen.

I cast a curious and slightly bemused look at my companion. “So you were a thunder driver, huh?”

Ben smiled. “In my younger years, after I had acquired the ‘gift’ of the dragon. It was a much-appreciated distraction from my other worries.”

“Is it hard to drive one of them?”

“That would depend on the type of thunder,” he pointed out as he folded his arms over his chest. “I have driven ones so easy a child could handle it, and so difficult that I could never master the controls.”

“What happened to those ones?”

“I generally lost control and wound up in like our new acquaintance. In a ditch, if I was fortunate.”

I lifted an eyebrow. “And if you weren’t?”

“I made use of my wings and claws to get me out of the trouble.”

I grinned. “Sounds exciting.”

A smile touched his lips and a faraway look slipped into his eyes as he stared ahead. “It was. I occasionally looked into the goings-on of the tract, but I haven’t done so in a few years.”

“Hence why you didn’t know who they were any more than me,” I guessed.

He nodded. “Precisely, but their vehicle intrigues me. The thunder came out of nowhere with nary a sound.”

“Why is that so important?” I asked him.

“Many cities and towns have banned the use of thunders because of their impressive noise,” he explained as he cupped his chin in one hand. “It’s why the races take place outside cities such as at the emperor’s stables. If we could make them quiet there would be no need for those bans.”

I thought back to our strange new acquaintances and their little quirks. “Are all thunder drivers are superstitious as them?”

Ben chuckled. “Unfortunately, they are. The first men bold enough to drive the vehicles were sailors, and their lot have always been known to try anything to improve their chances of survival. The same can be said for their successors.”

“I’m guessing the first designs weren’t that safe,” I mused.

He nodded. “Their early name was the ‘horseless hearse,’ and some of the older citizens with less affection for the vehicles still call them that.”

I craned my neck to look around us. “So where are the emperor’s stables? I mean, I know where they used to be.”

“They’re to the south between the city and the coast,” he told me as his eyes took on a faraway look. “I recall in my youth riding my horse there during the competition days and watching some of the first models be showcased. That was long after their competitor days, of course, but they were still operated by their bold owners. I expect there will be a showing of the old thunders during this tract. Many of the first drivers came from Validen’s own port.”

My eyebrows shot up. “How big is its port?”

“One of the largest on the Coerulus Sea, and thus one of the busiest. Goods from all over the world arrive there by ship and are driven up the March-”

“The what?” I asked him.

He chuckled. “It’s the shortened name for the main road between Pernix the port city, and Validen. Its full name is Reynard’s March, and refers to when an army allied with Validen marched from the port and up to the city to lift a siege.”

I dropped back against my seat and cupped one-half of my forehead in my palm. “I don’t think I’m ever going to catch up to the history of this place.”

“Even among those who have lived here their entire lives, there are very few people who know a great deal about our long and rather complicated history.” His eyes sparkled as he studied me and he used his foot to tap the basket on the floor of the carriage. “But there’s more than enough time for you to learn the history after we have enjoyed our lunch.”

I snorted. “I guess it’ll have to be in the dining room instead of in a field full of flowers.”

“There are other places,” he reminded me.

“You mean the river park?” I guessed before a dark thought crossed my mind. I narrowed my eyes at him. “Not the cemeteries.”

He laughed and shook his head. “Neither. There is the Plaza and its environs-”

“Too busy.”

“One of the shops?”

“I don’t think they’d appreciate us bringing our own food.”

“There are other parks in the city.”

A thought struck me and I scooted closer to him with my eyes filled with hope. “How far is the port?”

Ben sighed. “Alas, it’s as far a journey as Rookwood, and I doubt Ferox would oblige us with another trip until his hunger for grains is satiated.” Ferox’s head bobbed up and down.

“Well, damn. . .” I mumbled as I slumped down in my seat. “The dining room is looking better and better.”

“I’m sure Tully has livened the room with a vase of fresh flowers,” he comforted me as he looped an arm over my drooping shoulders. He scooted closer and lowered his voice to a cooing whisper. “And the company is what truly matters.”

My cheeks reddened and I swallowed a lump in my throat. “I-I guess you’re right.”

A low chuckle escaped him. “Of course I am. I’m always right.”

I rolled my eyes and pushed him away. “Give me some room. Your ego is crushing me.”

He was all grins as he leaned against his side of the carriage. “Always happy to oblige.”

CHAPTERFOUR

We rolled into Ben’s private courtyard at around the noon hour and Tully emerged from the house with a look of curiosity.

“We had a little accident,” Ben explained as he hopped down from the carriage and helped me to the cobblestones.”

“Well, we didn’t, but we had to help,” I corrected him.

He inclined his head toward me. “I accept the correction.” He returned his attention to his manservant and nodded at Ferox. “He believes he’s owed an extra bucket of grains for carrying me, so you’d better give it to him.” Tully nodded and walked alongside Ferox into the stable.

Ben snatched the basket from the vehicle before it left without us and offered me his arm. “Shall we?”

I looped my limb around his and nodded. “Let’s.”

We sauntered inside and into the dining room. We had just had everything unpacked and ready to eat when Tully made his appearance in the doorway that led to the hall. He held a white envelope in his pale hand. A scent of heavy perfume filled the air.

Ben lifted an eyebrow. “What is it, Tully?”