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Tully patted his right-hand pocket and held up one finger.
“I’ll see to it immediately,” Ben assured him as he smiled down at me. “You’ll have to excuse me for a moment, there’s some business to take care of.”
“I’ll be in the study collapsing into a puddle of ooze,” I informed him.
I was as true to my word as I shuffled down the hall and into the study. I collapsed into one of the chairs in front of the warm fire and groaned. “These nights just keep getting colder and colder. Should’ve asked Ben to take me on holiday to the Bermudas.”
Ben wasn’t long in coming and he took a seat in the other chair with a mischievous smile on his face. “You look comfortable.”
I snorted. “Compared to being in that alley, even a torture device is comfortable.”
“You did seem rather worried I wouldn’t arrive.”
I snorted. “I wasn’t worried. I was terrified. That commander really wants to see my face on the other side of a door of bars.”
“You don’t want to oblige the kind commander?” Ben teased.
“I had enough of bars on our last adventure in the dungeons of Kalea,” I reminded him as I used my heels to draw off my feet. I wiggled my toes in front of the warm fire and sighed. “What I could really use is a vacation. Arealvacation. Somewhere where nobody will bother us.”
A pensive expression slipped onto Ben’s face as he stared into the fire. “A remote location. . .”
I lifted an eyebrow. “Don’t tell me you have another villa somewhere in the far-off mountains.”
He shook his head. “Nothing so far away, I assure you. I was merely thinking of Rookwood. You haven’t been there yet, and we had meant to go several times.”
“And always got sidetracked,” I finished for him as I sat up a little. The idea intrigued me. “One of your great aunts lives there, right?”
“Yes. My mother’s aunt on her father’s side. She is the better part of seventy by now and very reclusive. I doubt she has left Rookwood these past twenty years.”
I lifted an eyebrow. “Are you sure she’d want to see us?”
Ben patted his breast pocket. “I only just received a letter from her while we were out.”
“No crow?”
“She doesn’t trust the creatures to understand her. Her accent can be rather thick.”
“So what did she want?” I asked him.
He sighed. “It seems my mother has notified her of our betrothal and she wishes to see you.”
My face drooped and my voice came out squeakier than I intended. “See me? Why?”
He chuckled. “Nothing more than idle curiosity, I assure you. I won’t let her sway my mind on the matter.”
I eyed him with a sharp look. “There doesn’t happen to be another reason for us going there, does it?”
“Should there be?”
I shrugged. “Oh, I don’t know. I guess I was just remembering you told me something about your mom’s side being gifted in magic and you keep insisting I need to find my magic.”
“You need to embrace it,” he corrected me.
“Find. Embrace.” I leaned toward him and narrowed my eyes. “Ulterior motive.”
He grinned. “What could it hurt to get some advice from my aunt while getting to know her?”
“Uh-huh. Does she know her nephew is this sneaky?”
